Sri Lanka’s chances of lifting the ICC Champions’ Trophy took a nosedive with an inglorious exit in the sudden death clash with England at Southampton. Marvan Atapattu’s team took wing to England quietly confident of extending their unbeaten run of 16 ODIs. However, the Asian champions were not able to adjust to autumnal conditions while their fielding touched a nadir, thus closing the door to a much anticipated semi-final berth. Mercifully for Sri Lanka, they were spared of a more ignominious exit by the rain interruption which resulted in the game eventually being decided on the Duckworth/Lewis method. Nevertheless, the 49-run defeat proved that Sri Lanka literally handed over the match on a platter after a pathetic display of catching which one commentator claimed was, worse than even club standard.

It is important to identify the causes of Sri Lanka’s defeat more closely.

One of the major reasons was that the team’s think tank chose to ignore the conditions at Southampton when conventional wisdom dictated that they select four seam bowlers to take advantage of the swing, seam and bounce. Many knowledgeable commentators claimed that the conditions suited seam bowlers especially those with height who could hit the deck hard. Every other serious contender in the competition had taken heed of the conditions in England by including a fourth seamer or seam-bowling all-rounder while Sri Lanka faltered.

Dilhara Fernando with his height would have been the ideal choice to support Vass, Zoysa and Maharoof. However, the think tank seemed to have been more concerned about strengthening the batting. The inclusion of the inconsistent Avishka Gunawardene at the top of the order proved to be a major blunder as he does not have the necessary quick footwork to cope with top class fast bowlers overseas. On the other hand the failure to include a fully fit Dilhara even on conditions suited to him was a major blind spot in team selection. One wonders why this one time spearhead of the attack is being consistently sidelined?

Sri Lanka came up with a fielding display which was a stark contrast to not only its performance in the previous game against Zimbabwe, but also its preceding home series. It is indeed a mystery why such livewires in the field such as Upul Chandana and Mahela Jayawardene dropped simple catches in a make or break game?

The dropping of the dangerous Flintoff by Jayawardene effectively nullified Sri Lanka’s chances of progressing to the semi-finals and the selectors should take cognizance of the seriousness of the lapse. Many wonder whether Jayawardene should continue to hold the important post of vice captain after such a calamitous offence. In addition his mode of dismissal when he battered, offering a tame catch to the bowler, brought back memories of his disastrous display during the last World Cup in South Africa where he continued to occupy his place in the team despite being in the midst of a rotten run of form which ultimately cost Sri Lanka a berth in the Final. The Selectors should not have double standards for different players and make the necessary changes before things get out of hand.

Cricket fans are wondering how long it will take for Sri Lanka to get the right combination in the team before the next World Cup in 2007. It is evident that Sri Lanka will not make much headway with the present composition. The individual performances in testing conditions overseas of Avishka Gunawardene, Upul Chandana and even much hyped veterans such as Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardena need to be carefully scrutinized. Due to the fact that Sri Lanka enjoyed an unbeaten run of success in ODIs in the recent past, some of the marginal performers have been able to retain their places as the Selectors chose not to disturb a winning combination. However, defeat in major tournament such as the ICC Champions Trophy should send a timely wake up call to everyone.

Sri Lanka A team’s recent tour of England threw up several prospects some of who have already graduated to the national team, i.e., Saman Jayantha and Kaushal Lokuarachchi.

In addition, six other emerging prospects too should be groomed by the selectors in the next few months. Jehan Mubarak, lan Daniel, Bathiya Perera, Gayan Wijekoon, Nuwan Kulasekera and Suraj Mohamed all made significant contributions during the successful tour when the A team was defeated only once in a 10-match tour. Mubarak and Daniel came up with solid batting performances at the top of the batting order. Mubarak has already displayed his talents in the limited opportunities afforded to him at international level.

Perera and Wijekoon proved that both had latent all-round skills which could come in handy for a team which lacks genuine all-rounders with the exception of Maharoof and Jayasuriya. Bathiya Perera has performed consistently in domestic cricket for several years and been on numerous. A team tours but has never been able break into the national team. In addition, he had been sent to the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide for special training in leg spin bowling. Many discerning observers believe that Perera has what it takes to make it at the international level if only he is afforded the opportunities.

Nuwan Kulasekera who had previous international exposure came good towards the final stages of the A team tour with some sustained spells of seam bowling while Mohamed emerged as an off spinner for the future when Muralidharan should quit the scene.

It is the fervent hope of cricket fans that the national selectors would wake up from their slumber and cast their net wider to harness genuine talent that has emerged after the A team’s success in England. They should not be swayed by parochial considerations and the influence of money and political clout which will invariably seek to prevent changes in the status quo.