Sunday’s incident at Pallekele International Stadium where a section of spectators held up play in the third one-day international between Sri Lanka and India by pelting plastics bottles onto the playing area is deplorable. That kind of behaviour should not be repeated in future because the country’s culture is not associated with such acts.
Sri Lanka has earned the respect of all other cricketing nations around the world as a well-behaved country where not only the players but also the spectators are held in high esteem. So why demean that status that has been built up over the years.
It is not new for Sri Lanka to undergo defeats in this manner. They have had worse runs in their cricket history with stronger teams than the current one which has been beset by a series of injuries to key players. For the record missing from the line up are Kusal Perera, Asela Gunaratne and quite recently Danushka Gunathilaka and Dinesh Chandimal in batting, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Kulasekara and Jeffrey Vandersay in bowling - all through injuries. If Sri Lanka had the services of these players in their line up the current ODI series against India would have had a different result because even without them the present crop of youngsters are giving the opposition a good fight before losing.
Sri Lanka’s worst run in ODIs is between January 1987 and January 1988 where they went through 14 consecutive matches without a win. In Test cricket Sri Lanka’s worst record is 21 consecutive matches without a win between March 1986 and November 1992.
Considering these factors it is unfair by the spectators to vent their fury at the ground which directly affects the players in the middle. If the fans feel angry at the recent spate of defeats and they have a bone to pick with the current administrators for the parlous state to which the country’s cricket has fallen they should show their dissension in front of Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters and not at the playing venue.
On Monday the country’s Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy played an unusual role coming to the rescue of the country’s struggling team.
In an emotional plea after the team had lost the third ODI at Pallekele, the former captain of the Sri Lanka rugby team and Royal College, Harrow School, Cambridge University and Tamil Union cricketer Dr Coomaraswamy in a lengthy statement said that while such unsavoury crowd behaviour has been experienced in other countries - in fact, cricketers in some countries have been subjected to much worse treatment -, such “despicable actions” have not been known within these shores.
“Sri Lanka fans have supported their national teams, particularly the cricket team, loyally through both successful and challenging times. It should not be forgotten that the Sri Lankan cricket team has brought great honour to the country. Even during the country’s darkest hours, Sri Lankan cricket was a beacon of excellence and success. Since the World Cup 1996 victory, the Sri Lankan team has had a record that has been surpassed only by Australia in ICC tournaments, involving all the major cricket playing countries. The Test team has also been highly competitive. The Sri Lankan brand was both respected and admired, even loved, throughout the cricketing world. Sri Lanka has also produced a number of iconic players who have thrilled fans throughout the cricketing world,” the Governor said in a statement issued through the Central Bank media unit.
He said it was extremely disturbing that these lofty standards of behaviour among the fans is showing signs of deterioration just when the young team is in transition following the retirement of some world-class players. Lack of stability off the field has further complicated matters.
“The behaviours of the fans at the last two ODIs is particularly unacceptable because the young Sri Lankan team played with plenty of spirit in both games and competed vigorously against a strong Indian team which is currently ranked number one. The unruly crowd behaviour not only demoralizes our young cricketers and hampers their development but it also brings disrepute to the country. During a 20-year career with the Commonwealth Secretariat I had the opportunity to visit all the major cricket playing countries and several other ICC members around the world. Sri Lanka seemed to be everyone’s second favourite team after their own country. With the waning of the powers of the great West Indian teams during the 1990s, Sri Lanka stepped in to fill the breach as crowd-pleasers who played an attractive brand of cricket with players who were fine ambassadors for the game and the country,” he wrote.
“Seeing crowd unrest on their screens or reading about it is likely to act as a deterrent to visit the country. Such indiscipline, if it worsens, can also influence a wider group of tourists who have many countries to choose from. Tourism has a strong multiplier effect in the economy with its diverse domestic supply chains. Anything that hinders its development will have an impact on a wide cross-section of our people,” the Governor further noted.
“Crowd misbehaviour also undermines basic values which are important in a stable society. An inability to accept negative outcomes after a rule-based sporting contest runs counter to the outlook of the vast majority of Sri Lankans. The bad behaviour at cricket matches by a small minority must therefore, be condemned. It is out of character and wholly unacceptable. Showing disrespect to our cricket team and the country they represent should on no account be part of our sporting culture,” he added.
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