Let our boys enjoy the game!

In medieval times nations asserted their superiority by going to war and conquering their adversaries. In modern times, sports, has replaced this egoistic requirement of man to a great extent. This is not to say that man has totally given up his destructive instinct to go to war but should saner counsel prevail on the civilized man he would always chose more positive avenues to express his aggression and superiority.

It is indeed a pride of every Sri Lankan to realize that, being as small and insignificant as Sri Lanka is, the country has achieved world standards at least in one sport, and that is Cricket. We were the World Champions in 1996 and our performance in the game has been consistent over the years ever since as our team has steadfastly counted itself among the top teams in the world. And that is in both the versions of the game.

National team

Winning the World Cup in 1996 brought immense fame to little Sri Lanka and in fact that achievement paid more diplomatic dividend than all what our Foreign Embassies could achieve for years in building the country’s image. At a time when there was an intense disinformation campaign projecting Sri Lanka as a country where communities kill each other, the world came to know, or at least the Cricketing world, that there are other things, other than just quarrelling, that Sri Lankan are capable at.

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Now, after 15 years, our national team is again on the verge of repeating our 1996 heroism and let us recognize its significance and do all what we can to ensure a Sri Lankan victory, come Saturday. The nation, after having overcome a 30 year struggle for sheer survival and now in the wake of promising years ahead, could not expect a better catalyst than a coveted World Championship for its sportsmen. It would go a long way in strengthening our position in the world community, sanitizing the nation from many a dubious allegations levelled by its adversaries.

However, let us not burden ourselves with the thought that ‘we somehow have to win the World Cup this time’ or ‘that if we do not win this time we are finish’. Such an obligatory thought will create a lot of pressure and eventually we will wilt under the very pressure we have created for ourselves. Even our team should not ponder too hard on the stakes of winning and not winning the Cricket World Cup. Our attitude here should be that ‘if we win, it is good’ but if winning proves difficult then we could still console ourselves in the thought of ‘having achieved the height of ending up as the runners up’.

Lack of confidence

If our team goes out to the middle in that frame of mind I am sure that we may not have to endure all that pressure that almost let us down against the New Zealand at the semi final.

‘Form’ is a thing that we mention quite often in cricket and presently the batting form of Mahela is a cause for national concern. What really is this ‘form’ and how do batsmen come ‘in to form’ and ‘go out of form’ just as quickly? Form is nothing but the self-confidence a batsman possesses at a particular time.

A good batsman will continue to score runs but then due to an exceptionally good bowling or fielding effort he could get out for a low score. From that point onwards he will start doubting his own ability and the strokes he plays from then on will embody this lack of confidence. Thus the batsman will continue to have a lean run until another exceptionally bad bowling or fielding performance turns the things around.

Therefore this thing called ‘form’ is purely a psychological thing and all what Mahela should do is to dispel all negative thoughts and reminiscence the good performances he has had with the bat. Even in fielding when the ball is hit towards you do not ever entertain negative thought of misfielding or be apprehensive in thinking that “oh! what if I miss this one? We will lose the game and I will lose my place in the team!’ Such negative and tense thinking will cause a lot of misfielding and missed chances. On the other hand view every propped up ball as an opportunity to get a batsman out.

Gigantic task

The act of catching the ball should be treated as foregone conclusion ‘if it only comes my way’. We dropped four catches in the semi final not because our cricketers are ignorant of the techniques of catching the ball but because we were tensed up and were apprehensive.

Thus Cricket is very much a game of mind as well as of body. Keep your mind light and release all that energy to the body so that it can perform well. Today all the top national cricket teams are equal in their talents and potential and the difference is in handling the pressure in a given situation.

Fanatic supporters

As I write India has just beaten Pakistan by 29 runs and so we now have the gigantic task of beating India, in India, in the presence of an Indian crowd. The Indian crowd is very emotional and we should remember that in the 1996 semi final the Indian crowd pelted us with empty bottles when India started losing the match. Finally the match referee was compelled to abandon the game and award victory to Sri Lanka.

Hence even this time Indian team and their fanatic supporters may not be prepared to reconcile with a situation where they have come all this way just lose to Sri Lanka at the final.

Thus let India take all that pressure of having to win the game and let our boys enjoy another game of cricket!

Courtesy - Daily News by Palitha Senanayaka