Cricket under Sana

• How a man with little or no experience in coaching has changed fortunes of Sri Lanka cricket

Sanath Jayasuriya keeps a watchful eye on players during practice session

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq 

Sri Lanka cricket has never had it so good in recent times. Their performances have been topsy-turvy to say the least due to the lack of consistency, until of course the arrival of Sanath Jayasuriya as the Head Coach.

The sudden resignation of Chris Silverwood as Head Coach following Sri Lanka’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean in June, even before Sri Lanka Cricket could have any internal discussions as to whether it would like to extend his contract further, left them with no choice but to appoint a local coach due to the short space of time.

India were due for a white ball series in July and Jayasuriya, a former Sri Lanka Captain and a legend in the game with little or no experience in the field of coaching a national team was given the task as Interim Head Coach for a period of three months. It was a long shot Sri Lanka Cricket was taking with that appointment.

What Jayasuriya brought to the table was different. He played his cricket with passion and to win. These qualities he expected from the national team. Being a strict disciplinarian and fitness fanatic he soon had the attention of the players that they were there to play cricket and nothing else. Outside distractions were anathema and the appearance of players too had to change. They were asked to refrain from body piercing, tattoos and bleached hair. In next to no time all the players had virtually fallen in line.

And the result?

Sri Lanka were onto winning ways once again.

The players have their fullest support from the Head Coach. They have been given the freedom to express themselves freely with no inhibitions and today the dressing room is a one big happy family with the support staff also backing the players to the hilt.

With that kind of atmosphere the team had to succeed. The biggest plus point that Jayasuriya brought to the team was that he conversed in the local dialect in a language that the players understood whether it was stated in pure Sinhala or in slang depending on the circumstances.

The Jayasuriya era began with a 3-0 loss to India in the T20I series. The loss did not dim the team spirit because they got a lot of positives out of it which was transferred to the next series the ODIs. The first match ended in a tie, but the next two Sri Lanka won quite handsomely by margins of 32 and 110 runs to clinch the series 2-0. For the first time in 27 years Sri Lanka had beaten India in an ODI series. That was just 

the beginning.

Further success followed on the tour to England where Sri Lanka deprived England of a clean sweep of the three-Test series by winning the final one at the Oval to win a Test match in England after 10 years.

New Zealand were Sri Lanka’s next victim, succumbing to a 2-0 sweep at home, a Test series win achieved over the Black Caps after 15 years. That success was enough to convince Sri Lanka Cricket to give Jayasuriya a permanent contract as full time Head Coach until the end of the 2026 T20 World Cup.  

West Indies arrived for a white ball series next. They were blanked out by 2-1 margins in the T20I and ODI series respectively. It was the first time Sri Lanka had beaten West Indies in a T20I series and clinched an ODI series against them after 4 years.

New Zealand are currently back in Sri Lanka for a white ball series. Sri Lanka triumphed in the first ODI on Wednesday which turned out to be their first win over New Zealand in 9 years. Two more matches remain in the series at Pallekele on Sunday and on Tuesday. A win in either of them will give Sri Lanka a series win against New Zealand after a lapse of 12 years.

Winning at home is important because there is nothing better than playing under familiar conditions and with the crowd to support you. Sri Lanka had lost that winning streak at home that has seen them plunging down in the ICC white ball rankings, having to qualify to play in the 2023 Cricket World Cup and also failing to qualify for a place in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Following Jayasuriya’s stewardship white ball cricket is certainly gaining momentum and Sri Lanka is gradually getting back the consistency that was lacking, while the Test team has improved in leaps and bounds.

The real test for Sri Lanka will come in the next two series next month when they travel to South Africa for a two Test series that is vital for their qualification for a place in the World Test Championship final, and to New Zealand in December-January for a white ball series consisting of 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs. Having played on slow spinning home surfaces, the South African and New Zealand series will test the skills of the batsmen and the bowlers on fast moving pitches and prove how good a team Sri Lanka is at home and abroad.