Wednesday 8th February, 2012 BY REX CLEMENTINE Following Sri Lanka’s recent poor run, where ets to Mendis in the Test series that followed. For him to play in the IPL. The same politicians cleverly they lost eight series on the trot (four in Tests and once, Muralitharan had become an also ran. One of made good use of the rift between the players and n the mid-90s, playing for SSC, when the four in ODIs) Jayawardene has been the ‘go to man’ the main reasons for Mendis’ early success was the board. They sacked the board and went on to opposition was putting up a partnership, and he will today begin his second innings as Si Mahela’s clever use of the Umpire Decision Review sign television deals with blacklisted companies, “Ifielding from short midwicket I used to pon- Lanka captain. System that the ICC had introduced for the first dragging SLC into disaster as the company defaulted der a means to break that stand. A couple of deliver- Jayawardene’s first stint as Sri Lanka’s captain time. payments worth millions of US$. ies later I would have a fair idea which bowler to use was a huge success as he was both aggressive and The ICC confirmed Mahela’s position as one of In a bid to have things his way, Mahela joined and what field to set to take that wicket. As I made imaginative and backed a host of young players. the world’s leading captains when they named him forces with that bankrupt outfit called the Sri Lanka up my mind, I found Mahela Jayawardene sprinting As a result, there were rare Test wins at Trent the ICC Captain of the Year at the annual awards. Cricketers’ Association, run by average ex-crick- to me and saying; why don’t you try this to get the Bridge and at the Basin Reserve. The national team ‘The sky is the Limit for Mahela’: ‘The Island’ eters, who seized on the crisis and got themselves breakthrough? It just happened to be the same thing whitewashed England 5-0 in England and as captain, rejoiced with the country’s cricket supporters. appointed as Members of Cricket Interim I had been thinking. At that point, I had played over Mahela led from the front. During the 2006 tour of But then came the IPL … Committee. Thus began the infamous journeys of 75 Tests, won a World Cup and done it all. But here England, he set the tone with an impressive hundred As captain of Sri Lanka, although he failed to the likes of Nishantha Ranatunga and Pramodaya was an 18-year-old, just out of school, whose think- at Lord’s, which helped Sri Lanka save the first Test, win the World Cup, Jayawardene had been as good Wickramasinghe as cricket administrators. ing was in the same capacity as that of a veteran which they were doomed to lose within three days. as Arjuna. But the area where the latter had the So irritated were Mahela and the crowd about Test cricketer.” – Arjuna Ranatunga edge was that he was a leader of men apart from Arjuna’s insistence that international cricket take Ranatunga wasn’t alone in praising Mahela. precedence over IPL that when they won There were lots of others who were excited by the Asia Cup in Karachi, the team went Mahela Jayawardene’s captaincy skills. He was on to snub Ranatunga, who was present at appointed vice-captain of the national team a month the venue representing Sri Lanka Cricket after his 22nd birthday, ahead of several other sen- So irritated were Mahela and the crowd about Arjuna’s insistence that inter- as its Chairman. Player agent Charlie iors such as Marvan Atapattu, Muttiah Austin, whose conduct Ranatunga had Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. Eventually, when national cricket take precedence over IPL that when they won the Asia Cup in questioned, was having the last laugh. he was appointed captain in 2006, he took Sri Lanka Karachi, the team went on to snub Ranatunga, who was present at the venue SLC bankruptcy: Players’ role to new heights. There has been so much written and representing Sri Lanka Cricket as its Chairman. Player agent Charlie Austin, said about Sri Lanka’s cricketers going unpaid since the World Cup, owing to the whose conduct Ranatunga had questioned, was having the last laugh. board’s financial crisis. But one of the causes of the financial crisis has been the players themselves, for they, led by Mahela, once again, pleaded with politi- cians to raise their salaries significantly. The Match Fee for Test Matches for each player was increased to USD 5,000 overnight from USD 3, 500 while the pay- ment for ODIs was increased to USD 3,500 from USD 1,750! Addressing a media briefing soon after taking over the captaincy, Mahela was asked about his role during the IPL Captains saga. He defended his decisions by saying that there had been some “injustice caused to the players,” but conveniently forgot that while seeking permission to play in the IPL he had told SLC in a letter, “my commitment to Sri Lanka cricket will always be the priority.” Ethical dilemma Again, last year, together with Kumar Sangakkara and other senior players, he arrived in England late due to IPL com- and mitments. He never adjusted to English leaders conditions during the Test series, as he Rise to eminence being a very good captain and like Imran Khan of failed to score a half-century in six innings. Glory days continued, as Mahela Pakistan, he was able to change the cricket destiny Four days before he was appointed captain, established a World Record 624 run stand of Sri Lanka. responding to a query by The Island, Jayawardene with Kumar Sangakkara at the SSC on his Had Arjuna not taken on the Aussies in 1999, denied media reports that he had agreed to take over way to a career best 374. A thrilling hun- risking his own career, Muttiah Muralitharan would the captaincy at the end of the tour of South Africa. dred in the second Test at the P. Sara Oval have been history. “I’ve seen the articles and it’s been there for the helped Sri Lanka win the series and Then in 1998, in England, when a young player on last six months and I know that. But those things are Mahela had replaced Sanath Jayasuriya tour was caught stealing a mobile phone and when not under my control,” Jayawardene said. as the country’s premier batsman. senior players, including the respected Aravinda de “I’ll think about it and I need time. It’s a big one. Mahela’s stocks as one of Silva lobbied to have the youngster sent home imme- It’s a big question. Not the easiest one. But I need the world’s leading cricket diately, Ranatunga staunchly resisted the call togeth- time to think about that,” he further said, when captains rose steadily er with team manager Ranjit Fernando, as they asked whether he would take over the captaincy if later that year in New sensed the young player could harm his life, follow- offered. Zealand. He backed ing the embarrassment. Instead, he endorsed a hefty Sri Lanka Cricket, in less than an hour after con- Chamara Silva after fine on the player and at the end of the tour told him firming that T. M. Dilshan had stepped down as cap- the batsman had in no uncertain terms that he had gone on his last tain, issued a media release announcing Mahela’s collected a pair in tour as a Sri Lankan cricketer. And he ensured the appointment as captain! Christchurch on young spinner never played for Sri Lanka, as long as One of the main reasons for T. M. Dilshan’s fail- Test debut and in he was captain. Only strong leaders can disagree ure as captain was Mahela himself. He failed to the next Test, with their own mates and then go on to make unpop- make a half-century in Test series losses to Pakistan, Silva smashed a ular decisions. England and South Africa under Dilshan. Having stunning 151 and Like Arjuna, Mahela, too, had his opportunities been one reason for the team’s dismal performance, helped Sri Lanka to rise up to the occasion and show the way, during a how could Mahela agree to take over from Dilshan? win the second Test crucial juncture of Sri Lankan cricket history. But After South Africa took a 3-0 lead in the ODIs, and square the he failed miserably, becoming a prisoner at the Mahela skipped the last two ODIs in Kimberley and series. hands of senior players and that player agent known Bloemfontein. It was said at that point that the Jayawardena for crooked deals – Charlie Austin. team’s leading batsman was rested as a precaution- strongly resisted Putting IPL before country ary measure as a series was coming up in Australia. moves to unleash The decision by Sri Lanka’s cricketers to skip a Ajantha Mendis in the Test tour of England and instead play in the IPL was Playing through pain is part of representing your hostile conditions of a landmark decision in the history of Sri Lankan country. Remember Rawalpindi 2000, when after Australia, but timed his cricket. It showed where the players’ priorities lay Waqar Younis had caused multiple fractures to entry to perfection by and politicians instead of the cricket board was call- Arjuna Ranatunga’s thumb? introducing the mystery ing the shots on vital cricket matters.