Jayawardene in hot seat

Veteran has the onerous job of putting the team back on track

Mahela Jayawardene is a languid presence at the crease, even the sixes he hits have a certain politeness to them; he’s a modest person with an ever-smiling face off the field. But aren’t we forgetting something else here?

Yes, he’s an astute captain, who doesn’t hesitate to attack and that club doesn’t have too many members these days. Jayawardene had displayed his attacking instincts in the matches against Australia at Perth and in the tied game against India at Adelaide while setting the field, also an indication of his wonderful ability to read the game.

But the challenge for Jayawardene in his second stint as Sri Lankan captain is not limited to leading his country on the field. It now involves guiding Lanka during a turbulent time, and Jayawardene needs to show his best man managing skills to take the team to a bright tomorrow.

Jayawardene has accepted the job, which he had given up in February 2009, during a tough time for Lankan cricket. They don’t have players of the stature of Muttiah Muralitharan or Sanath Jayasuriya, youngsters are just about cutting their teeth in international cricket, and the players are unpaid since the World Cup in 2011.

According to Angelo Mathews the Lankans are now playing for the “love of the game.” Perhaps, Tillakaratne Dilshan couldn’t handle the on and off field pressures, stepping down from the hot seat after the tour of South Africa, and Lanka needed a respected voice to keep the bunch united.

But it wasn’t an easy decision for Jayawardene to make. He admitted it. “The decision to take over was a very tough one. The easiest thing for me was to say no. But the situation we are in right now, I felt I needed to take that responsibility. And try and do my best and see what happens. Spoke to usual people that I speak to about the game, and they all felt the same way. Took me 24 hours to take the call,” he said.

His second term coincided with the arrival of a new coach in Graham Ford, who took over after Lanka sacked Geoff Marsh after the South African tour, and Jayawardene was excited about leading Lankan cricket into a new era.

“We have had quite a few meetings when we arrived in Australia. We are trying to cultivate a few things we want in the team like the thinking processes, and getting the guys to take more responsibility. We want them to be more free out there while playing cricket, and give them a free hand.

“So, we are trying to get certain things into the team. Hopefully, we can continue to do the good things, and at the same time hope we can improve in areas we can improve,” he said.

But the toughest part of his second term as captain is that he can be viewed as a stopgap arrangement before a younger player – Angelo Mathews in all likelihood – takes over the role in the lead up to the World Cup 2015. 

Jayawardene has already tackled a couple of questions in that direction, and he’s not perturbed in performing the role of a facilitator. In fact, Jayawardene is quite happy that he can be a part of an important period in Lankan cricket.

He handed the ball to Mathews in the 49th over of that tied game at Adelaide when India needed 24 runs to win, and the young all-rounder conceded 15 runs. However, Jayawardene rated it as an experience that will stand in good stead for Mathews in the future.

“I think, this is how these guys are going to learn. The more games these guys play they will become better finishers, and they will take more responsibility. That’s my gut feeling, and that’s why I gave the ball to Angie in the 49th over. I feel he is ready now to take more responsibility. Let’s put them in these situations, and let them learn. I am quite happy, we are headed in the right direction,” he said.

And Lanka is fortunate that they have the dignified presence of Jayawardene to guide them.