ASK most cricket selectors the world over, at whatever level, what their job description is, and they wouldn't know. There are very few fixed qualifications laid down for the appointment of selectors and in most cases they are based on opinions or go by favour. Although some believe that International cricket experience is a must when picking national teams, I feel that there are more important qualities to consider.
A thorough knowledge of the modern game and the ability to analyse it is essential, in addition, of course, to being capable of spotting skill and talent. We all agree that the selection process is an absolutely vital sphere of cricket administration, but the scant respect paid to it just cannot be understood.
To my mind there must be a culture of selecting and monitoring cricketers at all levels in a cricket set up for it to succeed. This must filter right down to the grassroots level and the system must provide for the talented players to emerge in a fair, consistent way.
In Sri Lanka we often hear of stories of favouritism and good players being overlooked at lower age-group levels of cricket, and in many instances there is very little anyone can do about it.
In a system where school cricket forms the foundation, teams at school level, by and large, are picked with a degree of fairplay. One must understand that in a country where numbers in a school, at times, exceed five or six thousand, and at best having two or three teams at every age level, it is humanly impossible for all the good players to get an opportunity. Due to the sheer numbers, some could get left out. I, however, feel that a good process of selection at district level where the selectors are devoted, knowledgeable and fair is absolutely essential for the process to work from then onwards. This is where it has failed so far in Sri Lanka.
At the district level, most appointed as selectors hardly meet these basic requirements and also do not devote enough time to the job. More often than not, some of the more talented players tend to get eliminated at the early stages due to various reasons other than cricket, and hence as the pyramid in the selection process narrows down to provincial and national level some of the better players have been left out.
This is a weakness in the system that the Sri Lankan authorities need to address in order to harness the best talent in the country. While I appreciate that a selector's job is a thankless one, at times I feel that they themselves make their task difficult and are to blame. Most times logic is thrown out of the window and you could never find the answers to questions when some of the teams are picked. At times policies change drastically from committee to committee without any pre warning and the players are left bemused.
Sri Lanka has now got a new combination of selectors. Unlike other Test playing countries, the statute books require the national selectors in any sport to be appointed by the Ministry of Sport, which has retained some of the previous selectors and appointed a few new ones, dropping two in the process.
I have no grouse at all against those presently in the committee, as their knowledge and integrity are unquestionable. While I fully accept that the policy of this new committee may differ from the old and I appreciate that they will have their reasons and plans for the decisions they make, which would have been evaluated from most angles, I sincerely hope that one or two of the omissions have very good reason, because I cannot comprehend them in the manner in which they appear now.
The issue of a wicketkeeper to understudy the present wicketkeeper, Romesh Kaluwitharana, is a case in point. Young Prasana Jayawardene, to me, is one of the best young wicketkeepers in the world today. He was discovered a few years ago and even people like Rod Marsh, who saw him at the early stages, predicted a great future for the young man and strongly recommended that he be fast tracked. He was taken on the tour of England in 1998 and performed very creditably in some of the county matches given to him. His development continued to the extent that he was picked for a Test match in Kandy and unfortunately for him it rained on all five days and the match was abandoned. Since then, for some reason or other, Jayawardene has been left in the cold. He is a very competent batsman, who is able to make his quota of runs and is sure to achieve better things with exposure, but the selectors seem to be happy about getting less capable and talented wicketkeepers, who are specialist batsmen, to don the gloves even at the 'A' team level. It is rumoured that Jayawardene is not being considered, as he does not keep regularly for his club.
This surely cannot be true, as it seems a ridiculous excuse, since selectors should never be guided by what clubs do, because their job is to make the evaluations according to their own judgment. They are appointed selectors since they are considered to have the ability to discover talent and I have every confidence that the present lot have this attribute.
Another player that the Sri Lankan selectors at various times have been playing around with is Muthumudaliage Pushpakumara. This youngster, who is still in his teens, is an off-spin bowler and a very capable left-handed bat.
He has already gone on two tours with the National team, but I really haven't seen him being afforded the proper opportunities. He has already scored a hundred in a 'Test' match at the under-19 level and is far more accomplished as a batsman than most players around. It belies me as to how he has been omitted from the 'A' team so far in the current series against Pakistan 'A'. Here again I sincerely pray that the selectors have plans for him.
I believe that there should be a close communication of the selectors' policies to the players, if not directly, through their coaches, as this is the essence of a good management system. It is logical that each player knows what is expected of him. A professional approach will definitely ensure better results and a contented organisation.
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