Attractiveness of cricket depends on the quality of the contest & Arthur says subs will allow that
The attractiveness of top-class sport depends on the quality of the contest and Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur says the International Cricket Council will have to consider allowing substitutes in this time of Covid-19.
Sri Lanka have been decimated by a spate of injuries in the first Test against South Africa at Centurion, and if the ailment which saw Dinesh Chandimal limping off the field after the last ball of the third day and then lying down on the boundary edge proves to be something more serious than cramp then they could be down to just six fit players.
Arthur blamed the unprecedented number of injuries on a lack of time to properly condition the players for the rigours of Test cricket, due to the effects of Lockdown and the pressure it then puts on the schedule as administrators try to fit more into less time.
“With Colombo under curfew, the players were not allowed to leave their homes so they had to do a lot of their conditioning there. This South African tour was then on-off, on-off, but eventually we did get into camp together. But then the Lanka Premier League T20 meant we lost them for another month and only got them back the day we left for South Africa.
“So you can throw all of that into the melting pot, it probably all played a role. I hope Dinesh only has cramp or we only have six players to finish the Test, I’m afraid I have a feeling its something more serious but we will see how he pulls up in the morning. But it’s not good for anybody, for our team or the TV audience and I will be chatting about it with the ICC Cricket Committee that I am on,” Arthur said on Monday evening.
“We knew some of our players would be in danger with the short preparation time which is why we brought 21 players over here. It’s difficult with trying to fit in franchise competitions and 2021 is going to be very busy for national teams. Getting the balance right is very important and conditioning and having enough time for preparation is crucial. We didn’t get enough time, but if we had had ample time for preparation and getting the players’ conditioning loaded up, then we wouldn’t be in this dire situation we are in now.
“I see India lost one of their bowlers today in their Test against Australia and I suspect there will be more injuries. The workloads are just too much with players having to deal with Covid and quarantines as well. If the world was normal right now then we would not be in this situation and guys would be conditioned. But I’m certain allowing runners and substitutes will need to be looked at at ICC level,” Arthur added.
Sri Lanka will go into the penultimate day of the Test still 160 runs short of making South Africa bat again with only four or five wickets remaining, but the popular former Proteas, Australia and Pakistan coach was able to quip about his team’s desperate situation.
“It’s lucky we have 21 players here otherwise Grant Flower [batting coach] would be batting at three in the second Test at the Wanderers and I’d be at four! But we will get 400 tomorrow and then [part-time medium-pacer] Dimuth Karunaratne is going to take six wickets and win us the game!”