Let’s make most of local coaches

Rex Clementine at Pallekele

Sri Lankan cricket has been ahead of times compared to some of our Asian neighbours over the years. In our formative years, Gamini Dissanayake was convinced that the team needed a foreign coach and quite a few of them were hired including Sir Garry Sobers to help the team in early days. At a time when the board was penniless, Mr. Dissanayake had businessmen around him like Killy Rajamahendran to fund these foreign coaches.

For about a decade then, several former local players managed the affairs of the team. Then in 1994 when visionary board chairman Ana Punchihewa took over, he felt the need to have a foreign coach again. He wanted to bring in Dav Whatmore, but he was going to cost the board US$ 100,000 annually. SLC at that point had a grand bank balance of Rs. 400,000.

It is not known to many that Mr. Punchihewa’s visionary project was funded by the Australian Cricket Board. Sri Lanka were going to tour Australia in 1995 and were getting a guarantee fee of US$ 100,000. The Aussies doubled the guarantee fee and as a result the board could afford Whatmore. It is well-documented how he changed the fortunes of the team.

In recent years, we have had a few local Head Coaches. Roy Dias was at the helm when Sri Lanka won a Test match in England for the first time in 1998 and Marvan Atapattu was in charge when Sri Lanka recorded a first ever series win in England in 2014.

Between those periods we have had some excellent foreign coaches. There was Tom Moody, a brilliant man manager and Trevor Bayliss, who brought the best of several star players. Both of them took the team to the World Cup finals and stepped down.

Under incumbent Chris Silverwood, the results maybe not very much in favour of him, but what he has done is to develop an excellent set of fast bowlers. Fast bowling is one area that has shown tremendous improvement in recent years credit to the former Yorkshire quick.

India were very late to obtain the services of a foreign coach. New Zealander John Wright was their first foreign coach in 2001 and since then they have had the likes of Greg Chappell, Duncan Fletcher and Gary Kirsten.

But currently, India’s almost entire coaching staff is local. The only foreigner in their ranks is our own Nuwan Seneviratne, a throw down specialist.

Can Sri Lanka be self-sufficient too moving forward? Some of the foreign coaching staff that we have hired in recent years have been well below par.

There was a hue and cry when they brought down a fielding coach two years ago claiming he is one of the best. But it turned out to be we were taken for a ride. The national cricket team’s fielding was horrendous in the recently concluded World Cup where they spilled as many as 16 catches. The drop catches cost them dearly and the team finished ninth in the tournament and were knocked out of the Champions Trophy.

A lot of people tend to agree that we may need a foreigner as Head Coach. Nobody is denying it. Maybe you can get a qualified physiotherapist as well from overseas, but rest, surely, the locals can manage. Since the arrival of Upul Chandana as Fielding Coach, the players are showing more energy on the field and his creative drills are a treat to watch indeed.

Recently, we recruited a spin bowling coach by the name of Craig Howard. You tend to think that in a country that has produced some quality spin bowlers, surely we should be able to hire someone locally. Rangana Herath is into coaching and you wonder whether he is available to do a stint. Apart from his expertise on spin bowling, the cool-headed Herath will be ideal to the dressing room atmosphere.

This is not an effort to run down Howard. Maybe he’ll be able to help our spinners. It remains to be seen. But the fact is we have made some poor choices with our foreign coaches in recent years. The fielding coach is a case in point.

SLC needs to be commended for they have hardly interfered with recommendations of our former captain who has been calling the shots on cricket-related matters for close to three years now. But all his choices haven’t been top-notch. There have been some very ordinary ones. Let’s make the most of local coaches. And save some dollars.