All hail the conquering heroes

Arjuna Ranatunga and his victorious band come home today to a red carpet welcome and resounding cheers of the nation.

Sri Lankan adrenaline has been flowing freely - and quite justifiably too - since we triumphed over the Lords of Cricket at Lords in the one day game. With the outright victory at the Oval Test, adrenaline has been by the bucketful.

'Breathes there a man, woman or child with soul so dead,

Who had not been moved by the deeds of doughty men Arjuna had led', appears to be the national consensus.

International sports like cricket, it appears, have replaced the traditional wars between nations during the 18th and 19th Centuries and before. There is even the instance of El Salvador invading the Honduras after a bitterly contested soccer match. Nations big and small take immense pride in victories scored on playing fields. The most recent spectacle was French President Jacques Chirac bobbing up and down at the World Cup final between France and Brazil and the French, noted for their refined manners, and interests in the arts and culture going completely berserk after the French soccer victory.

Sri Lankans went berserk after winning the World Cup in cricket and the second highwater mark came with the two victories over England last month. For Sri Lankans beating England means much more than beating any other cricketing nation. Firstly they were our imperial masters who taught us the game. And what better feeling can you get than outclassing your own master at his own game? The second reason is that cricket is an English invention. Thirdly, to most of the older generations, there were only two cricketing nations that mattered: England and Australia and to think of beating them in their own countries were mere pipe dreams just two to three decades ago. Even setting foot on hallowed grounds such as the Lords and the Oval was considered a rare privilege.

One reason for this game of cricket gripping the entire nation is that it is not a pukka sahib's game as it was three decades before. It is now a people's game. Thus, all this euphoria, with some tending to go overboard, is justified. Little Lanka has beaten mighty England and isn't it time to caw loudly and clearly? While the conquering heroes deserve all the praise heaped on them, this is also the time to think of Sri Lankan cricketers of the past who individually proved themselves in England and elsewhere but were ahead of the times in that our cricket had not reached that organised level to meet international standards.

Cricketing pundits have even before the two victories been saying what needs to be done and what should not have been done. Mistakes were made such as dropping players of remarkable ability and the recent victories in England do not nullify such gross errors. Not only in cricket has it happened. There is the tragi-comedy of Asia's fastest sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe who was suspended thus breaking up her training schedule and being told a short time before the Commonwealth Games that her suspension had been revoked. Heads of those responsible for this unpardonable injustice should roll, if there is any justice dispensed in the field of sports.

Being a nation new to quaff the spirits of victory, we should take care in not getting inebriated with it. It is important that managers of cricket as well as the media and even political leaders read their bearings correctly. For two years many of our sports commentators have been repeating ad nauseam: 'We are World Champs'. To outsiders chanting of this manthram so often seems somewhat comic. It is also important to remember that in sports there are the ecstasies of victory and agonies of defeat. Cricket has its own connotation: The glorious uncertainties of cricket. Some Sri Lankans seem to think that we will be perpetual World Champs. In victory there is also the tendency to kick someone on the opposite side for reasons justifiable and not. Right now we have the English Cricket Manager David Lloyd on the rack for his unfair and unsporting comments. Let us also remember the sporting English spectators who packed the Oval for five days and stayed there to the last ball, applauding good cricket of both sides, even when their defeat was a certainty. That is an example in sportsmanship for us to follow.

The nation owes a debt to Sri Lankan cricketers for many reasons, the foremost being their demonstration that we Sri Lankans can match the best in the world. It should inspire others in their fields of endeavour.