A year of turmoil for Sri Lanka

Cricket was an irrelevance in Sri Lanka as the sun rose on 2005, the game submerged below the tragedy of tsunami-wreaked devastation. Sadly, as the year drew to a close with memories of the Boxing Day waves just starting to fade, mid-year hopes of the national team's revival under a new management and cricket board were also washed away during a disastrous tour of India. Sri Lankan cricket was plunged into depression, handicapped by politics, favouritism and incompetence. After 12 months of topsy-turvy fortunes and life-changing experiences, the cricketers and supporters were able to look forward with fresh perspective but not with great confidence.

After 2005, Sri Lanka's future is unclear. The overwhelming emotion is one of profound frustration at a year of stagnation and missed opportunity, coupled with a deep sense of fear that cricket in the island faces hard times. Sri Lanka's glaring Achilles heel, playing overseas, remains as obvious as ever with no solution in sight. Sri Lanka swept the board at home, defeating West Indies, Bangladesh and even India with ease. But abroad, there were Test series defeats to New Zealand and India. Even in the limited overs game they proved woeful tourists, humiliated by India in November with a 6-1 drubbing.

The biggest concern for the future is undoubtedly the shortage of talent now coming through the system. The only really bright star to emerge in the last 18 months or so, Lasith Malinga, was literally plucked from a coconut grove, the product of his own enthusiasm and energy. Other youngsters appear handicapped by the system rather than polished and improved.

The first-class system - ridiculously expanded into 20 sides as part of a post-tsunami fudge of abandoned promotion and relegation matches - continues to decline in standard, making it harder and harder for youngsters to make the jump into international cricket. Upul Tharanga, a left-handed opener with an attacking impulse was, though, one cricketer that caught the eye, although obviously still technically raw.

The second major concern was the inability of the cricket board and the selectors to look after the talent that already exists - of which there is plenty. Bad management skills led to the departure of Shane Duff, a widely respected fitness trainer, and also created confusion and misunderstanding within the management team during the last six months of John Dyson's coaching tenure, undermining the team's efforts to win in New Zealand. Unfortunately, this was all too predictable.

The players were also surrounded in uncertainty and sadly dragged into the politicisation and rancour surrounding the latest cricket board crisis that erupted in March after the government, egged on by opponents of Thilanga Sumathipala, who was planning his return to official control (as opposed to his puppet control the previous year) of Sri Lanka Cricket. Sumathipala's foes, provided tacit support from within the ICC, completed their coup when Sumathipala ignored a ministry directive to stay away from an ICC executive meeting. Within days an interim committee was appointed.

But, alas, it did not end there as the fight for cricket board control spilled into the courts, as well as farce. Total administrative deadlock ensued as the Sumathipala-led executive committee refused access to the board headquarters, claiming it as their own. The situation deteriorated to the extent that Sri Lanka's preparations for New Zealand were affected with one entire session being abandoned because no one was willing to authorise the opening of a store room for the practice balls.

The players tried their best to stay out of the fight but it was an impossible task. Predictably, there were promises and threats and a general piggy-in-the-middle feel. Finally, the uncertainty lifted as the ICC decisively backed the government-appointed interim committee, headed by Jayantha Dharmadasa (unfortunately an ardent Sumathipala enemy rather than a neutral leader who could build a consensus), and the sports minister finally got tough, sending in police armed with automatic weapons to physically takeover the cricket board. The move broke the deadlock but, sadly, seven months later there are few obvious signs of improvement with Dharmadasa's committee also falling prey to the normal tendency amongst cricket boards of showing favouritism to their `own' men.

The selectors also played their part, doing their best to help Sri Lanka lose in India, dropping Sanath Jayasuriya, one of Sri Lanka's most successful Test batsmen during the last two years despite his growing age - and, ironically, one of the few batsmen capable of inducing psychosis among Indian bowlers .

The official rationale for the decision fluctuated, first a combination of poor form and suspect fitness, then a few media releases later it became just fitness. First the selectors claimed, in another media release, that the decision was made in consultation with the captain, then we were told the decision had merely been communicated to Atapattu. Fans could be forgiven for being confused and suspicions of political interference mushroomed.

Jayasuriya's axing was followed by a stubborn refusal to select Russel Arnold, despite the left-hander showing good form in the Indian ODIs, and the out-of-the-blue axing of Mahela Jayawardene as the vice-captain. By the time the team left for India in late October, a dressing room that had been remarkable for its togetherness earlier in the year was suddenly a melting pot of tensions and frustrations. Atapattu was left with a team in crisis and a batting order that had alarming weaknesses. Jayasuriya and Arnold's replacements, Avishka Gunawardene and Jehan Mubarak, proved easy meat for the Indian attack.

Suddenly, Tom Moody, Sri Lanka's new coach who was hired in June after a high profile recruitment, realised how tough it was going to be to achieve his objectives and why all his predecessors had started so excited and yet grown so disillusioned, aware that for all their expertise and toil too many factors lay beyond their control. The honeymoon was over and, predictably, the grumbles about his pay packet and nationality are already being voiced with growing frequency.

It all means that winning the World Cup in 2007, despite potentially favourable conditions and a vastly experienced team, suddenly seems a fanciful dream. The sad part is that Sri Lanka do still have the players and resources to be a far better team than they showed in 2005 - we can only dream that 2006 will be a politics-free year of shrewd selection, efficient management and accountability. Call me a cynic but that sounds like a fairytale.

New man on the block Chamara Kapugedera, an 18-year-old middle order batsman, has started to create a stir within the island, his outstanding performances for the Sri Lanka Under-19 side and A team (he scored 70 on debut against a strong New Zealand team) suggest that he has the ability to be fast-tracked into the national side. An aggressive strokeplayer, named the Duke of Edinburgh Cricketer of the Year - the most prestigious award for schoolboy cricketers - he was selected for the India tour in December 2005 but returned early with injury.

Fading star According to the selectors anyway, Sanath Jayasuriya appears to be a fading star, at least in the Test arena where he was jettisoned immediately after winning his 100th cap against Bangladesh. However, judging by the furore created by his axing, Jayasuriya may not be leaving just yet. A possible middle order role may await in one-day internationals.

High point A superb performance during the Indian Oil Cup that culminated in a brilliantly efficient display during the final as Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold built a winning total with streetwise batsmanship and then the spinners slowly strangled India, the final collapse sending a full house at Premadasa International Stadium into a riotous frenzy.

Low point A desperately disappointing performance during a seven-match ODI series against resurgent India. The team were overpowered at the start and were unable to prevent India's momentum from snowballing into an unstoppable force. The wheels came off and major shortcomings were exposed.

What does 2006 hold?A series of defeats unless Sri Lanka can start addressing the shortcomings of a nepotistic, corrupt and hopelessly politicised system. Tough series beckon in Australia, at home against Pakistan, and in England early next summer.