M. Jayawardene Quits as SL captain

[Uppercut]

He couldn't possibly be as crap a captain as Kumble.

 

[Precambrian]

And he isn't touring Australia again.

 

[pup11]

Though i rated him quite highly as a captain, but i think the pressure of the job has really seemed to have started to effect his batting badly in recent times, and i think this decision has something to do in that regard.

Sanga would the man best suited for the job, but i have a feeling SLC might make the stupid decision of handing it over to Dilshan.

 

[Precambrian]

Though i rated him quite highly as a captain, but i think the pressure of the job has really seemed to have started to effect his batting badly in recent times, and i think this decision has something to do in that regard.

Sanga would the man best suited for the job, but i have a feeling SLC might make the stupid decision of handing it over to Dilshan.

You mean ODI batting right?

 

[G.I.Joe]

He couldn't possibly be as crap a captain as Kumble.

Well, he isn't getting the capaincy unless he scores a long overdue century with the bat either

 

[Precambrian]

Well, he isn't getting the capaincy unless he scores a long overdue century with the bat either

When's he playing England next?

 

[TT Boy]

Is Kumar a good choice for captain simply because his educated and writes nice Cricinfo articles?

Dilshan didn’t do himself any favours yesterday but I too would flip-a-lid if you’re trying to captain Fernando and it was Sri Lanka’s C bowling attack anyhow...

 

[Lostman]

Was really shocked to hear this.
But he did a great job for Sri Lanka. A bit concerned about the future captain though, Sangakarra seems the obvious choice but I am a bit worried about the added pressure affecting his batting.

Also dont want to see the Harshan Tillekeratne scenario again

 

[Evermind]

Dilhara Fernando for captain!

 

[Nishan]

Sanga to captain for me, with him giving up gloves in both forms of the game, but he hasnt had lot of actual captaincy experience most people are just going by the nature of the man.

Murali is a romantic thought but he hasnt got time.

 

[Athlai]

Has to be either Sanga or Dilshan.

 

[Isura]

Sanga to captain for me, with him giving up gloves in both forms of the game, but he hasnt had lot of actual captaincy experience most people are just going by the nature of the man.

Murali is a romantic thought but he hasnt got time.

Sanga can handle the media well, and deflect pressure away from the younger guys. I'm afraid Dilshan lacks the confidence to stick to his guns. And let's face it, SL are gonna have it tough for the next few years in both forms. Sanga seems more head strong and hopefully captaincy will elevate his batting like Ponting/Smith.

 

[DingDong]

Bring back Ranatunge!

 

[Australia#1]

This comes as a bit of a shock considering most acually rated his captaincy pretty highly but his run of poor form forced him to this decision, hopefully Sangakara can pick there heads up and put some good results on the board.

But I am pretty worried about Sangakara's workload and if he can handle batting at 3, keeping and captaincy but Sangakara is a true professional so if given the captaincy I am sure he will do a great job.

 

[grant28]

I cant believe he's quit, he was such a good captain. Still, he's been out of form for a while now and he obviously feels the captaincy is a burden. I respect his decision but I am disappointed.

 

[Australia#1]

How can you respect his decision, this is a dog act. This has now put Sri Lanka in a bad position, they are either going to give Dilshan who has no idea about captaincy or there best player the captaincy which is just going to put more preasure on the man who already is batting at 3 and keeping.

 

[Richard]

You mean ODI batting right?

Mahela Jayawardene's never been all that good a ODI batsman.

Anyway, at him stepping-down from the captaincy, yeah. Completely out-of-the-blue, but then, that's not unheard of in Lankan circles.

 

[Precambrian]

Mahela Jayawardene's never been all that good a ODI batsman.

Anyway, at him stepping-down from the captaincy, yeah. Completely out-of-the-blue, but then, that's not unheard of in Lankan circles.

TBH I must admit I anticipated this move from him earlier itself (CBA to find the posts). Ever since 2007 WC, he's been struggling in ODIs and I thought he'd prefer test captaincy to a spot in ODIs and retire from ODIs altogether. However, I guess he's decided to give himself one more chance to excel in the ODIs, and gave upon test captaincy as well.

The move could backfire if he continues to struggle in ODIs and could be dropped.

 

[G.I.Joe]

I don't think the feelings of shock/disappointment/anger being exhibited by some posters are justified.

"I didn't see much difference in Ganguly's leadership .... He has made a difference to India as captain but it may well be time for a change as captains do run out of ideas and definitely have a shelf life."
Ian Chappell on Saurav Ganguly, in 2004

"There is a shelf life to captaincy in India in which you can give it your best. May be the shelf life is becoming shorter as time goes by"
Rahul Dravid, after resigning from the Indian captaincy in 2007

“...You grow stale. You need fresh thinking and a different approach after a while. Once others get used to your style and things fall into a pattern, it can become monotonous."
Mahela Jayawardene, October 2008

It does seem that it takes a particular type of introspective personality (Dravid, Jayawardene) to figure this out and more importantly, act on it. The ability to wean oneself of a position of power, something that a polar opposite like Ganguly wouldn't consider. Anyone think the concept of a captaincy shelf-life is peculiar to the subcontinental culture, or does it apply to all teams (hint*Ponting*)?

 

[Precambrian]

I don't think the feelings of shock/disappointment/anger being exhibited by some posters are justified.

"I didn't see much difference in Ganguly's leadership .... He has made a difference to India as captain but it may well be time for a change as captains do run out of ideas and definitely have a shelf life."
Ian Chappell on Saurav Ganguly, in 2004

"There is a shelf life to captaincy in India in which you can give it your best. May be the shelf life is becoming shorter as time goes by"
Rahul Dravid, after resigning from the Indian captaincy in 2007

“...You grow stale. You need fresh thinking and a different approach after a while. Once others get used to your style and things fall into a pattern, it can become monotonous."
Mahela Jayawardene, October 2008

It does seem that it takes a particular type of introspective personality (Dravid, Jayawardene) to figure this out and more importantly, act on it. The ability to wean oneself of a position of power, something that a polar opposite like Ganguly wouldn't consider. Anyone think the concept of a captaincy shelf-life is peculiar to the subcontinental culture, or does it apply to all teams (hint*Ponting*)?

In the modern age, only Fleming and Ponting have captained for longish terms. (TBF Smithy is going the same route). While I'd salute Fleming and at the same time maintain that he was perhaps the best batsman during his time, which made him cling to it despite NZ's moderate run in tests and good run in ODIs.

As for Australia, their recent (for last 25 years) culture has been to persist with captains for a longer period, come hell or high water. Border painstakingly built a winning team out of Ashes, Taylor made it a reality, and Waugh continued the good work. Ponting, for the first 4 years of his captaincy enjoyed the fruits of the labor of previous captains, till he hit a roadblock in 2008. I really think his real test of captaincy started only then, and it remains to be seen how he can come out of this with head held high. Unlike Border, he doesn't have luxury of time nor claims of inexperience.