1st April 2001
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Mirror Magazine
Rover Pinpoints....
No answer
The AGM of a popular motor sport body was held recently, where the audited accounts of Rs. 50,000/- only showed Rs. 32,000/- being spent on the AGM. When questions were posed no answers were given. At a vote taken 17 voted against the accounts and 5 voted for. The big question posed how is in the world could this sports body run big meets like the one scheduled for this week with so much money being involved.Written off
Another sports body is in disarray and according to Rover this body has written off a tidy sum running into millions. Over to the Sports Minister for action.What an insult
A big wig in a popular sports body whilst addressing a leading spin bowler, paceman and a batsman, told them that it was the administrators who had brought in a lot of money and not the player. How stupid can he be?Brought over for a drink
A selector of a popular sport, discussing matters over a bottle of beer, had told a journalist, please do not write anything against this cricketer who is a poor chap. Rover wishes to know then, how come this cricketer is a partner of his in a sportsgood store? Does not the 'Sports Law' also deprive him from holding office since he could canvass cricketers to buy goods from his store?Heard this?
A senior cricketer from a leading Catholic school in Colombo played in their big match, whilst studying in an international school. Did the coach of this school know about this?High handedness
An assistant director of the Education Department, using her powers had overruled the petition filed by five schools against her decision to allow a Colombo school who lost a match by 1 point to play in the tourney, since this school had qualified last time out among the best eight. Even the draw for the tourney was held by her alone without any representative.Rover scores again
Rover only a few days ago questioned the validity of a bowler from a Kotte school going on the tour of Australia, who had been called for chucking. Now comes the news that Rover's question has been justified and the bowler has been debarred from further participation on the Aussies tour. The official from this school who happens to be the Secretary of the Schools Association for the last 16 years must be hopping mad. The ACB has reported this bowler for suspense action.How is this bribe in SLBF?
Rover is informed by a Vice President in the SLBF how a Senior Officer in uniform bought-over a Senior Officer in uniform for a bottle of Arrack and a post of Vice President in the SLBF to get an association affiliated with the SLBF. Has bribery gone to this low level in the Armed Forces is what is asked in the Basketball Circle? Over to authorities concerned?Attend one exco and go on a foreign tour - SLBF
Are you keen to go on a foreign tour by attending one exco meeting of the SLBF? If so, you have to only be present at the Exco meeting where your name will be proposed to go on the foreign tour. This is what is said in the Basketball circle as it had happened to the Senior Officer in uniform in 2000. According to the attendance register this officer has attended only one Exco meeting. This clearly violates the SLBF Constitution as if you don't attend 3 Exco meetings you lose the right to attend the Exco. Over to you Minister of Sports.Are these nominations valid?
Rover is flooded with complaints about the nomination accepted by the SLBF after the closure of the nominations on March 14, 2001 at 1200 noon at Kalutara. Sri Lanka Air Force was informed by the Secretary SLBF that the above was the closing date, however SLAF has submitted the nomination at the ratification Exco fixed for March 16, 2001 and accepted by the Exco in violation of the SLBF Constitution. Can Exco over-ride the Constitution passed by the General Council? Over to you Minister of Sports?At long last
Several readers of the rover column have expressed the appreciation of the Minister of sports for having two outstanding Bureaucrats serving the ministry secretary Dr. P. Ramanujan and Director general miltion Amerasinghe are particularly identified as two persons who are giving a balance to the many ills of the Ministry's past aborrent record. Since the minister has quickly learnt to bowl googlies, trust that these two gentlemen will hold a straight bat and attempt to cure the many past ills of sports. These readers also say that Sri Lankans jump to criticise, but fight shy to commend those who do a good job-asked this be put in the rover column. Rover agrees with this point of view.Three SLBF AGM's stand adjourned - Why?
Rover is informed by the former Treasurers that they have still not given the books to the Auditors to audit as most of the tour accounts have still not been given to them by the Officials responsible for the tour as most of the monies collected were not deposited to the SLBF account. Can another AGM be held in year 2001 when the 1998, 1999 and 2000 are not completed? Over to you Minister of Sports?Umpiring from the pavilion?
By Gwen Herat (President - Women's Cricket Association of Sri Lanka)
It
will not be long when the white-coated gentry of cricket will be history,
possible, probable but practical. It has caught the imagination of the
world to such proportions that the game is spreading like a virus, real
fast. But, look what it has done to the game. The gentleman's game that
has to be played in the spirit of cricket, has reached depths to diversify
into many areas only to bring disrepute to the game that links nations,
east or west. The players themselves are caught up in a web by scandal
and accusations because in several countries, the top has proved bad. Their
rotten administration has seeped down to the game, even to the levels of
umpiring which needs to be accountable. In the game, the umpire has been
reduced to a controversial figure and the time is at hand when he will
be replaced by the camera. So, the decade of umpiring is high.
Cricket was such a wonderful, lovely game of team spirit where players looked up to the umpire with much respect. This has been handed down very especially from the legend of cricket, Sir Don Bradman.
Those were the days, I believe, traditions were set not to tarnish the white flannels. The icon of cricket, Bradman and those who followed him left behind a spectacular game only to be tarnished and eventually for the umpire to emerge as the villain.
Came the emergence of the neutral umpire, technology, electronic media, money-market, commercialising, match-fixing etc., which indirectly has some thing to do with umpiring (I don't mean all umpires are to be blamed) to reduce the game and even take the cricket-loving public for a long ride.
This has created the environment for us not to see umpires beside wickets. They will and believe me, be replaced from the pavilion. Will the ICC permit or will they not. When the final word (on many occasions) comes from the third umpire, it will not surprise, the other two will also follow.
Neutral Umpiring
Cricket was to be above partisan when neutral umpiring was introduced - at least, that is what everyone thought but the real fact behind neutral umpiring is that no country was to have their own umpires at international matches. The suspicion grew out of proportion when no country was satisfied at each others' decisions of 'given-out'. Next, came the third umpire to pacify the situation and it held good for a while. As cricket became more and more commercialised and market-oriented, the principles of the game collapsed, especially with match-fixing scandals.Administrators started looking at monies involved and some top countries were tempted into bribes. So, when the wrong ruling was given at a particular match, the tables turned on the faultering umpires.
So, cricket has to find a solution after making umpire the 'scape-goat'. The next move would be to replace him - or still better, do away with him; therefore, the only option is confining them to the pavilion.
In the name of technology, will cricket be reduced to this? What else can cricket do? Wrong decisions; that is the bane of the game right at the moment as we saw some questionable ones revolving around Sri Lanka in the past few years but the umpires had always been 'right'. Remember our Australian tour few years back when Muttiah Muralitharan was called for chucking by Darrel Hair. If it was not for the determined intervention of Arjuna Ranatunge, Sri Lanka would have been poorer by the loss of Muralitharan who thereafter rose to be world's number one spin wizard after ICC cleared him off over his suspected arm action.
An umpire is not a popular figure in the field but his word is, and the team has to accept that in principle. Yet, he can make genuine mistakes through bad eye sight, glare of the sun etc., and becomes helpless after he errs but the umpire must not allow the attitude of the player or spectators to influence his decision and must call as well as signal if necessary to inform the players. He is entitled to intervene without appeal in the case of unfair play but should not otherwise and let the game progress except as required to do so for which he is bound. The umpire should start where he can best see any act upon which his decision is required. Subject to this overriding consideration, the umpire at the bowler's end should stand where he does not interfere with either the bowler's run up or the striker's view.
The other umpire may opt to stand on the off instead of the leg side
of the pitch, provided he informs the captain of the fielding side and
the batsman of his intention to do so. If these are strictly adhered to,
the umpire in question is deemed to do his job with transparency.
England outplayed in One Dayers
Sri Lanka stole all the honours in the three match One Day Series by completely outplaying their English opponents. All three games were played on slow pitches, assisting the spinners. Batsmen had to work hard for their runs. The visitors could not adjust to these conditions. They tried to jab and glide rather than get to the pitch of the ball and play positively.The local side played to a tried and tested game plan on the field. Vaas and Zoysa were used for long opening spells, making use of the new ball when field restrictions are maximum. Vaas was outstanding - bowling twenty-five overs, giving away sixty one runs and picking up five wickets.
That crushed any hopes of England getting away to a good start. The spinners Muralitharan, Dharmasena, Arnold, Jayasuriya and Samaraweera, all effective, bowling to an outfit that was totally planted to the crease. In these conditions Muralitharan revelled. In the first and second games he picked up seven wickets, in addition to bowling very miserly. Used in two spells the master off spinner strangled the batsmen at vital stages of their innings.
In the opening game England got into the nineties losing only three wickets. They began to fold up and could muster only 143 runs. It was to be the pattern to follow. They simply could not build up partnerships at any stage of their innings. As captain Graeme Thorpe said it was their batting that let them down throughout.
Mahela Jayawardena's innings in the second game was perfectly executed to the team's requirements. His shot selection and temperament was brilliant on the day. It is the type of innings he should be playing so often for Sri Lanka. That day he displayed all his talents.
Marvan Atapattu regained the form he lost in the second and third Test matches. Scores of 40, 57 and 53 not out did his confidence a world of good. It was the partnerships between Atapattu and Jayawardena (second wicket) and Jayawardena and Dharmasena (seventh wicket) that benefited Sri Lanka.
Thorpe's men had the opportunity of levelling the series, when asked to chase 226 runs. Only Alec Stewart (55) posed any sort of threat.
They paid a lot of respect to the Sri Lankan bowlers and were never willing to go after them and so often fell to soft dismissals.
Sent in to bat in the third game by stand-in Captain Marvan Atapattu, England continued from where they left off two days before. They were well capable of a 225 plus score, which would have given the bowlers the chance to put up a fight. Too often the batsmen were looking for terrors on the pitch that were never existing.
Romesh Kaluwitharana and Marvan Atapattu showed them how. It was a classic display of batsmanship. They tackled all five of the English, Kaluwitharana attacked from the word go. His footwork was flawless and timing perfect. It's not often a batsman gets a century when the opposition has scored only one hundred and sixty five. Atapattu batted and scored at his own pace letting his partner lead the onslaught. A ten wicket win was indeed a tremendous achievement.
England persisted more with pace and seam throughout the series, opting to play just the one spinner.
ôHorses for Coursesö is how the saying goes and on the given conditions both available spinners should have played.
Having surrendered the Test series, the three resounding wins in the
One Dayers was satisfying for Sri Lanka. They proved that on given conditions
they are virtually impossible to beat.
Burke shines for St. Anthony's
By Shane Seneviratne
After a drought of three years, since Sajith Fernando scored 1000 runs for St. Anthony's Kandy, Samson Anthony Burke did likewise this season.Burke, the present skipper of St. Anthony's reached the milestone of scoring 1000 runs, the first schoolboy from Kandy.
His 1000 runs included two centuries and seven half centuries.
It will be a bad miss for Burke who could have a bigger aggregate if not for the cancellation of the big match against Trinity.
His breakdown of scoring 1000 runs is as follows:
Vidyartha: 105 and 35; Maliyadewa: 3; Wesley: 76 and 100*; St. Benadict's: 04; Kingswood: 37; Royal: 64*; D.S. Senanayake: 7 and 26; Dharmaraja: 41 and 30; Nalanda: 14 and 4; Ananda: 20 and 79; St. Peter's: 1 and 21; St. Sebastian's: 58*; St. Joseph's 32* and 3; St. Sylvester's: 31 and 3; Zahira: 80; St. Anne's: 87 and 53*.
Total: 1014.
Search continues for opening batsmen
By Rex Wijewardene
If we recall past cricketing history, we come across great pairs of opening batsmen, such as Woodful and Ponsford, Arthur Morris and Sid Barnes of Australia, Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook of England and Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes of the West Indies to name a few. They had a high degree of concentration, patience and consistency and they were brilliant stroke-players. They gave their team, the flying start that was expected from them, and built up the confidence of the specialist batsmen that followed, thus big totals were possible. As for Sri Lankan in cricket, it's just the other way around. We can never boast of such great opening batsmen.That drought still continues, with little hope for the future. If we consider our miserable performances, with our openers M. Atapattu and S. Jayasuriya. Here these pathetic figures of 53-0, 19-6, 0-41, 12-4, 6-9, 18-21 and 2-21, give an indication of their failure as openers.
This is what Sri Lanka's most experienced batsmen achieved in South Africa and against the Englishmen, their recent tour of Sri Lanka. They have often given the team a sickening start, which had an impact on the other batsmen that followed, such as K. Sangakkara, M. Jaya-wardene, R. Arnold and T. Dilshan, which resulted in low scores, and the obvious result, defeat.
If we are to survive as a great Test playing Nation, then something
must be done to rectify this great problem. Over to you Dev Whatmore.
Royal Crown for Mubarak
Jehan
Mubarak received the Royal Crown (The highest award that a Royalist Sportsman
could receive) at the Royal College Colours Awards ceremony which was held
at Navarangahala recently with Susil Premjayanth, Minister of Education
as the chief guest.
Jehan captained the College water-polo team in 2000, and was the captain of the swimming team in 1998. But it was in cricket that he excelled. He was the vice-captain of the cricket team in 2000. During the 1998 season he scored 1000 runs and became the youngest ever Royalist to achieve this feat.
Jehan also scored 3 half centuries at the Mustangs Trophy encounters in 1997, 1998 and 2000. He is the only cricketer either from Royal or S. Thomas' to score more than one fifty at this encounter.
In 1996 Jehan was a member of the U 15 Sri Lankan cricket team to take part in the Mini World Cup which was held in England. He also toured India in 1999 with the Sri Lanka U 19 side which was led by Thomian Upekha Fernando.
He also played an important role during the U 19 World Cup which was held in Sri Lanka in January 2000.
He was also selected to tour England in July 2000 with the U 19 cricket team which was led by Kaushalya Weeraratna of Trinity College. During his tour he scored 2 centuries and did extremely well in the 3 Test series, thereby getting selected to the Sri Lankan 'A' side to tour Kenya. Recently he was selected to represent the Board of President's XI against the visiting England cricketers.
- M.L. Fernando
FIFA and AFC projects for the future of football
By Gamini Perera
Two of FIFA's most ambitious undertakings - the award of financial aid to all 203 national associations for supervised projects and the ôGOALö development programme - have entered a new phase.Although these two projects are financed separately and have a somewhat different approach, they nevertheless share the same basic objective of permanently improving the administrative and technical infrastructure in the national associations and of providing additional backing to the already existent FIFA development programmes.
The ôGOALö Development programme and the direct financial aid is designed in particular to offer support for these national associations with a variety of reasons are unable to attain their development aims.
The objective of ôGOALö is to provide such associations with the financial, material and practical support they need to enable them to realise projects tailor-made to their specific requirements.
Money to supervise
AFC's Dato' Paul Money Samuel, who was instrumental in guiding Vietnam through the V-League's planning and preparation stages was in Sri Lanka recently to oversee the 'GOALö project in Sri Lanka and to make his observations for the successful implementation of same.The regulations governing the award of financial aid were sent to the national associations with Circular 673 in March 1999, following the ratification by the FIFA executive committee.
The regulations which have already entered into effect, prescribe the terms governing FIFA's award of USD 1 million to the member national associations over the period 1999 to 2002.
Circular 679 sent to the national associations in April 1999 described the 'GOAL' project and contained a questionaire which every national association, including those who have no need of the benefits offered by ôGOALö were asked to complete and return to FIFA by May 20, 1999.
Sri Lanka benefits
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL), the national association affiliated to FIFA is now a recepient of both projects mentioned above.As opposed to former development programmes which mainly consisted of conducting courses at regular intervals, ôGOALö concentrates on FIFA advisers (Paul Money is one such adviser) assessing the needs (stage 1), of the respective associations and giving them permanent guidance.
The comprehensive regulations governing the award of financial aid embraces a total of 16 articles, cover all the basic questions in connection with the distribution of these funds.
Fulfilling objectives
Sri Lanka is to fulfil the following objectives and purposes to be in the running for this financial aid scheme:* Establishing and developing a modern, efficient and functional administrative or sports infrastructure;
* Supporting the recruitment training and remuneration of national associations staff, employed in the administrative and technical sectors;
* Promoting Youth Football;
* Promoting technical and sport-related development.
Procedure
The FIFA Finance Committee is at liberty to decide the amount it will award to the applicant national association, in conformity with the project (s) presented and the date of payment. Its decisions are final.As a general rule, the FIFA Financial Committee will not release more than USD 250,000 to each member national association, regardless of the number of projects submitted. No exceptions will be made to this rule unless there are major, well-founded reasons.
A national association which has been allocated funds shall utilise them strictly in compliance with the details of the project for which the funds have been granted.
The FIFA administration will supervise that the allocation of funds awarded to the national association comply in every respect with the project (s) for which they were allocated.
To this end, the administration of FIFA may request the national association concerned to supply every means of proof it considers necessary.
FIFA's general secretariat may also decide to delegate an adviser to the national association where he shall be given unrestricted access to all the accounts, documents, etc., which in the opinion of the general secretariat need to be examined.
FFSL to be revamped
FFSL is all set to revamp the present set-up of the controlling body. Many of these changes will be in keeping with the directives of the FIFA and AFC, its Asian counterpart.A qualitative change has been introduced in the overall administration of the FFSL. The post of the Secretary has now been designated as Executive Secretary.
Three new posts have been introduced to take effect when the administration moves to the new Secretariat in May this year.
It is reliably understood that three posts namely, Project Director, Director Planning and Director Competitions have been earmarked to function effectively and the names of G.A.K. Abeysekera, M. Premadasa and M.T. Fernando have been mentioned to take up these appointments.
It is also learnt that these three officials will get a monthly remuneration which will account to 70% of the monthly salary to be received by the Executive Secretary.
Abeysekera and Premadasa, two senior officials of the Colombo FL and City FL respectively did not send in their nominations for posts in the FFSL, due to their names coming up for the above- mentioned executive posts.
All paid employees of the FFSL will have to surrender the posts they hold in clubs and leagues to be independent in the execution of their duties.
Further USD 150,000
It is learnt that the FFSL needs another USD 150,000 to complete the new Headquarters now under construction at Reid Avenue. ôWe will not wait for FIFA funds, but will carry on work with the funds available with the Football Federation,ö said J.S.N. Anandarajah, the co-ordinator of the ôGOALö project in Sri Lanka at the press briefing held to welcome AFC's Dato' Paul Money Samuel. Money is the Secretary, Malaysian FA, Secretary ASEAN and Project Development Officer of the world body, FIFA.Duncan White Sports Foundation presents cheque to Susanthika
Susanthika Jayasinghe was presented with a cheque from the money sent to her by the general public in response to an informal request made by the Duncan White Sports Foundation for the Susanthika-Athens 2004 Olympics Fund.Mrs. Jennifer Moragoda, President of the Duncan White Sports Foundation
is seen handing over the cheque watched from left by Elmo Rajasooriya,
Ravi Fernando (new Board member), Kavan Rambukwella, Stanley Unamboowe
and Secretary of the Duncan White Sports Foundation, Vijitha Fernando.
Pic by Ranjith Perera.
HNB crush Commercial Bank
A fine team effort by, HNB strikers helped them to become champions of MHA knock-out tournament organised by Mercantile Hockey Association, when they beat Commercial Bank by 6 goals to 1 (6-1) in the finals at the Astro Turf Grounds Reid Avenue.Commercial Bank took the lead when their left inside P. Heenkanda converted a superb goal during early stages of the first half, soon after the goal HNB recovered when their national cap Charitha Senanayake flicked the ball into the net to level the score one all (1-1).
Another well connected reverse sweep shot by M. Meurling helped HNB
to take the lead 2-1 at lemons. It was almost a one side game in the second
half when Charitha scored another two (2) goals to sending Commercial Bank
down 4-1 with the play going into the final seconds HNB strikers Indika
and Ravi added another two goals to win the game by 6-1 quite comfortably.
Shantani is Best Defender
By S.M.D. Sirisena
The skipper of Our Lady of Victoria Convent's under13 basketball team Shantani Pieris was adjudged the Best Defender at the Under 13 Inter-School Basketball Tournament held at the Good Shepherd Convent Kotahena.
Shantani,
who is a Ninth Grade student hails from a sporting family.
Her elder brother Suranga Pieris was vice captain of the S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia cricket team in 1999 and captured five wickets for18 in the Big Match against Royal that year. S. Thomas' were winners of the game in 1999.
Shantani's cousin Nilanka Peiris captained S. Thomas' in 1998 and scored a century in the big match that year.
Shantani is also an accomplished artist and has won several art awards
at inter-school competitions. She is also a fine athlete.
Caltex powers Fox Hill again
The most sought out event in the racing calendar, ôThe Caltex Fox Hill Super Cross 2001ö will be powered by Caltex, the lubricant marketer, for the 6th consecutive year. This annual event organized by the Sri Lanka Military Academy in collaboration with Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR) will be held on the 21st of April at Diyatalawa.ôThe Fox Hill Caltex Supercross 2001ö, exemplifies the concept of partnership of 3 eminent institutions which has come together for the past 6 years to put together this enthralling racing extravaganza. The SLMA geared to provide the best possible talent to the Sri Lanka Army, The SLARDAR setting the pace and standard in conducting some of the best racing events in the country, states Deputy General Manager, Marketing Shibly Latiff of Caltex Lubricants Lanka Limited at a press conference.
This year too, Caltex will see 20 exciting events that would be conducted at this beautifully laid one of a kind track at Fox Hill where all spectators can enjoy the races from any location. The track for Cars are 22KM and the Motor cycle track would be 2.2KM where the public will be exposed to some excellent racing. And what better way to launch the new ôCaltex Racing Teamö comprising 25 team members who will be in action starting this season.
Nishantha Wickram-aratne, Team Manager Caltex will head the team comprising
Aravinda Premadasa, Nishan Weerasuriya, Shanaka Ambrose, Yoga Perera, Udesh
Wedisinghe, Rizvi Zarook, Dushan Dinamithra, Upulwan Serasinghe, Shanthilal
Abeyratne, Damien Goonathileke, Nalin Perera, Nishan Wasalathanthri, Shalutha
Adasuriya, Dilshard Hamdoon, Sajad Zuhair, Zaki Ismail, Javidh Wahab, Anil
Jayakody, Prasanna Ranasinghe, Sisira Gunasekera, Rasika Prasad Chammika,
Dhammika Pieris, Anil Seneviratne and Ananda de Alwis.
Why? Oh Why? -
'Limited overs cricket at school level?
By Rohan Jayetilleke
Ever since the introduction of limited overs cricket in the sixties analysts of the game have wondered how the greats of the past would have faced it and whether this technique has degenerated the game into one of 'agricultural shots' and defensive bowling. Many are of the opinion that the past greats would have been more elegant and glittered more than the supporters of the abbreviated game. The geniuses of the past of our salad days, with only radio commentaries to listen to and the reports filed in the press for our reading benefit, in our estimation, would have made great one day players with ability to pick the right ball to strike heftily, to bowl a tight line and length and to field with alacrity. Batsmen of old (no covering of wickets) defied rain effected pitches and unrestricted field placements, on occasions seven fielders crouched around from silly mid on to first leg slip as during the body line series in Australia orchestrated by English captain Jardine with Harold Larwood steaming in to curb the rapier-sharp bat of Don Bradman (later Sir) of 'Agricultural Shots'. The leg glance of Ranjitsinhji would have relished the limited overs game bowlers leg spin with just one leg slip. Ranji's famous leg glance invariably pierced through three leg slips to beat fine leg. The player moving right across the stumps to get inside the long outswinger and with deft last moment turn of the wrist send the ball screaming over the long leg boundary is never a spectacle now in the abbreviated or in the long game. West Indian George Headley was among the finest to wield the willow at Test or first class games. He was so unstoppable that he earned the nickname very justifiably as 'Black Bradman'. Every third time Bradman stepped out to bat in a Test match he got a hundred and at the brisk rate of 40 an hour. Bradman batted in Test matches as they do in present day one dayers. Don was not a big hitter but his sense of placing the ball and array of shots will put the fielders on the horns of a dilemma. Into the vacant areas he lofted the ball with the agility of a golfer. If he played in the present one dayers with wide gaps and 'regulation' deep set fields he would have had a 'field day' plundering runs with the speed of electricity. The famous opening pair of West Indies Haynes and Greenidge would have batted all the fifty overs with limited overs game. Kerry Packer, the Australian TV tycoon introduced limited over cricket not to develop the game but to convert into a value added saleable commodity to garner the 'filthy lucre' through TV coverage and other ancilliary media and corporate bodies advertising and the players themselves remunerated with crumbs that fell from the tables of business conglomerates. Consequently, the players themselves, not adequately paid their hire have resorted to 'fix- matches' for bookmakers. The game of cricket was on the wake of the Industrial Revolution in England encouraged and promoted to wean the English youth from gambling. These visions are now lost and the game is the 'Raven for Gambling' with bookmakers in the driving seat and even bookmakers becoming the powers-that-be in the game, in certain ICC member countries.School Cricket
There is a penchant among Sri Lankans to lock the stable after the steed has bolted away. Today limited overs cricket too has been introduced to schools. Nobody knows as to who granted authority for schools to take to limited overs cricket organized by beverages and milk food corporate bodies. These bodies are not interested in the progress of the game at school level but to promote 'conspicuous consumption' of their brands of products. If they are interested in the furtherance of the game, they should and could improve playgrounds of schools as a long-term investment for the growth of the game. Today most of the schools, either have to organize sponsored walks (like Kingswood Walk) and musical shows to collect funds for the development of school playgrounds. What corporate body has ever thought of developing a village school playground? Which Plantations Management Body thought of providing playgrounds for the concentrated labour of the plantations, as a welfare measure. At least the British planting companies during their stewardship of the plantations provided playgrounds like those at Tebuwana, Kelani Valley, Darawella (Dickoya) and Radella (N'Eliya) for the white planting Sahibs. All games at school level come under the aegis of the Education Ministry and games have to be approved by the Education Ministry as fit and proper for schools. In 1984 when the writer, the then Assistant Secretary of Kandy YMCA (now General Secretary) with a Trophy donated by the trail blazer of women's cricket my erstwhile friend, now the President of the Women's Cricket Association of Sri Lanka and who put Sri Lanka on the world women's cricket map at the WICC meeting in New Zealand recently Mrs. Gwen Herat, on the day of this limited overs tournament with around ten schools participating, the Education Ministry debarred schools from participating in the tournament, the reason being cricket was not an Education Ministry approved game for girls schools and girls of mixed schools. My friend Miss Pauline Bince, who captained Western Australia University's women's cricket team, when Test cricketer as an undergraduate of the same University was leading the men's side, who was also assistant manager of two Australian sides to two women's World Cups, was at the time serving as a teacher trainer at Kurunegala and made both written and verbal representations to the then Minister of Education Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe and it took nearly eight years to secure approval of the Ministry as a game fit for girls. In hindsight, it is most amusing as to who controls games in schools whether schools' association set up for different games and whether they are empowered by the Education Act to take unilateral decisions as regards the suitability of a particular game for school. In this context the introduction of limited overs cricket is ultra vires of the Education Act and a ruling made by the schools cricket association usurping the power of decision making from the Minister of Education. This decision could be contested successfully at law.
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