      |
There is a real touch of class about Mathews. If we had few more batsmen of his talent and class, who is blessed with proper stokes all around the wicket and treats the ball on its merits, can clear the boundary line with ease when it matters most, winning the WC is not that difficult. A batsman like him should go to bat with many balls & more time to spare. The preventing of such a player { WHOSE 1ST CLASS BATTING AVERAGE is 50 +& POSSESS AN EQUALLY BRILLIANT SCHOOL CAREER CAN EASILY DO THE ACT PERFORMED ED BY VIRAT KOLI & AB DE VILIERS FOR INDIA & SOUTH AFRICA RESPECTIVELY, SINCE OUR two MOST PROMISING YOUNG PLAYERS ( they were made to under form in the recently concluded Inter-Provincial LO Tournament for Kandurata by asking one to open the innings & the other to bat very low down in the batting order) HAVE NOT BEEN SELECTED TO PROVE THEIR CLASS FOR UNKNOWN REASONS.} from facing more deliveries, can be regarded as a diabolical crime purposely done by the people who are responsible.
The Country doesn’t need batsmen that consume lots of deliveries to build up their innings (batting at key positions) and get out playing silly (PREDETERMINED) strokes (WHEN TEAM NEEDS QUICK RUNS,) thus pulling back the whole team into a deep trouble. The batsmen with such a vast experience should have performed far better than this, what they are doing at this point. Both have created this type of situations many times before, in the recent ODI history of SL, (and their last tour to Australia, even against lowly placed countries like Bangladesh & Zimbabwe in 2009).
People are made to believe that they are the best in the country because other classy & the most deserved & unfortunate batsmen who didn’t or hardly play for the Country, the likes of (SAJITH FERNANDO, VARUNA WARAGODA, LANKA DE SILVA, CHANAKA WIJESINGHE, INDIKA DE SARAM, JEEWANTHA KULATHUNGA, CHINTHAKA JAYASINGHE, IAN DANIELS, JANAKA GOONARATHNA,SACHITHRA SERASINGHE) were not provided opportunities to prove their worth, when those players had been performing well , (unfortunately made them to lose interest of the game all together,) even at times(2003-2004) when both these indispensable players were failing miserably(in their early ODI careers).
However, we don’t want some influential persons’ children to play for the National team. (Which has been the case for the last 10 to 15 years.), when enough quality players are in abundance. We cannot agree with selectors drawing of a red line to remove the Countries most deserving Players the likes of: Kausal Silva, Dimuth Karunarathna , Thirimanne, Chandimal, Angelo Perera, Banukka Rajapaksha, Umesh Karunarathna, Sachithra Senanayaka ,….. that have maintained remarkable consistency throughout their entire careers since their age of 15 years. The selectors should compare the consistent careers ( since their schooldays up to date)of these youngsters, with that of the established players in the side( how they had performed as youngsters)
If Virat Koli is good enough to play for India ( with a country of biggest cricket population) why Chandimal is not good enough to represent Sri Lanka( leave alone his ODI average 71.50& 1st Cl Ave 54.45 )after his two brilliant innings against India (one) in Zimbabwe where our senior players failed miserably in 2009.
However, we don’t want some influential persons’ children to play for the National team. (Which has been the case for the last 10 to 15 years.), when enough quality players are in abundance. We cannot agree with selectors drawing of a red line to remove the Countries most deserving Players the likes of: Kausal Silva, Dimuth Karunarathna , Thirimanne, Chandimal, Angelo Perera, Banukka Rajapaksha, Umesh Karunarathna, Sachithra Senanayaka ,….. that have maintained remarkable consistency throughout their entire careers since their age of 15 years. The selectors should compare the consistent careers ( since their schooldays up to date)of these youngsters, with that of the established players in the side( how they had performed as youngsters)
If Virat Koli is good enough to play for India ( with a country of biggest cricket population) why Chandimal is not good enough to represent Sri Lanka( leave alone his ODI average 71.50& 1st Cl Ave 54.45 )after his two brilliant innings against India (one) in Zimbabwe where our senior players failed miserably in 2009.
We badly need batsmen who have all the necessary skills to maintain consistency of 4 out of 5 innings played, in the same manner how Aravinda, Hashan & Mahanama did in 1996 without trying to survive with too many risky strokes, that could make the heart rate of the ardent cricket fans of Sri Lanka to go up.
In my view, there are only 2 perfect batsmen in this present squad to maintain consistency throughout an entire tournament in relation to their performances and skills.
My XI that I would like to pick for the WC (from this given squad) in the order of batting is
1. Mahela
2. Tharanga
3. Dilshan
4. Mathews
5. Samaraweera
6. Sangakkara ( Should play the part played by Arjuna in 1996)
7. Thisara( Kulasekara) (Ajantha)
8. Herath
9. Murali (Ajantha)
10. Malinga
11. Dilhara.
In my view, there are only 2 perfect batsmen in this present squad to maintain consistency throughout an entire tournament in relation to their performances and skills.
My XI that I would like to pick for the WC (from this given squad) in the order of batting is
1. Mahela
2. Tharanga
3. Dilshan
4. Mathews
5. Samaraweera
6. Sangakkara ( Should play the part played by Arjuna in 1996)
7. Thisara( Kulasekara) (Ajantha)
8. Herath
9. Murali (Ajantha)
10. Malinga
11. Dilhara.
We should always play five genuine bowlers. Mathews should not be considered as a bowler, since his batting is more precious than his bowling. We need to keep him fit throughout the tournament.
Samaraweera, Sangakkara & Mathews should see that the services of bowlers are not needed as batsmen.
Though there are far better left-armers in the country, Herath as a Leggie is a must in the Side. With his loose-limbed high arm action Ajantha can generate lift &bounce more and create many unplayable balls than any other spinnerin the Team. As for Dilhara, with his tall strong physique he can easily make the ball to lift and bounce off any dull pitch to create problems for any devastating batsmen the likes of Shewag, Afridi, de Villiers, Shane Watson, ……
Please note that I am not a relative of any of those unfortunate players that I have mentioned above but an ardent cricket lover and keen student of this great Game. I would like to mention here that I have had a continuous playing career of 55 years, at all levels apart from International. In my long career as a cricketer, I (with 2 others great benefactors of the Game) was in a position to form a cricket club and worked tirelessly to upgrade that club to its present level of competing in the Premier Div (After winning, Div. III & Div.II ,a thing many clubs that play in the Premier Div which started after 1996 have failed to achieve). Although few National players too have emerged from this club when it was run solely by club funds and other donations of the well wishers of the area, later it was taken over in wrong means by some corrupted people, since the day the SLC started injecting funds into clubs for their expenses. I gave this introduction of myself because some readers feel that I may have some hatred feeling towards the most experienced players of the Team but, it was not correct, I love them as much as every Sri Lankan does, what they have done for Sri Lankan Cricket,but my only humble wish is to see that the best XI in that particular moment of time, to play for the Country. I have always loved and respect every cricketer who has worked hard to bring HONOR, PRESTIGE & WEALTH into this poor Country full of ROGUES and BOGUS STARS.
Samaraweera, Sangakkara & Mathews should see that the services of bowlers are not needed as batsmen.
Though there are far better left-armers in the country, Herath as a Leggie is a must in the Side. With his loose-limbed high arm action Ajantha can generate lift &bounce more and create many unplayable balls than any other spinnerin the Team. As for Dilhara, with his tall strong physique he can easily make the ball to lift and bounce off any dull pitch to create problems for any devastating batsmen the likes of Shewag, Afridi, de Villiers, Shane Watson, ……
Please note that I am not a relative of any of those unfortunate players that I have mentioned above but an ardent cricket lover and keen student of this great Game. I would like to mention here that I have had a continuous playing career of 55 years, at all levels apart from International. In my long career as a cricketer, I (with 2 others great benefactors of the Game) was in a position to form a cricket club and worked tirelessly to upgrade that club to its present level of competing in the Premier Div (After winning, Div. III & Div.II ,a thing many clubs that play in the Premier Div which started after 1996 have failed to achieve). Although few National players too have emerged from this club when it was run solely by club funds and other donations of the well wishers of the area, later it was taken over in wrong means by some corrupted people, since the day the SLC started injecting funds into clubs for their expenses. I gave this introduction of myself because some readers feel that I may have some hatred feeling towards the most experienced players of the Team but, it was not correct, I love them as much as every Sri Lankan does, what they have done for Sri Lankan Cricket,but my only humble wish is to see that the best XI in that particular moment of time, to play for the Country. I have always loved and respect every cricketer who has worked hard to bring HONOR, PRESTIGE & WEALTH into this poor Country full of ROGUES and BOGUS STARS.
