da bet vitoria： It’s coming up to two years since I was given the honour of captaining SriLanka
Sanath Jayasuriya18-Jul-2001Sanath JayasuriyaIt’s coming up to two years since I was given the honour of captaining SriLanka. It’s a job that I cherish and that I am very proud to be doing for mycountry. I would have to admit though that it’s not all been plain sailing -the first six months were particularly difficult.The job was given to me after our disappointing performance in the 1999World Cup in England. I had captained the Sri Lanka Under 24 in SouthAfrica, but had never experienced the kind of pressure associated with thenational captaincy.For a start, I was stepping into the shoes of Arjuna Ranatunga, who had ledthe side with such distinction for so long. He left a legacy that was alwaysgoing to be difficult to follow. There was a question mark in my head – canI do it?The huge weight of expectation was a difficult burden to carry. The public’sexpectations had soared after becoming world champions and after the defeatin England the team had a responsibility to perform better. Being thecaptain, the brunt of that responsibility fell on my shoulders and I had tolearn how to carry it.I was lucky though on two counts. Firstly, Dav Whatmore had returned ascoach and was expertly backed up by physiotherapist Alex Kontouri, both ofwhom were full of encouragement and advice. Secondly, the team gave me 100per cent support.The first thing I did upon being given the job was to call together theplayers for a meeting, in which I spelled out our objectives and asked themfor their total support. They did so and continue to do so, which makes thejob so much easier and helped through that difficult early period.The overriding goal was to bring the team together. We needed to merge the15 players and 15 minds into one cohesive whole, so that we could moveforward together as a group, rather thanas a collection of individuals. We achieved that and created a strong teamspirit within the group.Now, when I look back, I believe that we have come a long way. Throughoutthe last two years the emphasis has been on young players, especially in theone-day side, and some have now established their positions in the side. Wenow have a nucleus of talented players and the basis of a tremendously goodside in the future.Although grooming youngsters, we have met with plenty of success and havewon a handful of one-day tournaments. In the Test matches, however, afterearly wins against Australia, Zimbabwe, and Pakistan, we still have a longway to go. The recent loss to England was particularly disappointing.Personally, I feel a large part of the problem has been a lack ofexperience. Test cricket is harder than limited overs, hence the need forexperienced players like Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne.The young players need more games under their belt. Only then will theydevelop the necessary confidence to withstand the pressure of Test cricket.We are moving in the right direction, but need some positive results soon.With youngsters coming into the side and the extra responsibility of thecaptaincy, my batting has developed. I went through a lean patch aftertaking on the job, but emerged from that and have matured as a batsman.Crucially, I have learnt how to adapt my game to the situation and this hasincreased my consistency. That is not to say that I no longer will go forshots, it just depends on the situation.Technically too, I have been working closely with Dav, making slightadjustments to my technique. These have worked and I am looking forward toscoring plenty of runs in the future, hopefully during this tournament!So, two years have passed, much has been achieved, but there is still plentyto be done. We now have to focus more on the 2003 World Cup in South Africaand for this have identified the need for fast bowling all rounders. Duringthe next 18-months we want to start introducing these players wherever theconditions allow it.Now though it’s time to get stuck in because the action is about to startagain.