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From the Press Box by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Lines and daggers are drawn now for the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka's (BCCSL) annual general meeting in the middle of next month. Two front runners, Thilanga Sumathipala and Arjuna Ranatunga have emerged for what has now become one of the most prestigious posts in the Cricket Board - the president.

It is a pity that one finds both these candidates on either side of the fence whereas they should have been on the same side. If Sri Lanka cricket is to benefit to the maximum the best persons in the business should be united and together. But circumstances have separated both individuals and from the statements that have appeared in the media leading upto nomination day has indicated a certain amount of enmity between the two candidates, which is sad for Sri Lanka cricket.

Sumathipala has been administering cricket for nearly a decade and is a past master at the game whereas Ranatunga is quite new to this field and is solely relying on his achievements as a cricketer to win the confidence of the membership. Good luck to whomever wins.

What we want to focus today is whether it is imperative for past cricketers who have had no previous hand at cricket administration to vie for very high positions in the Cricket Board. Playing cricket and administering cricket are two vastly different areas and needs a lot of experience to be successful.

It would be more sensible had the candidates first served in a sub committee like for instance a cricket committee or technical committee, and having proved their worth, worked themselves up slowly towards the top positions. That way no one will begrudge a cricketer coming forward to administer cricket. Dambulla

In the history of Sri Lanka cricket, Dambulla will always be associated with Sumathipala. It was his vision to build a cricket ground in one of the most arid zones in the country - the North Central Province which has left the Cricket Board with alternatives to switch venues in the event of there being bad weather in Colombo or other areas where international cricket is being played.

What prompted Sumathipala to build an international cricket stadium here was at that time, television companies were shying away from signing up lucrative deals with the Cricket Board because they were losing revenue on rain affected matches. It is quite a well-known fact that Sri Lanka is accommodated in the international calendar only when other countries are free. Invariably, these tours to Sri Lanka take place on the rainy months.

Thus a solution to overcome this long standing problem was to build a stadium in an area where cricket could take place uninterrupted and where the television companies don't have cause to grumble.

Although the concept was a brilliant one, it was the manner in which it was put up that caused a hornet's nest and made Sumathipala unpopular. From an initially estimated figure of Rs. 150 million, the costs escalated to over Rs. 500 million when complete and this certainly caused several eyebrows to be raised.

There was a section of people who opposed to Cricket Board money being used for this project. The Asgiriya International Stadium and the R. Premadasa Stadium (formerly Khettarama Stadium) were both government funded. There was criticism on the amount of money spent on this project and whether the infrastructure justified a venue of this nature.

The latest dispute the Dambulla stadium has got into is the nature of its pitches. So far the four one-day internationals played there todate since March 23, 2001 has failed to produce a single score of over 200 runs.

Expert's say that either there must be a flaw in the underground drainage system or that the clay contents used to make the pitches was not right. Or both. The key to making a pitch is the use of the right type of clay. Whether those who had been entrusted with the task had followed the proper procedures is open to question.

Nevertheless, if the teams continue to struggle to score runs at Dambulla, the laying of the pitches will have to be seriously reviewed and proper steps taken to ensure that pitches suitable for batting are prepared.

Spectators don't come to see the bowlers hold the upperhand, as it has been the case in the current Bank Alfallah Cup tri-nation series between Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan.

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