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| Saturday, 24 July 2004 |
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World Cup should be priority From the press box The national selectors will have to put their heads together and take some tough decisions if Sri Lanka is to make any impact at the next World Cup tournament in three years from now in the Caribbean. From what is taking place presently with regard to selections, it seems the same old tactics are being adopted to protect senior players and retain them in the team at the expense of young blood. This is not something new in Sri Lanka cricket. One good example is the 1999 World Cup in England where Sri Lanka failed miserably to defend having won it three years ago. They retained 10 of the squad of 14 players who had won the Cup for them in 1996 and the results to say the least were disastrous. Sri Lanka beat only Zimbabwe and Kenya and failed to get past the first round. Unless the present selection committee put their foot down hard and take decisions in the interest of Sri Lanka cricket and not individuals, a repetition of the 1999 debacle can be expected in the Caribbean. With a Sri Lanka 'A' team comprising many young hopefuls currently on a tour of England, now is the ideal time to give exposure to those the selectors think have the potential to perform in three years time at the World Cup. There is enough and more time for these players to reach maturity and prepare themselves for the tournament given that they are selected on merit and are backed fully by the selectors. This would no doubt instill the confidence into them. The ills of Sri Lanka cricket has been that a selection committee is not given enough time to implement whatever plans they have for the future. Somewhere down the line an administrative blunder will take place, and in the process a different set of selectors will be appointed who think differently. Thus there is a lack of continuity in this area and more often than not Sri Lanka cricket ends up being the loser. The best thing that happened to Sri Lanka cricket was the appointment of an interim committee soon after the 1999 World Cup. With the former set of selectors having failed miserably in their selections a new committee under former Sri Lanka Test opener Sidath Wettimuny was appointed. They took some hard and forthright decisions whereby expediently leaving senior and experienced players out of the one-day side and bringing in only young and youthful talent, which today is serving Sri Lanka cricket well. Had that exposure not been given to these players at that time, Sri Lanka would never have managed to be as competitive as they are today. The present trend of things sees the wind blowing in the wrong direction once again and the present crop of selectors headed by Ashantha de Mel, a former Sri Lanka Test fast bowler should ensure they don't fall into the same trap as their predecessors. Their focus should be on the 2007 World Cup and by now they should start slotting a few names into a shadow team, which should more or less, make up the final squad in three years time. Kudos to the Minister of Sports for not entertaining back room tactics. He gave his full backing to the selection committee and told the perpetrator to settle whatever problems he had over selections with the selectors. The lack of such foresight and character by the higher authorities in the recent past led to a former selection committee undergoing great difficulties in the selection of teams. It has even gone to the extent of selectors resigning from their posts. Politics should be kept out of sport. Although the Sports Minister has a say on the appointment of selectors it is encouraging to note that on this occasion he has kept himself away from interfering in selection matters. It is best left to the experts. That is the message the Minister conveyed to those who sought his assistance through the back door. It is also a message to other sports bodies. This Minister means business. |
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