da prosport bet： Sri Lanka’s new chairman of selectors believes that experience will be thekey to success in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, suggesting an imminentshift away from the youth focused selection policy pursued in recent years
Rex Clementine28-May-2002Sri Lanka’s new chairman of selectors believes that experience will be thekey to success in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, suggesting an imminentshift away from the youth focused selection policy pursued in recent years.The new policy follows the resignation of former Sri Lanka captain MichaelTissera as chairman after a disagreement with the Sports Minister, just daysbefore Sri Lanka’s first Test against England, which was quickly followed bythe resignation of two other selectors, Don Anarusiri and MaheshGoonatilleke.The Sports Minister Johnston Fernando accepted the three membersresignations and appointed Guy De Alwis as head of a new three-mancommittee. He is joined by Sinhalese Sports Club ground manager, televisioncommentator and former Sri Lanka cricketer Ranil Abeynaike and RogerWijesuriya, the only member to remain from the previous panel.De Alwis’s comments suggest that veterans Aravinda de Silva, 36, and HashanTillakaratne, 34, could force their way back into the one-day squad, ascould discarded all-rounder Chandika Hathurusingha, 33, who has been inoutstanding form in domestic cricket in recent times.”Today the game has become so competitive,” says de Alwis, “and I wonderwhether the youngsters at times can cope up with the pressure ofinternational cricket. I personally don’t think going for youth is the keyto success in the World Cup. Experience will be vital.”As has been the case with previous committees, World Cup success is theoverriding priority of the new committee: “Our main target is to win theWorld Cup in South Africa. We want to have a balanced side. We will talk tothe captain and the coach and will work out these matters.”De Alwis, a former wicket-keeper batsman who represented Sri Lanka in the1980s, reveals that he is looking forward to speaking to the experiencedcricketers who have been overlooked in recent past.He also sounded a warning to the players, demanding a consistently highlevel of performance: “Players must realise that they have to performconstantly at the top level. My committee is not keen on past merits andrecords. We will look at the performance.”If that means that hard decisions have to be made then so be it: “Some willbe definitely unhappy with us, but I have been called to do a job that Iwill do even if the stakes are high.”He is not yet ready to unveil the extent of the proposed changes: “I can’tbe specific at the moment as it would not be fair to discuss these withoutspeaking first to the captain and the team management.”