/ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT/SPORT-SRI LANKA: Cricket World Cup to Bridge Ethnic Divide Again

By Feizal Samath Reprint | | Print |

Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, Apr 27 1999 (IPS) - If there is one thing that has united Sri Lankans in the midst of a bloody ethnic war, it is the fortunes of the national cricket team.

Government soldiers and armed Tamil Tiger rebels marked a temporary truce to follow on radio and television the March 1996 World Cup cliff-hanger when Sri Lanka beat Australia to emerge as world champions of the one-day game.

Sri Lankans then lit crackers and danced on the streets in jubilation as cricket cut across ethnic and creed divides.

Cricket is the only subject on which the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils agree. Large pictures of Sri Lankan superstar Sanath Jayasuriya are framed and hung on walls in homes in the countryside.

The 1996 victory was sweet for many reasons. For most people, it was just the thing to pep up flagging national spirits after a fresh outbreak of ethnic violence.

To some extent, the 1996 win also helped soothe ethnic tensions with the presence of spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, the only Tamil member in a side dominated by Sinhalese.

Earlier this year, Muralitharan, rated among Sri Lanka’s best spinners ever, was honoured by a local newspaper, the Midweek Mirror, as its 1998 choice of Man of the Year.

The award was for his contribution to ethnic harmony in the nation where violence unleashed by Tamil separatists fighting for a separate homeland has claimed over 70,000 lives since 1983.

“Muralitharan is an epitome of national unity with true lion grit overcoming all obstacles with a smile and has a sense of deep devotion towards his country,” wrote a Mirror reader.

Endearingly called ‘Koti Petiya’ (Tiger cub) by his team-mates, Muralitharan straddles the ethnic divide with ease. All Sri Lankans, be they Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Burghers, stood by him when he was charged during the 1996 Australia tour with ‘chucking’.

During that tour, an Australian newspaper reported telephone threats from suspected Tamil rebels to Craig Mcdermott warning the Australian speedster that he would be killed if he bowled well against the Sri Lankans!

In July 1998 when Muralitharan returned from an amazing bowling performance that brought Sri Lanka a historic Test victory in England, he was welcomed in his tiny home town of Kundasale by thousands of men, women and children from all communities.

“The Sri Lankan team has given us the will to believe in ourselves. It has brought people together irrespective of race or language,” says Sunil Perera, veteran leader of Sri Lanka’s best known music band, Gypsies.

The game will once again bring Sri Lankans together as the national team prepares to defend its title at the World Cup next month.

But the heady days seem over with Sri Lanka rated the underdog as the team left Saturday for Britain for the tournament. After a string of defeats in recent one-day matches, the team is no longer the world beater it once was and trails South Africa, Australia, Pakistan and India.

After a successful England tour last year, the Sri Lankans lost 15 of the 20 one-day matches they played subsequently in Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia and India.

What went wrong? “I would say they are ageing as a team, they’ve lost their sharpness on the field particularly in fielding and lack spirit and motivation,” says Lakshman Perera, a taxi driver.

“It was a wonderful feeling in 1996 when we won the cup. It was pure ecstasy, pure joy. Nothing can take that away from us. Today, I am not so sure whether Sri Lanka could even reach the semi- finals,” he said.

But national team manager Duleep Mendis is optimistic. “We have been training hard and I think we can do well,” he says. Skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and his men have been hard at practice in the past few days and have kept away from public appearances.

Cricket writer Callistus Davy believes that age, low morale and stiffness on the field have all contributed to the decline of the Sri Lankan side in recent months.

“While our performances have been average, the other countries are raising standards,” he says.

According to Saadi’ Thawfeeq, senior sports correspondent of the leading national newspaper, Daily News, Sri Lanka is capable of retaining the World Cup.

“Our fielding has let us down in recent games. But with the team being bashed by the media over its mediocre performance I feel this is the motivation for them to strike back,” he writes.

A reason for the dip in team’s morale is the recent turmoil in the cricket administration. The election of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board is bogged in a legal dispute and some senior officials including the board president have been barred from functioning till the case is over.