If
one analyses the recent history of Sri Lankan Cricket, there is a line of
thought that has been running through, for a better part of a decade. A quest
for a fast bowling all-rounder has been one common goal shared by all of the
recent administrations. With each emergence of a promising star, Sri Lankans
have been quick to label him as the next all-rounding superstar. However, the
question is, have these players lived up to their expectations?
Probably
one of the earliest all-rounding fast bowlers (during the past decade) that Sri
Lanka introduced was Suresh Perera. A free flowing right-hander, with lots of
strokes, who bowled nippy medium fast bowling, was an instant hit. Perera made
quite an impact, in an ODI series against India, even turning out a man of the
match performance. Injury and then a suspect bowling action limited Perera’s
showing in the national team. His comeback did not last long as he struggled to
repeat his earlier form.
Perera
paved the way for Kaushalya Weeraratne. After a strong showing in the Under 19
World Cup in 2000, Weeraratne was fast tracked into the Sri Lanka Team. Some
experts went so far as to dub him the Sri Lankan Lance Klusner. Weeraratne,
despite his talents, faded away as fast as he appeared.
Next
came Hasantha Fernando, whom the selectors placed a lot of faith in. He was so
well thought of, that he replaced the unfortunate Thilan Samaraweera in the
Test side. The tour of South Africa showed the limitations of Fernando, who
hardly managed to impress either as a batsman or bowler.
Then
it was the turn of Gayan Wijekoon. Picked in the team as an all-rounder, Wijekoon
ended up batting lower than Chaminda Vaas in the lineup. His gentle medium
pacers failed to disturb top-level batsmen.
Probably
the most successful all-rounder out of these players is Farveez Maharoof.
Maharoof made an instant impact both as a line and length bowler and lower order
hitter. However, the selectors had a confused perception about Maharoof’s role
in the team. Picking him for Test Cricket, and then dropping him from all forms
of the game when he failed to perform. Maharoof can consider himself unlucky to
be left out of the ODI team.
During
a season of injury to Maharoof, the selectors put their faith in Angelo
Mathews. Mathews grabbed the headlines as he proved himself to be a solid
batsman and adequate bowler. He has progressed to become the vice-captain of
the team. However, the initial magic of Mathews has begun to fade. Bowling
nothing more than medium pace, Mathews’s role as an all-rounder is
questionable. With hardly any wickets at Test level and very brief spells of
bowling, Mathews is turning into a batsman who bowls occasionally.
The
latest all-rounder the selectors are placing their bets on is Thisara Perera.
Bursting on to the international scene, in ODIs, with a string of match winning
performances against India, Perera’s contribution with bat and ball was
notable. His inclusion into the Test team raised a few eyebrows, due to his
limited success at First Class level. He failed to trouble the scorers much in
the series against South Africa. Additionally, his medium pace bowling has
failed to cause much discomfort to the South African batsmen.
The
selectors and commentators have now labeled Kosala Kulasekara as the new
all-rounder. What little we’ve seen of Kulasekara is far from impressive. His
First Class record clearly shows that there are no grounds for calling him an
all-rounder. Hence, these so called all-rounders, seen through the years, are
nothing more than bits and pieces players, without proper skill in either
discipline, or have turned into batsmen who just ball occasionally. Looking at
the figures, it becomes apparent that the Sri Lankan Cricket Administration is looking
to pin labels on players who do not fit the bill. It’s high time they stopped
looking for the elusive fast bowling all-rounder, setting these players
unreasonable expectations, and work with what they have in reality.
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