Archives

The end of this month will see the interim committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) cease to hold office.

Interim committee chairman Vijay Malalasekera said: "According to the discussions I had with the government, the interim committee was to carry on till March 31, 2002. We are only honouring that agreement".

As a result of it, a decision was taken on Wednesday, for the members of the interim committee to tender their resignation with effect from March 31. This will be the second time within a time frame of 12 months; the interim committee will be resigning.

The interim committee was first appointed by the former Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella in late March 2001 to carry out the day-to-day administration of the BCCSL and to put in place a structure for the development of the game into the future. However, in December last year, when the new Sports Minister Johnston Fernando assumed office, he called for the interim bodies of all sports associations to resign.

Following the Ministry directive the BCCSL interim committee resigned.

However, their resignation was not accepted by the Sports Minister but instead, the committee was reappointed with some changes on December 25, 2001. It comprised Vijay Malalasekera (chairman), Kushil Gunasekera (secretary), Michael Tissera, Sidath Wettimuny, Manil Jayasinghe, Nalin Laduwahetty and Ari Kannangara.

We reliably understand that another interim committee will be appointed with effect from April 1.

The high points of the current interim committee was that during their tenure of office, they secured the right to host the 12-nation ICC Champions trophy tournament in Colombo in September and, the national team recorded an unprecedented nine consecutive Test wins under the captaincy of Sanath Jayasuriya.

Apart from achieving this double success, the interim committee has successfully put into place a stable administration process, which had discipline as its priority.

"That all committees were able to function successfully was because there was no interference from the interim committee. The only instance where we had to step in was in the Kandy Test against Zimbabwe over team selection.

We made it quite clear that we brooked no nonsense from anyone and, the message went down very well. Without discipline we wouldn't have won nine Test matches in a row," said Malalasekera.

The objective of the interim committee when they were appointed was to put into place an administrative structure, which would take cricket forward on professional lines. Thus a cricket committee comprising ex-Sri Lanka captains and Sidath Wettimuny was appointed. "The policy of the BCCSL was driven by the cricket committee headed by Michael Tissera," said Malalasekera, who handled the administrational matters with Manil Jayasinghe.

The National Development committee and the Cricket Operations committee both headed by Wettimuny, all reported to the Cricket committee who took the final decision and recommended it to the Interim committee.

"Our main focus was on cricket and we were successful in putting into place an administration which if carried out properly should take our cricket on professional lines. We have only taken the first steps towards professionalising the Cricket Board administration. It is a long road ahead," he said. One of the notable aspects of the interim committee was they ensured that every money they spent was made accountable for. "We made the financial committee responsible for all finances," said Malalasekera who revealed that the BCCSL made a profit of Rs. 385 million during the year, the accounts of which he said had been sent to the Sports Minister to whom they were answerable to.

"The only objective we couldn't achieve within our time frame was to bring changes to the Cricket Board constitution. Our attention and time was more focussed on fighting legal battles than attending to constitutional matters," said Malalasekera, who is unlikely to come back as chairman because 'of pressure of work'.

If the present committee is to be replaced they couldn't go off with a better track record than this. However, with a major event as the ICC Champions trophy in the offing, it is only sensible if any changes are to take place at all, it should only be marginal, so that there is some kind of continuity in carrying out policies of Cricket Board which the interim committee has put into place.

Hollioake made his mark in Sri Lanka

The tragic death of England cricketer Ben Hollioake in a car crash in Australia only rekindles memories of the wonderful tour he had with the England 'A' team in Sri Lanka in February 1998. With two former England captains and great players of spin Graham Gooch (manager) and Mike Gatting (coach) to guide him, Hollioake revealed his extraordinary potential on the tour which saw him score his maiden first-class hundred as well as his career best score of 163. His powerful 67 was the most purposeful innings in the drawn first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka 'A' at Kurunegala. He followed this with an assiduous and sensible century (103) in the first innings of the second 'Test' at Matara, the majority of the runs coming with the aid of the tail after England 'A' had been reduced to 122 for 7.

In the second innings he hit a rapid 45 during England 'A's nail-biting last day run chase which saw them win by one wicket. Then came the second astonishing hundred in the third and final 'Test' at Moratuwa which England 'A' won by seven wickets. It was an extensive innings and different from the one's he played before. When Hollioake finally top edged a pull to deep midwicket and was caught on the boundary for a career best 163, he was seeking his 11th six. What was most extraordinary about Hollioake's batting was that it comprised a judicious mixture of attack and defence. He tackled the Sri Lanka 'A' spinners well, no doubt receiving some sound advice from Gooch and Gatting. What stood out apart from the 15 sixes and 37 fours he hit in amassing 378 runs in the series, was his ability to discipline himself to bat out for more than 13 hours in the oppressive heat on turning pitches.

It was the tour that made Hollioake and brought him into the limelight.

Those who had the privilege to see him in action during the tour will treasure memories of his extraordinary talent. 

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager