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Agony and the ecstasy

Asanka Gurusinghe

It is World Cup time again.

Having been a part of the champion team which won the World Cup the last time around, just the mere mention of it puts me on a high. Living in Melbourne as I do at present, I run into many Sri Lankans domiciled here who, on greeting me, immediately ask about our prospects in the coming World Cup.

Since our memorable win, so many changes have taken place within the team and the administration, which has brought about mixed results in our performance lately.

I consider myself fortunate to have played in three World Cups. My first experience, in 1987, was when the World Cup was being played outside of England for the first time. Not having made much of an impression on our previous outings, we felt that we were there to make up the numbers rather than to create a major upset.

Captained by Duleep Mendis, we were a very talented side but we lacked in physical fitness and in faith in our capabilities to dictate terms to the opposing team. So, rather than trying to make something happen, we would wait for the opponents to slip up and hope that we could capitalize on the situation. Hence, we weren't much of a success.

Then came the 1992 World Cup. Here the picture was quite different, as Duleep Mendis was appointed the coach and Ranjit Fernando the manager of the team. Duleep used his experiences in the previous World Cups to raise our game to new heights and to change our thinking, and the team responded.

Detailed analysis of the other teams, and extensive planning for each game, was in place. As expected, overall we performed much better than in the previous World Cup. At the halfway mark of the tournament, we had managed to secure a position in the top four, we had won two games, one game was washed out and we had lost another.

But despite all our efforts, we lost the next few games and were knocked out of the top four. Inspite of the result, we sensed that we had played good cricket, which was a positive sign for cricket in Sri Lanka.

From there on we won some games, including Test matches, at home and away. We still lacked consistency, though, and it became quite apparent to the relevant authorities that something needed to be done.

What was done was that Dave Whatmore was given the top job, as coach of the Sri Lankan national team. Most of us had played against Dave in Victoria, so we found it easy to relate to him and vice versa. His first assignment was to get the boys in shape for the tour of Pakistan in September-October 1995.

During his first month and a half, he concentrated on our fitness. I recall very vividly how I would crawl back to the car to return home after our morning fitness session, knowing there was more to come later the same day -- I would be wondering how I was going to live through it. After about four weeks of strenuous training, though, we began to feel like new, we felt physically fitter and with it came a mental alertness.

At the end of this period, we were made aware of our strengths and our weaknesses and we focussed on the latter. Physical fitness took on a whole new dimension with the introduction of advanced training methods that Dave introduced to the team. We were not made to run around a ground like a bunch of headless chickens until we were tuckered out -- rather, the whole program was geared to help us specifically with our cricket.

The results spoke for itself. We won the Test series in Pakistan as well as the one-day series. Our next stop was Sharjah, to play in the Champions Trophy, and here again we beat the mighty West Indians in the final and returned home with the trophy. Suddenly there was a change in the air. The boys held their heads up high, they were believing in themselves. Confidence was at an all time high. We had chased big totals and been victorious. The change was becoming more and more apparent.

Then came the infamous tour of Australia in 1995-'96. This was the tour in which a good cricket team turned the corner and became a professional outfit. The calling of Muralitharan for chucking, and being accused of ball tampering by the Australians, was not to our liking, to say the least. However when we returned to Sri Lanka there was a fierce determination in all our minds.

Dave would say, "The difference between a good team and a champion team is the desire to give off a hundred per cent at every given opportunity." We had that determination, after the tour of Australia, and we were raring to go.

This World Cup was going to be special for us as we were playing a few games in Sri Lanka. This meant lots of crowd support and a great atmosphere. A week prior to the tournament, we sat down to the most intense team meeting I ever attended in my entire career. Dave questioned the team about what they wanted to achieve during this World Cup, and also how much each player was going to contribute in the quest for the title.

Each individual query and doubt was addressed, and the team unanimously agreed that, as we had not reached the semifinal in previous World Cups, that is where we would like to be this time.

With that goal firmly set in our minds, a comprehensive plan was set up. We all knew that we had enough batting in our side, but the bowling left a lot to be desired. Therefore, the only way in which we could compensate for that was to back our bowlers with brilliant fielding.

We also needed to do something new with our batting, so the 'Sanath and Kalu' combination was put together and they were given instructions to play their natural game. The strategy worked, and we became trailblazers. Many of the one day teams around the world have now decided to follow this trend of getting as many runs as possible during the first 15 overs, thus setting up a good foundation for the rest of the team to pile up an imposing total.

With every win the team seemed to realise their true potential and also knew they had more to offer. We were brimming with confidence when we reached the semifinals. We were playing India, in Calcutta, in front of 110,000 cricket crazy Indians -- and we were well aware that this was going to be a tough ask.

We were well aware that this was a tough ask. However the wicket being used on the day was a new one, no cricket had been played on it in the last six months, and no one knew how it was going to play. Sticking to our gameplan, we had decided to field first -- but as destiny should have it, India won the toss and put us in to bat.

The thinking in the Indian camp at this time would have been to disrupt our gameplan, as they knew that we could chase big totals. This decision backfired on them -- it was a difficult wicket to score runs on and, much to our delight, the wicket turned and we had four spinners waiting to get their hands on the ball.

Thanks to some brilliant batting by Aravinda de Silva, we were in the final. This was just what the doctor had ordered for us. We were to play the Australians, and we had a score to settle. Immediately, Dave sensed that the boys were all pumped up but for all the wrong reasons.

'Concentrate on the cricket and give your captain a hundred and ten percent and you can't lose,' was all that Dave had to say before the start of the game.

Delighting the many planeloads of Sri Lankans that had flown to Lahore just for the final, we played our parts and walked away the World Champions. What a learning curve it was, the build-up to the World Cup.

Sadly I've watched our team lose that spirit during the last year. There will have to be many changes within the team, and lots more work is needed in all departments of the game if Sri Lanka is to make any impression in this coming World Cup.

If I were a betting man, my money would be on South Africa, with Australia following close behind. England will also be tough opponents, as they will be playing at home in May/June, which will suit their game perfectly.

As we all know one-day cricket is a funny game, the team that plays well on the day will be the winner and I, for one, will be hoping its Sri Lanka.