Tillakaratne Dilshan must lead from the front to revive Sri Lanka’s fortunes, says All Out Cricket’s Sri Lankan correspondent Damith Samarakoon.
“Alright, just get in, say hello, grab some food and head out after an appropriate amount of time,” I said to myself. “Two or three hours should be perfect,” I thought. I was at a friend’s birthday party and it was the fourth day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Sri Lanka were in a decent position and with two days to go I was excited about the prospect of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s side setting up the game and pushing for a win. And I wanted to be watching that happen LIVE.
Good days in Test cricket are few and far between for Sri Lankans these days and I was going to make the most of it. I ran into my buddy from work, who was in a similar pickle to me. An avid Aberdeen fan, my friend’s side were playing SPL champions Rangers. We both plotted to make our exit at the same time.
iPhones are great little instruments to keep up with the cricket. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t own one that night, and hugely frustrating that my wife did. Every time I stole a quick glance at her phone, the news just kept getting worse and worse. It was almost perverse, waiting for that Cricinfo page to reload, not knowing what impending doom lay on the other side of each refresh. Each wicket that fell led to me reaching for another drink. It was to prove a hazy night.
Five hours later I was still at my friend’s party. My friend from Aberdeen was also still hanging around. Sri Lanka went into this series not really knowing what to expect; nine days later they knew it wouldn’t be a series win after suffering a nine-wicket defeat in Dubai. Gone are the days when Sri Lanka’s fortunes are decided by the performances of a few star players. Right now, it’s a collective effort; experienced stars are getting shown up by 22-year-old upstarts and bowlers who should be leading the pack have been shown not to be up to the task. The team is directionless and stripped of confidence.
Recently appointed coach Geoff Marsh has a huge role to play at this point. Even if he doesn’t succeed in putting the side’s performances back on track – and let’s face it, anything would be an improvement from where it is now – his biggest challenge will be to get the Sri Lankans to believe that they can still win.
Much has been said about how Dilshan should lead and handle the team, but the most important thing right now is to get him to trust himself. The first step would be to get him to open and with the news of Dinesh Chandimal being drafted in for Lahiru Thirimanne, this is likely to happen in the next game. And the sooner the better. Dilshan is a man of emotion; if he is happy and hungry Sri Lanka will – hopefully – follow where he leads. He has led with the bat before and should back himself to be able to do it again. If Dilshan gets things together the whole dynamic of the team changes and that has been the core of Sri Lanka’s strength in the last few years. There is no silver bullet in this case, the only people who can reverse Sri Lanka’s fortunes are the players themselves.
Damith Samarakoon is a Sri Lankan cricket fanatic living in Sydney. He blogs regularly at www.theflyslip.net
Dilshan Holds Key For Sri Lanka
Tillakaratne Dilshan must lead from the front to revive Sri Lanka’s fortunes, says All Out Cricket’s Sri Lankan correspondent Damith Samarakoon.
“Alright, just get in, say hello, grab some food and head out after an appropriate amount of time,” I said to myself. “Two or three hours should be perfect,” I thought. I was at a friend’s birthday party and it was the fourth day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Sri Lanka were in a decent position and with two days to go I was excited about the prospect of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s side setting up the game and pushing for a win. And I wanted to be watching that happen LIVE.
Good days in Test cricket are few and far between for Sri Lankans these days and I was going to make the most of it. I ran into my buddy from work, who was in a similar pickle to me. An avid Aberdeen fan, my friend’s side were playing SPL champions Rangers. We both plotted to make our exit at the same time.
iPhones are great little instruments to keep up with the cricket. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t own one that night, and hugely frustrating that my wife did. Every time I stole a quick glance at her phone, the news just kept getting worse and worse. It was almost perverse, waiting for that Cricinfo page to reload, not knowing what impending doom lay on the other side of each refresh. Each wicket that fell led to me reaching for another drink. It was to prove a hazy night.
Five hours later I was still at my friend’s party. My friend from Aberdeen was also still hanging around. Sri Lanka went into this series not really knowing what to expect; nine days later they knew it wouldn’t be a series win after suffering a nine-wicket defeat in Dubai. Gone are the days when Sri Lanka’s fortunes are decided by the performances of a few star players. Right now, it’s a collective effort; experienced stars are getting shown up by 22-year-old upstarts and bowlers who should be leading the pack have been shown not to be up to the task. The team is directionless and stripped of confidence.
Recently appointed coach Geoff Marsh has a huge role to play at this point. Even if he doesn’t succeed in putting the side’s performances back on track – and let’s face it, anything would be an improvement from where it is now – his biggest challenge will be to get the Sri Lankans to believe that they can still win.
Much has been said about how Dilshan should lead and handle the team, but the most important thing right now is to get him to trust himself. The first step would be to get him to open and with the news of Dinesh Chandimal being drafted in for Lahiru Thirimanne, this is likely to happen in the next game. And the sooner the better. Dilshan is a man of emotion; if he is happy and hungry Sri Lanka will – hopefully – follow where he leads. He has led with the bat before and should back himself to be able to do it again. If Dilshan gets things together the whole dynamic of the team changes and that has been the core of Sri Lanka’s strength in the last few years. There is no silver bullet in this case, the only people who can reverse Sri Lanka’s fortunes are the players themselves.
Damith Samarakoon is a Sri Lankan cricket fanatic living in Sydney. He blogs regularly at www.theflyslip.net