Ravi Nyayapati – 
Sri Lanka has had an awkward tour of New Zealand so far.
Whilst they may have won one of the ODIs, and came close in the first T20, the games they have lost are a cause for worry. It is not the losses that are worrying but the manner in which they have lost is simply bewildering.
In the Hamilton Test, Sri Lanka went into the second innings with a lead of 55 runs. They were 71 for no loss at one stage, only to then lose all 10 wickets for 50 runs, setting the Black Caps a relatively easy target for victory.
In the shorter form of the game, New Zealand won comfortably in the first match before handing out a comprehensive thrashing in the second ODI where the visitors were bundled out for a mere 117. Opener Martin Guptill ensured that the game finished even before the scheduled innings break.
Weakened Side
Sri Lanka’s tour has been problematic from the onset. The most significant challenge for them was in the retirement last year of their two most consistent players of the last decade, Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayewardene.
Following the post Jayewardene-Sangakkara era, they played only a substandard West Indies team which they expectedly won, before flying out to New Zealand.
The touring party also did not feature pace bowler Lasith Malinga who failed to recover from a knee injury. Soon after arrival, their first choice wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera was recalled for testing positive for a banned substance. The already weak squad became even weaker.
The Test line-up was filled with a string of newcomers with only a couple of players in the batting line-up to have played more than 20 Test matches.
Harsh reality
The deep-rooted inexperience is a likely cause of the abysmal performances.
Captain Angelo Mathews boldly declared at the start of the tour that “We are going to play some really good cricket and we expect to win” albeit acknowledging the ‘fear of losing’ played on the minds of the young squad.
Matthews eventually accepted reality and admitted that “beating New Zealand in their conditions is very tough, not many teams have done that. If we did, it will make a huge impact and create a lot of confidence in the group going forward,” Mathews said.
This is a young side at the crossroads of a transformation. They probably will be great in a couple of years so this tour will serve as a great learning experience.
The irony of this for New Zealand cricket fans is that not only have they had to put up with substandard cricket but having to host the same country for the seventh time in eleven years.
New Plan
Quite simply, New Zealanders are tired of watching the same team touring over and over again. New Zealand Cricket needs to work on a different plan. They may have a ray of hope in this area with the change of guard at the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairmanship.
With Shashank Manohar taking the helm at the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI), he will automatically assume the role as the chairman of the ICC. It was a surprising, yet honourable, admission by him recently that the big three (India, England and Australia) were bullying ICC and that he did not agree with it.
The one-sided control and administrative mess was the mastermind of the infamous ex- BCCI president N Srinivasan. Their ten-year Future Tours Programme (FTP) has been wayward to say the least, with constant changes at the whims and wishes of the big three. Manohar’s comments offer hope but it will be a few years before this is set right.
