While Sri Lanka were beating Zimbabwe in the first Test at Harare, the under 19 team were in Bloemfontein playing their second match in the World Cup against New Zealand. In a closely fought-out game Sri Lanka lost off the penultimate ball by three wickets to suffer their second straight loss and with it dash all hopes of playing in the Super League, which did not come as a great surprise.
The records tell us not to expect too much from our under 19 team. They have not won the U19 World Cup in 13 attempts and the nearest they have come to doing so was in 2000 when they hosted it and lost the final to India.
Otherwise Sri Lanka’s under 19s have seldom threatened in their World Cups despite singing the hosannas that we have one of the best nurseries in school cricket in the world.
The paucity at this level makes Sri Lanka’s present Test team in Zimbabwe with seven of the 15 players in the squad having appeared in under 19 World Cups all the more remarkable.
Leading the way is former skipper Angelo Mathews whose marathon double century paved the way for Sri Lanka’s comprehensive ten-wicket win. Mathews appeared in the 2004 and captained in the 2006 editions of the Under 19 World Cup.
Then there is the skipper Dimuth Karunaratne who played in 2006 followed by Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne in 2008, Niroshan Dickwella in 2012, Kusal Mendis in 2014 and Lahiru Kumara in 2016.
The current Sri Lanka under 19 squad is one of the strongest and talented assembled for an Under 19 World Cup in a long time. So while there is a great amount of “heartbreak” in the camp according to team manager and former international Farveez Maharoof, himself an under 19 World Cupper (featured in the 2002 edition and 2004 edition as captain) looking at our history there is a great amount of talented young cricketers waiting on the wings to make the top grade in the years to come.
The biggest drawback for our youngsters is that they didn’t have the experience of playing professional first-class cricket as players of other countries had. The experience they carried is purely based on school cricket and on the odd under 19 tournaments they participated leading upto the Under 19 World Cup. The sides that defeated them in the group stage India and New Zealand looked so much more mature and advanced as cricketers.
Only in October last year Sri Lanka under 19 entered their team to participate in the Mercantile Premier league and knockout tournaments thus exposing the young cricketers against sides that comprised national cricketers. But that is just only the beginning, the youngsters need more exposure at first-class club level even though that has been diluted by expanding the number of clubs.
While there will be calls questioning team selections, change of coaches, support staff etc., etc. the usual recipe that follows a disappointing World Cup campaign, Sri Lanka should take heart from the fact that although they have yet to win an Under 19 World Cup, the tournament has helped to produce a galaxy of national cricketers who have gone onto represent the country with distinction, which includes four Test captains – Sanath Jayasuriya, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne.
The full list of players is too long to elaborate here but to give the readers a good example we have selected the players who have represented the country at the highest level – Test cricket from the inception of the Under 19 World Cup in 1988.
1988 – Sanath Jayasuriya, Chandika Hathurusingha, Sanjeeva Ranatunga, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Sanjeewa Weerasinghe
1998 – Dilhara Fernando, Malinda Warnapura, Chamara Silva, Prasanna Jayawardene, Malinga Bandara
2000 – Jehan Mubarak, Prabath Nissanka, Kaushal Lokuarachchi
2002 – Upul Tharanga, Farveez Maharoof, Dhammika Prasad
2004 – Kaushal Silva, Suraj (Mohamed) Randiv, Angelo Mathews, Kosala Kulasekara
2006 – Dimuth Karunaratne, Malinda Pushpakumara, Roshen Silva, Thisara Perera
2008 – Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne
2010 – Kithuruwan Vithanage
2012 – Niroshan Dickwella, Tharindu Kaushal
2014 – Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama
2016 – Lahiru Kumara
2018 – None so far
So let’s not just get too carried away with emotion that we failed to win the Under 19 World Cup with this team which promised a lot but failed to deliver but prepare for the next event in two years that will take place in the Caribbean where most of the players from the present team will be available for selection.
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