Listen to us talk CB series shit. Its lenghty but its good for you.

Part 1 – Mahela is sexy when he is on top

Go check it here.

But the trademark undecipherable stare off into the distance with pursed lips and folded arms are in full flow. And oh how we’ve missed them.

Mahela Jayawardene is always thinking. And he is not afraid to show it. The formation of logical thought resulting in good decision making is something Sri Lankan leadership has been lacking for a few years. Yes years, Yes we mean to include Sangakkara as well.

Jaywardene and Sagakkara view the game differently. Sangakkara may well be a cricketing intellectual who can easily speak about cricket and its place in society and the fine line that separates them and teach us about why every man and woman alive would benefit from taking up the game.

And that is great and it offers hope that one day there will be an opportunity for him to make a big difference to cricket as a sport.

Jayawardene isn’t about any of that. He is about winning matches or at least putting Sri Lanka in a situation where they can win from. A lot of Sri Lankan fans are singling out Angelo Mathews over as where the game turned the other night. In a situation like that it’s common for some finger pointing towards the captain for actually bringing him on. But there aren’t any because Jaywardene made the right choice.

In 2 games Sri Lanka have not gotten anywhere near the sort of totals they need to win matches. But they have all been enthralling, nerve dangling stuff at the end and that is mainly because of Jayawardene aggressive, wicket sniffing, think-first attitude.

Ed Smith recently wrote about how captaincy isn’t about field placings or bowling changes but more about off field management, relationships with players. Captain Jayawardene is just that. And in more ways than one he was returning to a job he should never have left in the first place. And it shows. It’s strange to think that winning is secondary to watching Sri Lanka under Jaywardene again. But its nice to know Sri Lanka, as a cricket team with skill and intelligence, still exist.

Instantly the Sri Lankan team appears to be more focused, more settled and up to the challenge. Not every captain has that effect. Even when they appear to be just zoning out.

Although we wanted to get something new up on Pakistan, we realised that somtimes to see how far you have come, it is good to see where you have been. Also, we sort of got lazy and the CB series came and we had all those pics of Lucy Pinder to peruse so we ran out of time and got outdated a little.

But here is something we wrote sometime ago when the SL team were shot up in Pakistan and cricket seemed to stop forever.

Pakistan and Q, welcome back my friends

I’m reading a novel these days. It’s about two boys,brothers. I will talk to you about one. Terry.

Terry was an exceptional sportsman in his small town. Through his excellence he won the adoration of the whole community. Everyone loved him. Then something bad happened to him. He got in a scuffle, had a knife to his thigh and it destroyed him. No more cricket, no more football, no more nothing. It took away everything he ever lived for. He was made a cripple. Without actually being one.

To cut a long story short, Terry got into a life of crime and went to prison. A friend helped him get out after some time. When he came out, he blew up something which blinded the friend who helped him get out.

Things were never the same.

Terry is Pakistan in this story. Pakistan is great cricket nation which has produced GREAT cricketers. After getting in a bad way, it has destroyed the only friends they had.

I dont know what’ is going to happen to Terry- mostly cuz I haven’t finished the book.

And we dont know what will happen to Pakistan – because it is too soon.

What we do know is this. Just like in the story, people made sacrifices to help Pakistan. Yesterday it was people, men like you and me. Laying down their lives to save people they probably dint even know that well. If at all.

For so long Cricket has danced an uncomfortable tango with terrorism. We knew it was there but we dint believe it could actually affect us. When Australia and the western world acted like pussies, I laughed at them. Today I am wrong and they have been proven right.

Cricket now owes the people who died for our ignorance. What we owe them is to make sure that Pakistan does not become some distant relative who we gradually lose touch with.

Pakistan must play cricket. As often as they can and wherever possible.

The Sri Lankans were hurt, but they are fine. It is Pakistan that need our attention.

There can be no inter-board politics at this point.

The boards and the officials need to make sure Pakistan get their up coming matches moved to some venue, any venue. Security risks must be addressed. Player demands met.

As for playing cricket again in Pakistan, that is not important. After all we cant have everything. Their people have taken a hit at the very core of their beliefs. Cricket was often ,a much loved, alternative to the hard lives they live. A safe place, a simple place where all that mattered was the contest between bat and ball. Before any team can go there, Pakistan needs to sort it self out. Which might be years or even decades.

I cant do anything to change the outcome of Terrys life. It is already written. Literally.

But there are certainly a lot of things the right people can do to shape Pakistans future as a cricket team and a brother in the cricket fraternity.

Otherwise, the lives that were lost would have been for nothing.

About 2 years ago Kulesekara served a purpose. Now the very idea of him serves none. Kulesekara, I’m sure is a nice guy, he certainly likes to smile a lot on the field. If a cricketing version of Casper the friendly ghost was made Peter Jackson would be booking Nuwan on the first day. Maybe it is because he is so gentle and lovely that he doesn’t see it himself.

Kulesekara was once ranked the number 1 ODI bowler in the world. IN THE WORLD. Right now it sounds like this may have been a glitch in the ICC rankings. This of course, we know, is not possible.

He appears to be another beneficiary of Sri Lankas in ability to spot a crickter in decay and resolve it. Patches only work for so long until a real solution is needed.

A real solution is needed now. Giving Nuwan one of the 2 new balls is a crime so big that it should probably make you Salman Butts cellmate. Malinga needs someone to back up his aggression. 2 years ago Kulesekara complimented him with his steady dollies at home. Now, away, he is being found out and is out of depth. Him smiling throughout it all only makes it more painful to watch.

And no one enjoys watching something on its last legs. Except those who do.

Part 2 will cover a preview of some sort forf the CB series, if we get off our armchairs to actually record it.

Show Notes
Geoff Marsh Interview
Mahela’s Test Stats for Last Year

The Armchair Critics are
Damith (www.theflylsip.net)
Indika (Still on his Armchair)

In his first interview Ford has gone the obvious route and said that his long term goal is to make SL the number 1 side. If that isn’t your goal to begin with then I am not sure I want you in that job at all.

It’s quite depressing to think that Fords success might not even depend on him but the mood that the Sports Minister and Selectors are in at the end of a couple of series. He is lucky though, to have Jayawardene as captain because he can learn and feed off him quicker than had it been Dilshan.

He has gone onto talk about the 99 WC run out, Bob Woolmer and Hansie and you start to get a sense of a guy who has been through enough to have real perspective on the game and what is important in the modern day game. The rules for success, it’s temptations and the art of wilting under pressure. The latter however, is not something we prescribe in any shape or form.

When Marsh was asked to take a permanent holiday to go and watch his boys play, Upali Dharmadasa said Ford brings with him the necessary ‘skills to meet the demands of the modern game’. What at the time seemed like a bunch of PR tripe now seems to hold up a little. Of course it might still be a load of balls by the end of a couple of series

Ford will most  likely be using every bit of his worldly knowledge because he would’ve never have had to face up to the muddle and noise off the field as he will do in SL.

The South African  has been notorious for his gunshyness in committing to a side. Now that he has actually made the investment it is really now up to the SL Board, Selectors and Sports Minister to invest in him

I mean, for Christsakes, he remembers who Mahanama and Chandana were.

That Sri Lanka needed a change of captaincy was never in doubt and by and large Mahela was the only reasonable choice that Sri Lanka had. Sangakkara was never in the running because , while he was an average leader, he showed no interest in ever being at the helm once he had decided to step down. Actually, that is probably true for Mahela as well. But here we are.

To us the big question is how much can Mahela really achieve within a year ? True he is a great tactician and arguably the best leader since Arjuna but does he really have the Midas touch to put the breaks on this free fall ?

Sri Lanka are entering another tough year of cricket. Immediately on their horizon are Australia and India. One side looking like all they want to do is behead the other team and laugh at the other teams bleeding corpse and another team who are under tremendous pressure to perform and with a point to prove. Remember, India are still world Champions in the colored stuff. Then comes England at home. A team whose spin deficiencies have been found out in ridiculous fashion, at a time when Sri Lankans spin options are at their weakest. An Asia cup is wedged in between.

If the FTP is accurate, Sri Lanka then have Pakistan at home. And going by Pakistans recent form, this will prove to be the toughest home tour for Sri Lanka this year, when Sri Lankas form has been a shadow of their former home dominance in decades. Then the Kiwis arrive with their new 4 man pace attack. Sri Lanka v pace is not a battle I look forward to these days.

In short Sri Lanka have 7 home tests (if the FTP is accurate) and a bunch of ODIs and the 2020 WC at home. While it would be a good PR exercise for the team and Mahela to try and win the bastard world cup, it wont really reflect how good a team SL actually are.

Even if Sri Lanka do relatively well in these home tours does that necessarily mean Sri Lanka are back on track ? Taking on 2 teams who are relative rookies v Spin on alien conditions and doing well will look good from the outside but wouldn not really offer gauge of substance. If they do well against Pakistan then that can truly be counted as a victory. Or are Sri Lanka just so desperate for a performance worthy of their past that any fight put up  against these teams will be lauded as ‘Sri Lanka being back’ . It’s a dangerous pitt to fall into and Mahela, at least, will need to have that perspective.

The question that really needs to be asked is what the end goal is of having Mahela as captain for a year. The quote from SLC is to add stability. Even if Mahela somehow manages to rally Sri Lankas fortunes and the team starts winning under him, how will stability be retained at the end of the year when he steps down ? Sri Lanka will need to reinvent the wheel once again. We don’t claim to be experts but that somehow doesn’t sit well and sound right to us.

The biggest issue Mahela faces personally is scoring runs. This is another issue with appointing Mahela as captain, because at the moment, he is a liability as a player. Giving him the captaincy might mean Sri Lanka will need to carry him, in all formats, simply because he is the captain. That also does not sound right to us.

To us the best solution is for Mahela to retire from ODIs and 2020s at the end of the year. Giving him the year that he needs to sort through the rubble. And then Split the captaincy and for it to be offered to Mathews for the short stuff. Leaving Mahela to focus solely on tests. Sri Lanka are at a stage where they really do not need him in the ODIs anymore. This was proved a little  in the last couple of games in SA. This will allow Mathews to grow into his own man and have enough time to get ready for 2015. With guys like Dilshan and Sanga still in the team that will provide enough of a influence on how to go about things.

To me for this move to have any substance it cannot be capped at a year. Sri Lanka needs Mahela at the helm. And if his batting record as captain is  evidence enough, then Mahela probably needs the captaincy as well.

What he achieves or doesn’t this year could well prove to be the ‘be all end all’ of it for Sri Lanka.

Of course, if the Mayans are right and none of this will really matter at all by December.

Then it came. Suddenly. Overnight. Sort of  like that jerky moment you feel yourself fall in a dream. As soon as it arrived we weren’t sure if it were ready for it. There we were, ebbing and flowing in our minds about this very change, for months on end. Now that it was finally here, we still weren’t sure if it was right. It didn’t quite feel right. But we were glad it had come. As with a new house, we just told ourselves it needs time to settle.

Change, we believe can be the catalyst for an upturn in fortune.

Regretably, it could also be a reaction to a prolonged period of  misforture, which, given time and more perseverance could have turned a corner.

Either of these is still a possiblity. That is the beauty of not knowing the future.