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From the Press box by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Cricket is all about timing. Timing plays a great part whether it is on the field or off it. A coach's advise to a batsman is to get the timing right if he wants to get runs on the board. Our suggestion to the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) is on the same lines as the cricket coach. Please get the timing right.

The BCCSL's venture to upgrade the Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) grounds to super class status is laudable, but the key question is whether the timing is right to undertake such a costly project.

Ever since the Cricket Board's plans came to light, there has been dissension amongst the smaller clubs over the undertaking of such a costly venture. Some were furious. BCCSL funds have to be distributed in a proper way. Cricket fans ask where is the funding for the development of districts? When outstations are yearning for proper infrastructure facilities, can the BCCSL afford to overlook this fact and go ahead with upgrading SSC, which is already a stadium of international, standing? The BCCSL has plans to install floodlights, an electronic scoreboard, a Centenary pavilion and a host of other facilities to bring SSC on par with a ground like Lord's of London, but at a cost of between Rs. 200-500 million.

Extravaganza

Can the BCCSL afford this extravaganza after what happened at Dambulla? Is SSC going to become the next Dambulla? When the BCCSL spent Rs. 400-500 million on the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium three years ago, several questions were asked whether it was justified in pumping so much of money for one stadium.

The concept was good to construct a cricket stadium in one of the driest zones in the country. Over time it has been proved that in the event of bad weather elsewhere, there is a venue ready to undertake the task of hosting matches, as happened during the recent Bank Alfallah trophy one-day triangular series. But the amount of money spent on constructing such a stadium became questionable because every single cent was pocketed out of the Cricket Board's coffers.

Why we say the upgrading of the SSC at present is ill-timed is because the BCCSL is currently not financially stable. They have a US$11 million law suit brought against them by television company WSG Nimbus hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles and, also it is reliably learnt that the interim committee during its latter part, had to resort to borrowing money from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to tidy over its financial difficulties.

Amidst such complexities, it is foolhardy even to think of going ahead with plans to upgrade SSC or for that matter any international ground, until such time the BCCSL is on a sound financial footing. Nobody grudges the upgrading of the SSC, but the above facts must be taken into cognizance. Today, the majority of players who make up the national teams of the under 19, the 'A' team and the senior side are from the outstations. Even amongst the 19 boys who make up the first batch of the Max Cricket Academy, the majority is from the outstations.

Direction

So where is the BCCSL's thinking directed at? If Sri Lanka cricket is to progress and prosper for the future, the facilities and infrastructure should be improved in the outstations. Priority should be given to this area before anything else.

Today, there is a crying need for cricket grounds in the districts. Schools and clubs are struggling to find venues to play their tournament matches. The lack of such facilities is driving outstation players to Colombo to further their cricket. Not all of them are able to travel the distance and make it. The few lucky ones who get in represent a Colombo club, thus isolating the clubs from their district. This has been the ongoing process over the years and there maybe several budding cricketers who may have fallen by the wayside because they were less fortunate.

In the past two years, cricket administration suffered to some extent due to interim committees running the game. Even they failed to address the importance of outstation cricket due to the lack of insight, knowledge and experience of those who served in them. Now the BCCSL is an elected body with a membership that has the right to demand and question its every move. The BCCSL likewise, must have an answer for its actions.

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