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 RESERVE STRENGTH: SRI LANKA’S A SQUADS Michael Roberts - 8th September 2008
PART ONE
I had the good fortune to chat with Chandika Hathurasingha on a few occasions in the course of the Indian series during my visit to Sri Lanka in July-August. He was adamant that the impending A Tour of South Africa should be one that was development-oriented with a longer term perspective. He agreed that for the Duleep Trophy series in India Sri Lanka needed the best reserve squad on hand since the objective was to win the trophy (they came runners-up I believe) in competition with the best provincial sides. But for A Series of the South African type he wished the Board to be more future-oriented. For this reason he was opposed to the selection of older players who had been performing well in the domestic circuit -- for instance, Lanka de Silva, Gayan Wijekoon and Hasantha Fernando whose names I brought up. Indeed, the radio commentator, Haritha Perera, was even more adamant on this point when I raised the topic with him at Dambulla. So Hathuru had other voices in line with him on this issue. The case is not cut and dried however: I will return to it at the end. The Saf tour by the A Squad demands our attention first. My conversations with Hathuru were before the squad was named. He indicated that he had told the selectors what his wishes were with reference to the “composition” of the squad of XV, that is, how many batsmen, bowlers, allrounders et cetera. Clearly, he would have had more specific inputs, but was not in a position to divulge details to me. Once the squad was announced, a few days after our talk, he was clearly unhappy, but, understandably, could not say more. Reading Sa’adi Thawfeeq’s news report on the subject, however, one may suspect that the decision not to include the off-spinner Sachitra Senanayake (who had an outstanding domestic season in the A tier) and the (left-arm?) mystery leg spinner, Seekkugē Prasanna, left him fuming. Instead the older hands Rangana Herath and Malinga Bandara had been selected.
Since Ajantha Mendis burst into the front ranks in lethal fashion a few months back, we are now considering the issue of back-up strength whenever Murali needs a rest or should some untoward injury occur. Even before Mendis’s capacities were revealed, Herath (aged 30) has been the subject of extreme prejudice in cyber-circles in contrast to the favoured son, Malinga Bandara (aged 29). Herath is underestimated as a spinner and his usefulness with the bat is not considered. Playing for the A team in the foreign conditions of Zimbabwe in October-November 2007 against what was virtually their First Eleven, he had the following figures: ONE: 16-4-39-2 (in a drawn game) TWO: 11.4-3-25-4 and 14-2-45-3 (match won) ODI ONE: 8-0-35-1 ODI TWO: 10-0-19-4 ODI THREE: 10-0-24-3 -- all matches won. A little earlier, playing against the full Indian XI in a three-day game at Grace Road, Leicester, he had figures of 18-1-62-2 (out of five wkts to fall) when India declared in the first innings and then had 13-4-66-2 (out of six wkts) when the match was drawn. In fact, he reached the figure of 500 first-class wickets during this match, no mean feat. That said, I would certainly have omitted Herath from the Saf tour and chosen one of the new spinners in tandem with Bandara, with the latter being rewarded for his patience and kept in good trim, so to speak, by this exercise. My argument here is that one needs to combine experience (Bandara) with potential good recruit (whether Senanayake or Prasanna). Sending two raw spinners was/is a risk. It would not help Sri Lanka’s reserve forces if one sent 15 raw recruits on an A tour and they were massacred on the field because of their lack of experience and/or steel. Here, it is important to note that the A squad also includes two spinning allrounders, Dilruwan Perera (off spin and Gihan Rupesinghe (left arm leg spin). Perera is a genuine all rounder, where Rupesinghe is more of a batsman. When one considers the fact that one has two other young allrounders in the background, namely, Milinda Siriwardene and Sachith Pathirana, then, SL’s future is good. Siriwardene (aged 23 and with the Chilaw Marians now) was touted as a prospective left-arm spinner by Jerome Jayaratne some years back, but has recently making waves as a batsmen in the U23 Tournament after missing most of the main domestic season. Pathirana, the 19-year old Trinitian who skippered the U 19 Team recently, has a good record at the tenn level and long experience in captaincy (important that).-- so good that There were some avid cyber-net fans who were even selecting Pathirana for the first XV in what must be treated as fits of absurd, utopian expectation. We have had occasional successes in bumping individuals up from teenage cricket to the highest level: Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva are the prime examples, while Farveez Maaharoof and Chamara Kapugedera are more recent ones. But such decisions effecting radical double promotions up the ladder must be taken by accredited individuals who have observed the players closely over a series of matches. For any armchair observers, such as this author, to impose such choices confidently on the basis of U 19 statistics is quite horrendous. So, in sum, we have Muralitharan, Mendis, Bandara, Herath, Senanayake, Prasanna, Perera, Siriwardene and Pathirana as our spinning stock at present (besides a host of other lefties). Given such a list, Kaushal Lokuarachchi (aged 26; who toured England with the A Squad in July-August 2007) and Sajeewa Weerakoon (who played for the A Team on several occasions a few years back) must be aware that their prospects are bleak unless they produce some miracle. The lengthy list also underlines the difficulties faced by the Selectors. How are they to provide the last four named with decent opportunities at A level? Invariably, one or two players are going to miss out. This is why selections at the A team level can be of such momentous significance for individual players and why we outsiders have to police issues of favouritism carefully and fairly. Pacemen
Captaincy Thilina Kandambi (aged 26) was appointed skipper for this tour. Kandambi captained the U19 squad during their tour of Australia in 1999 and I was impressed by his on-field and off-field demeanour in Adelaide during the course of a Test Match marked by blatantly prejudiced umpiring. Since then his batting performances for Bloomfield were quite ordinary till 2007 and, during the limited opportunities available to him as a “fringe squad member” on the occasional tour, his achievements were patchy. By moving to the SSC and responding to Naweed Nawaz’s guidance, he resurrected his career: in the 2007-08 season his Premier League statistics read as 822 runs in 12 innings for an average of 68.50 – third in line behind Thilan Samaraweera (aged 32, av. = 86.14) and Tharanga Paranavitana (aged 26; av. = 74.41). Kandambi is a left-handed batsman in the same mould as Arjuna Ranatunga both in anatomical form and in style of batting -- with improvisations galore. He has also revealed an ability to hit sixes so he is definitely a prospect as a middle and/or top order batsman in both forms of the game. The only reservation I have is about his degree of cricket-quickness in the field within the middle ring, an issue about which I cannot comment without observation of his movements at the present moment. PART TWO
The batsmen selected for the Saf tour to back up Kandambi and the two allrounders are: Upul Tharanga, T. Paranavitana, Kanchana Gunawardena, Angelo Mathews, Kaushal Silva and Gihan Rupasinghe. Kaushal Silva moved ahead of Gihan de Silva and Charith Sylvester in the wicket-keeper batsman stakes a couple of years back and his batting figures on previous A Team tours support the selectors’ faith in him. I am not qualified to evaluate his keeping abilities. Angelo Mathews is an exciting choice, widely recognised as a potential top-order batsman. A previous captain of the U 19 team and an allrounder at the U19 level, he scored heavily in the recent U 23 matches in Sri Lanka, while averaging 58.00 in the Premier League in 2007-08. Paranavitana has been an A Team regular for a little while and was an obvious choice after his sterling achievement in the domestic season (av. of 74.41). Indeed, he looms large as a potential replacement for Van Dort should the selectors decide to promote him. But, ahoy, Upul Tharanga is competing for this spot. In a sagacious set of decisions, the Selection Committee gave him the chance of resurrecting his career by selecting him for the Warm-Up game against the Indians and then slotting him into the A Squad for South Africa. As Sanath Jayasuriya has stressed in print, Tharanga is too good a player to be thrust into the dust-bin. Quite separately, this point was driven home at a social dinner in Colombo when host husband and wife, both from cricketing families, remarked that Tharanga stroked the ball and had grace. His problem, as we know, has been defence outside and beside the off stump, but that is a pitfall that surrounds virtually all our players, especially in seaming conditions. Here, let me introduce readers to a secret chanced upon during chats with Anura Tennekoon and Hathurasingha. Before the Indians arrived, SLC had organised a trial match, one that included senior first XI players as well. Tharanga scored a century in that match. Alas, I did not seek further details and our journalists did not describe this match. Where serious question marks arise with reference to the a Team squad for the tour of South Africa are the choice of Kanchana Gunawardena and Gihan Rupesinghe. Gunawardene (age = 24 and with NCC) is an opening batsman and has featured in some A Team matches in Sri Lanka. Around the press box, the greatest reservations were about Rupesinghe (aged 22 and with the Tamil Union). It was noted, with clear implications of favouritism, that his father is a Provincial Councillor belonging to the SLFP. Let’s look at the stats for the Premier League 2007/08.
While these figures must be noted, let me reiterate, and thus emphasise, a set of qualifications noted in that article: “Statistical comparisons should not reign. Other considerations come into the selection of Elevens or touring squads. There is, for one, team balance among the batsmen. One simply cannot have seven or eight Geoff Boycotts in one’s squad (apart from anything else they will run each other out!!!). Apart from such general issues, the following inter-related facets must, in my amateur-view (for I am not a trained coach), be brought to bear on each candidate for selection as a batsman: (A) correct technique and good footwork; (B) fighting qualities; (C) composure, discipline and temperament; (D) running between wickets and ability to rotate the strike; (E) batting for side rather than self; and (F) fielding capacities, involving F1. Safe hands; F2. Being cricket-quick so that one can man the inner-ring; F3. Utility capacity of being good in any position; F4. Quality specialist in specific positions; and F5. good throwing arm from the deep.”
Age Factor There is a broad issue that requires a generalized review as our conclusion. Should players aged over 30 and those aged over, say 34/35, be omitted from the A Team either as a general principle or in the case of certain developmental tours? For the latter certainly one can understand the logic though it is possible to suggest the advantage secured by the leavening of a squad by one or two experienced hands aged over 30 who have revealed a continuing passion for the game and retained their agility. It is with critical A Team series such as the Duleep Trophy and the selection of our leading XV at top international level that age becomes a vexed issue. Jayasuriya (aged 39 now) is a special case that I bracket out because it has been resolved in favour of his continuing to play shorter-form cricket. But I challenge the tendency in Sri Lanka to dismiss players in the mid-30s. It is quite feasible for a player in his early 30s to enter the highest arena and perform creditably. Bryce McGain (b. 25 March 1972), the Victorian leg-spinner, broke into top-ranks at around 35 and is now in the Australian A squad touring India. Dusty Miller, likewise, proved capable of holding his own as an off spinner when he entered the top-rung aged around 32/33. As significantly, Stuart Clark entered the leading ranks at the age of 29/30 and has demonstrated that age is not a barrier even within the difficult trade of fast bowler. Stan Nell, the former A Team coach in Sri Lanka, insists that batsmen mature and peak around the age of 30. This is a conclusion derived from his Australian experience. Michael Hussey – born 1975 and now aged 33; who entered Test ranks in November 2005 -- is an illustration of his argument. It is an opinion that must be considered seriously. Against this background one must surely feel for such players as Lanka de Silva (aged 33), Gayan Wijekoon (aged 32) and Hasantha Fernando (aged 29) whose respective averages for 2007/08 were 54.92, 53.85 and 40.55; and whose achievements have been backed up by good performances in the previous two seasons as well. This is not to argue that they should have been considered for South Africa. Long term-nurturing of good youngish talent is important. But there is bigger issue here: should they be totally discarded from consideration for the top XV players in the longer format of cricket (or even ODI)? Why can’t we consider a 34 year old as a useful addition to the team if he has been solid in his achievements in both statistical terms and in the evaluations of critical observers (assuming too that the fielding is up to standard). I raise the issue of “ageism,” viz. discrimination in terms of age not only as a matter of principle, but as a feature that may restrict Sri Lanka from getting its best eleven or fifteen (for tours) players on the park. On these grounds I believe that Lanka de Silva, Fernando and Wijekoon should be in the selectors’ minds in competition with Dilshan, Kapugedera, Kandamby, Kaushal Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dilruwan Perera and Chamara Silva when they are selecting middle order batsmen for the next series. Tough decisions have to be reached. It is a good problem to have – better than a bare cupboard. © Dilmah Cricket Network |
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