By Revatha S. Silva
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As Sri Lanka continue to go on the losing streak, their Head Coach Mickey Arthur turns to blame game[/caption]
Mickey Arthur, Sri Lanka’s national cricket Head Coach, is legitimately the sole authority of Sri Lanka team’s on-field performance. He is reportedly paid over five million rupees per month and has a batting coach, spin bowling coach, fast bowling coach, and a fielding coach to assist him.
If Sri Lanka wins against Australia, he can take away the major chunk of the credit. If Sri Lanka is to lose to Bangladesh, the case shouldn’t have been any different.
But instead of discussing reasons to continuous defeat, what Arthur is apparently doing these days is airing his views on the media against the players who are not even bound by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) contracts.
“No. According to the nature of his (Arthur’s) contract with SLC, he can’t criticise players. The players may be wrong, but his duty is not to blame them but to make sure that our team performs well in the middle,” a senior SLC official told the Morning Sports yesterday (1 June).
Showing off emotions
Arthur, whose contract with SLC is coming to an end later this year, has been shown on television screen during matches bragging an aggressive mood whenever a Lankan player makes a mistake. Even in the national schools structure, a senior coach doesn’t usually panic and show his emotions.
Yet they take the sole responsibility of the team’s defeat. They don’t go about blaming the players or the school principals. That is not his duty, either ethically or contractually.
“We don’t think of reprimanding or punishing him because today’s cricket is not entirely controlled by the cricket board,” the above SLC official revealed.
Aravinda, Mahela, and Sangakkara
“From one side there is Aravinda (de Silva) as the Head of the Technical Committee. Then there is Mahela (Jayawardene) and Kumar (Sangakkara) in the National Sports Council. They are the ones who take all the main decisions. We (the board) have been confined only to the administrative part,” he explained.
“I don’t feel any of those people are genuinely addressing the current issues. They are in a way holding those offices mainly to get their own work done, particularly through connections with the Govt. which they build up through these posts. All of them have their own agenda which are highly personal. They recommend people for big positions in national cricket. They can have their hands in selections too,” he added.
The board is always branded as thieves
“In fact what all these people are doing is their own businesses in the guise of serving the country. They make all the decisions and recommend people for high positions for their own benefit. Examples are many. Money talks. But everyone blames us (the board) in the end,” he added.
“We (the board) are always branded as thieves in the public eye. They are always considered legends,” he said.
“What these so-called legends do is also making money. They are facilitating their own businesses via cricket. Eventually they will leave these jobs, and if the team is still down even then, we as well as the honourable (sports) minister will have to take the blame for it. They will continue to go about as legends.”
Arthur’s got it confused
Meanwhile another official, who talked to us on the condition of anonymity, reiterated that Coach Arthur’s job is not to point his fingers at the players but to “make good players better, and make better ones great”.
“This could have been the kind of behaviour that would have caused him to be sacked from his previous jobs. As I know, he didn’t complete his contracts in places like South Africa, Pakistan, and Australia before due to various issues,” noted the official.
A player exodus?
“One day he tells us that player A is great and is an investment for T20 cricket, and so on. The very next day the same Arthur comes and tells us that the same player is of no use. He is expected to do his job with his team and deliver. If he can’t, he needs to talk thing with the board, not to go on blaming anyone,” he further explained.
“There is a belief that foreign coaches nowadays are more worried about their job security because of the pandemic. But you need to protect your job by performing and making your team win. You seek employing other tactics only when you really fail in the job you are supposed to do,” he added.
“Whatever said, there is a growing displeasure among the second string of players in the national ranks at the moment. If that displeasure is going to explode, we might see a major revolt or exodus of young players which can pull back our cricket by many years. Unfortunately, if such a thing is to happen, none of these legends nor Mickey Arthur or Grant Flower will be there to face the repercussions.”
As Sri Lanka continue to go on the losing streak, their Head Coach Mickey Arthur turns to blame game[/caption]
Mickey Arthur, Sri Lanka’s national cricket Head Coach, is legitimately the sole authority of Sri Lanka team’s on-field performance. He is reportedly paid over five million rupees per month and has a batting coach, spin bowling coach, fast bowling coach, and a fielding coach to assist him.
If Sri Lanka wins against Australia, he can take away the major chunk of the credit. If Sri Lanka is to lose to Bangladesh, the case shouldn’t have been any different.
But instead of discussing reasons to continuous defeat, what Arthur is apparently doing these days is airing his views on the media against the players who are not even bound by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) contracts.
“No. According to the nature of his (Arthur’s) contract with SLC, he can’t criticise players. The players may be wrong, but his duty is not to blame them but to make sure that our team performs well in the middle,” a senior SLC official told the Morning Sports yesterday (1 June).
Showing off emotions
Arthur, whose contract with SLC is coming to an end later this year, has been shown on television screen during matches bragging an aggressive mood whenever a Lankan player makes a mistake. Even in the national schools structure, a senior coach doesn’t usually panic and show his emotions.
Yet they take the sole responsibility of the team’s defeat. They don’t go about blaming the players or the school principals. That is not his duty, either ethically or contractually.
“We don’t think of reprimanding or punishing him because today’s cricket is not entirely controlled by the cricket board,” the above SLC official revealed.
Aravinda, Mahela, and Sangakkara
“From one side there is Aravinda (de Silva) as the Head of the Technical Committee. Then there is Mahela (Jayawardene) and Kumar (Sangakkara) in the National Sports Council. They are the ones who take all the main decisions. We (the board) have been confined only to the administrative part,” he explained.
“I don’t feel any of those people are genuinely addressing the current issues. They are in a way holding those offices mainly to get their own work done, particularly through connections with the Govt. which they build up through these posts. All of them have their own agenda which are highly personal. They recommend people for big positions in national cricket. They can have their hands in selections too,” he added.
The board is always branded as thieves
“In fact what all these people are doing is their own businesses in the guise of serving the country. They make all the decisions and recommend people for high positions for their own benefit. Examples are many. Money talks. But everyone blames us (the board) in the end,” he added.
“We (the board) are always branded as thieves in the public eye. They are always considered legends,” he said.
“What these so-called legends do is also making money. They are facilitating their own businesses via cricket. Eventually they will leave these jobs, and if the team is still down even then, we as well as the honourable (sports) minister will have to take the blame for it. They will continue to go about as legends.”
Arthur’s got it confused
Meanwhile another official, who talked to us on the condition of anonymity, reiterated that Coach Arthur’s job is not to point his fingers at the players but to “make good players better, and make better ones great”.
“This could have been the kind of behaviour that would have caused him to be sacked from his previous jobs. As I know, he didn’t complete his contracts in places like South Africa, Pakistan, and Australia before due to various issues,” noted the official.
A player exodus?
“One day he tells us that player A is great and is an investment for T20 cricket, and so on. The very next day the same Arthur comes and tells us that the same player is of no use. He is expected to do his job with his team and deliver. If he can’t, he needs to talk thing with the board, not to go on blaming anyone,” he further explained.
“There is a belief that foreign coaches nowadays are more worried about their job security because of the pandemic. But you need to protect your job by performing and making your team win. You seek employing other tactics only when you really fail in the job you are supposed to do,” he added.
“Whatever said, there is a growing displeasure among the second string of players in the national ranks at the moment. If that displeasure is going to explode, we might see a major revolt or exodus of young players which can pull back our cricket by many years. Unfortunately, if such a thing is to happen, none of these legends nor Mickey Arthur or Grant Flower will be there to face the repercussions.”