Tuesday 15th February 2011 15

Press Reaction to ’s World Cup triumph England walked to the gallows like criminals rather than martyrs. There must be surer heads in inter-school than this bunch of Englishmen. Indian Express after England’s BY REX CLEMENTINE He knew I could hit the ball hard and quarter-final loss to Sri Lanka he wanted me to do just that. But END OF THE WORLD FOR long with whenever I got a start, I was supposed PATHETIC ENGLAND and , Sanath to go on. I was made to believe in Headline, Sunday Mirror, March AJayasuriya is the other crick- myself. One thing that really worked 10 eter to have represented the country in for us was that our fitness levels were HAPLESS, HOPELESS, HUMILI- five Cricket World Cups. His 38 World amazing. We had worked extremely ATED Cup appearances are only second to hard on our fitness and I felt that I had When you know that a player is a class Jayasuriya: Well, it was an Headline, Independent on and Glen McGrath, who the ability to bat for longer. Nobody act, it’s tough to drop him. He was bat- interesting game. The South Sunday, March 10 have played 39 games each for realises this, but I feel that’s one area ting beautifully in the nets and there Africans got everything wrong you WE MUST GET RID OF LORD’S Australia. we had an edge over the others. was nothing wrong, but he couldn’t know. We had the Duckwroth/Lewis LOSERS When Jayasuriya was initially convert that form in the middle. Well sheet in hand. Marvan got a hun- Headline, News of the World, picked to the side, it was felt that he Question: In the first round the pressure to drop him was massive. dred and we were under control March 10 was in the team more for his bowling game against India in Delhi you But we just resisted everything. If you until it started raining. We contin- The England team and the system than as his returns with the got a quick 79. Did you target take Adam Gilcrhist in the last World ued playing for about five overs and which produces it is a heavy lorry in bat were mediocre. But the 1996 World Manoj Prabhakar in particular in Cup, he had a horrible tournament, but it got extremely difficult for our the slow lane being passed by a suc- Cup turned everything upside down that game? he fired big in the final. That happens spinners to grip the ball. Eventually cession of sports cars. following his blazing half-centuries Jayasuriya: Not exactly. We had to with class players. Unfortunately it they got everything wrong and Christopher Martin-Jenkins, against India and England. It was a chase 270 odd and that was a huge didn’t happen with our player. If you crashed out of the tournament. Daily Telegraph, March 11 tournament where everything that score in 1996. The Indians had to see today, that player is the key mem- Jayasuriya touched turned gold as he defend that total and we knew the ber of our batting line up at the Question: In the last World Annihilation by that mighty cricket- finished with seven , including Cup in the Caribbean, you were ing nation Sri Lanka - one of the most three in the semi-final and five catch- the sixth highest getter with predictable results of the World Cup - es, joint second highest in the tourna- over 450 runs including two cen- brought the usual demands for mass ment. He was named Most Valuable turies. How satisfying was it to sackings, promises of fresh starts and Player of the 1996 World Cup and do well in that tournament. threats of revolution. We have heard Wisden broke an age old tradition by Jayasuriya: I was dropped from them all before - and seen English naming him one of Five Cricketers’ of the side a year or so prior to the cricket plod on, blind to the rest of the the Year despite not playing the previ- World Cup. Then I worked hard on world, still running and playing the ous season in England. my game and regained my place in game for the benefit of the pensioners For most part of the decade that the side. I believe 2007 was my best who take their Thermos flasks and followed, was the World Cup. From the very start of Marmite sandwiches to our barren country’s premier batsmen. the competition to the end I was county grounds. In today’s ‘Memorable World Cup Peter Johnson, Daily Mail, Moments’ Sanath Jayasuriya speaks March 11 on carrying out the instructions It is impossible today to be Indian he got from the team manage- pressure was on them to moment. I am glad we didn’t and not be ashamed. ment to the letter during the defend that total. We just drop him during the 2003 tour- Indian Express after India’s 1996 tournament, hitting Manoj tried to play some positive nament. Had we dropped him, semi-final loss Prabhakar out of international Part 41 cricket and that worked off he would have probably gone India has succeeded in establish- cricket, leading the team to the very well. The team those out of the system. ing the point that it deserves to be semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup, days was playing as one unit. contributions of for his The players were happy if some- Question: In that excommunicated from the world of success in the 2007 tournament and one did well and that was a big plus for tournament the tied cricket. Cricket is civilisation. India, let lots more. us in that tournament. After beating match against South us have the grace to admit, has yet to Here are the excerpts. India in that game, a lot of us felt that Africa is being still spo- attain that level of civility. We are a Question: What are your memo- we will go a long way. ken about. How tensed was primitive tribe incapable of accepting ries of the 1992 World Cup? Some it out there. the harshness of the world. people still talk about that catch Question: After all the euphoria Calcutta Telegraph, Calcutta, com- you took to dismiss Jonty Rhodes. in 1996, the 1999 tournament was a menting on the same match, March It was categorized as one of the disaster. What went wrong in 14 best catches of the tournament. England? Make no mistake, the best team Jayasuriya: I always put a lot of Jayasuriya: Well the thing is in won cricket’s World Cup. Beyond effort to do well on the field. I take a 1999 we had too many cooks. It was a question Sri Lanka were the most out- lot of pride in my . I think disaster. There were lot of issues with standing team of this tournament. It Pramodaya Wickramasinghe was the management. The fact that too dared to be different; it dared to be bowling and I was fielding at extra many individuals were involved itself. cover. The ball was hit hard and I messed things up. It was very unfor- Greg Baum, The Age, leaped high and managed to take a tunate and personally I couldn’t Melbourne, March 19 one-handed catch. It was a good feel- make any big contributions too. ‘This was combustible ing. Then, before that there was this strokeplay that challenged high scoring game against Zimbabwe. Question: Then you were That was our first game of the tourna- leading the side in 2003. You our assumptions. Steady ment and Zimbabwe posted 312 and in reached the semi-finals, but starts ... playing your- the run chase Arjuna batted well and I there’s this feeling that self in ... wickets in managed to get 30 odd and we won in the team could have done hand ... such tenets the last over. But that was a disap- better than that. had been adapted, pointing World Cup. I don’t think we Jayasuriya: It’s sat- for sure, to the played as a team. I was only a young- isfying given the fact demands of one- ster at that time and I could see there that we had such a day cricket, but were cliques within the team and poor outing in 1999. never so freely when that happens you are not going The thing about abandoned.’ to achieve anything. the 2003 World Wisden Cup is that one Editor’s Notes Question: Your aggressive bat- or two of our key in 1997. ting was one of the innovations players weren’t fir- during the 1996 tournament. What ing. One of them had a were the instructions given to you disastrous tournament. ahead of the tournament? When a key player does- Jayasuriya: Nothing but to go n’t deliver and when among runs. The after the bowling right from the word the team depends on coaching staff, guys like go! That was it. The thing is, we had a one or two individu- Tom Moody and Trevor fabulous batting line up in 1996 and we als, it’s tough. Penny gave me lot of confi- could lose a few early wickets. It did dence. Tom made a huge difference happen in the semi-final and the final, Question: How personally in my case. Then we had but at the end it proved to be not much big was the pres- Mr. Michael Tissera as the Manager of an issue. It was a gamble, but when sure to drop that and I believe he’s one of the best man- it worked off, the team really benefit- player when he agers I have worked with. Tom was an ed. Dav as the coach gave me lot of was not getting interesting coach. He was tough when confidence. Mentally he made me any runs? he had to be tough and was quite sup- strong and he constantly told me that I Jayasuriya: portive when someone needed help. could take any bowling attack apart. He went out of his way to do certain things for us and all in all it was an interesting campaign.

Question: How big is the dis- appointment of losing that final? Jayasuriya: As I said before, one man took the game away from us. He had a terrible time with the bat and everything started clicking in the final. Sanga and I were batting well chasing that massive target and we added over 100 runs for the second . Then the rain came and sud- denly the game was out of our reach. I felt that it simply wasn’t our day. Sanath Jayasuriya walks back to the dressing room after his whirlwind 82 off 44 balls in the World Cup quarter-final fixture against England in Faisalabad.