Sanath Jayasuriya

It's coming up to two years since I was given the honour of captaining Sri Lanka. It's a job that I cherish and that I am very proud to be doing for my country. I would have to admit though that it's not all been plain sailing - the first six months were particularly difficult.

The job was given to me after our disappointing performance in the 1999 World Cup in England. I had captained the Sri Lanka Under 24 in South Africa, but had never experienced the kind of pressure associated with the national captaincy.

For a start, I was stepping into the shoes of Arjuna Ranatunga, who had led the side with such distinction for so long. He left a legacy that was always going to be difficult to follow. There was a question mark in my head - can I do it?

The huge weight of expectation was a difficult burden to carry. The public's expectations had soared after becoming world champions and after the defeat in England the team had a responsibility to perform better. Being the captain, the brunt of that responsibility fell on my shoulders and I had to learn how to carry it.

I was lucky though on two counts. Firstly, Dav Whatmore had returned as coach and was expertly backed up by physiotherapist Alex Kontouri, both of whom were full of encouragement and advice. Secondly, the team gave me 100 per cent support.

The first thing I did upon being given the job was to call together the players for a meeting, in which I spelled out our objectives and asked them for their total support. They did so and continue to do so, which makes the job so much easier and helped through that difficult early period.

The overriding goal was to bring the team together. We needed to merge the 15 players and 15 minds into one cohesive whole, so that we could move forward together as a group, rather than as a collection of individuals. We achieved that and created a strong team spirit within the group.

Now, when I look back, I believe that we have come a long way. Throughout the last two years the emphasis has been on young players, especially in the one-day side, and some have now established their positions in the side. We now have a nucleus of talented players and the basis of a tremendously good side in the future.

Although grooming youngsters, we have met with plenty of success and have won a handful of one-day tournaments. In the Test matches, however, after early wins against Australia, Zimbabwe, and Pakistan, we still have a long way to go. The recent loss to England was particularly disappointing.

Personally, I feel a large part of the problem has been a lack of experience. Test cricket is harder than limited overs, hence the need for experienced players like Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne.

The young players need more games under their belt. Only then will they develop the necessary confidence to withstand the pressure of Test cricket. We are moving in the right direction, but need some positive results soon.

With youngsters coming into the side and the extra responsibility of the captaincy, my batting has developed. I went through a lean patch after taking on the job, but emerged from that and have matured as a batsman. Crucially, I have learnt how to adapt my game to the situation and this has increased my consistency. That is not to say that I no longer will go for shots, it just depends on the situation.

Technically too, I have been working closely with Dav, making slight adjustments to my technique. These have worked and I am looking forward to scoring plenty of runs in the future, hopefully during this tournament!

So, two years have passed, much has been achieved, but there is still plenty to be done. We now have to focus more on the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and for this have identified the need for fast bowling all rounders. During the next 18-months we want to start introducing these players wherever the conditions allow it.

Now though it's time to get stuck in because the action is about to start again.

© CricInfo