By Rex Clementine

Australia’s support to develop and nurture the game of cricket in Sri Lanka is unparalleled. From voting in favour of granting Sri Lanka Test status in 1981 to donating US$ 100,000 so that the board could afford a qualified foreign coach in 1994, the Australian Cricket Board has been a pillar of strength to us. But Arjuna Ranatunga’s side’s tour of Australia in 1995 was a bitter pill to swallow. Twenty-five years later, many admit that this tour was the one that transformed Sri Lankan cricket – from also-rans to fierce competitors.

Leading television personality Brian Thomas once asked Steve Waugh about sledging as his side was notorious for what they called ‘mental disintegration’ of the opposition. Waugh’s reply was interesting. He said, “Arjuna Ranatunga is the biggest sledger in the world. One Ranatunga is equal to 11 Australians.”

The 1995 tour brought out the ugly side of Australians. The Sri Lankans responded with uglier stuff and players of both sides remained at daggers drawn for years. It is the tradition in Australia that the losing side visits the winners for a beer after a game. That protocol was breached. Sri Lankans didn’t buy into the argument that you play hard on the field but cooled things off at stumps. They took the Aussies head on.

There were controversies – plenty of them. During the opening Test in Perth, the tourists were accused of ball tampering. But later they were exonerated. Then in the second Test at MCG, Murali was no balled for throwing. There were some 55,000 fans witnessing the Boxing Day encounter and later it emerged that some officials of the Australian board were aware that the spinner was going to get a public humiliation. But the greatest thing about Australians is that they owe up to their mistakes. Of all people, Steve Waugh in his autobiography ‘Never Satisfied’ admits that it shouldn’t have happened.  

Then there was horrendous umpiring and many felt Sri Lankans were hard done by. The other great attribute about Aussies is that they call a spade a spade. Former captains Richie Benaud and Ian Chappell in commentary didn’t mince any words about the standards of umpiring.

Amidst the chaos, the competitive nature of the Sri Lankans was almost forgotten. Their bowling was one dimensional those days and was not able to take 20 wickets. Batting, however, was classy.

Hashan Tillakaratne posted a hundred in the opening Test. To date, he is the only Sri Lankan to have scored a hundred in Perth, considered the fastest wicket in the world. Asanka Gurusinha came up with a back to the wall hundred at MCG in the Boxing Day Test. The tour also proved to be the arrival of Sanath Jayasuriya as a Test match opener following his century at the Adelaide Oval.

It was quite a formidable attack too with Glen McGrath and Shane Warne in their prime and Sri Lankans returned home with their heads held high, something that you don’t find happening too often when going down under.

Aravinda de Silva was a disappointment. Much was expected of him and the way the Aussies celebrated his dismissal each time gave you an indication how much they valued his wicket. In six innings, he managed only 98 runs with a highest score of 28.

Aravinda did finish up as the highest run getter for the team in the tri-nation competition that took place simultaneously along the Test series. But the team expected much more from him.

West Indies were the third team in the tri-nation competition and they were quite a strong force at that stage. To their credit, the Sri Lankans defeated West Indies and qualified for the finals.

The tour ended late January and the World Cup was just two weeks away. This outing had toughened up the Sri Lankans like any tour of Australia would do.

After Sri Lanka qualified for the finals of the 1996 World Cup, Arjuna was asked which opposition he would prefer in the final. He said, bring on the Aussies. Not many teams wanted to play the Aussies in a World Cup final at that stage. But the Sri Lankans were up for it. And the rest as they say is history.