Sports
Why back incorrigible Dickwella?
by Rex Clementine
Since the arrival of the new set of selectors, there has been a revival for the Sri Lankan team. Scorebooks say they have won five series inside two months, but what has happened behind the scenes has gone unnoticed.
Discipline and hard work are the buzz words in the new set up. The number of players who turn up for training during day offs is great to see. You also see seniors early at venues on match days to do their warm-ups. These are all good signs. There is a new culture within the team. But now that Niroshan Dickwella is in the side what will happen to that culture? It remains to be seen. Hopefully it’s not back to square one.
The selectors have taken so many steps in the right direction and their first mistake is to back Dickwella. Apparently, some harsh words had been spoken reminding Dickwella of the need to remain grounded, but if what we have seen from him all these years is an indication, this is a bad call. There’s enough evidence to suggest that here is one player who is impulsive and incorrigible. Someone who doesn’t want to learn or improve.
Why Sri Lanka has suffered for so long is because they were backing the players with wrong attitudes. Dickwella was one such. At the same time, they gave the cold shoulder to players like Sadeera Samarawickrama, who had all the right attitudes.
Dickwella is the most talented cricketer to play for Sri Lanka since Angelo Mathews. A confident and fearless cricketer you expected him to go places the moment he scooped a Kagiso Rabada thunderbolt clocked at over 150 kmph over the wicketkeeper’s head. But indiscipline curtailed his career.
Selection committees for a decade treated Dickwella with kids’ gloves. None tried to drive home the point that his casual attitude was unacceptable for a professional sportsman. How can you explain 54 Tests and no hundreds?
Dickwella is no fool by the way. He is a very intelligent man. Probably no one else in the team has read and understood Laws of Cricket than him. He should have been groomed as a captain but he himself ruined his career.
Such is his impulsive nature that bowlers get the better of him by playing with his ego. Here’s a classic example.
In Galle, in 2021, Dickwella was on 92 and James Anderson was playing with the batsman’s patience. He was operating with an extra cover and an unconventional fielder at wide mid-off. The trap had been set for the left-hander to drive. He could have seen off Anderson’s spell in a bid to reach his maiden Test hundred. But discipline is something in short supply for Dickwella and he ended up driving one straight to Jack Leach.
Such is his disruptive behavior that even when lady luck is smiling at him all day he can’t go on to score a hundred. Want another example. Here you go.
In Antigua in 2021, he was dropped at gully. Then he edged one and was caught down the leg-side but was not given out. In the same innings the ball rolled back into the stumps but the bails weren’t dislodged. He moved on to 96 and a maiden century was there for taking. Then there was a ball just outside the off-stump which he tried to cheekily send to third man region by opening the face of the bat and ended up dragging the ball onto the stumps. Anyone else would have been gutted with such a mode of dismissal. Not our man.
Dickwella has also cost the team dearly with his poor reviewing. Obviously he has got the best view and captains ask for his counsel. But due to his rashness rational is overtaken by emotions. There have been some games where he has burned reviews even before the team’s best bowler Rangana Herath had come on to bowl. To trust Dickwella with your reviews is like handing the Central Bank to Arjun Mahendran.
Why our cricket has suffered is that we have backed the wrong guys over the years. Dickwella has been a bad influence to the side and there is very little indication to suggest that he has changed. When he was finally axed in 2023 after an extended run we thought good riddance of bad rubbish. But now he is back. Is the circus back too?
Shammi Silva has once again taken guard at the top of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), securing a fourth consecutive term as President at the Annual General Meeting, held amidst much fanfare at Colombo’s Cinnamon Grand Hotel yesterday.
Already calling the shots as President of the Asian Cricket Council, Silva’s crowning achievement in recent years has been bringing the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup to Sri Lankan shores. The marquee tournament will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India next year, a feather in the cap for the country’s cricket administrators.
Silva’s administration has made a concerted effort to bridge the yawning gap between domestic and international cricket. One of the bold strokes in this innings has been trimming the number of First-Class teams – a move aimed at upping the quality and sharpening the edge of domestic cricket.
SLC Ex-Co also played a straight bat when it comes to developing cricket beyond Colombo’s city limits. High Performance Centres have sprung up across the outstations, rolling out the red carpet for raw talent from the hinterlands, who had previously been left in the pavilion.
The school cricket circuit too has been given a shot in the arm, with infrastructure development and skill enhancement taking centre stage. By strengthening the grassroots, the current administration hopes to widen the talent pool and unearth future stars of the game.
SLC’s balance sheet tells its own story – healthy and in the black. Over the past five years, the board’s financial stability has not only benefited cricket, but has also allowed it to lend a helping hand to other sports disciplines, at the request of the Ministry of Sports.
With over three decades of experience under his belt as a sports administrator, Shammi Silva is the long-serving President of the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC), one of the game’s oldest institutions in the country.
The 64th AGM was largely a case of “same XI, new season,” with only one notable change to the playing field – Secretary Mohan de Silva making way for seasoned campaigner Bandula Dissanayake. No stranger to the inner workings of SLC, Dissanayake has previously chaired the Tournament and Umpires Committees, and brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa and former First-Class player Ravin Wickramaratne retained their Vice-President slots, while Sujeewa Godaliyadda continues to hold the Treasurer’s post. Chryshantha Kapuwatta and Lasantha Wickremasinghe will once again don the hats of Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, respectively.
The election, part of SLC’s biannual cycle, was overseen and greenlit by the Election Committee chaired by retired Court of Appeal Justice Malani Gunaratne.
Vidyaloka College fought back on the back of a valuable century by Nimesh Aavinda to pull off two wickets victory over Kingswood in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘B’ cricket tournament final played at Saliyapura, Anuradhapura on Monday.
Vidyaloka had a deficit of 36 runs in the first innings but a combined effort helped them restrict Kingswood to 161 runs in the second essay. They were left with a target of 198 runs to chase. And they achieved it with Nimesh Aavinda top scoring with 115 runs.
Scores
Kingswood
227 all out in 83.3 overs (Chanul Kodituwakku 33, Aadil Sheriff 69, Kavija Gamage 25, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 56; Seniru Ninduwara 4/74, Lidula Nuwanga 2/58, Nimesh Aavinda 2/48, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/19) and 161 all out in 65.3 overs (Kavija Gamage 57, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 45; Seniru Ninduwara 2/45, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/07)
Vidyaloka
191 all out in 79.3 overs (Lidula Nuwanga 81, Seniru Ninduwara 34, Tharusha Jayamith 23; Kavija Gamage 4/63, Upadi Jayawardane 2/41) and 200 for 8 in 48.3 overs( Nimesh Aavinda 114, Lidula Nuwanga 34, Seniru Ninduwara 28; Kavija Gamage 3/80, Dominsara Peiris 2/51)
by Reemus Fernando
There was a growing sense of uncertainty surrounding the hosting of the 120th edition of the Lovers’ Quarrel Big Match after Richmond College raised concerns over an attempt by Mahinda College to field a newly recruited player in the team at the historic match which was scheduled to commence on Thursday.
Richmond College authorities have informed Mahinda that they would pullout from the match if the newly recruited player who played for St. Aloysius’ in the just concluded Under 19 cricket tournament is included in the Big Match team.
According to sources Mahinda College have recruited St. Aloysius’ skipper Charya Paranavithana at the end of the Under 19 cricket tournament and are yet to register him under their name with Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association. They have included the player in the Big Match squad.
A source close to Mahinda said that though the player is included in the squad he was not certain to be in the playing XI.
Tourists and residents evacuated as volcano erupts in Iceland
Mandalay was the ‘city of gold’ – now it reeks of death
PM visits France to attend high-level conference at UNESCO
-
Sports3 days agoSri Lanka’s eternal search for the elusive all-rounder
-
Features7 days agoCelebrating 25 Years of Excellence: The Silver Jubilee of SLIIT – PART I
-
News4 days agoGnanasara Thera urged to reveal masterminds behind Easter Sunday terror attacks
-
Business7 days agoCEB calls for proposals to develop two 50MW wind farm facilities in Mullikulam
-
Business5 days agoAIA Higher Education Scholarships Programme celebrating 30-year journey
-
Features7 days agoNotes from AKD’s Textbook
-
News2 days agoBid to include genocide allegation against Sri Lanka in Canada’s school curriculum thwarted
-
News3 days agoComBank crowned Global Finance Best SME Bank in Sri Lanka for 3rd successive year