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Rakitha Weerasundara

Kippax

Kippax

Cricketer Of The Year
Yeah, just got beaten by Zinzan on the New Zealand corruption probe thing. You can't delete threads, so RW now has one.

 
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D

Dan

Hall of Fame Member
Fixed the thread title for you. Enjoy your Weerasundara discussion thread.
 
Prince EWS

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
:laugh: Just saw this edit. Great stuff.

I believe my first post upon seeing a highlights package of this bloke a while ago was merely:

Prince EWS said:
:eek:
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So I'll just leave that here again.
 
NZTailender

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Dat drive

Being of subcontinent family origins and short, I look forward to the press referring to him as diminutive for his entire career.
 
Hurricane

Hurricane

Hall of Fame Member
His folks are from SL aren't they but he is born in God's own. I imagine he will have to various 'angle' interviews before his first tour to SL should he ever be selected. I think they did one on Jeetan before an Indian tour once.
 
Kippax

Kippax

Cricketer Of The Year
Hurricane said:
His folks are from SL aren't they but he is born in God's own. I imagine he will have to various 'angle' interviews before his first tour to SL should he ever be selected. I think they did one on Jeetan before an Indian tour once.
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Born in Colombo actually, his dad was an SLBC cricket commentator during their 1996 World Cup win.

Cricket: Rakitha Weerasundera riding high in Kiwi land | Times Online

“Being Sri Lankan means cricket is in my blood. My dad (Asoka) was a passionate cricket fan so he introduced me to the game and ever since then I’ve loved it,” Rakitha reveals.

“The coach I have had as a youngster and still have now is a man named Ivan Tissera, who has helped me from a young age and has shaped my technique and how I approach the game.

“I also had a lot of contact with Mahela Jayawardene because my dad was good friends with him and he has acted as a role model for me. I wanted to play just like him. And my dad is someone else I look up to and has helped me a lot with my cricket.”
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He hopes his current vein of form will earn him a contract with the local first class team, the Wellington Firebirds, next year, through which he could eventually earn a call-up to the New Zealand senior side.

Referring to his country of origin, Rakitha comments that he maintains strong bonds with Sri Lanka, with many of his relations still residing here.

He adds that he has frequently benefitted from the support of a representative body in New Zealand, the United Sri Lanka Association (USLA).

He has also directly witnessed the country’s cricketing landscape when he toured Sri Lanka as part of the Willows Cricket Team that engaged in fixtures against several school and district sides.

A conspicuous feature of that tour for Rakitha was the stylistic difference between his team and the varying opposition.

“The main difference I noticed is the natural flair some of the Sri Lankan batsmen had compared to our New Zealand batsmen. A lot of our New Zealand batsmen have a solid, structured technique compared to Sri Lankan batsmen, who play with their instinct,” he noted.
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Yeah, it should be noted there are a lot of 'shots on goal' and quixotic misfires with Weerasundara that go into these compilations. None of these U19 attacks would be walking off the park feeling he was just too good for them, not yet anyway.
 
Kippax

Kippax

Cricketer Of The Year
Cricket | Jamie Siddons' guide to becoming a Black... | Stuff.co.nz

Which all starts with the backlift. To listen to some people you'd think Siddons' Firebirds all set up like baseballers or guys at the top of golf swings.

It's nothing like that exaggerated, although everyone has been required to adopt a higher one.

"What's the point in going on? I won't coach them unless they change that. It won't work," Siddons said.

"It's not a high backlift, it's having a backlift at the point of [the bowler's] release. It's fundamental."

Even if plenty of players, like former Black Cap Craig McMillan, have survived without any backlift at all?

"You don't get blokes with the strength or the power of him every day. If I look at [new Firebird] Henry Walsh, he probably doesn't need it, but 90 percent of blokes do.

"All the Bangladesh players needed it because they couldn't compete with the big boys. Now they clear the fence no problem.

"It's gone through their system and they're booming it. Mushfiq [Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim], smallest bloke in world cricket, hits it further than anyone.

"It just makes sense. It gives you access to all your shots, it gets your feet moving. If you're picking your bat up, you're moving your feet."

Where you point those feet is an issue too. Opener Michael Papps made it as far as the New Zealand team, while religiously pointing his front foot in the direction of cover.

Now, at the ripe old age of 34, he's got his foot in line with the release of the ball, which is another thing Siddons insists on and, between that and a backlift, Papps can hit the ball down the ground for the first time in his career.

You must be committed to improvement in Siddons' side and Papps' example proves that it can come no matter what your age. A burning desire to be a Black Cap is essential too.

"We talk to these guys every day about what it's going to take if you're facing Dale Steyn or Morne Morkel or Shakib [Al Hasan]. Don't worry about what you're doing here; you've got to worry about being a success when you get to the next level. You have to be able to adjust. You have to be able to change what you're doing or it's not going to work.

"I don't necessarily want you here if you're not going to be good enough to play for the Black Caps. Everything we do is about trying to get better. Whether they've got the skill at the end of the day or whether I'm here long enough to help them, I don't know."
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