1995-2015 success down to extraordinary cricketers, not the system – Samaraweera

By Harsha Amarasinghe 

Former Sri Lanka middle-order batsman Tilan Samaraweera believes that the country’s success from 1995 to 2015 was down to some ‘extraordinary cricketers’ and not the system.

“We have to forget about 1995-2015,” Samaraweera told Daily Mirror when asked about Sri Lanka cricket’s staggering slump in the last seven years. 

“From 1995 to 2015 what happened was, our cricket was anchored by highly talented cricketers. Sri Lanka were fortunate to have cricketers of that quality. For instance; Sanath Jayasuriya – extraordinary, Lasith Malinga – a unique bowler, Muralitharan – again a unique bowler, Ajantha Mendis – a mystery spinner. What happened was our cricket survived thanks to these kinds of extraordinary cricketers. We have also seen how school cricket has lost its quality. Clubs are also responsible for this. We don’t have a proper preseason. When I came to Victoria and during my time in Worcestershire only I realized what preseason is. I mean, preseason is not when you run 100m ten times or play in the nets with someone bowling. If you look at these countries, preseason is central to everything they do. They have every little detail about players within the preseason. Further, if a batsman plays for a club with a certain number of shots, come the next season they will have one or two more in their bag. So, players develop to that top level in no time. There is no point changing coaches from time to time, all they have to do is change the structure,” Samaraweera, who is based in Australia at present coaching a premier club and Victorian Under-19’s, said. 

The elegant middle-order batsman was a part of the Sri Lanka national cricket team that finished runners-up at the 2011 ODI World Cup. Even after a decade, the defeat to India in that final is still spoken. Many at the time believed that Sri Lanka missed the trick by batting first, while some pointed fingers at selectors for fielding unfit players. Most recently, former Sports Ministe Mahindaananda Aluthgamage alleged that the final was fixed. However, Samaraweera who made 21 runs in the final claimed that Angelo Mathews’ injury was the main reason they lost the World Cup.

“People are entitled to say whatever they want, but in my honest opinion, I think the main reason to lose that final was down to the unfortunate injury to Angelo Mathews because he is an all-rounder and when he is around it is very easy to balance the team, and at the same time this shows how much you could miss a player of that calibre. When he got injured we had to make so many changes and I don’t think it was ideal,” Samaraweera shared his views.

The former Ananda College star batsman was shot in his thigh when Sri Lanka team was targeted by a terrorist organization when they were touring Pakistan in 2009.

“To be honest, I did not know that I had been shot initially. Afterward at the hospital, I was told by Pakistan doctors that I had been shot, but that has not done any major damage. They said that I could get back to cricket sometime in future. I didn’t believe that. I thought they were probably saying these things just to console me. When I got back to Sri Lanka, Dr. Pinto and a few other doctors had a look at it and they too said that I would be able to play cricket again, but still I didn’t believe it. However, thankfully, Dr. Pinto and Dr. White really treated the injury well, so I could get back to cricket very soon,” revealed the former cricket great.