Letter

Great pride

I am a Sri Lankan expatriate living overseas and I write this letter to the Daily News Newspaper today, as I have been extremely frustrated in writing to other Sri Lanka daily Newspapers in the past, where none of the letters so far have been published. It appears that if one needs to get a letter published in other daily newspapers in the island these days, there is only one option and that is to write against the current SLC administration. So much for freedom of expression and speech!

It is with great pride that I witnessed the Sri Lanka V Canada World Cup clash at the Sooriyawewa Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium. A ground set out in beautiful and natural surroundings that is of world class standard. It has been fantastic achievement by the SLC led by Chairman D S De Silva, amongst all the adverse and negative publicity (especially led by some newspapers, week-in-week-out for nearly a year) to host such an event. As indicated by both Kumar and Mahela after the event and the Canadian skipper at their respective interviews, the playing track & facilities offered at the stadium was second to none. A crowd of nearly 30,000 spectators was a testament to the fact that it was enjoyed by all.

I have no doubt that sports reporters, who attack sat on the opposite side of the ground in the Media box reporting on the game and enjoying the hospitality that SLC had to offer and also relishing the view of the majestic stadium as the backdrop to the playing track. Surely, you would have questioned your conscience as to what rhetoric you wrote in the past against what has been achieved.

Don’t forget sports reporters that other countries that host this World Cup never built ‘brand new’ stadiums to hold this event. SLC led by the vision of D S De Silva took on the unenviable mammoth task of the challenge of building two new stadiums from the ground-up to hold this event and almost completely renovated the third stadium that looked entirely different from the original.

Not only they embarked upon building these Stadiums, but also they delivered them as per the ICC standards to their satisfaction. Whilst the said sports reporters that they passed the dead-line of delivery - you have to surely understand that the main reason for the delay was highly unusual adverse weather conditions that Sri Lanka faced during the last year. At the end of the day, SLC delivered all three Stadiums successfully to the ICC and that has to be a fantastic achievement, don’t you agree?

You constantly talked about poor SLC administration, nepotism etc. It is important that that when you are embarking upon such challenging tasks, you have around you people who you could lay your trust on at all times.

Look at the key hierarchy of the administrators around our President today. Without persons around leaders who they cannot trust, nothing will work as planned. Irrespective of their relationship, the paramount importance should be based on two key factors: Are they capable of playing the role? and Can I trust them to deliver? In terms of SLC, this has been answered, don’t you think.

In any such large event such as this, there are bound to be teething issues that will crop-up from time to time. We have just seen the first game and hopefully the rest will go as smoothly as the first one. The point of my letter is not to say to you how we delivered a fantastic World Cup - it’s still pre-mature to do that. But the real essence of my letter to the cyclopic sports reporters is to state a point that give SLC credit where credit is due.

We as Sri Lankans should be supporting what our cricket board is trying to do and not criticise it, when it’s not due.

But some sports reporters had one motive through out last year - that is come what may to criticise the SLC administration led by De Silva in the hope that administration crumbles in the face of challenge. Wisely for the country, the ‘powers that be’ saw through the rhetoric you wrote week-in-week and took no notice of media and backed their judgment.

I leave you with one final thought. After all that negative publicity you have written about SLC, how can you possibly come and sit on those fantastic media boxes and enjoy the SLC hospitality? How do you look into SLC eyes without guilt? Surely, you must have a conscience? Or do you?

Well done Sri Lanka Cricket Administration. You have shown the world what we can do.

Good bye sports reporters, who haven’t handed a ball and one word of advice - whilst I have not seen much of your cricket reporting skills, I have seen plenty of your ‘Gossip Columns’. If you ever require employment post your career to the Tabloid newspapers in the UK awaits you.

A Sri Lankan well-wisher.

United Kingdom