12 November 2023 03:52 pm
Former captain Mahela Jayawardene called for patience and realistic expectations with the national cricket team, saying that some people don’t understand modern cricket.
“People jumping, shouting and screaming, has to realize what modern day cricket is, and how we are going to compete going forward.
The plans have been set, but we need to be patient, and work harder in areas we need to improve,” Jayawardane said.
He highlighted the young age profile of a majority of the team that travelled for the World Cup, believing they would only grow into a more formidable outfit.
“It’s a process that we have to trust, and it’s a process that we have to have patience with because this is a skillful group. Most of the guys are in their early 20s or mid 20s, that means they are going to be a force to reckon with going forward. The expectations I understand, cricket fans, Sri Lankan fans they all know that when we go for a World Cup, we are going to do well, we are going to perform. But that expectation has to be realistic, along with the plans,” he added.
He said the team’s think tank knew there would be a lack of experience in the team, but he considered this group of players an investment.
“We knew when we set this team up with the selectors, and the decision was taken, that we were going into this World Cup with less experience. Usually for us to compete at the highest level, you need a group of players with 150-200 plus games. That would have been a different story. But we didn’t have that. So, it is an investment for the future and that we all knew, when we made that call. And we were working towards that,” Jayawardene stated.
Reiterating Jayaywardene’s call for realistic expectations, Head Coach Chris Silverwood said, “We need to remember that we are not the only team going from the World Cup disappointed. There are many teams going home disappointed. Realistically only one team can win (the World Cup), and very much higher ranked teams than us at the moment, will be asking exactly the same questions that we are. The important thing is, what do we learn from this, how do we learn from this, and how to we put that right."