Is victory still sweet when it comes this easy?
In all honesty the Lakqshya Test and ODI series came and went with little or no interest, if not for the Murali and Sanath heroics I would have paid little or no interest to this series. I did however watch the first day’s play between the two nations in keen earnest since Bangladesh put forth a brilliant performance at the World Cup. The 1st day of the 1st test turned out to be absolute carnage and a total disappointment if you were a Bangladeshi fan. Two questions immediately came to mind, does the current series of losses highlight the importance of a skilled and highly experienced coach such as Whatmore? Does playing weaker teams with this much regularity; have an adverse effect on a professional and talented outfit like Sri Lanka ahead of two important upcoming tours (ENG/AUS)?
Watching the Bangladeshi’s play it was evident they were lacking the level cool head an experienced campaigner would bring to the table. In Sri Lanka’s early days the likes of De Silva, Gurusingha, Mahanama, Tillekeratne and Ranatunga all played vital roles to avoid such embarrassment. Experience aside patience is a virtue they say. The day the Bangladeshi’s learn the value of patience is the day their batting will click, with defendable totals their bowling will click as a result of this dominoe effect more and more losses can be converted to face saving draws. Patience is something a batting coach or mentor cannot pass on, teach or train. It is something that requires determination, the determination and the drive to do well for your country, your motherland. Every time you hear any of the Sri lankan players being interviewed “i want to do well for my country” is something you almost always hear and they mean it. Such determination to succeed is remarkable signs of a truly professional outfit. Clearly evident for all to witness if you look at Australia, the number 1 cricket team.
It appears to me that Dav Whatmore played a very crucial role behind the scenes. He orchestrated and instructed; the players responded. He commanded that respect from the Bangladeshis.
For Sri Lanka another clean sweep, heaps of wickets, heaps of runs. Is victory still sweet when it comes this easy? I think not. In fact i think it does more harm than good. Such tours put player’s into complacent mind frames and sets false assurances in their minds. They “drop” their game play subconsciously and no longer continue to play their “A Game”. Playing weaker opposition can do that. This is the last thing the Lions need ahead of their tour to Australia. It’s better to win and loose tight games that are fiercely competitive than just rack up meaningless victories against team like Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka were minnows in world cricket not too long ago. We suffered at the hands of more established test nations during our initial stages as well but we gave one hell of a fight, that fighting spirit and positive brand of cricket is what brought us here. Bangladesh just need to find their way of playing the game and stick to it. Cricketers sometimes need to be reminded that they are paid employees and need to do their jobs.
The Gentleman can succeed too, you know?
My Physical Training class during my High School days at St. Peter’s College, Colombo; purely consisted of Cricket. Having had various other options at the time with school facilities boasting of a swimming pool, Basketball court and a huge athletics field every student chose Cricket and there was no exceptions to that! Such was the interest in the game at the time that the students would only want to play or be taught cricket and nothing else.
One of the first coaching lessons I had included a very thorough introduction to the game and the constant and consistent reminders that Cricket is a game that boasts of high spirits and only taken up by gentlemen who can up hold the spirit of the game. Kudos to the PT Tutor at the time for his efforts in trying to not only inculcate the spirit of the game to his students but also for moulding us into players who boast of exemplary behaviour.
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Cometh the hour.. Cometh the aussie..
From time to time I unearth some rare beauties in regards to noteworthy articles on the net. My latest find is not only noteworthy it deserves to be displayed to the world. An article written by an Australian named GEOFF ROACH for the The Advertiser in Australia really caught my eye.
Before I get into the details of that article I would like to take you back briefly to the Sri Lankan tour of Australia way back in the 1995/96 season. The tour was just prior to the 1996 Wills World Cup and will be most remembered for the constant hounding of Murali and the campaign against him. I say campaign because i never saw a more organized effort to tarnish a man’s reputation and career, both the media and
Australian officials seem to be on such a coordinated path it looked likely that Darrell hair’s ‘calling’ of Murali during the boxing day test was well planned months ahead. Cometh the hour then…came Darrell Hair and Ross Emerson. These two single handedly destroyed the spirit and the history of this great game by their deeds. Even Don Bradman spoke of it in his book. The great Don went on to state in a book entitled Chuckers, a history of throwing in Australian cricket compiled and written by Bernard Whimpress, conversations with Tom Thompson between 1995 and 1998 reveal that Bradman believed Murali’s action to be clean and his ordeal unfair.
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The thump of humbug on willow
Often invoked but harder to pin down, the Spirit of Cricket is a useless term used to hide a multitude of sins. An excellent insight into Martin Crowe’s comments on Muttiah Muraltharan’s bowling action.
The author Mike Marqusee was born and grew up in the USA. He moved to Britain in 1971. He lives in London and publishes articles on a variety of topics in the British, US and Indian media, including a fortnightly column in the Hindu. His writings on politics, popular culture and sport include books on Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali and English and south Asian cricket.
www.mikemarqusee.com
Looking up and spitting. The ICC defies gravity to take the game back in time.
Most of you may already know the ICC and the GCC its media production arm have partnered with Netresult to take down all ICC World Cup related videos on Youtube. Netresult on its website boasts of its services and goes on to state the following:
“NetResult defends against online hijacking of digital content, using advanced web detection and recording techniques. The NetResult service is designed to protect against online rights theft, identify abusers, and provide the evidence required to prevent damage to revenue streams. ”
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