Disgusted!

I wrote my last blog post well before I knew what the match situation was on the fifth day. I wrote it after seeing Sri Lanka bat on the final session of the fourth day and the first session of the morning. 

We laboured to lose. Let’s get one thing clear. I can take defeat. I haven’t supported the All Blacks and Arsenal all these years without knowing how to take a loss. But while the AB’s and Arsenal have been a joy to watch more often than not, Sri Lanka have been an ignominous embarrassment, the height of which was yesterday. The defeat was not the problem. It was the manner of the defeat that was the problem.

Sri Lanka were not in it to win it. Their beleagured first innings run rate showed that their main aim was to prolong their batting for as long as possible. The negative bowling lines and the opening of the bowling with Herath to absolutely no effect was indicative of the same negative mindset. I don’t think anyone should open a test match with a spinner unless it’s fifth day and the wicket is crumbling like a digestive biscuit. This was the first innings and the Pakistani openers made hay.

Then the batting in the second innings. All credit to the Pakis for getting within spitting distance at a reasonable lick. Sri Lanka then panicked because they had to bat well, something they didn’t back themselves to do twice in a row. Instead of setting Pakistan a target they went on to try and occupy the crease. They could only do so for 214 runs, which was a pathetic showing on a what turned out to be a wicket with no terrors in it. 

Just to put things in perspective. Angelo Mathews, the batsman, faced 64 overs in the entire Test match to score 122 runs. Pakistan faced 57 overs to score 302 runs. It’s in the head, nowhere else. As George Binoy said on cricinfo “At the end of the Test, Sri Lanka had batted 273.4 overs; Pakistan needed only 166.4 overs to score a run more. There lay the difference.”

All credit to the Pakis and their exuberance. Azhar Ali was like a busy, tiny Inzamam who can run. It was a joy to watch and I was on my feet cheering them on. 

What was worse than the tactical blundering was the despicable sportsmanship shown by an SL team that had a player in it that had won the Spirit of Cricket Award more than once in his career. Chandimal appealing for the light when the batsmen were middling the fast bowlers, was juvenile. Eranga splaying his arms and indicating that he didn’t see Misbah’s perfect flick for four was undermined by the fact that the square leg fielder who was further away was jogging towards the ball as it crossed the rope. It was embarrassing. Lose if you must, but lose with some dignity. I am disgusted. And you should be too.

Farveez Maharoof tweeted me and said that you need to be a fellow player to understand what the team goes through in those situations. Really, Maha? Angelo’s press conference utterances go to show that they still don’t seem to think that they did anything wrong. He says that the batsmen should have batted even more cautiously. Seriously? What are you smoking dude? If someone who hasn’t played a day of cricket can see that the tactics are going to lead to something drastically bad before it happens, then why can’t the cricketing gurus see it? Why? Tell me that.

I’ve been accused of being critical before. Fine. Maybe I am. But tell me to shut the fuck up when you start winning, and playing like men. When your way works. Don’t give me the “you people haven’t played cricket, and you don’t know shit” mantra when you embarrass yourselves and the entire nation like you did yesterday. 

If you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same motherfucking results. That’s not rocket science. 

The cricket team is indicative of the current Sri Lanka psyche. What has caused this insecure, defensive mindset is an socio-anthropological study all on its own. This is not an isolated problem my fellow Lankans. What you saw Angelo and his boys do yesterday is a reflection of the state of the nation. Be alarmed. Very alarmed.