Sri Lanka Head Coach Mickey Arthur (left) with (from left) Batting Coach Grant Flower, Kusal Mendis, and Dhananjaya de Silva at a training session in Dhaka in May 2021. Arthur and his team should be worried about their job security because SLC is perennially in the throes of financial ruin, argues the writer[/caption]
Coach Mickey Arthur and his team need to simplify the processes and the language of winning, without hiding behind overcomplicated and word-doctored explanations
Less than a month ago, Kusal Perera’s first outing as Sri Lanka’s ODI captain came a cropper in front of pandemic-mandated empty stands in Dhaka. Sri Lanka’s downfall was largely engineered by Mushfiqur Rahim (who had developed a love affair with Sri Lanka’s bowlers of late), Mahmudullah, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz; even though the rest of the Bangladesh team also chipped in as needed.
Perera’s hastily-assembled outfit’s failure to deliver was disappointing to those who were hoping for a turnaround of the country’s dismal ODI record of late, but not a great surprise. Considering all the avoidable stupidity and distraction that was heaped on the squad and distracted the players, the result was hardly unexpected.
Average runs per innings
Sri Lanka has won only one of the last six ODIs they have played. Their solitary win came in the dead-rubber third ODI against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka has played three T20 Internationals in 2021, going into the current England outing, and won one of them. That was the second T20I against the West Indies in Antigua.
In the last five ODI outings (runs scored in the dead-rubber win against Bangladesh has been ignored), Sri Lanka averaged 229 per inning. England on the other hand averages 263 in their last eight outings (sans dead-rubber loss to Ireland). England’s 2020-21 ODI record of 4-5 is nothing to crow about and they suffered series losses in India (1-2), at home to Australia (1-2) while winning against Ireland (2-1) at home.
On the T20 front, Eoin Morgan’s men have fared better in 2020-21 winning 50% of their matches. At home, England’s record is 3-1 (dead rubber loss to Australia has been ignored). Even in the difficult terrain of India, England’s T20I team held their own and took the fight to the Indians in a 2-3 series loss.
Flawless cricket is the way to success
Sri Lanka will have to up their performance in every department to be competitive against reigning ODI World Cup champions at home. Sri Lanka will also have to do better consistently in all areas to win against England. To beat England at home, Sri Lanka will have to play flawless cricket. That means the team has to score a lot more runs than the 229 average when they bat first, concede less runs when they field first, and chase sensibly when batting second.
Simply put, batters must score more runs, bowlers must take more wickets (especially in the middle overs) and fielding must lend support to bowlers by holding on to catches and making run scoring difficult.
Sri Lanka has struggled to make inroads into opponents’ batting in the 20-40-over period and that has cost them many a match. The most efficient way to slow down the run rate is to take wickets.
England bats deep and can build competitive totals even from the most desperate of situations. Kusal Perera must remember that once ten wickets are taken, run scoring stops. Perera must remember this simple fact when he is marshalling his men on the field and in the dressing room.
Arthur’s team is accountable for ‘team performance’
Coach Mickey Arthur and his team need to simplify the processes and the language of winning without hiding behind overcomplicated and word-doctored explanations. Arthur and his team should be worried about their job security because Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is perennially in the throes of financial ruin and the only way his team’s jobs are safe is when Sri Lanka team stats are top-heavy with wins.
Arthur and his team are paid to find paths to victory beyond words. Arthur must understand and accept the legitimacy of that reality. If players’ remuneration is to be based on performance, then the same criteria should apply to the coaching staff for it would be difficult for a team to win typically if they are guided by individuals who are not invested in the team’s success.
It is that simple.