Sports
When your best brains call the shots
by Rex Clementine
There’s a feeling that the national cricket team has turned things around in white ball cricket after some humiliating experiences in the last seven years where there were whitewashes in plenty and failure to earn automatic qualifications for ICC events. Sri Lanka’s come from behind win in the Asia Cup in UAE is definite indication that the team has certainly made a leap forward. A few people were quick to take credit for the team’s success. As they say, victory has thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan.
There are some individuals who have enjoyed Sri Lanka’s recent success but haven’t gone onto claim credit. Former captain Aravinda de Silva and his Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Roshan Mahanama, Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan certainly deserves much credit for revamping the cricket structure and introducing some drastic change.
One of Aravinda’s committee’s main decisions was to bring in youth for white ball teams. The young team wasn’t covering themselves in glory at the initial stages and the idea was even frowned upon. However, with constant exposure and with Dasun Shanaka chosen as the new captain, the team started to compete and earlier this month in UAE hit a purple patch. To win five games in a row was quite an achievement and when you think that three of those wins were against India and Pakistan, world’s number one and two ranked teams, you realize how special this was.
There was also a new fitness regime that was introduced around that time. It became a bone of contention with several players becoming ineligible for selections after failing fitness tests. It helped that Sri Lanka had a Head Coach in Mickey Arthur who valued fitness immensely. This resulted in players taking fitness seriously and the consequences of that were less injuries and improved performances.
Restructuring of the coaching department by depending heavily on local talents was another area that was done by the Cricket Advisory Committee. It was not only the national team that was looked at but dedicated coaching staff for under-19, development squad and the ‘A’ team were timely moves.
Another decision taken by them was introducing a new payment scheme for players whereby a performance based system was introduced. Although it was challenged at the start, the stakeholders bought into the new system as it was on merit rather than seniority. The Cricket Advisory Committee’s tenure was short lived but the structures that they put in place were vital in reviving the fortunes of the national cricket team.
Not all parties agreed with the changes that were introduced but they were needed. The Asia Cup win was Sri Lanka’s first major series triumph in eight years. If Sri Lanka wishes consistency on the cricket field moving forward, we need to make most of some of the best brains that we have in the game. Credit should go to Sri Lanka Cricket as well for agreeing to take a back seat and allowing their former captains to call the shots on vital matters in a bid to make the national cricket team competitive again.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Jay Shah, Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), was held on Friday (19) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat.
Vinicius Junior scored and assisted on one of Matheus Cunha’s two goals as five-time champion Brazil eliminated Haiti from the World Cup with a 3-0 victory.
Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, became the first team guaranteed not to reach the knockout round. Meanwhile, the Selecao got the decisive performance they needed on Friday.
Cunha, the Manchester United standout, got the start and showed with every surf-and-slide goal celebration why he should have been in the starting lineup in Brazil’s listless 1-1 draw against Morocco. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made the surprising decision in the opener to instead insert Cunha as a late substitute.
Cunha thrilled the Brazilian fans who made up the bulk of the 68,324 spectators at Philadelphia Stadium when he tapped in a rebound for his first career World Cup goal. He then sent a left-footed strike into the upper left corner for a 2-0 lead in the first half against the over matched Haitians.
Brazil forward Raphinha, who was subbed out with an injury in the first half, had an early goal disallowed on an offside call that only temporarily muted the yellow-clad Selecao fans in an otherwise festive atmosphere at the home of the two-time Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles — whose cheerleaders did their part to rally the crowd.
Haitian fans danced and sang “Grenadye Alaso” (“Grenadiers to the Attack”), the traditional battle cry of the national team. Brazilians chanted back, reminding them their country is the five-time World Cup champion and the home of the king of football: “A thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals! Only Pele, only Pele!”
Cunha added to the frivolity in Philadelphia, home to nearly 6,000 Brazilian immigrants, when he flashed his familiar surfing celebration.
Vinicius, whose 32nd-minute goal helped Brazil earn the tie against Morocco, helped Brazil get on the board when his shot was stopped by goalkeeper Johny Placide, and Cunha was there to slam home the rebound to make it 1-0. Cunha extended both arms as if trying to catch some tasty waves and was mobbed by his teammates.
Vinicius slid a pass through the defence to find Cunha, and he powered one high into the net that Placide never had a chance to stop to make it 2-0. Cunha slid on his stomach and mimicked a swimming motion that all but put Haiti in the drink — and validated the Brazilians’ fans’ decision not to tempt fate and dress the Rocky statue in team gear for bad luck.
Vinicius closed the half with a goal, and that was enough to keep Brazil — seeking its first World Cup title since 2002 — happy before it closes Group C play against Scotland on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Neymar was ruled out of Brazil’s second straight match because of a lingering calf injury.
[Aljazeera]
World leader Rumesh Tharanga registered his third consecutive Diamond League victory as he beat two-time world champion Anderson Peters for the top place in Doha on Saturday.
The 23 year old delivered a throw of 88.68m to beat Peters (86.38m) by more than two metres.
While USA’s Curtis Thompson finished third with a throw of 85.99m former World and Olympic champion Niraj Chopra was placed fourth with a throw of 85.69m.
With yesterday’s victory in Doha Tharanga now has the top five winning marks of the season. (RF)
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