Alastair Cook's Ordeal

Alastair Cook's Ordeal

I do not write or talk about cricket NOW, especially One Day (ODI) Cricket.

Not because, that I do not like cricket.

One think I do now is watch re=telecast of Cricket Oldies.

There is something in every (Seventies) cricketer before money bug hit them.

I look at them from Botham to Ilingworth, to Stratham, to Trumean to Ravi Sasthri to our own Ranatunge.

They were different.

They loved the game.

Now cricketers love money.

Glamor is OK but money was a spoiler.

Even, CEOs and administrators are gold diggers now.

Number one is Indian IPL and it was the last straw on a camel's back.

I gave up.

But when I see a young talent like, Alastair Cook (test cricket especially) it is a new discovery.

I think the whole England team that toured Sri-Lanka should take the blame.

Isolating the captain as the scape goat was easy for selectors (for poor selection and above all poor preparation).

They were not up to one day cricket.

England selectors are experimenting with young blood and at the same time ruining them.

Unlike the players in Asian continent, these players have to think of their careers outside cricket.

Young players looking at these dealing will throw the towel at the first opportunity.

I must tell you that I do not like cricketers like Kevin Pietersen.

He is a raw talent but a game spoiler and sometimes “talent spoiler”.

Let me say few things about Mavan Attapattu and our Dilshan.

Mavan had golden ducks and many failures in the beginning.

He was the most stylish opener we had.

Alastair is stylish just like Mavan.

I would say a young replica.

He should have a private talk with our Mavan.

How he recovered from his own ordeal.

We were behind him all the time except our armchair critics.

He is our chief selector NOW.

What Alastair needs is one ton behind his belt.

The story about Dilshan is different.

Few of our selectors wanted to destroy him.

He was given a shoddy deal in spite of his grits and talent.

He was promoted as an opener to destroy him.

Then, I was fully engrossed in Sri-Lankan cricket and saw this ploy (we use grandam's type of approach here, in this country- gossip just like our gutter politicians' use) and alerted Dilshan.

He has become the most dependable opener and aggregator, not stylish, though, and went on to develop the Dilscoop.

He is still working on his technique, even now.

His only mistake I found then was carrying a heavy bat.

He changed the weight of the bat at that time when he was a dasher and that did the trick.

My advice for Alastair is not to change the style of play but to try a number of bats (for one day cricket) to suit his style.

Better still he works on his own bat and give the specification to the manufacturers and make a name in cricket industry (if rules permit you to do so).

I think you can bounce back and destroy few of the selectors.

That should be your motto.

Destroy few of the selectors by your own talent and believe in YOU.

I will be watching you (in spite of my self imposed retirement).

Unlike you, I won't be watching World Cup in 2015 even if Sri-Lanka make a headway (unlikely, I won't give my reasons).

Our Dilshan did that in style.

He proved his selectors were wrong.

That is the pastime of Sri-Lankans.

We have sent few of the selectors to the gallows.

They never came back.

We make sure that stays put in spite of political interventions.

Cricket is politics in Sri-Lanka.

But our Politics is stinking gutter trade!