More curious were decisions made by Jayawardene and co. Imagine Australia's surprise to hear of Lasith Maliga being assigned to carrying drinks on day 1. It was an astonishing decision made all the more startling when Mahala called correctly and decided to bowl on a juicy greentop. What was he thinking? Firstly if you are going to bowl, you would want your most venomous attack at your disposal which in this case absolutely required Malinga with his slinging action to be hurrying the Aussies. Secondly any team with Murali on their side would be wanting to bat first, take their chances on getting a decent total and have their trump card wreaking havoc on day 5 on a well worn wicket. Talk of taking the fight up to the Aussies was meekly surrendered at the toss.

Marvan Atapattu chimed with an extraordinary outburst which left Sri Lankan authorities red faced, whipped the assembled press into a frenzy and to a certain degree steeled the resolve of the Marvan's teammates. Attapatu's muppet tirade was a voice that had for so long been kept silent. One can only speculate that his emotions reached boiling point, and given a platform mid test match, he took the opportunity to air his grievances, good timing hardly, but perhaps the only chance he had to speak his mind.

Poor decisions with regards to selection has been norm in a country laden with talent. Hopefully, Atapatu's sacrificial address can have positive impact on the Sri Lanka's cricketing infrastructure. With a good coach in place, hopefully these structures can be firmed and the nepotism and cronism eradicated. Perhaps a few more cricketers can rally together and speak out against their boards. Sri Lanka is not alone.

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