12 Tuesday 9th September, 2008

A team level can be of such momentous significance for individual players and why we outsiders have to police issues of favouritism care- Reserve strength: fully and fairly. Pacemen The most enlightening instance of Hathuru’s long- term strategy was revealed during his remarks on the ’s sqauds fast complement. He emphasised the fact that our by Michael Roberts leading body of pacemen, inclusive of the promising PART ONE new find, Dhammika Prasad, t any one moment and are aged 26 or over. So, Sri in the immediate Lanka – and here Afuture a country’s Anushya Samaranayake and cricketing capacities depend Jerome Jayaratne would in part on its bench strength, surely have been involved – the reserves in the wings so to have identified some young speak and thus on it’s B Team, bowlers in the age range 18- or rather, the A Squad as it is to-20 who possess genuine called. Injuries occur among pace a s well as general the top fifteen players. potential. “, Pacemen are especially liable and to breakdown. Indeed, during Pradeep” are the names that the past year Maharoof, have been entered in my Malinga, Welagedera, Dilhara notebook. The selectors Fernando and, now, responded to this call for Dhammika Prasad have been long-term nourishment. sidelined at some point or Lakmal was inserted into other by injury or strain. the A Team Squad and, then, Only idiots – and there have when Prasad suffered an been one or two such voices injury, Udana replaced on display – would blame Sri Prasad. Thus, two rookies Lanka Cricket and/or the joined the experienced medical staff for such happen- hands, Sujeeva de Silva ings. One has only to look Welagedera (recovered from over the record of English injury) and Ishara South African and Australian Amerasinghe, for the A fast bowlers in recent years to Team’s tour of South Africa. accept that this is a perennial Plaudits are due here for the issue. SLC Selection Committtee. It is to the credit of SLC, from Sumathipala’s time to Captaincy Jayantha Dharmadasa’s Thilina Kandambi (aged recent spell, that they organ- (File Photo) Sri Lanka outplayed the Indians at the National Stadium, Karachi, winning by 100 runs to lift the Asia Cup for a fourth time 26) was appointed skipper ised many A Squad tours for this tour. Kandambi cap- and/or home series over the performing well in the domes- burst into the front ranks in trim, so to speak, by this exer- utopian expectation. We have tained the U19 squad during last 4 or 5 years. Contradicting tic circuit — for instance, lethal fashion a few months cise. My argument here is had occasional successes in their tour of Australia in ’s absurd Lanka de Silva, Gayan back, we are now considering that one needs to combine bumping individuals up from 1999 and I was impressed by “muppett” outburst, one can Wijekoon and Hasantha the issue of back-up strength experience (Bandara) with teenage cricket to the highest his on-field and off-field say that such building work Fernando whose names I whenever Murali needs a rest potential good recruit level: Arjuna Ranatunga and demeanour in Adelaide dur- has generated fresh talent and brought up. Indeed, the radio or should some untoward (whether Senanayake or Aravinda de Silva are the ing the course of a Test sustained Sri Lanka’s bench commentator, Haritha Perera, injury occur. Even before Prasanna). Sending two raw prime examples, while Match marked by blatantly strength. The Duleep Trophy was even more adamant on Mendis’s capacities were spinners was/is a risk. It Farveez Maaharoof and prejudiced umpiring. Since series in India revealed the this point when I raised the revealed, Herath (aged 30) has would not help Sri Lanka’s Chamara Kapugedera are then his batting performanc- abilities of Chamara Silva topic with him at Dambulla. been the subject of extreme reserve forces if one sent 15 more recent ones. But such es for Bloomfield were quite and Malinda Warnapura as So Hathuru had other voices prejudice in cyber-circles in raw recruits on an A tour and decisions effecting radical ordinary till 2007 and, dur- well as the potential of in line with him on this issue. contrast to the favoured son, they were massacred on the double promotions up the ing the limited opportuni- Kaushal Silva as -keep- The case is not cut and dried Malinga Bandara (aged 29). field because of their lack of ladder must be taken by ties available to him as a er batsman. Warnapura (and however: I will return to it at Herath is underestimated as a experience and/or steel. accredited individuals who “fringe squad member” on Dilshan) scored heavi- the end. The Saf tour by the A spinner and his usefulness Here, it is important to have observed the players the occasional tour, his ly in Zimbabwe in late 2007, Squad demands our attention with the bat is not considered. note that the A squad also closely over a series of achievements were patchy. while Dilruwan Perera first. Playing for the A team in the includes two spinning all- matches. For any armchair By moving to the SSC and revealed his allrounder capac- My conversations with foreign conditions of rounders, Dilruwan Perera observers, such as this responding to Naweed ities. Dhammika Prasad was Hathuru were before the Zimbabwe in October- (off spin and Gihan author, to impose such choic- Nawaz’s guidance, he resur- part of the A Squad touring squad was named. He indicat- November 2007 against what Rupesinghe (left arm leg es confidently on the basis of rected his career: in the England in late-summer 2007. ed that he had told the selec- was virtually their First spin). Perera is a genuine all U 19 statistics is quite hor- 2007-08 season his Premier Instances could be multiplied tors what his wishes were Eleven, he had the following rounder, where Rupesinghe is rendous. League statistics read as 822 …. with reference to the “compo- figures: more of a batsman. When one So, in sum, we have runs in 12 innings for an sition” of the squad of XV, ONE: 16-4-39-2 (in a drawn game) considers the fact that one Muralitharan, Mendis, average of 68.50 – third in Hathurasingha that is, how many batsmen, TWO: 11.4-3-25-4 and 14-2-45-3 has two other young all- Bandara, Herath, line behind Thilan I had the good fortune to bowlers, allrounders et cetera. (match won) rounders in the background, Senanayake, Prasanna, Samaraweera (aged 32, av. = chat with Chandika Clearly, he would have had ODI ONE: 8-0-35-1 namely, Milinda Siriwardene Perera, Siriwardene and 86.14) and Tharanga Hathurasingha on a few occa- more specific inputs, but was ODI TWO: 10-0-19-4 and Sachith Pathirana, then, Pathirana as our spinning Paranavitana (aged 26; av. = sions in the course of the not in a position to divulge ODI THREE:10-0-24-3 SL’s future is good. stock at present (besides a 74.41). Indian series during my visit details to me. Once the squad — all matches won. Siriwardene (aged 23 and host of other lefties). Given Kandambi is a left-hand- to Sri Lanka in July-August. was announced, a few days A little earlier, playing with the Chilaw Marians such a list, Kaushal ed batsman in the same He was adamant that the after our talk, he was clearly against the full Indian XI in a now) was touted as a Lokuarachchi (aged 26; who mould as Arjuna Ranatunga impending A Tour of South unhappy, but, understandably, three-day game at Grace prospective left-arm spinner toured England with the A both in anatomical form and Africa should be one that was could not say more. Reading Road, Leicester, he had fig- by Jerome Jayaratne some Squad in July-August 2007) in style of batting — with development-oriented with a Sa’adi Thawfeeq’s news report ures of 18-1-62-2 (out of five years back, but has recently and Sajeewa Weerakoon improvisations galore. He longer term perspective. He on the subject, however, one wkts to fall) when India making waves as a batsmen (who played for the A Team has also revealed an ability agreed that for the Duleep may suspect that the decision declared in the first innings in the U23 Tournament after on several occasions a few to hit sixes so he is definite- Trophy series in India Sri not to include the off-spinner and then had 13-4-66-2 (out of missing most of the main years back) must be aware ly a prospect as a middle Lanka needed the best reserve Sachitra Senanayake (who six wkts) when the match was domestic season. Pathirana, that their prospects are bleak and/or top order batsman in squad on hand since the objec- had an outstanding domestic drawn. In fact, he reached the the 19-year old Trinitian who unless they produce some both forms of the game. The tive was to win the trophy season in the A tier) and the figure of 500 first-class wick- skippered the U 19 Team miracle. only reservation I have is (they came runners-up I (left-arm?) mystery leg spin- ets during this match, no recently, has a good record at The lengthy list also about his degree of cricket- believe) in competition with ner, Seekkug? Prasanna, left mean feat. the tenn level and long expe- underlines the difficulties quickness in the field within the best provincial sides. But him fuming. Instead the older That said, I would cer- rience in captaincy (impor- faced by the Selectors. How the middle ring, an issue for A Series of the South hands and tainly have omitted Herath tant that).— so good that are they to provide the last about which I cannot com- African type he wished the Malinga Bandara had been from the Saf tour and chosen There were some avid four named with decent ment without observation of Board to be more future-ori- selected. one of the new spinners in cyber-net fans who were even opportunities at A level? his movements at the pres- ented. For this reason he was tandem with Bandara, with selecting Pathirana for the Invariably, one or two play- ent moment. opposed to the selection of Spin bowlers the latter being rewarded for first XV in what must be ers are going to miss out. older players who had been Since his patience and kept in good treated as fits of absurd, This is why selections at the Part II tomorrow

Euro... From page 8

To revert to the visit of the ably spotlighting HR violations in in a Pearl Harbour type attack called off by the delegation and resentational office here – they initiative launched by then Prime South Asia Delegation of the the period 1984 and 1987, (there and ended negotiations with that the blame placed on the govern- wanted to continue with repre- Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. European Parliament; The were also eight statements government. ment. Wilson succeeds again in sentation from Delhi as they had They did not see any advantage Parliament is directly elected released by the Council of During the recent visit of the foiling the effort of the govern- done for many years). That took for them and it was then from the 27 member countries Ministers during this period); it EU Parliamentary delegation we ment to show the delegation of quite an effort and became possi- Commissioner External Relations and is composed of 785 members; would no doubt be of interest to see Wilson once again indulging the development activity taking ble only because of the efforts of Chris Patten who took the deci- it is not, unlike other directly the reader to know that not a sin- in dirty tricks; the government place in the east. Wilson and the senior officials in the Socialist sion to join the peace support elected Parliaments, the final gle Resolution was adopted dur- makes arrangements for the dele- paid piper of the LTTE Evans, group such as Richard Gupwell, group. decision making body, it has only ing the period when the IPKF gation from the EP to visit the next issues a statement casting now SG of a prestigious Think The EU had two honourable co-decision making powers in cer- took on the LTTE though the Eastern Province and Wilson aspersions of the government. Tank in Brussels and number of men, Ilka Usitala and Wouter tain areas, the ultimate decision many allegations of violations of aborts it by chartering another The list of allegations against British, German MPS and the Wilton as their Ambassadors making authority being the HR between October 1987 and plane which arrives two days Wilson seems endless, enough is late Count Otto Von Hapsburg here before Wilson. They sought Council of Ministers of the EU. March 1991 were documented in before and is unable to obtain the enough, we must inform Evans who was distinguished member to build relations not to destroy Be that as it may the EP does an LTTE publication titled “The obligatory security clearance and and Wilson that they are persona of the European Parliament. I relations, the Ministry of Foreign have power unlike in previous Satanic Force”; the EP woke up familiarization of the route by non grata as far as we are con- also regret the fact that I visited Affairs MUST exercise the great- times when it was essentially of from their slumber of conven- the crew. The government had cerned, we do not need to suffer Brussels twice and a third time est caution before granting nuisance value. This Parliament ience only after the Premadasa been in the process of expediting the likes of them again. with Minister Milinda Moragoda Agrement to the next nominee of adopted 18 Resolutions relating to government was compelled to the clearance of the aircraft I regret the days I wasted shoe to get the absolutely reluctant EU the EU to head their mission Sri Lanka and the conflict invari- respond after the LTTE indulged when the visit was unilaterally leather to have them open a rep- to come in as a Co-Chair for the here.