Thivi
There has been an agenda against him from the early part of last year. Cricketage.in, a muck-raking cricket website with an Indian top-level domain address, has been mudslinging Hathurusingha for a very long time. Their supposed access to inside information, they reporting on happening within Sri Lanka cricket more than they do on Indian cricket, and they constantly quoting unnamed officials from Sri Lanka cricket suggest that they are either being run or funded by a certain faction within Sri Lanka Cricket.
It should also be remembered, that it was this website that first started promulgating the fake news that Hathurusingha had charged a whopping 60,000 USD to submit an annual assessment report. However, the Sunday Times later reported that it wasn’t an additional charge and was only a part of the contract signed. Accordingly, Hathurusingha was entitled to a sum of 120,000 USD to be paid bi-annually in advance as strategic planning and consultancy fees. This along with other fees makes up a monthly salary of 41,666 USD which is only slightly more than the monthly salary of 40,000 USD he was being paid by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
But hang on! This is nothing in comparison to the other hit-job pieces the website has run on the coach. They blamed Hathurusingha for Akila Dhananjaya getting banned for a suspect action, apparently, bowling doosras, which he hardly does. They accused him of having been short-listed for the post of the Windies’ head coach, which was denied by him later. Then they pointed finger at him and Samaraweera for forcing players to ‘train and prepare for hours’ and cited that as the reason for Kusal Mendis’ poor form. This despite the youngster openly crediting the duo for his success at the Test level. From questioning the coach’s religious beliefs to peddling conspiracy theories about there being an agenda against Buddhists, they have tried every dirty trick from their sewage pit. Heck, they even proudly reported that a hotel manager had asked Hathurusingha to first win a few matches for the team over an argument. The website has dedicated so much time and space for slandering the Sri Lankan coach, so much so that it seems like it is being run by his vengeful ex.
Unfortunately the REALITY is well beyond SPECULATIONS …! After enjoying twelve months of enormous power beyond a standard Coach & autocratic manipulation of the team, don’t we see a further dgradation in limited over criket ? Is ther any progress in vicinity, despite the upcoming World Cup ? When paid the world’s 3rd highest salary for a coach, it is natural to expect results & a healthy progress in return.
A Conspiracy theory cannot conceal the naked truth.
We all thought & hoped recruiting a Coach paying the world’s third highest monthly salary (6 million) offered for such a professional today, would resolve our problems & bring back the glory days. Only England’s Trevor Bayliss and India’s Ravi Shastri are being paid more than Hathurusinghe as a Cricket Coach, currently in the world.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case as we all realized now and SL ODI Cricket had plunged in to deeper devastation, with no return in vicinity under this highly overpaid /overrated coach. There is a contrasting difference in the outcome, compared to the massive progress achieved England today under Bayliss & India under Shastri, substantiating their professional worthiness to earn such salaries.SL ODI Cricket dwindled under Hathurusinghe since he was appointed as head coach in Dec 2017 to date:
SL played 22 ODIs – Lost 15 – Won 7 – W/L : 0.466 – Tied 0Look at the 4 year progress England made under Trever Bayliss since Sep 2015 to date:
England’s 1st year progress under Trevor from Sep 2015 – Sep 2016:
England Played 22 ODIs – Won 14 – Lost 7 – W/L: 2.000 – Tied 1
Compare above progress with England’s poor Record in the year before Trevor took over Coaching (from Sep 2014 to Sep 2015):
England Played 25 ODIs – Won 10 – Lost 15 – W/L: 0.666 – Tied 0 (before Trevor took over, Eng ODI standard was somewhat similar to poor SL).
As clearly seen from above stats, England’s ODIs Win/Lost Ratio has been massively improved from 0.666 to a startling 2.000 starting from the first 12 months itself under Trevor & steadily progressed to highly impressive 2.526 today in 3 years.
Under Trevor since Sep 2015 to date: Eng: played 68 ODIs – Won 48 – Lost 19 – W/L : 2.526 – Tied 1
Similarly, India’s steady progress under Shastri . Unlike this hopelessly underperforming substandard SL coach, those two high-profile Coaches had immediately justified their lucrative stipends, by producing well-worthy results for the respective nations, starting from first 12 months of their tenure itself. In that context SL, it is now obvious the blunder made by SLC in Dec 2017. SL should have hired someone like Trevor Bayliss, who coached Sri Lanka between 2007 and 2011, leading to the final of the 2011 World Cup.Now look at some of the unforgivably grave blunders Hathurusinghe had adamantly done during the past 12 months. He inflicted irreparably damage to SL’s Shorter formats, especially to the ODI team, despite upcoming WC.
Read my recent article in ths regard @ https://www.islandcricket.lk/blogs/sl-cricket-certainly-plunged-in-to-deeper-abyss-under-hathurusinghe/
Yes there is a conspiracy against Hathu and not sure why – we were crying for him to join us in our non-stop search for our 8th coach in 10 year (not sure of numbers). We head hunted him and as in all head hunting negotiations, a price was high. We accepted and then started complaining. We assumed Hathu would fix the state of pitches in SL, the bowling actions at first class level, the techniques of U18 players and miraculously convert average first class cricketers in to world beaters.
Don’t agree the writer above. It’s a simplistic result based comparison that assumes Eng, Ind and SL are on an equal playing field. If we are still struggling to understand the difference, Eng have players of the caliber of Stokes and Ali backed up big hitters like Roy, Hales and Bairstow. While India, well the less said the better about their talent. The point is these coaches were given an embarrassing basket of talent to compete with while Hathu was given very little to work with.
While administrators of Eng and Ind built up their first class cricket to the level that everyone is competing to play in their leagues, SLC destroyed and stole all the cash and did nothing for the game and expected Hathu to do their job for them. We can talk about Hathu’s salary and sack him if we so wish. Get another, and another and another coach, just like we have done in the immediate past and expect a different outcome! That my friend is the definition of insanity – time to focus on the correct issue here.
Stormy- Are you saying Trevor suddenly materialized all the talent you mentioned from Heaven? 😀
FYI, SL is NOT lacking talented or skilled guys ! The problem here is no proper management to utilize them properly. Local guys with tilted minds, appointed to manage things is the biggest problem in SL cricket. Obviously Hathurusibnghe is no different. Nothing works with such obscured minds at the helm, to guide the ship. They are lacking the proper vision to accomplish the mission, by recognizing right guys for the right spot on pure performance merits rather than personal affinities or opinions.
For example Trevor would have never put faith on already stamped & discarded shorter format failures like Kusal Mendis or Chandimal, granting a free passage to extend their burden to the team endlessly despite the damage done. Also, any person with a right mind wouldn’t have axed the top order batsman who topped the overall batting record (with 40Av @ 80+ SR) in the side over past two yrs with most runs, hundreds & 50+ …. preferring the worst performer.!
By doing that SL lost the chance of getting the maximum from the guy who has the SL’s best overall batting record Vs Eng (near 50 Av @ 80+ SR) in the lost Eng series & in Nz as well.
You have conveniently overlooked the fact that England was on the SAME ORBIT as SL withe identical record in the year before Trevor took over, England in Sept 2015. England’s hopeless Record in the year before from Sep 2014 to Sep 2015: Played 25 ODIs – Won 10 – Lost 15 – W/L: 0.666 – Tied 0 (before Trevor took over, Eng ODI standard was identical to SL)..
Now look at what he did achieved within 12 months : England’s 1st year progress under Trevor from Sep 2015 – Sep 2016: Played 22 ODIs – Won 14 – Lost 7 – W/L: 2.000 – Tied 1
Recognizing & Utilizing the best available resources properly & formulating them in to a right combination is the prime duty of a coach… and Not people management, poking in to selections….! as Murali recently commented in media.