Monday 11th February, 2008 15

39 extras were the major contributors towards ’s win. After that episode, Sri Lanka’ opponents simply smashed Ranatunga’s team, but the SL participation in tri-series in game in Adelaide against Pakistan was a thriller. Pakistan made 315 for three in their 50 overs and in reply, Sri Lanka got 288 in their 50 overs and lost by 27 runs. 1996-1996 Series Australia over the years ( T ) After years of tame surrenders, Sri Lanka fought back really hard in this series Rex Clementine Sri Lanka were restricted to 197 by the smashing everything that the Australians beaten by 34 runs while in Sydney,Australia and their excellent form went a long way reporting from Canberra West Indies quicks, namely Malcolm threw at him. got home with three to spare in towards winning the World Cup, in Pakistan. Marshall, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Sri Lanka got home with four wickets another low scoring game, while New Sri Lanka edged out the West Indies and ri Lanka have been regular partici- Walsh. and four balls to spare and de Silva was Zealand had the better of the Sri Lankans in reached the final against Australia and if not pants of the tri-nation tournament that West Indies won by eight wickets with unbeaten on 46 in just 36 balls with two Brisbane by four wickets, where four run for some horrendous umpiring decisions by Australia annually holds and since S ten overs to spare, but Sri Lanka had some fours and two sixes. He shared an outs, including those of de Silva, Asanka the Australians, they could have done even making their maiden appearance in the 1984- consolation as their Mendis was unbroken 34 run stand with another 19- Gurusinghe and proved better in the final where they lost close 1985 season, they have come here six more named Man of the Match for his 56 in 48 year-old - , whose to be very costly. games. times and given the Australian supporters balls. contribution was just five runs. Once again de Silva’s bating stood out in Sri Lanka found some early form, beat- some thrilling moments over the years. West Indies also beat Sri Lanka in Ratnayake was also named the Man of the series. ing the West Indies in their first match in In the seven tournaments they have par- Sydney by 65 runs in their next game, but the the Match. 1989-1990 series Adelaide and then stunned the Australians ticipated, Sri Lanka entered the finals on two minnows big day would come in Melbourne The next game in Sydney, also against This time too, now under another cap- in Melbourne with a three win, with occasions, 1995-1996 and 2005-2006, at the two days later. Australia was a thriller too, but this time tain - Arjuna Ranatunga - Sri Lanka man- Kumar Dharmasena and expense of the West Indies and South Africa, Taking on Australia, Sri Lanka recorded Australia got home with three wickets to aged only a solitary win. taking them home in style. respectively. their first ever win on Australian soil, beat- spare and de Silva continued his good form The third team in the competition was West Indies beat Sri Lanka in Perth and They’ve even won a best of three finals ing the ‘bullies’ by four wickets in a thrilling with 81 in 79 balls. Pakistan. Hobart, while Australia had beaten against Australia the last time they played run chase. From thereon, the Australians really Melbourne staged the first game of this them in Sydney and as the series was get- here. This time, after a rather disappointing This was also the game in which 19-year- rubbed it onto the young tourists, beating series and Sri Lanka lost a game that they show in Sydney,where they were bowled out old would come up them by a massive 232 runs in Adelaide fol- should have won. After restricting the ting tighter between the two visiting teams, for their second lowest total against the Sri Lanka provided a killer blow, beating the world champions, they need to get back to West Indies in their second home, Perth by 16 winning ways to edge out India and qualify runs. for the finals. But that wasn’t enough. To edge out the This is also the last time the tri-nation West Indies and qualify for the finals, they series is played in Australia as had to beat Australia in Melbourne and they Australia has decided to scrap the tourna- created history by entering the finals for the ment from next season onwards and play bi- first time, in one of the closest ODI games lateral series. between these countries. Since the tournament was started in Australia set the tourists a target of 243 1979/1980, it has been held for 29 and Romesh Kaluwitharana, who made a successive years and without much sur- name for himself in that series put them in prise, Australia has won the competition on the box seat with 74 in 68 balls, opening the 17 instances, while England have won twice innings. De Silva, Ranatunga and with South Africa and Pakistan winning one Mahanama all chipped in with useful contri- each and the West Indies winning six times. butions, but none was able to finish things Much of their (West Indies’) success was off, staying till the end. When Ranatunga in the 1980s, where they won four of the five departed at 222, Sri Lanka still needed 25 runs to win. Once again Dharmasena (24*) tournaments they played. The three Sri Lankan captains for the tri-nation series in Australia from 1984-1995. , Ranjan Sri Lanka’s baptism to coloured clothing, and Vaas (13*) finished things off in style, white balls and day-night encounters was in Madugalle and Arjuna Ranatunga. taking Sri Lanka through, prompting wild 1984-1985, and that was a baptism of fire as with his first match winning contribu- lowed by nine wickets in Perth. defending World Champions to 228, the celebrations among the thousands of sup- Duleep Mendis’ Sri Lanka was taking on tion. Over the next 20 years, there was much The West Indies also beat Sri Lana by 82 tourists should have knocked off the target porters, in Melbourne. Clive Lloyd’s West Indies and Alan Border’s more of those and the lifetime achievement runs in Perth and they returned home with and they were well placed at 161 for four The first final went to the wire and Australia. of a hundred in the World Cup final. just one win out of ten games. Sri Lanka’s when Ranatunga and Gurusinghe were bat- Australia won by 18 runs, but the leg before 1984-1985 Series. Rumesh Ratnayake, made his debut at total of 91 all out in Adelaide is their lowest ting. decision that Kaluwitharana got raised Sri Lanka played ten preliminary round the MCG and took the Australians by sur- total against Australia in ODIs. But they lost their last six wickets for just many eyebrows. matches in this tournament and were beaten prise with a four wicket haul. His figures West Indies went onto win the trophy and 37 runs and fell short by 30 runs. The game He had been in terrific form in that series in nine games and won just one match, were impressive too as he finished with 10-3- were beaten in only one of their 13 games. was played on Boxing Day in front of over and not only the Australian players, even against Australia. They started off the com- 37-4 and Australia were restricted to 226. 1987-1988 series 45,000 people and a certain Sanath their umpires targeted ‘Little Kalu’. petition well in Sydney against the hosts. Sri Lanka’s reply was impressive and In 1987-1988 series, the role of leadership Jayasuriya made his debut for Sri Lanka at The second final at Sydney too was a Sri Lanka posted 239 for seven in 49 overs Dias and Mendis had taken the total to 150 for had changed in Sri Lanka and Ranjan 19. tough contest and once again Australia won thanks to and Amal Silva, three when Mendis was out. Madugalle had taken over as the captain. Sri Then they were taken to Perth and given by nine runs and this time too who scored half-centuries. In came Aravinda de Silva, who before Lana were beaten in Perth by Australia a real hiding, where Australia beat them by Kaluwitharana’s leg before decision was Dias hit a run ball 60 including two long, ran out his senior partner Dias, for a while New Zealand warmed up for the final nine wickets. But in the next game at the debated by many. boundaries. The Sri Lankans fought hard well made 48. by beating them in Sydney and Adelaide. Sri same venue, Sri Lanka defied the famous This was also the series where Muttiah and eventually lost the game by four wickets “I was just gutted. It felt terrible. Roy was Lanka’s only win came in their next game in pace quartet of Pakistan - Imran, Wasim, Muralitharan was no-balled twice for throw- as Australia got home with 16 balls to spare. my vice-captain and he was taking us to vic- Hobart where they won a low scoring game. Waqar and Aaqib plus leggie Abdul Qadir But from thereon, life became miserable. tory and I ran him out. Roy was such a gra- After restricting the Kiwis to 199 for and beat them by three wickets. ing and Sri Lanka launched the Jayasuriya- Their next game was in Hobart against the cious player and it would have been embar- seven in 50 overs, they raced to the target Sri Lanka restricted Pakistan to 222 and Kaluwitharana combination successfully. West Indies, the first ever One-Day rassing for me to return to the dressing room with four wickets to spare as Aravinda de their fielding was superb as there were three There also was controversy when the International played at the venue. and I thought, I am not going to give this up,” Silva and starred, with run outs and in the end, they got there with Australians declined the Sri Lankan cap- It was the game where a certain de Silva told ‘The Island’ of his match win- half-centuries. three wickets and more than four overs to tain’s request for a runner. Courtney Walsh, who would retire 19 years ning effort, sometime back. Later, they lost three close games. Two to spare. They lost a close series, but won many later as the highest wicket-taker in Test He just went in for the kill and you never Australia and one to New Zealand. In Athula Samarasekara with 66, Aravinda hearts and more importantly,this series was cricket, made his debut for the West Indies. get bored watching a baby-faced Aravinda Melbourne against Australia, they were de Silva with 40 and Pakistan’s bowlers with a huge turn around for Sri Lankan cricket.

ell . . . well, Yahaluweni. What is Dave Richardson along with Malcolm One final word, but not on the theme of controversial and what is not? Speed who fill this role. What they really fiscal accuracy and technology, but ability W know about the intricacies of laws and and performance. While most eyes are on It is an old conundrum (ah, that word What price their application is a point that seems to Australia, forgotten was how on the other again), and the answer really depends on have been overlooked. side of the Tasman, New Zealand bounced what side of the fence you are sitting. While New Zealand’s Doug Cowie, a back and gave England a thorough wallop And the problem is that everyone former Test and elite panel member is the in the 50 overs outing in Wellington. thinks they have the answer of what does technology in the ICC’s manger for the Elite umpires, he is While the T/20 slugfest may pull in and what does not constitute controversy. to be joined by other former Test umpires spectators, the skills on display are seri- Umpires making a mistake are laboured with as part of the list. Among ously diluted and frankly, ten overs into with so many explicatives these days that names forwarded are three respected the second game of that series was time to it is more than amazing there are those umpires in Srinivas Venkataraghvan, turn off the set and do something more who still want to do the job for the love of modern game? David Shepherd and Cyril Mitchley. productive with my time. It brings to mind the game. The late Bob Woolmer advocated in a recent valuable comment by a local those who felt the genuine dartboard practice area. Veteran journalists such as myself, 2001 a change in the ICC policy towards coach how batsmen were being denied the The Chesterfield first part of last When news agency reports about the and now a few weeks shy of fifty-three improving the rewards as well as having chance to learn skills by the short- week’s column and financial state of Sri Lanka Cricket are years in the trade with more skyward and Files umpires running the umpires side of the ening of the games from four to three headline ‘Find and made without correction, they are taken sea miles than the current Sri Lanka team game: just as there is a role for former days. shame these culprits’ to be an honest reflection of the board’s put together, also cop their criticism for players with in depth knowledge to email: [email protected] was harsh criticism. state of affairs. other reasons when treading on toes and become coaches, and also administrators It made some feel Now Nicholas, as a former county their hidden corns. who have business acumen but sound uncomfortable. But if player and captain, should know just how When my career as a budding leg spin- cricket knowledge, to fill the role as we look at the facts tough a role being an umpire can be. If ner was curtailed in New Zealand through administrators. and the headlines you are going to criticise, do it fairly and injury in the mid-1950s, the next best thing What has changed is the pace of the during the week, it is not get on a hobby horse, as so many do, to available was becoming an umpire. The game, and while there are those who con- understandable. be popular. pace of the game and the laws were so dif- tinually seek to have technology used There was Arjuna Now the International Cricket Council ferent in those days. In a sense it was a more, it is not that simple. These com- Ranatunga admitting has decided to implement overdue recom- more organised world. There was too, lit- ments have been expressed in these files that Sri Lanka mendations to improve the lot of the elite tle of the on-field the chatter that you get before, but an email from a former is broke and panel. Back in 2003, it had been suggested these days. umpire in South Africa puts another per- seeking Indian aid; it the panel be increased to at least fifteen But juggling umpiring and journalism, spective on this theory, and one that many suggests how the new members; also, there be longer rest peri- even then, was far from easy. But it was by Trevor are not going to like. president of the ods between series, improved financial fun. And it taught you a lot as well; getting Chesterfield “It is well known among players and board is saying there packages and a second tier level interna- to know the game through the laws and umpires that the technology available, was previous mis- tional panel to help alleviate the burden their implementation and develop a deep- that of hawkeye and snickometer, are management, without compromising him- by standing in limited overs international er affection. areas that are still not 100 percent accu- self by saying it, or clarifying his com- games and lesser Test and ODI series. No one said that umpires are perfect. rate. And this has been admitted by more ments. There is also the matter of umpires There are some excellent ones, some very than one TV production company. If Now it is claimed that the funds aren’t taking on more responsibility and step- good ones, and some ordinary ones, and umpires are to make decisions based on missing at all. That if we want to check ping in to cool tempers and over the top others who should rather be seen walking technology, which itself is not 100 percent out the development at Galle International sledging. David Shepherd was an ideal around the boundary as an exercise, wear- reliable, the margin of error still remains and Pallekelle near and other work example of how umpires managed the ing dark glasses, a white stick in hand and in the game. to improve Test stadiums, it is wrong to players on the field when the verbals holding the leash of a guide dog. “And as you will know from your say the funds have been diverted into pri- reached flashpoint and stepped in to And as with most young Kiwis, you are own years of umpiring that the on field vate accounts. But none of this was point- defuse the exchanges between players. Or taught to call a spade a shovel, and learn umpire/referee is a far better judge ed out when comments were made in news abuse, as Shane Warne flung at Andrew how the egalitarian side of the coin is the than is technology. In this case, as has agency stories circulating the world, Hudson at The Wanderers, in February honest approach to life to those with their happened more than once, if someone unless there is, as has been done before, 1994. xenophobic and fundamentalist views and uses technology and gives a wrong misleading facts that are created as a red The Australian Cricket Board as are intolerant of other points of view. decision what next? Referral of those herring. Cricket Australia was then known, unhap- Spending almost half a lifetime in the decisions by the third umpire to a Take, as an example, Channel Nine py with the wrist tapping the ICC dished apartheid state of South Africa was more fourth umpire, or even the match ref- commentator Mark Nicholas, bawling into out, slapped Warne with a hefty fine over than a big enough landscape and often eree?” his ‘I Love Gilly’ towel and how Rudi the unseemly incident. Why did the ACB emotional challenge as a journalist as So, yes, come on; to what lengths Koertzen gave another bad – lbw in this way they did? Simply to tell their players well, to know the difference between a do you really want to take referrals case - decision. Not that India or Sri that they were role models and to behave spade and a shovel. Often running the to if you cannot get the you Lankans are complaining. as players, not act as childish schoolboys. gauntlet of the apartheid security system want? His efforts to turn himself from a Pom But nothing, however, is going to stop was a tough call at times as criticism of Anyway, the TV production into an Aussie are a touch ingratiating for on-field talk, banter or verbal byplay; and the system wasn’t appreciated and sinister companies use snickometer and one who plied his trade as a Hampshire sledging has been around since WG Grace threats were made. hawkeye for the viewers not for player for some years. Okay, so Koertzen before and his playing kin in the 1860s. It is why it is easy to dismiss those the officials, as admitted by most made a mistake (not the first), but how However, there have long been recog- who call at odd hours of the day and ask of the TV production companies. often did Nicholas make an error in ask- nisable flaws in the selection policy of the stupid questions then hang up. When they Also, the lbw referral system has ing the opposition to bat, or go for a slog- elite panel of umpires and for a more are called back and rudely decline to been tried more than once at ICC sweep and get a top-edge. That is called a creditable system. To implement the plan, answer why they called, you know they level games (Champions Trophy), : Umpires can be excellent ‘misjudgement’ but when an umpire does past ICC panel members are being tasked are the ones with something to hide. Like but did not find many takers, which it, the explicatives roll out along with the with position of selector. Currently it is but they’re not perfect; nor are the those with a guilty conscience. included the players whose careers knives and the umpire’s back becomes a former Test players Sunil Gavaskar and batsmen or the commentators. Anyway, it maybe because there are depend on umpiring decisions.