Ranatunga slams sacking of Marsh

26 January 2012 02:23 pm - 56 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Legendary Sri Lankan cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga on Thursday slammed his country's sacking of Australian coach Geoff Marsh as "disgraceful" and "unprofessional".

Marsh was this week replaced by South African Graham Ford. The move followed Tillakaratne Dilshan quitting the captaincy on Monday. Former skipper Mahela Jayawardene was brought in to lead the team to Australia for the upcoming triangular one-day series involving India.

"It is disgraceful the way Sri Lanka Cricket handled it by removing a professional like Marsh," the former Sri Lankan captain Ranatunga, 48, said a day after the governing body sacked him. Marsh had begun a two-year contract in September 2011 when he was abruptly shown the door. He has not commented on his dismissal and Sri Lanka Cricket has not given any reasons for the sudden move. Removing Marsh also sends a negative signal to professional staff who work with Sri Lanka or plan to work with the national cricket team in the future, Ranatunga said. "Top coaches, physios will think twice before they accept a job from Sri Lanka in the future. Sri Lanka Cricket has set a very bad precedent," said Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka to their only World Cup triumph in 1996.

Ford, 51, is the fourth to coach Sri Lanka since Australian Trevor Bayliss stepped aside after the World Cup final in April 2011. Bayliss's assistant Stuart Law took over for the England series and quit to coach Bangladesh.

Sri Lankan pace bowler Rumesh Ratnayake took over for the home series against Australia and was replaced by Marsh. Ranatunga, a former captain and opposition lawmaker, also blamed administrators for the country's poor run of form after losses to England, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa.

"People who run cricket in this country, have no clue about the game. Do you think they love the game? No. Sri Lanka Cricket is in a major mess," he said. He said re-appointing Jayawardene, who led the side to the 2007 World Cup final, was not the right way to fix the losing streak. "It is like changing the pillow to fix a headache. Mahela is not getting younger. I am surprised he accepted it again. We have to groom young people for the captaincy," he said.

He accused the government of meddling in the sport that has led to its financial ruin, poor governance and lack of foresight to pick players. A former cricket board chief, Ranatunga scored 5,105 runs in 93 Tests and 7,456 runs in 269 one-dayers before quitting international cricket in 2000. (Source: Times of India)

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Comments - 56

Amar H Friday, 27 January 2012 09:29 AM

Thanks Arjuna ,we know you are really worried man abt our cricket team ,unfortunatley nobody to back you in this situation due its PoliCricket Policies!

hassa Friday, 27 January 2012 06:41 AM

I agree with Ameer. Talking with hatred because he was not given the post of Minister of Sports. Experience counts a lot whether is leading the Ministry or leading the Cricket Team.

farieze rumi Friday, 27 January 2012 06:59 AM

dear Arjuna, please keep away from cricket now and serve the people who who elected you. You brought proud to our country through cricket and now we want you bring proud to the poor people. please coordinate with government and help.

MAY ALLAH BLESS YOU AND BRING PROSPERITY TO OUR BELOVED COUNTRY.

raeseen Friday, 27 January 2012 07:10 AM

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Siri Friday, 27 January 2012 07:02 AM

Ranatunga, who are the young players you brought forward,appriciate your captaincy.don't mix politics and cricket

willows Friday, 27 January 2012 07:35 AM

Arjuna what you said is very correct, unfortunately no one in hire up will see your comments, SL Cricket is on death row??

Sud Friday, 27 January 2012 07:49 AM

Well Said, Ameer

Mohd Friday, 27 January 2012 07:52 AM

Arjuna, Pls dont bring the politics to the cricket again as these days politions are leading the SL cricket team behind the wall. You did a wondeful job to SL in 1996 & v appriciated that

True Lankan Friday, 27 January 2012 08:12 AM

Can anyone tell me about any good comment he made over Sri Lanka cricket from the day he was fired from Cricket board ??
He was a great captain alright, but that doesn't mean he is a Cricket genius........ who only knows to make negative comments just to impress how great he is.......these are politically biased comments, nothing else....

Jamis Banda Friday, 27 January 2012 08:40 AM

To be fair on Dilshan though he is not popular, remember the time when Sanath, Marven, Mahela, Sanga got appointed as captains - the first few matches / series they lost - it takes time for a captain to build a side. The South african tour this time is the best we had there - we lost all series prior to this worse. Also, sacking coaches without giving them time - absurd.. We could have check out a few more series (atleast 3) before taking harsh decisions - this is purely political to my knowladge.

Seanaka W Friday, 27 January 2012 08:37 AM

Please bring D S De Silva as Coach and NISSANTHA RANATUNGA as DS'S Deputy..Super combination to bring SLC to the highest level..
I feel sorry for Dilshan..there was no support from his ( so called ) senior team mates since he was appointed as Captain. Mahela is a great Cricketer..but LOVES MONEY and GREEDY..God bless SLC...

Seanaka W Friday, 27 January 2012 08:39 AM

I have given but you people are scared approve it..!

jilabatta Friday, 27 January 2012 08:57 AM

Dear Arjuna I Agree with your comments, also mahela didn't give any support to Dilshan during his Captaincy. Instead of give captaincy for him he should sack from the National side also with Mathews. BCCSL should think about Thilan He is very talented and promising Cricketer. he should be the National Cricket Captain. what mahela can do in Australia .....

M.v.R.Perera Friday, 27 January 2012 09:16 AM

If the Selectors and the Captain were found wanting what is the logic in sacking March after only two tours and in the last tour our team had success never before witnessed

Niran Samarasekera Friday, 27 January 2012 06:50 AM

Agree with Ameer about the appointment of Mahela as Captain. He is at the moment the best captain in the global scene. Also Matthews is still not capable of taking over the captaincy as he is still not thinking nationally like when he crawled to get 100 from 86 instead of getting the runs faster even at the cost of his century. But I agree 100% with Arjuna on the termination of Marsh. How can the SLC officials decide on Marsh's performance after 3/4 months. It was very un-professionall hndled. Marsh was the scapegoat. It is great to see Marsh acting professionally and not making any adverse comments like a true Oz. The administrators of SLC have no cricketing brains.and they continue to gather all their "Henchaiyas" together to make a buck at the cost of the country

Ranjitdea Friday, 27 January 2012 09:32 AM

Dear Arjuna, have you forgotten how you got rid of Dave Whatmore who was instrumnenal in coaching the World Cup winning team

prem Friday, 27 January 2012 09:51 AM

They are not cool as you

BADA-UDA GEMMBA Friday, 27 January 2012 09:55 AM

It is a pity that there is no Rajapakse to lead the SL Cricket side. EVEN better if the whole team is comprised of more Rajapakses. We would be the MIRACLE OF ASIA if not the MIRACLE OF WORLD CRICKET!!!!!!

fazal Friday, 27 January 2012 10:06 AM

I AGREE WITH ARJUNA , BUT WHEN DAV WATMORE WAS SACKED YOU DID NOT UTTER ANYTHING, FING FAULT WITH GOVERNMENT IN SUPPORT OF SARATH FONSEKA AS YOU ARE RELATED , I HOPE THIS COMMENT WILL BE PUT ON THIS COLUMN...

fazli Friday, 27 January 2012 09:57 AM

once again you proved opportunist. Under the
circumstances Mahela is the best choice. You know it too. Wish Mahela & his team good luck.

lal Friday, 27 January 2012 10:18 AM

What you said are right.

Randy Friday, 27 January 2012 10:21 AM

Do you love the country??? you love the govt because for all your corrupt earnings its feed you.
All loves money not the country or the Cricket.Obvious now Cricket board is politicized.If you don't know go to a doctor for therapy.

hewa Friday, 27 January 2012 11:00 AM

I wonder whether we sri lanakans give an undue prominence to this game of cricket! As a developing nation should not we have other priorities to be attended to..... rather than over utilizing our valuable resources on cricket?

sanjit Friday, 27 January 2012 11:02 AM

How the hell do you know whether Mahela supported or not. So stupid of you to think.

gajan99 Friday, 27 January 2012 11:09 AM

Does not matter who goes or who comes, we are losers.

acord4 Friday, 27 January 2012 11:16 AM

Mahela has to complete the cancer hospital.this is da pressure given by president.no choice...he accepted it.no point of talking about da minister.He's a thug....he doesn't know da meaning of cricket o sport.....

Senna Friday, 27 January 2012 09:29 PM

Welsaid sir, Mahela is the ideal captain for the moment.. I too agree with Arjuna as in dicated the way Marsh was sacked was unacceptable, very unprofessional. Should have done this in a better way ?

Hoodwink Friday, 27 January 2012 02:47 AM

It appears that Marsh affair is leading to a bog. Before they appointed Marsh, his background should have been looked into. His son is currently playing test cricket for Australia, naturally there is bound to be a conflict of interest, specially if Australia were to play against Sri lanka..

Aristotle Thursday, 26 January 2012 03:13 PM

The was a time when cricket was play to teach team spirit. Now here is no team spirit in the Sri Lanka cricket team. This is what money and politics can do to great game that was played by gentleman.

saheer Thursday, 26 January 2012 08:52 PM

The easiest and the cheap thing in the world is giving advise or criticize the others.I do not say Ranathunga is wrong but he should stop doing his own politics within cricket in the form of criticize.
If he really wants to contribute to srilanka cricket,then he should come up with solution rather blaming others.

rd Thursday, 26 January 2012 09:02 PM

well but he was reportedly SLEEPING in dressing room after watching his son batting in Australia during SL-Pak series.Once he was accused for watching Aus-NZ series in dressing room during a match !

So there are enough reasons & actually they wanted to sack him even before the South African series.

We should take Arjuna`s comments seriously.He just like Sanath make ere politically motivated comments.

True there are problems but they are getting solved now.Sports minister should stay away from players.

aj Thursday, 26 January 2012 10:35 PM

I agree with Arjuna on both coach and captaincy. Also Mahela is not playing well as a player so a captain who is not in form is more trouble than good. Similar to the way Dilshan operated. But what choice do we have for captain ?

rajindra Thursday, 26 January 2012 10:41 PM

Mr Arjuna Ranatunga, I admire your comment. However, having your brother in SLC with many accusations will give you extremely negative image and your comment seems null and void. Had I been in your shoes as the eldest of the siblings, although Nishantha is an independent individual, I would have simply asked him to step down.

Nodrog Friday, 27 January 2012 12:00 AM

What happened to Dav Whatmore and Ana Punchihewa, architects of the 1996 world cup win? It was disgraceful then too.

Analysis1 Friday, 27 January 2012 12:46 AM

Wel well well Sri Lankan way of conducting business is very unprofessional in a broader sense so can you expect someting different from cricket board? Ranatunga has a point. Marsh should have been given the reasons for his dismissal and Marsh should have the opportunity to respond. Poor show altogether!!

Ranjith Friday, 27 January 2012 12:39 AM

Don't worry Dear , We have sacked Mr.Peter Hill earlier.

reader Friday, 27 January 2012 01:33 AM

why keep a coach if for 4 series their was no improvement from the team his coaching its like keeping a broken cell phone because it is a branded one

gorakaya Friday, 27 January 2012 02:00 AM

You are exactly right Ranatunga. It's a pity that SL cricket is in this predicament, when there is so much talent waiting on the wings.

rushy46 Friday, 27 January 2012 02:22 AM

Well said Mr. Ranatunga.

Anjana Friday, 27 January 2012 02:39 AM

It's quite evident that the governing body has no clue of the consequences, and the way they have handle this situation is very unprofessional and as Mr. Ranathunga said professionals will think twice before they engage with SL cricket.

K-Man Friday, 27 January 2012 02:38 AM

Arjuna is the best guy to do the job. It's a shame as in SL, right person will never get the chance. This will happen until the government toying around in SLC.

Ameer Thursday, 26 January 2012 02:47 PM

Dear Arjuna we respect you for what you did for the country. But don't bring your hate of the govt to this game of cricket. We don't have a better captain at the moment than Mahela and he is the best captain we have. He is even better than Sanga for that matter. So just because you want someone young we dont give captaincy at once to someone. You need experience as a vice captain to be a captain. You talk about Matthews what has matthews done to proove his place in the side. Look at Pakistan with Misbah. That is what we can expect from Mahela too stability. Don't talk as if Mahela needs the captain job to stay in the side. He is one player who can walk into world side. He can play t20's and make good money like Gayle. He is doing this for the country. Please learn to appreciate these people. Talk what is necessary

anura Friday, 27 January 2012 02:48 AM

You are the wonderful person, i saw the 1st test srilanka played
you can do it , go forward this is not politics god will help you.
I pray for Srilanka Cricket.

anura Friday, 27 January 2012 03:00 AM

I have already texed

shahul Friday, 27 January 2012 03:04 AM

This man is also shouting for the past few years......... making public appearances on many TV channels....... still its the same old story................

The simple fact is that the government is highly involved in this sports for various reasons, hence there is no one with a backbone to take this out.

Mr. Arjuna, at least we appreciate that we have one sri lankan with a backbone who can take to the authorities. even if nothing happens........ Thank you.

Fayad Friday, 27 January 2012 03:38 AM

Marsh sacking was unprofessional, were you happy with Dev Wathmore for the services he rendered to win the World Cuo ??

Anton James Friday, 27 January 2012 04:03 AM

Well said Captain cool, you are 'spot on'.

Sen Friday, 27 January 2012 05:04 AM

Bravo Arjuna you said it right.
SL cricket board seems to be run by a drunken sailor at the present,Who will cut and slash to get another hit.
Just because you lost a few games to some of the top tier teams in the world should not be a reason to terminate the captain Dilshan and Marsh The coach.
Ford (a temperamental fellow) had declined the Sri lankan offer before. How long he will last is anybody's guess.
The usually intelligent Mahela should have declined the captaincy in his own interest ie. his own poor batting form.

tuannazee Friday, 27 January 2012 05:23 AM

I agree with Mr Ranatunge, Coachers and captaincy can not be
brought from the market , at the moment SLC is like baffons
high time to groome young cricketers from leading clubs and
schools for the captaincy you can not bring back Mahela again
we need to groome a off spiner also like of Murali cabliber if we
want to become No 1

The God Father Friday, 27 January 2012 05:33 AM

I dont watch cricket anymore, have started appreciating beach volleyball nowadays.

Nuwan Friday, 27 January 2012 05:49 AM

You are absolutely correct. We dont have SL cricket any more. I started watching Australian Opens.

Aristotle Friday, 27 January 2012 05:49 AM

Great white gentlemen!

Dammika Friday, 27 January 2012 05:56 AM

Those reports are politically motivated reports to make the ground situation to sack him. He is a well respected cricketing legend and a coach. These are all misleading stories created to divert the attention of a big financial blunder made by >>>>>>>

najeeb Friday, 27 January 2012 06:12 AM

You are right on spot dude. I fully agree with all what you have said. At the moment, Mahela is the only choice. He may be old but a very successful captain. Am sure Angelo will learn a lot from him.

On a different note, am too upset about the sacking of Marsh. I think SLC need to explain the reason for Marsh sacking.

Aristotle Friday, 27 January 2012 06:49 AM

After all cricket is the white mans game also played by the former colonies. Empty pride by some who do not agree.

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Ranatunga slams sacking of Marsh

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