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Player of the Match Angelo Mathews
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews underlined the value of experience in the Sri Lanka team when he guided them to a thrilling last ball victory by three wickets against Zimbabwe in the first T20I played at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium on Sunday and then took a dig at the former selection committee accusing them of having personal agendas that kept players like him out of white ball cricket.
Returning to the T20I side after three years, the 36-year-old cricketer showed that experience matters in certain circumstances as Sri Lanka found themselves in. Chasing Zimbabwe’s moderate total of 143-5, Sri Lanka’s top order failed to deliver when they slumped to 83-6 in 14 overs. It was left to Mathews to pull a rabbit out of the hat and guide the team to victory along with another experienced hand Dasun Shanaka (26*), scoring an invaluable 46 off 38 balls (5 fours, 1 six) to pick up the Player of the Match award.
Mathews in fact fell with Sri Lanka still six runs short with two balls remaining. But Dushmantha Chameera batting in the company of Shanaka found the boundary off a top edge off the first ball and then lofted the final delivery to vacant midwicket and picked up the two runs required for victory for Sri Lanka to go one-up in the three-match series.
“In the last two LPL seasons I batted and bowled well, but unfortunately, I wasn’t selected for the T20 World Cups. I wasn’t given reasons for that. If you take decisions that are driven by agendas, these kinds of things can happen - we haven’t even qualified for the Champions Trophy,” said Mathews at the post-match press conference.
“As players we have contracts, so we can’t speak about them to the media. You would have seen the things that happened in the past few years. If you don’t have underhanded goals, and you’re working only towards the success of the team, whether you are a player or a selector, the team does well. If you’ve got your own goals, that’s when there are problems. If you look at where the team has fallen to, we should all take responsibility. We should now work on how to climb out of that.”
“But one thing I believe is that if you train and play wholeheartedly you can create an environment for yourself where you can perform. I kept my efforts up over the last couple of years. I think I can play for a little while longer. I am ready to give my best to the team.”
The Pramodya Wickrem-asinghe headed selection committee omitted several senior players like Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne from the white ball squads and concentrated on building a side purely based on youngsters, which in the end proved quite unrewarding going by the recent performances.
Following Sri Lanka’s disastrous performance at the last Cricket World Cup and the appointment of a new Sports Minister Wickremasinghe’s committee was sacked and replaced by a new one headed by former white ball skipper Upul Tharanga that comprised past players Ajantha Mendis, Tharanga Paranavithana and Dilruwan Perera.
“The new selectors don’t really have an agenda. They are players who have played in the last few years. They know plenty about the players, and from what I can see they talk to everyone and communicate very well. That’s what needs to happen,” said Mathews.
“It’s quite clear - the communication with me and the selectors. They asked me what my plans were for the future and their plans as well. We had a very good discussion. They said that I’m in their plans for the T20 World Cup, and if I could bowl a few overs. I said, ‘Absolutely if I can help the team in any way’.”
“I’ve been bowling in the LPL, and you saw me bowling in the one-dayers as well recently. If I can bowl a few overs that helps the balance of the team and the captain can decide whether he wants to play an extra batter or a bowler. It’s about keeping myself fit and getting those workloads as well, so I can give my 100%.”
Speaking further Mathews said, “The two new captains are excellent. Even Sanath Aiya (Jayasuriya) is working hard from morning at Khettarama. I think we’ll be able to turn this into a good team. Today our fielding was very good. The coaches, captain and seniors have to create an environment for everyone to play without fear. Everyone gets criticised, but the environment within the team is important. If we look after that then we can make a big change.”
“Our immediate target is the T20 World Cup. We can’t control things like missing out on the Champions Trophy any more. What’s in front of us is the T20 tournament. We have to prepare a good team for that and win back those things that Sri Lanka has lost. You need experience when you go into these tournaments. That’s what the selectors said as well. To some extent you need those older players. You learn from having made a lot of mistakes. I have played a lot of T20s, even in the LPL. And the only way to get that experience is to play a lot of matches. We have to share that experience and also perform in order to keep your place. This team has a good balance. You can’t take Zimbabwe lightly. Thankfully, we were able to win, and if we’d lost a wicket or two there we’d have been in a really tough situation.”
