Sanath calls for more commitment to fitness

Chairman of Selectors Sanath Jayasuriya wants more commitment on fitness by players if they are to stay free from injuries.

Jayasuriya addressing media after arriving in Sri Lanka following a disastrous tour to England said he has had discussions with the board in this regard.

The visitors lost the Test series 2-0, the one-day international series 3-0 and also the only T20. The closest they have come to a win was in the opening ODI at Trent Bridge where a last ball six secured a dramatic tie.

Hampered by injuries, their bowling unit--which was once described as the best in the trade by none other than Jayasuriya--had cut a sorry figure at the hands of Englishmen and was a major reason for team’s disappointing performance.

Adding to this was a spate of injuries to the country’s frontline bowlers, particularly Dhammika Prasad (shoulder) and Dushmantha Chameera (lower back stress fracture). Skipper Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal also played through hamstring injuries while the misfiring top order bat Lahiri Thirimanne was sent back home with a lower back strain.

“My concern is this is happening for a long time. I have been talking about this with SLC officials. Of course, you need commitment from the players. I am telling this in front of the players,” said Jayasuriya. “They have to come out of their comfort zone and play. There will be a lot of cricket, of course, and if one cannot keep up with the pressure they should say they can’t play. If not, they need to train hard,”

He said the board, the selectors, cricket committee and the high performance manager should sit down and work out a plan to keep the players fit. “We can make plans. If the players are not committed we cannot sort this out. I am not saying they are not committed, but they need to do something different,” the former dashing opener said.

Mohan de Silva, Secretary Sri Lanka Cricket, said that they, too, were concerned over the fitness level of players and believed a quick fix is needed to sort this out.

“No sooner we got elected, we appointed an expert panel of doctors to review injuries of players and also we brought down a high performance manager in Simon Willis to help the process. According to Willis, the amount of pre-training put in by players wasn’t sufficient. This may be one of the reason. But we need a fix to this issue and we need commitment from the players in improving their own fitness,” he added.

Meanwhile, Angelo Mathews said despite a disastrous tour, he sees light at the end of the tunnel, particularly in batting.

The batting showed a glimpse of hope, particularly that of Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Janith Perera who returned to international cricket after being cleared of a doping offence. Mathews believes that if they can fix their woes in bowling and fielding they could pose a real challenge to the Australians in the forthcoming tour.

“It was a tough challenge for us. After the disastrous first two tests we should show some improvement individually in patches. I am really pleased the way Mendis took the challenge, the way he faced James Anderson and Stuard Broad was impressive. Chandimal and Danushka also played well which I think are the positives we can take going forward,” the skipper said.

He also thanked the board, media and fans for supporting them through the tough time.
“I was expecting a lot of criticisms on our return but everyone has been very supportive. Thank you,” the captain said. (Champika Fernando)

Video by Buddhi