There are some sportsmen in history who are destined to give target practice to brickbat throwers. Unfortunately, these brickbat hurlers are often misguided in identifying their targets. Sri Lankan Cricket’s selection policies and selection committees have always been subject to constructive criticism, however, in the recent past their gaffes have been even more patent. Why else would a struggling Sri Lankan batting line up be relieved of its most consistent performer over the last year? Jehan Mubarak is probably sitting in the dressing room wondering the same thing. Many would scoff at the mention of Mubarak’s name alongside the word consistency, but that is perhaps because of the myopic perceptions that Sri Lankans are famous for – yet refuse to acknowledge. This is not a problem that is indigenous to cricket but exists in every sphere of Sri Lankan society. Unlike the indefatigable Sanath Jayasuriya or the mercurial Muralitharan – the US born, English speaking, Muslim, Royalist - does not possess the necessary ingredients to woo the sons of the soil. The point is that he doesn’t have to. His cricket in the last year has earned him his place in the side.
Before delving into statistics it is important to examine the circumstances leading up to Mubarak’s latest dropping, and the consequences the team has been exposed to as a result. He was a part of the side since he, together with Thilina Thushara, guided Sri Lanka to a win in the final game of the last India series. His patient 47 n.o. carefully observed the more swashbuckling Thushara from the other end as the two guided Sri Lanka home when the top order had failed – again. The knock may not have been memorable, as Thushara’s was for its risky heroics. Nevertheless, it was chanceless, assured and sensible.
Since then Mubarak made the no. 6 position his own. Sri Lanka won a five match series in Zimbabwe with him as the pivot of the batting order. Knowledgeable cricket watchers – as opposed to the legions of pseudo experts – know that no. 6 is not a position in which big hundreds are scored. Indeed, Sri Lanka’s last great exponent of this batting position – the underrated Russel Arnold – scored just one hundred in his long career. Romesh Kaluwitharana scored just one more hundred than that opening the batting. Yet, the latter is the hero, while the former is rarely spoken of with as much fondness. Therefore, I find the argument that Mubarak has not scored any hundreds (‘memorable innings’ is the phrase of choice for the detractors) a pointless, uninformed argument. Middle order batsmen require a strange mental state to be at the top of their game. They are crickets equivalent of a hard working flank forward who does all the dirty work only to watch his team mates take the glory of scoring tries. The thing about Mubarak, and indeed most flank forwards, is that he is more than happy doing it.
In the last twelve months Chamara Kapugedera, the golden boy of the new generation has played 35 ODI’s out of a total of 59 in his career. In the last twelve months Mubarak has played 10 ODI’s out of a total of 38. In other words Mubarak’s career which began in 2002 has seen only 3 more ODI’s than Kapugedera’s last year alone. This speaks volumes for the continuity of selection and the haphazard nature of selection policies. Any cricketer will tell you that the security of a long run in the team allows them to play the natural game that got them there in the first place. However, constant chopping, changing, dropping and picking is highly detrimental to the confidence of young players especially. The fact that Mubarak’s career of 38 ODI’s spans a period of seven years is ridiculous. Kapugedera has 59 ODI’s in a mere 3 years.
The 38 ODI’s themselves don’t tell the story though. In 2002/3 he was sacrificed in the no.3 position in the World Cup where Sri Lanka’s batting left much to be desired. Despite the failures of much more senior batsmen Mubarak was shown the door after a selection that was admittedly too early in his career. With confidence dented and a few years out, he was brought back again as the sacrificial lamb in 2006 to open the batting against Brett Lee and Shaun Pollock at their zenith in Australia. He credited himself well though and did as much wrong as the rest of the batting on that tour. This was at the time the selectors considered him an opener. He averaged 20.51 with a top score of 61.
Purely for the purposes of comparison Chamara Kapugedera averages 24.89 in the said period. However, he has played more than three times the number of games, meaning that the chances he had to win games for Sri Lanka have been immense, especially in the recently concluded India series which Sri Lanka lost 4-1. Many times Kapugedera, thrust into the lion’s den like no. 6 position failed to make an impression. In fact his average for 2009 is a dismal 15.27 runs. Has Mubarak been given similar opportunities? The statistics would suggest not.
Kapugedera has 5 fifties and 5 ducks in his 59 games, while Mubarak has 4 fifties and 1 duck (courtesy India in a WC 2003 semi final) in his 38 games. Nevertheless, Kapugedera is living proof of the fact that in Sri Lanka not one innings, but one shot, is all you need to make your career. His six off Brett Lee in Australia was a national symbol of defiance. Yet many choose not to remember the expression on Jacques Kallis’ face when Mubarak pulled and cut him for consecutive fours in South Africa or the time he scored a 13 ball 47 in the T20 World Cup.
The fact that he has been part of the set up since 2002 shows that coaches such as John Dyson, Tom Moody and now Trevor Bayliss, together with several selection committees have seen something promising in the left – hander. He is now repaying that faith and has been on the winning side in all games he played this year bar 2.
Asanga Athukorala