Queensland tried everything within their means and even beyond to win the Sheffield Shield but to no avail. They would come so close season after season, but were unable to deliver the knockout punch. Their misery was put to an end when John Buchanan took over as Head Coach in 1994.
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Buchanan later went on to become Australia’s Head Coach and guided them to unprecedented success that included back to back World Cup wins and 15 consecutive Test victories. He is Australia’s most successful coach ever.
Buchanan was methodical, thought outside the box and brought in fresh thinking to the way the game was played.
Chandika Hathurusingha, the Sri Lankan Head Coach, seems to be heading in the same direction.
To start with, one of the first recruitments that Hathurusingha made was bringing in psychologist Dr. Phil Jauncey. When Buchanan took over as Queensland Head Coach, one of the first recruitments he made was also bringing in a psychologist. Incidentally, it was to Dr. Jauncey that Buchanan had turned to. Queensland enjoyed quite a bit of success in First Class cricket from thereon.
Dr. Jauncey was introduced to Hathurusingha by former Australian Test cricketer Michael Hussey. Since then, wherever he has coached, Hathurusingha has brought in the expertise of the Queenslander. Dr. Jauncey’s first sessions were conducted before the team took wing to Bangladesh and he is expected to return to work with the players before they leave for the West Indies.
Buchanan also observed that the teams were not placing enough emphasis on throwing. Having asked Cricket Australia to support him in employing a throwing coach, what he did after that was even more interesting. Instead of searching for someone within cricket circles to improve the skill of throwing, Buchanan brought in someone from the United States. Knowing the important role throwing plays in baseball, he hired baseball coach Mike Young in 2000 and Australia enjoyed success as a brilliant fielding unit.
In a bid to make Sri Lankan cricket great again, don’t be surprised if Hathurusingha too brings in professionals who have little to do with cricket to raise the standards of his players.
Realizing that they need to get out of the mess fast, Sri Lanka Cricket has backed the Head Coach to the hilt.
Last year was a painful one for the fans of Sri Lankan cricket as the national cricket team hit new lows. In order to come out of the mess, the Head Coach has been given a free hand and he is putting the pieces together and there seems to be real purpose with Sri Lanka’s preparations with the World Cup less than 15 months away.
At the age of 35, it looked like Jeevan Mendis’ international career was over. His selection for Bangladesh was a surprising one and although he has not done anything remarkable with the bat or ball, he has made an impact with his outstanding fielding.
At the same time, despite being a key performer during NCC’s victory in the domestic T-20 competition, fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been given the cold shoulder. Although Chairman of Selectors Graeme Labrooy has attracted some criticism for keeping Malinga away, it is obvious who is calling the shots! If Hathurusingha wants to, he would even bring Muttiah Muralitharan out of retirement to represent Sri Lanka and no one will stand in his way. This could be a ploy to get Malinga back into the fold fitter and hungrier.
Like Buchanan, Hathurusingha is a clever student of the game. Each player has been assigned a particular role in the team and the coaching staff is fine tuning skills of the players to make them the best they can be.
It was an absolute treat to watch how Thisara Perera curbed his natural instincts during the stiff run chase of 175 earlier this week against India. His off-side play has improved considerably along with his shot selection. That is not all, in a bid to improve his all-round game, there are moves now to bring the all-rounder back to play First Class cricket. The 28-year-old has not played First Class cricket now for more than four years. The purpose of getting Thisara to play First Class cricket is to work on his patience when it comes to batting and to improve his stock ball.
It is also very exciting to watch the national team train these days. The last few days the team was specifically working on game situations. How it happens is that two batsmen are chosen and they are told that they need to score 50 runs off four overs. Then the team’s best four bowlers are called up to bowl an over each. At the conclusion of the exercise, if the batsmen had failed to achieve the target, the options they took are discussed and then the better options that they could have taken are discussed at length.
There has been never a doubt about the talent in the country. The problem was with the mindset. Addressing that issue is exactly what has helped Sri Lanka turn things around since the arrival of Hathurusingha.
Another thing that he has harped on is taking smart options. He has also given some players the license to go after the bowling. Kusal Mendis for example was told to go after the spinners during the tri-nation final in Bangladesh. The fifth over bowled by Mehidy Hasan was carted around the park as Mendis scored 23 runs in the over including three sixes and a four. Mendis got carried away and gave Mashrafe Mortaza the charge as well in the next over and was dismissed. What he was not told was to go after the fast bowling. Mendis wasn’t penalized, but instead made to understand where he had failed. The communication has been excellent. Mendis has been in superb nick since then.
Exciting times are ahead for Sri Lankan cricket. One man has made so much of a difference.
