Mickey Arthur insists on excellence and would not accept mediocrity, shares Ashantha De Mel
Sri Lanka team manager Ashantha De Mel believes that coach Mickey Arthur is pushing every player and that the players seem to be responding well to it. De Mel accused the mindset of batters for the series loss in Pakistan as he feels that players are focused more on saving their place in the side.
The transition period within the Sri Lankan side, post the retirements of several big names, seems to be drawing to an end as new head coach Mickey Arthur seems to be on a mission to transform the side. The island nation’s team manager and chairman of selectors Ashantha De Mel believes that the structure which then-South African coach has put in place will help develop the players.
De Mel conceded that Arthur will not accept mediocrity from any of the players, with his main focus being to push everyone to give their best. The team manager shared that the head coach is stressing on fitness and fielding standards of the players, something which the players are taking in very well.
"Mickey insists on excellence and he would not accept mediocracy. That is what he is telling the players. He is not going to sit and wait when things are not in order. He will push everyone. Players are relating well to him. He is giving a lot of attention to details. He is pushing for excellence on the field and then he is insisting on good running between the wickets and all these are good things," De Mel told Sunday Island.
The former fast bowler pointed out lack of mental strength as the reason for the team losing the second Test in Karachi, a game where the tourists had the upper hand for the first two days.
"The problem we are having is that our batsmen don’t seem to convert starts. We tend to do well for the first couple of days and the last two days we lose our way. That is one area that we need to look at."
"Dhananjaya de Silva, although he scores runs, he doesn’t move his feet. He has to work on that. His hand eye co-ordination is good but he needs to work on his foot work moving forward."
He also shared that the players are looking to secure their place in the side, a mentality which he believes is hurting the team.
"In the second Test, the wicket had become flat and we had to bat out for one and half days to save the game and I couldn’t see much of grit. Our captain was dropped but he didn’t make it count. It was the same story with Dhananjaya.
"Kusal Mendis seem to have a technical issue and the coach has identified that. Niroshan Dickwella got a fine 65 and then he is out having played the reverse sweep. He lacked determination. The attitude was, I have scored a half-century and I have saved my place for the next two Tests. That was disappointing."
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