Cricket coach issue in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan cricket coach Ford shows signs of vamoosing ....by telling a con

Next post to Marvan, Roy or Chandima?

     News is received of an effort taken by chief coach Graham Ford to create a crisis for the Sri Lankan cricket team which has so far not existed. What Graham Ford the South African had suddenly told the authorities of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board was that he finds some difficulty in carrying on with his duties on coaching because his aunt is indisposed.

     However, he had signed an agreement as a Coach for 2 years until January 2014and it is reported that he is trying to back out in this manner from his duties for some other reason. Now there is suspicion that this is a role of acting portrayed by him for the purpose of joining the Surrey county. Whatever it is, Ford who was playing for the English counties has tried to recruit either England player Kevin Peterson (born in South Africa) as well as captain of South African team Graeme Smith for the post of coach of the Surrey team in the past and that time what Ford had mentioned was that he would be in a position to consider the coaching post of the Surrey team only after he finishes his coaching period in Sri Lanka in January 2014.

    It is understood from reliable sources that Graham Ford who is in Sri Lanka has had an invitation to undertake duties at a higher fee and therefore now is entertaining thoughts of once again going to South Africa and joining the Surrey team, by expressing false personal reasons.

   However, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board Nishantha Ranatunga said that he is considering granting Ford some conditions to ponder upon about his services here within this week and to give him a response on this matter.

   Latest reports on this issue say that in case Ford is to return for some reason or other, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board is entertaining ideas about a post of a chief cricket coach which would be called for in future.

   Unofficial reports say that there is an idea that a national coach would be elected as the next chief coach. In this connection the  names of current batting specialist Marvan Atapattu, former Sri Lankan expert batsman and vice captain Roy Dias and presently the coach of New South Wales, Australia Chandika Hathurusingha's names have been nominated for this post. A question arises because Marvan Atapattu has not displayed a special progress so far as a batting specialist coach as well as Chaminda Vaas being called in while dismissing Champika Ramanayaka who has adjusted his bowling department as a specialist coach in bowling.

   While Atapattu has been remaining in his post when batsmen, particularly those of the middle order had continuously been failing in their duties, it is a dubious question how Champaka Ramanayaka who had been manipulating the bowlers well has been thrown out. On the other hand, it is still another question why Chandika Hathurusingha was dismissed by the previous regime of cricketing authorities over a disciplinary issue and the administration who refused to recruit Roy Dias and the election of choosing a nominee for the post of specialist batting coach saying it was not possible to grant him the post for a sum of Rs. 2 lakhs had later on recruited him for a figure of Rs. 5 lakhs by the same administration.

    Roy Dias who was successfully handling his coaching duties in Nepal had come back to Sri Lanka by dismissing it and the administration had told that he had confirmed his position as a coach of the national team having served as a coach in a national cricket club.

     It is a question as to how the cricket administration at that time had forgotten the fact that when Roy Dias was for a short time undertaking coaching as the national coach of the national team during the period when Arjuna Ranatunga was holding the post of captain, the national team managed to win that England Test tournament for the first time by beating England 1-0 where Murali dragged 16 wickets in one innings and thus kept a record at Campbell Place grounds.

    Since Jeewantha Kulatunga has resigned from the position of coach of the Tamil Union and has become the coach of the national women's cricket team, it is revealed that Roy Dias who is presently engaged as the coach in Malaysia has an idea of joining the Tamil Union within the next 2 weeks.

    In the process there is news that the present adminstration has an idea of going inher recruitment of a foreigner in case Ford once more resigns. It is also revealed that there are ideas in this respect of going in for a coach from England in preference to someone from Australia or South Africa.

    On the other hand it is pertinent to recall the words of the former captain Arjuna Ranatunga uttered on earlier occasions. It is that though Dri Lanka had recruited the services of foreign coaches for a period of the past 18 years after Dave Whatmore .... time has now come where a national coach should be appointed to undertake the responsibility of the national team.

    Specially if Graham Ford who was brought in after sending Trevore Bailey and after that Geoff Marsh home and he is now leaving the country on false pretenses, what reason is there for Sri Lanka to rely on foreign coaches? It must be considered,  that after Whatmore, most foreign coaches have been able to collect marks into their bag through local fielding, bowling and batting coaches.

Rivira newspaper report -- Dhamika Ratnaweera