World champions demolished (28 MAy 1999)

28 MAy 1999

World champions demolished

Ivan Corea

India dealt a mortal blow to Sri Lanka, the World Champions at Taunton, leaving behind the dream of lifting the World Cup for a second time. The post-mortem has already begun, it is 'too much, too little, too late,' said one cricket enthusiast. There was heartache in the camp of the Sri Lankan fans, many are perplexed at Sri Lanka's disaster in the 1999 World Cup. What stumped Sri Lanka? Was it the English conditions, was it the white ball, was it too much cricket prior to the World Cup, was it the disaster in Australia, was it the failure of our batsmen to make any sort of impression with only the odd glimmer of brilliance - Romesh Kaluwitharne's half century at Lords, Marvan Atapattu's half century at Worcester, Aravinda de Silva's great knock at Taunton, Arjuna Ranatunga's brace 42 against India. The questions are now flying around.

Sri Lanka were demolished by India. Our bowling was so below average, Ganguly and Dravid thrashed the bowling attack to kingdom come, sixes and fours flying all over the place. India had turned the tables on Sri Lanka with a vengeance. Sri Lanka's abject performance was the talk of the town according to one sports journalist. Many were disappointed, they had expected great things from the World Champions.

The expectations, the hopes, the dreams of so many Sri Lankans all over the world went up in smoke. The Sri Lankan team have been struggling from the first match at Lord's. Sadly, it is now too late. However, we must remain grateful to Arjuna Ranatunga and the team for winning the World Cup in 1996, for bringing glory to Sri Lanka - they transformed the one day game - they will always be remembered for their brilliance in Lahore.

A new chapter must be opened in the history of Sri Lankan cricket, new blood is needed - we really need new young batsmen who are allowed to blossom and prosper - free from the bassles of cricket politics. A new breed of fast bowlers are absolutely essential if we are to make any impression in the next World Cup. We must cut away from the bad and look forward to building on the foundation provided by Arjuna Ranatunga and the team. Sri Lanka's World Cup hopes may be in pieces at the moment, but it does not mean the end of the world. In the ultimate analysis, the hopes and aspirations for the future are in the hands of our people and the next generation of young cricketers waiting in the wings. We must forget the politics, it has caused too much pain, the squabbles has only furthered the sense of gloom in Sri Lankan cricket. We have the talent, the enthusiasm, the passion for cricket - the champions may be out of the World Cup, but a new horizon awaits the next generation - we have the capacity to win many more World Cups - action must be taken immediately to forget the disappointment and build on the successes. Sri Lanka's cricketing future depends on it.

Source :: The Daily News (https://www.lanka.net/lakehouse/)