Sri Lanka’s interim head coach Jerome Jayaratne has lashed out at the dismal fielding of his side and has termed Sri Lanka as the “worst fielding side in Asia”. Marvan Atapattu, who was Sri Lanka’s previous head coach resigned after back to back test series defeats against neighbors Pakistan and India respectively.
“We are now the worst fielding side in Asia, we were never behind Pakistan but now we have gone behind them,” Jayaratne told The Nation. “India proved that they were better than us and even Bangladesh are fielding better than us.” Jayaratne was also critical about the poor fitness levels of the Sri Lankan individuals. “Other than the bowling which is holding the team together, the batting, fielding and fitness has let us down,” Jayaratne said. “It’s a lot to do with the fitness levels. The way our guys are fielding they are carrying excess weight and we are in shambles.”
The Sri Lankan board though, has taken some stern measures by hiring English trainer Michael Main. “Michael gave us a mind blowing presentation and showed where we are and where we need to get to,” he said. “What he tried to do in the first three months is he didn’t try to turn things around but observed everything. Now he has decided how he is going to take this forward and at the presentation he was given a full green light to go ahead in whatever he wants to do,” Jayaratne said.
“I have a very strong belief if we give Michael about four to six months he can turn things around. He has got the players to sign documents like signing a contract that they need to reach desired targets in particular time duration otherwise they are going to be in trouble,” said Jayaratne.
“He has assessed them and given them time targets, some they cannot do before the West Indies series but definitely you can see the boys are working towards that. Everybody’s got individual programs and targets and they have taken it seriously.”
With Sri Lankan cricket staring at an all time low since the turn of the century, things under Jayaratne can only improve.