News, Rugby October 1, 2018

Sri Lanka dismiss limited overs captain Mathews

Sri Lanka dismiss limited overs captain Mathews
Sri Lanka’s cricket board have removed ODI and T20 captain Angelo Mathews, after the team’s undistinguished exit from the ICC Asia Cup 2018 well underway in the United Arab Emirates.
In the meantime, according to a press release, Test captain Dinesh Chandimal has been appointed to lead Sri Lanka across all formats in the forthcoming series against England. The Sri Lanka squad are scheduled to face England, currently ranked as the best ODI side in the World, in 5 one-day matches, a single Twenty20 contest and three Tests, due to start on the 10th of October.

Mathews’ tactical captaincy along with his leadership skills have been called into question as a result of Sri Lankan losses to Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. The Lions’ were silenced by Bangladesh in their opening match of the tournament, losing by 137 runs, and since then matters have gone from bad to worse for the team, crowned by the final ignominy of failing to make the Super Four stage.

The Sri Lanka Cricket board (SLCB) issued a statement announcing their decision but did not divulge why Mathews was sacked. Even so, the statistics, which admittedly can distort the truth, show the side have lost 30 out of their 40 matches played since January 2017.

Mathews himself, has not remained silent following his dismissal as captain, voicing his intense resentment, at being made a:

“scapegoat for the dismal performances … at the Asia Cup”.

In a letter to the SLCB, he even mentioned retirement from ODI and T20I cricket altogether.

All the more remarkable is the fact that, Mathews has been asked to step down by the exact same Sri Lanka’s selectors together with coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who less than 10 months ago asked Mathews to take up the ODI and T20 captaincy again. All of which points to an unfortunate level of disarray within Sri Lankan cricket, in the run up to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Mathews had already relinquished the captaincy once before in July 2017, as a result of an ODI series loss to Zimbabwe played in Sri Lanka. Yet on this current occasion despite his considerable displeasure he was swift to write, that he had:
“no intention to quitting and running away from the issues at hand especially owing to the World Cup being only a dozen games away”.
To his credit, Mathews has fronted up to Sri Lanka fans, apologising profusely and publically for the team’s poor performance in the tournament following their rapid Asia Cup exit. However, his main grievance with the selectors is that they appear to have placed the entire blame for Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup defeats squarely on his shoulders.
Mathews protested:
“I’m willing to take part of the blame but, at the same time, feel betrayed and let down if the blame is solely put on me. As you know, all decisions [are made] through a mutual understanding with the Selectors and Head Coach.”
There are many Sri Lankan supporters that would agree with him, who believe that both the coach and under-par players selected should share the responsibility.
Certainly thus far, there is no suggestion from either coach or selectors that Mathews should be excluded from either of the limited-overs teams as a participating player. While in truth, his form in the Asia Cup with two lacklustre scores, and his involvement in the run outs of two batting partners did trigger considerable public criticism. But, as is the case with most top cricketers, form comes in peaks, periods of consistency and then dips, so who knows come next year’s ICC World Cup, if the player is not given game time whether he is back in the zone.
In the interim, Mathews has not shied away from the issue of his personal performance, stating in a published letter:

“If the selectors and coach are of the view that I am unfit to play ODI and T20 cricket and thus not entitled for my place in the team, I would also consider retiring from the ODI and T20 formats as I never want to be a burden to the team.”

While it was not meant in that sense, more fitness for purpose, his physical fitness, in particular, is perhaps the most unsettling factor. Over the past two years, Mathews has frequently not been available for selection for Sri Lanka’s international tours, due to a variety of leg injuries. There have also been suggestions in some quarters that he has had weight control issues since around 2015.

Nonetheless, when fit to play, Mathews has more often than not delivered valuable innings’ with the bat, which he also refers to in his letter. On batting statistics in isolation he would be a massive loss to the side. Mathews has made 888 ODI runs at an average of 59.20, across 22 innings, since the beginning of 2017, although at a moderate strike rate of 76. Nor should we forget that he was the highest scorer In Sri Lanka’s most-recent bilateral series, against South Africa, hitting 235 runs at 78.33, with a strike rate of 83 over five matches.

That is an impressive contribution and on face value, Sri Lanka would be hard pressed at next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup without his services. Coming at this time, at least this spanner in the captaincy works will not result in any major fallout in 2019, especially if Chandika Hathurusingha delivers in the England series and is visibly doing a much better job than Mathews. But, it is a tall order against a touring side in good form coming off the back of emphatic ODI and Test series wins against India. Although, if Chandika does not put on a good showing, then the lingering mayhem within Sri Lankan cricket is likely to drag on.

Expat Sport’s Mac McTiernan looks at the SLCB’s sudden removal of Sri Lanka’s ODI and T20I Captain Angelo Mathews, following their swift exit from the Asia Cup and the turmoil this move may have caused in their build up to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales.