Part III

Sent into bat in ODI Two, Sri Lanka collapsed quickly to 4 for little. Dilshan strode in and attacked, while Jaysuriya batted quietly at the other end intent on survival. There was one ugly heave where the dice ran his way: lucky to survive. Then, over the course of a few overs, there followed a crisp pull for four and two punchy off-drives to the boundary. He then pulled a ball towards a gap, but Badrinath closed the space and took a brilliant diving catch. This was perhaps a risky stroke on Dilshan’s part and one can suggest that he should have kept the ball down, but one can also regard it as a little spurt of typical fighting Dilshan, which set the base for more fighting work by Kulasekera and Thushara.

At the Premadasa Stadium whoever won the toss was at an indecent advantage and won the game. That became crystal clear in the very first of the matches Game Three in the series – for the ball seamed as well as turned sharply by the late evening from towards the end of the first innings to the first hours of the second team’s outing. So, batting was relatively easier in the afternoon and rather devilish in the evening/night under lights. Sri Lanka had to cop this fate in Game Three as well as Four. Dilshan was among the several top-order batsmen who failed to score much on both occasions. My first impressions of his stroke in Game III was that it was ‘rash;" but on seeing the video-record I discovered the TV commentator complimenting Munaf Patel for a "good ball." The point here is that one must attach caveats of different measure to low scores arising from (i) a terrific ball or "jaffa" as the Aussies call it; and (ii) a good ball — thereby distinguishing those moments from what one can deem a "soft dismissal." So what I have generated here is a fine-tuned evaluation of Dilshan’s failures in this particular series (44 runs and average of 14.6 in 3 inns) that qualify their implications.

Over 30 is a good average for a No. 6/7 if it is accompanied by a good strike-rate. Though Dilshan’s Pakistan figures are the worst of these three sets, in fact, his batting performance here was the most momentous. With Sri Lanka batting first in the finals against India, he was required to enter the field with the score reading 66 for 4 wickets, but Jayasuriya in good nick. He went on to score 56 in 74 balls and took part in a crucial partnership of 131 runs with Jayasuriya (112) so that Sri Lanka eventually totalled 273 runs. This was one of the major turning points in that game in favour of Sri Lanka.

In broader context let me note that his overall ODI international statistics read as 129 inns, 26 n/o, 2994 runs, for an average of 29.02 with 14 fifties and a strike rate of 80.24. Dilshan’s average is below that of Arnold and Collingwood and on a par with Hashan Tillakaratna. But the latter’s strike rate is poor (57.50), whereas Dilshan’s is outstanding – even superior to that of Arnold (72.55), Collingwood (76.31) and Michael Bevan (74.15).

That noted, it is by his recent work that Dilshan must be assessed. So the issue I have raised is this: how recent? Just the last series of ODI games – a kind of instant evaluation? Or on the basis of a number of recent series? I consider it quite horrendous for Selectors to be guided by just the last lot of matches unless the batsman in question has looked all at sea. That is why I have paraded Dilshan’s figures in all four series in 2008. These statistics are meant to counter the slash-and-burn hacksters who follow the principle "three strikes and you are out."

It also happens that these hacksters are prejudiced in their attitude to Dilshan and have been for quite some time. This bias has been evident over the years in their evaluations of Chamara Kapugedera (hereafter "Kapu") in comparison with Dilshan at a stage in SL’s cricket when Kapu was batting at No. 6 or no. 7 and in competition with Dilshan for a spot in the final XI.

Visual evaluations of Kapu’s capability by Sri Lanka’s coaching staff seem to have been the basis for the young 19-year old to earn a double-promotion to the highest level as a member of the squad touring Australia in early 2006. During the first final at Adelaide, a game that I witnessed live and recall well, he made a brilliant 38 runs in 21 balls batting at No. 7. Sri Lankan fans seem to have an indelible memory of this ‘affair’ and ever since then he has been a blue-eyed boy. They have not remembered Dilshan’s 26 n/o in 20 balls (mostly in partnership with Kapu) or the four run-outs he effected during the same game. I do. I would have made Dilshan (not Sangakkara) man of the match.

In point of fact Kapu has been no less inconsistent than Dilshan in his ODI performances over the last few years. His terrific 38 notwithstanding, his average during that 2006 Australian series was 14.60 because he scored only 73 runs over 5 innings. Since then he has been up and down in his achievements, though he has improved recently. His overall international ODI statistics read as 36 inns—2 n/o—816 runs—24.00 average with five fifties. So what we see, then, is an application of double-standards by some eager fans.

This does not mean that Kapu should be dropped from the side. He bats tall and can score in the V, while having an ability to clear the ropes. In the fourth ODI versus India at the Premadasa Stadium his innings was excellent and was cut short at 30 runs by a horrid lbw decision. He is also cricket quick and a good fielder. It is now clear that, his modest record notwithstanding, the Sri Lankan hierarchy have identified him as a prospective talent to be nourished and have pencilled him in to bat at No. 4 when Sangakkara opens [and at No. 5/6 perhaps when the latter does not, given the question marks around Chamara Silva]. He has been batting up the order since the tour of the West Indies. For this reason one should not compare his recent statistics with those of Dilshan: my argument is that different criteria apply to No. 4 from those for No. 6 and No. 7. The latter cannot normally be expected to average as much as the No. 4s, but must have a decent strike rate and reveal a capacity to rotate the strike as well (the last criteria is where Chamara Silva seems to fall down).

I am not arguing here for Dilshan’s place in the SL Eleven to be written in stone. As matters stand, the No. 6 spot has Dilshan, Kandamby, Mubarak, Dilruwan Perera, Kaushal Silva and Chamara Silva all vying for them. The order or preference is mine, but that order could be amended after the ongoing ODI games of the A Team in South Africa. Should the Selectors make adjustments in the top-order and bring Warnapura into the line-up, Kapugedera could also be part of the mix for No. 6 [or No. 7 if there is seven/four split and Maharoof is not at 7].

Concluding Thoughts

Statistics can be beguiling. Their aura of precision can mislead. The fact is that 40 runs on a difficult pitch, say, at Dambulla or at Wellington in gale force conditions, are of similar value to some 80-100 runs on a featherbed wicket. Evaluations of specific innings must be fine-tuned to such circumstance and to manner of dismissal, whether bad umpiring decisions or the fact that a batsman entered the scene in the 46th over and got out seeking quick runs.

The further argument here is that we must not be guided by short-term assessments of a knee jerk character. Adequate periods (number of innings) of opportunity must be afforded to newcomers. Different criteria apply to different batting positions. Team-building through some measure of continuity and team balance are also vital considerations, especially in composing touring squads. Self-reflexivity that attends to one’s own subjective prejudices is a further requirement demanded from Selectors, commentators and fans. If one castigates the Selection Committee for prejudice in the free-to-air networks of the cyber-world, then, one must also be able to discern the mote in one’s own eye.

Concluded

This failure must then be evaluated in conjunction with his record in the other

ODI series in 2008:

Australia > 7 inns – 2 n/o – 170 – 62* h/s – 34.00 with 2 fifties.

West Indies > 2 inns — nil — 66 — 64 — 33.00 with 1 fifty.

Pakistan > 6 inns – nil — 134 – 56 — 22.33 with 1 fifty.