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Sri Lanka Under-19 Captain Sineth Jayawardena
Sri Lanka Under-19 Vice-Captain Malsha Tharupathi
Sri Lanka Under-19 Coach Jehan Mubarak
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Moving the venue from the subcontinent (Sri Lanka) to the fast and bouncy wickets of South Africa could have an adverse effect on the performances of some of the Asian countries taking part in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, more so Sri Lanka, who until 11 November when the ICC decided to suspend Sri Lanka Cricket and took away the hosting rights, had focused their energies on preparing a squad suited to subcontinent conditions.
“Our biggest challenge will be adjusting to the conditions in South Africa. That’s a mental switch from preparing to play in Sri Lanka to playing in South African conditions. To be honest we haven’t prepared them for that,” said Sri Lanka Under-19 Coach Jehan Mubarak ahead of the team’s departure to the Rainbow Nation today.
“The entire year, even the selections have been based on what kind of subcontinent players we are going to take using a more spin dominated attack. Even when we went to the Asia Cup (in UAE) we had an extra spinner in the squad because we were thinking of playing two left-arm spinners in the World Cup. Then we had to change that combination and bring in an extra batter. Preparation wise I don’t think it is ideal for a South African tour. But it is the same for all the countries because they would have prepared themselves to play in Sri Lanka and then have to change to play in South Africa. Playing in South Africa might suit some countries better like England, Australia and South Africa.”
Play what’s in front of you
“I don’t want to put the change of venue as an excuse if we don’t perform well. As a sportsman and as a cricketer you have to on that day, play what’s in front of you. That’s the message I have been giving the boys. Just because you are going to South Africa don’t think that if we don’t make it to the semi-finals you have an excuse to say that we were prepared to play in Sri Lanka and not South Africa. Wherever you play it’s not okay to lose.”
Asked to what lengths Sri Lanka are prepared to go in the World Cup, Mubarak replied, “Realistically looking at first getting through to the semi-finals. Given the way the tournament is formatted, after you get through the first round you carry the points into the second round and if we carry enough points (4 points) from the first round, one win in the second round (Super Six) can get us through to the semi-finals. We are most likely to meet the West Indies, South Africa and England in the second round. In subcontinent conditions we would have had the upper hand but batting in South Africa it will be a bit more like a level-playing zone.”
Sri Lanka’s first round opponents in Group C are Zimbabwe and Namibia at Kimberley and Australia at Bloemfontein. In the second round, although there are three teams coming from other groups you play only two of them depending on how you finish in the group. The maximum matches a team will play before entering the knockout stage is five.
“The group is formatted in such a way that all three teams are strong. There’s no easy team in the second round,” said Mubarak. “In the first round I don’t think there is a big threat from the fast bowlers. Australia has one fast bowler. Sometimes the wickets in South Africa can be flat tracks very good for batting with not much bounce. Kimberley hasn’t played a lot of cricket because it is not a main cricket ground in South Africa. Till we get there it will be difficult to know what the wickets are like. Our practice games are also at a different venue in Benoni. If there is extra pace we might find it difficult. More than the pace the bounce might trouble us a little bit. Extra pace we had faced against West Indies and Pakistan. They had good fast bowlers but not the same bounce.”
Motivating the boys
Following two bad defeats at the hands of UAE and Bangladesh in the Under-19 Asia Cup, the team needed a mental morale booster to regain their confidence ahead of the World Cup.
“We did a couple of motivating sessions with Bhathiya Arthanayake (trainer, motivation speaker and sports mentor). The boys got a bit more lively and energetic after the session and the practice session after that was also a bit more upbeat,” said Mubarak. “That is something that should be part of our cricket program even at national level, to have these mental skills and soft skills programs. It gives a lot of confidence to the players. The soft skills program gives them some homework to learn things on their own, to have your own game plan when you go to the middle. To do your homework where cricket becomes a lifestyle.”
“It is something that they are not used to. The coaches tell them what to do and they go and do it. They always look for directions, therefore they are not responsible for the decision-making because decisions have already been made for them by someone else. It has been the practice from junior levels in schools. Trying to create it in the Under-19 environment is difficult because you need results as well. Especially when you lose games it comes back on the coach. It’s a fine line.”
“The key point is where they have to think on their own and make decisions in the middle. As coaches we often think that we can control what is happening in the middle, but we can’t. It takes about four months to change that thinking and for them to start thinking on their own. It’s a huge drawback. If we can do that at school level it will be so much easier. That’s why there is a huge gap between Sri Lanka and other sides playing at Under-19 level.”
Sri Lanka Squad for Under -19 World Cup
Sineth Jayawardena (Captain, Royal College, Colombo), Pulindu Perera (Dharmaraja College, Kandy), Hirun Kapurubandara (St. Joseph’s College, Colombo), Ravishan Nethsara (P. de S. Kularatne M.V., Galle), Rusanda Gamage (St. Peter’s College, Colombo), Sharujan Shanmuganathan (St. Benedict’s College, Colombo), Dinura Kalupahana (Mahinda College, Galle), Malsha Tharupathi (Vice-Captain, Richmond College, Galle), Vishva Lahiru (Sri Sumangala Vidyalaya, Kalutara), Garuka Sanketh (Lyceum International, Wattala), Duvindu Ranatunga (Mahanama College, Colombo), Ruvishan Perera (Ananda College, Colombo), Supun Waduge (Trinity College, Kandy), Vihas Thewmika (Thurstan College, Colombo), Vishen Halambage (St. Peter’s College, Colombo).
Travelling Reserves: Dinuka Tennakoon (Trinity College, Kandy), Hiran Jayasundara (St. Joseph’s College, Colombo)
SRI LANKA WORLD CUP MATCHES
WARM-UP
GROUP C
