06:52 PM
We need a basic pathway – Ana Punchihewa
Former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Ana Punchihewa had to face the disservice of being voted out from the position weeks after the 1996 World Cup, depsite doing much of the hard work behind the scenes to get the team to perform at its optimum.
In an article in our sister paper, the Sunday Times, Punchihewa said Sri Lanka neeed a basic pathway for cricketers if they are to reach the heights of 1996 again. He wrote:
I sincerely hope that we wouldn’t have to wait 25 or 50 more years for another World Cup win. We were on par with other countries back then. We initiated so many things, like appointing a CEO, a foreign coach, and so on. Other countries took a leaf from us and they took over, while we remain the same. Others did the basics right, they made sure plans were followed accordingly and professionally.
On the other hand, our elected cricket boards kept saying ‘why tinkle with the good formula, we won the same thing in the World Cup’. It has been five, 10, 15, 20 years and now 25 years on, we are still saying the same thing. Why change it, we did win a World Cup, they ask. I say yes, we have talented players, but we must have a pathway, also a basic way. We almost got it right in 2007 and 2011.
Coming back to the 1996 structure, I have lost contact with most of the committee members. One of the persons in the committee who helped me a lot was Irvin Jayawardena, who is no more with us. I even spoke to Harendra Dinuwila, one of my Vice Presidents back in 1995/96, few days ago only after 25 years.
A night that united the nation
Share your favourite memories from the 1996 World Cup final, when Sri Lanka ruled the cricketing world.
04:37 Pm
World Cup final centurion Aravinda de Silva had this to say to Channel Nine about his innings that night:
It was one of the greatest moments for Sri Lanka as well as for us personally. Winning a World Cup is every cricketer’s dream, so for me, to be able to do that during my career, I am quite pleased to have been part of that, to bring glory to the country as a team. As a team we had gone through a lot so it was special for the entire squad.
Aggression is what I normally apply, so I just continued doing that. I didn’t want to change my approach to the game at all. I enjoyed those kinds of games. I was really happy to be exposed to that situation because I enjoy challenges. That was an ideal situation for my kind of performance.
04:07 PM
Commenter Srilal De Silva also credits Arjuna Ranatunga’s captaincy for beating the mighty Australians:
No one else would have beaten the Aussies of 1996 other than Arjuna. I believe it is Arjuna’s way of ‘Doing Things’ that got ‘Under the Skin’ of the Aussies ,especially of players like Warne , Healy and Mcgrath that made it possible for us to win the battle against Taylor and co. Warne was more concerned about teaching Arjuna a lesson and and so was Healey and probably the whole Aussies 11 and in the process they lost the Larger Picture – to win a Cricket Match. Arjuna, I believe walked more singles in matches against Australia and was always in his own way ‘Needling’ the Aussies. Finally Aussies were being paid back by their own coin.
03:35 PM
Chaminda Vaas, one of Sri Lanka’s all-time greatest fast bowlers had this to say about the World Cup final, in an interview with Australia’s Channel 9:
When I saw the wicket, I thought it was a 270-280 wicket, but we managed to keep them under 250. We had a long batting line-up, so I thought we could get it. It depended on the openers and the No.3, how they bat out the opening overs. Right throughout the tournament, Sanath (Jayasuriya), Kalu and (Asanka Gurusinha) did their part.
We had a belief in each other that we could get it our way in the final. When we were watching the chase, we’re all different. Some people like to sit, there are a few people who are very superstitious, they won’t get up from their seat. Even in the semi-final, Sanath and Kalu had gotten out early so I knew that we could still reach the target. Sanath, Asanka, Roshan and Hashan (Tillakaratne) were the most superstitious. Murali loves to talk, so he never shuts up. Even in that situation, he keeps going and can’t stop.
When Arjuna and Aravinda were batting, we knew we had the game won, because there were still lots of overs left and wickets in hand. In that moment, even if Arjuna and Aravinda had gotten out, we had enough back-up.
03:01 PM
Asanka Gurusinha, another member of the World Cup winning team who was unable to take part in the commemoration events today, posted this on his Instagram earlier today.
Sri Lanka beat us at our own game – Taylor
Losing captain of the 1996 World Cup Mark Taylor credited Sri Lanka for their approach after openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, in an interview in this excellent oral history of that Sri Lanka-Australia rivalry.
In the end, the irony of the final was that myself and Mark Waugh got off to a brisk start, in the way that Sri Lanka had started playing. We made 240, and then we knock over their two openers who had been the ones who changed the game. Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana didn’t make runs in the final. They were 2-9 (sic). They actually beat us at our own game. Aravinda batted beautifully, and Arjuna was the perfect foil for him, and they won comfortably, playing like we normally played.
02:45 PM
March 17 is an extra special day for our commenter Mangala Pahindra:
Congratulate for whole team celebrate 25years winning the world cup the day that never forget coincidentally it’s my wife birthday too. 17/03 It is important to have advise opinions from these guys for our current team also it is prime responsibility of governing body to include seniors for the board to improve the standards of cricket. All the best hope we will have another world cup in to our motherland soon.
02:43 PM
Nihal Weerawardane is evidently a realist:
What a sad story after 1996 we never made a lesson from the past – corruption -mobbing – publicity -money – politics -]]] since we enjoyed — and will be hard to come out THEY ALL WANT MONEY OUT OF CRICKET …. YES !
01:55 PM
The tension of that World Cup final was not lost on our commenter Reez, who also recalls the excellent century by Aravinda de Silva:
I was around 26 years old at that time. All our friends got together in one house and glued our eyes to the Television. We were happy about the moderate score of the Australians but tensed. When two wickets down mean we were all panicked. But enter Ara we were sure we are going to say hurrah. What a night it was plenty of hugs in the street. Thank God those days were Corona free.
01:51 PM
One man who would have loved to be part of the celebration today is former Australian captain the late Tony Greig, who as a commentator never hid his love for Sri Lanka and their approach to the game.
Arjuna Ranatunga, speaking after Greig’s death in 2012, is quoted as saying: “Tony Greig was the first person who said that Sri Lanka will win the World Cup. Tony was a man who loved our country. He appreciated our attacking style, our culture and our history. He embraced Sri Lanka like no other person. One of the things that he loved is our hospitality.”
Ranatunga also said that Greig had offered his support to the players and the cricket board during Muttiah Muralitharan’s chucking controversy in Australia.
“During the chucking incidents in 1995 and 1998, he went out of his way and helped us.”
“I remember during the chucking controversy, Tony came to our dressing rooms, and even the hotel, and consoled us and told us what to do and what not to do. One of the things that I really liked was, when he promoted our younger guys. Little Kalu became a household name because of Tony.”
Our commenter Niz also remembers Grieg:
We won’t forget the support Late legend Sir Tony Greg decorating the glorious win.
01:42 PM
Add commentor Sam to the list of people who are not in the mood to celebrate:
Excellent job done, 25 years ago. It’s time to move on.
01:38 PM
One key member of the World Cup winning team who is not part of the celebrations today is Sanath Jayasuriya, currently in India participating in the Road Safety World Series. Jayasuriya posted this message on his Facebook page earlier today:
I was inspired by Kapil Dev – Ranatunga
World Cup winning former captain Arjuna Ranatunga said he was inspired by former Indian captain Kapil Dev lifting the 1983 World Cup.
“When I saw Kapil Dev holding the Cup in 1983, I was inspired. I thought of a team like India, which was devoid of stars barring Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil, can beat the mighty West Indies, then why can’t Sri Lanka win the World Cup. And we did it in 1996,” Ranatunga said at the Aaj Tak conclave ‘Salaam Cricket’ in 2014.
“These things inspire you. Pakistan winning the 1992 World Cup from a position of no hope was also inspirational. The way Imran Khan led the side was fantastic. It made me think that if Imran could do it, why couldn’t I,” he added.
12:29 PM
Where were you when Sri Lanka beat Australia to lift the World Cup trophy? Share your favourite moments from the 1996 World Cup final.
11:50 AM
Follow the commemoration event organized by Sri Lanka Cricket
11:44 AM
Sinnadurai Senthivel asks an important question. Will we see a victory like that again?
Congratulations to the legends of Srilanka for their great victory. Will we have the opportunity to witness a game like that. We can if the selection is done by the legends and hope and all the best.
10:21 AM
More praise for Arjuna Ranatunga’s leadership skills. Jude says:
Arjuna shrewd and master tactician of the game!! He gets the BEST of his teammates and if YOU DON’T play YOUR BEST YOU’RE not gonna play UNDER him !!
09:55 AM
Not everyone sees this as an occasion to celebrate.
Izzi comments:
Why are we still celebrating and boasting about the 1996 cricket world cup victory when we have failed to win a single world cup in 25 years since then? Australia has won the world cup 5 times, India and the West Indies twice, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England only once. Currently Sri Lanka ranks at the bottom of the World Cricket Rankings in Tests, ODI’s and T20’s among the top eight test playing nations in world cricket even below Bangladesh and Afghanistan in T20’s who received test status only very recently.
Roshan Dodanwela says:
Ok lets get over it and look to the future. yes it was great at the time and a fantastic achievement but as we like to do as Sri Lankans we are dwelling and celebrating past glories and not learning from the past and and improving the present and the future
Sunil P Perera, meanwhile, has an interesting comparison for our current national team:
Sri Lankan cricket….legends after legends always dwelling in past glory..current team is a bunch of pegeons…
Pigeons would make great spinners, I’d think. They would really flight the ball. Get it?
09:05 AM
Anthony. R has not forgotten the contribution former Sri Lanka Cricket (then the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka) President Ana Punchihewa made to that World Cup success, commenting:
Ana Punchihewa, the brains behind the Win, then the Vultures took over Cricket and those who promised Gamata Cricket, did nothing to do that, but ruined the game.
09:05 AM
Every great triumph needs a theme song and this one, titled Chokra, mixed with the highlights of the World Cup final triumph lives in the memories of Sri Lankan cricket fans.
08:50 AM
The events in Australia toughened us up – Mahanama
Former ICC Elite Match Referee Roshan Mahanama, also among the 1996 World Cup winners, recalled that the events that transpired on the tour of Australia in 1995 had toughened the team up ahead of the World Cup. Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled for a suspect action in two separate matches on that tour, and among the list of other incidents was an accusation of ball tampering in the Perth Test and controversy over the size of Sri Lanka’s sponsor logo.
It culminated in Sri Lanka’s players refusing to shake hands with Aussies after the final of the ODI series.
Mahanama, recalling those incidents to Australia’s Channel Nine said: “From my point of view, these are the sequence of events which helped us win the World Cup, because after fifth incident, that really toughened us up. The fifth incident was where we didn’t shake hands after the final ODI. We might not have agreed, but that was the decision that was taken by the captain and the management, and we just followed.”
08:39 AM
Today marks 25 years since Sri Lanka beat Australia to win the 1996 Cricket World Cup, the first and only time our island nation won the sport’s most converted prize. It was a quintessential David versus Goliath story, driven by bad blood over the controversial no-balling of Muttiah Muralitharan in Australia in 1995 and the Aussies’ unwillingness to travel to Sri Lanka for a World Cup group match. It was a night many fell on love with the sport and its heroes were immortalized in the country’s cricket history. Share with us your favourite memories from that World Cup final.
11:42 PM
Shihab Aaqeel Daiyan remembers that night when Sri Lanka were the first team to win a World Cup batting second:
I was 15 then living in Oman. It was a Sunday and I was in School. I studied in an Indian School. I and my brother were the only Sri Lankans. All others were Indians and a few Bangladeshis. The Indian Students were supporting Australia and I was patient, and confident that My Sri Lanka would clinch it. Kept silent since the other students started mocking at me. The result in the night was SL becoming the World Cup Champions and keeping the Sri Lankan flag flying high and making us proud. What a moment! My neighbours too came to congratulate us… The record was SL became the first team to chase and win. The next day, all the students came to apologize and congratulate me. At my father’s work place, My father had to offer sweets… An unforgettable moment in my life and every Sri Lankans’ life.
10:50 PM
Parakrama Siriwardena comments:
The Golden Era of our Cricket. A day which we were all proud of our team. They were united under Arjuna’s leadership. The difficult times they underwent in 1995 because Aussie umpires unjustifiably calling no ball for Murali, made the team more united and strong, determined to teach the Aussies a lesson. Those days we could happily watch Kalu and Sanath dashing the ball 360 degrees round the wicket; Muali turning the ball trapping the batsman, to get bowled, stumped or LBW; Vas and Pramodya swinging the ball and tempting the batsman to give an edge to the swingers; Kalu’s brilliant wicket keeping, stunning fielding displays of Mahanama and Sanath etc. You were our heros. Why cant our younger players make us happy and proud like you all did. The nation salutes you on this 25 Anniversary.
08:38 Pm
Commenter Ranaweera has a different opinion about Ranatunga’s leadership:
After the win in 1996, he could not lead the team to maintain good form. We lost most of the matches and could not even reach the quarter finals in 1999 game. The Great achievements were made by Sanga and Mahela who led us to 2 consecutive finals. Ever since their departure we have not done well.
07:42 PM
I led like a school principal – Arjuna
Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga’s hard-nosed leadership, especially when it came to the controversies regarding Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action in Australia, won him many plaudits. Here’s how he described his leadership style at the 1996 World Cup, to an Indian news outlet
“I led the team like a school principal. I would order my players to get back to their rooms at 10pm, even if they couldn’t get sleep early. We were stationed in Colombo, and I got these people from different backgrounds to eat, drink and sleep the World Cup,” News18.com was reported to have said.
07:15 Pm
Sri Lanka World Cup winners to get medals…25 years later
The 1996 Sri Lanka World Cup winning squad are set to receive their winners medals today, 25 years to the day they won the tournament. Winners’ medals were first given out at the 2003 World Cup, and since then the International Cricket Council has been handing out medals retrospectively to teams that won the tournament before that, as our sister paper The Sunday Times reported last week. Australia received their 1987 World Cup winners’ medals 30 years later in 2017.
“We managed to correspond with the ICC and obtain the 14 medals by 2017. But SLC could not present it to the 1996 winning team ever since, as there was very little or no chance of getting all 14 members together for a single occasion,” SLC Chief Executive Officer Ashley de Silva told The Sunday Times.
06:26 PM
Michael Ranasinghe shares:
I still recall that day. Not a vehicle was on the road . All were glued to their TVs . The night was not long enough when celebrations erupted and we were on the road until early morning. The country came together as one even in the north. Truly proud to have lived that moment. The difference was that whether we won on that day or not the country knew that every player and official of Sri Lanka Cricket gave their 100%. That’s history and hope history repeats itself .
06:23 PM
“Arjuna was the best leader. He had shown leadership skills all along and having seen him as a schoolboy captain, I could really see those skills. Everyone respected him,” former Sri Lanka Cricket President Ana Punchihewa told the Daily Mirror last year.
Read more of his comments on Arjuna Ranatunga, the captain of the team at that World Cup final, and his account of events leading up to Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup win, here.
06:22 P
A moment etched in history – Former captain Arjuna Ranatunga receiving the World Cup from the late Benazir Bhutto after Sri Lanka beat Australia by seven wickets.
06:19 PM
Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s crowning cricketing moment, when they beat Australia by seven wickets to lift the 1996 World Cup. The Daily Mirror would like you, our readers, to share your favourite memories from that match and we’ll share as many as possible. You can use the comments section at the bottom, or comment on our Facebook or Instagram posts.
