Ceylon Today Editorial

Handling talent with care

01 October 2016

 

The under fifteen inter-provincial cricket tournament was played over two days and can be heralded as a filling of a long-standing vacuum. It is something that should have taken place as soon as Sri Lanka began their Test cricket in 1982. Without this most needed training since 1982 for Sri Lankan schools to have kept on producing such talent is highly incredible. It is only playing a two-day game that gives the schoolboys the opening to think on their feet instead of getting wins on points.

Of course the system was such, that there was always those opportunities open to all talented Sri Lankan schoolboys to join clubs playing in the Premier Tournaments. But this opening with a few more adjustments and additions could make these players much better in future. Both with their choosing with bat and ball and leadership qualities these players coming out of the school system will become more matured.

This provincial tournament was played on a league basis as one-day matches coming down to the final and that was played as a two-dayer. These games were played in two groups with twelve provincial teams participating in the 30 matches that were played against each other of the group that the teams were allotted to. This could be seen as done for the convenience of the organizers.

All matches were played in Colombo and its suburbs, when it began on 17 September. We feel, that here that all the five Colombo based teams were at an advantage. It could be seen how it went on to favour them when both teams in the final came from the Western Province.

This inter-provincial tournament is a good way to get the youngsters exposed to many aspects of the game. The more important areas could be building relations at a different and more important level that such a tournament would be aimed at. As they usually come out after playing in inter-school cricket where the game impacts them at a lesser degree, the provincial level cricket makes a big difference. This is due to the fact the youngsters now represent their province and the teams are made up of players from other schools as well. In the thoughts of these youngsters, it gives them more responsibility and its importance placed on their talent.

When it is the first time they get exposed to such and it is the time to have a closer look at their whole make-up of a player. This is why it is important to make them feel more at home. That is why these tournaments have to have those humane thoughts around them. It is, therefore, our feeling that the game itself has to be played around the country giving the youngsters the ability to showcase their talents to home crowds also. The feedback coming out of the home crowd plays a big role in the building of their morale and talent, instead of them fading off into non-existence in a place foreign to them that they are not comfortable in.

While these games are on, there is another happening in its backdrop. That is the hunt for talent which is now a given because it is one way that paves the way for youngsters to get into the so-called big schools of Colombo. While it gives cricket, as a whole, the chance to develop good upcoming youngsters, it should be turned around for that to take place in the wilds where the talent is robbed from.

These tournaments where these youngsters are given the chance to have their talent go under the gong can be seen as non-interference but in actuality it slows up the process of developing the game itself in those areas. The best analysis could show how certain Colombo clubs were made to survive with them losing talent to the bigger clubs. And they were made to fulfil their obligations with talent flowing into Colombo from the outstations. This ultimately resulted with places like Kandy, Galle, Kurunegala, Matara and in many more areas that had clubs ready for the premier tournaments dropping to lesser levels.

No game can sustain that kind of evaporation for too long and the end result is the game that is finally going to suffer, as seen from the Sri Lankan experience. In Sri Lanka people take things for granted hoping the next would be a better day, which sadly is taking place here in this under-15 cricket tournament that ended yesterday. It happens when people look at the game from different perspectives that fulfil their agendas. Talent like the environment should be handled with care.