Heads roll in a Sri Lankan purge

The build up of insipid results since the World Cup loss has seen patience evaporate for Sri Lanka with heads a plenty being loaded on the chopping block, and duly lopped off.

Most notably in this purge from a Team sense is the replacing of Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan with Mahela Jayawardene. The replacing of Dilshan is to be commended as a proactive choice in view of the terrible example he gives with his irresponsible actions in games. As so underlined in some of his insipidly soft manners of dismissal in the Test series against South Africa. His replacement in Mahela is a safe as houses option that will be received well by the fans, but by making the choice to replace Dilshan it offered the Sri Lankan powers that be to be a bit more futuristic in their choice of successors.

The fact that the Team is ageing with a few stars likely to depart in the next few years presented a perfect opportunity in selecting Angelo Mathews as ODI Captain and Dinesh Chandimal as his deputy. Putting two young tyros in charge, both with a decade of excellence left in the game and with the opportunity to mold the Team in their likeness.

Away from the change in leadership of the Team, Geoff Marsh after three months in charge as Coach has also been replaced. He was still under a 3-month probation so the men in power decided not to keep him on a more permanent basis. This decision merely makes him a scapegoat for the insipid performances of the Team in view of the fact that the Coach can only do so much with success being reliant on the players performances.

His replacement will be the ex South African Coach Graham Ford ( picture above ). A good choice when you view the difficulty of the job that is better suited for a man of pedigree and experience like Ford, rather than a babe in the woods like Marsh. He will be entrusted with the massive task of trying to breath life into Sri Lankan Cricket, that at present is at a real nadir. Promisingly, he is a Coach of real pedigree and real man’s balls that will have no fear in making the tough decisions.

Which brings us to the real issue within the current malaise.

Whether the cronies with real power in Sri Lankan Cricket will allow the new men entrusted to turn the Teams fortune without their constant meddling?Sadly this is unavoidable in this paradise island, but the naming of a real power broker in Duleep Mendis, who is very adept at managing the these intrusive mannerisms offers hope.

Duleep Mendis- Man of Steel!

He will be bestowed the responsibility of being National Team Manager, and a clean out of the Teams selection panel will also be under taken. Replacing the current Selectors will be a 4 man panel with names such as Hemantha Wickramaratne, Kapila Wijegunawardena and Amal Silva being near certain of being part of it.

Let us hope these changes restores some pride in Sri Lanka’s jaded image!