Even as we did keep forging ahead from one victory to another, accounting as well for many cups in the process. There did arise especially amongst the recent, new generation followers of cricket, the thinking that as a team we were beyond defeat and the name of the game was simply winning, with the prospect of losing never surfacing in their minds. And so when we lost out on both the penultimate and the final match to the South Africans at Lahore, they did appear quite unprepared, finding it hard to accept and reconcile themselves to the position that the champions in fact had lost both matches, which gave way to the popular pastime of indulging in the whys and wherefores of it all.
There is no disputing that these effervescent, well meaning followers are staunch supporters of our team. But it was time, that someone told them that losing was also a part of the game. And what better person, than the skipper himself to do just that. When Arjuna soon after our defeats, perhaps addressing his mind to this segment of cricket zealots, with a touch of Kipling put things in its proper perspective, to make the profound time honoured statement that 'we can't always win'.
If it is acknowledged, that cricket is symbolic of life, where be it a five day or one dayer is so deliberately long drawn out in order to allow the virtues of life to come into play. Then the message that cricket imparts. 'We can't always win' must have a medium, and at that time and place Sri Lanka happened to be the medium. Now you'll agree that if this. 'We can't always win' is to become effective, then there must necessarily be the constituting elements that go to make this a reality.
Briefly dwelling on them, one finds that we erred, in not playing some of our stars in the no consequence penultimate match. Thereby depriving them of having a feel of the South Africans and more importantly conceded the psychological advantage to our opponents, whose morale was high as they went into the final. In a cricket war between two nations, a mistake such as this could prove detrimental and must be avoided.
In the match that mattered most Pat Symcox, defied his 37 years to take an extraordinary catch to dismiss an extraordinary batsman, in Sanath Jayasuriya. He virtually set in motion the end result and the game of cricket spelt out yet another lesson, that there were the exceptions, who despite their age could still be fine performers.
Our team has earned world-wide reputation for its fielding but here on this day, the fielders looked jaded, our opening batsman and yet another fielder muffed up three crucial catches between them. Whilst the wicket keeper apart from not gathering the ball well, lacked enthusiasm to motivate the others. But all this had to come to pass, if the point that 'We can't always win' had to be driven home.
However, it did not surprise us to find the strong South Africans, with much anxiety stretching themselves to get the comparatively low total of 209. There is no harm in losing, but what must at all times be cardinal, is that we do not allow the quality and standard of our play to drop, which sadly began to surface at Lahore.
As we set out to take on the Indians in the one dayers, which apparently is our forte, it is heartening to note that the man behind the timber has been replaced by Romesh, who will probably make the much needed difference on the field. We could further enhance our reputation as world champions, if we play to our potential lifting thereby our game, but luck too should be on our side.