Trouble brewing in Matara over B’desh match
View(s):Text and pic by P D de Silva
With the election of office bearers to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) due to be held on March 31, the present regime has offered the Matara District Cricket Association (MDCA) the privilege of hosting a three-day warm up encounter for the touring Bangladesh cricket team at the Uyanwatta stadium, allegedly in a bid to secure the MDCA’s votes.
In the SLC’s attempt to please the MDCA, all first XI school cricket matches which were scheduled to be played on this ground in the preceding two weeks would have to be cancelled or played at some other venue to make way for the three-day game which begins on March 4. The SLC decided on the itinerary only in early January and had not made a prior reservation of the ground.
School cricket matches in Matara are feared to be shifted from Uyanwatte.
The Uyanwatta Cricket Ground, owned and maintained by the Matara Municipal Council, is the home turf of St. Thomas’ College, Rahula College and St. Servatius College. These schools reserved the grounds after making the required payments last October, soon after the women’s T-20 World Cup matches were over. There is no other ground in Matara with a turf wicket, with the closest being in Galle and Sooriyawewa.
Sri Lanka Cricket gave the Uyanwatta cricket ground a facelift for practice sessions of women’s teams that participated in the women’s T20 World Cup. The people of Matara, who were aware of SLC’s take over of the Galle Stadium in the past, obtained a court order preventing the closure of the ground to the public prior to the T20 World Cup. The closure of the ground for one month was recommended by the ICC’s pitch consultant Andy Atkinson.
Sunil Mohotti, Secretary of the MDCA, who is to benefit the most from hosting this match, has been calling the respective cricket coaches and school authorities requesting that they cancel their reservations for the Uyanwatta Stadium and play the matches at another venue. He has even requested that each school nominate two players for the game as an enticer.
Pradeep Nishantha, the coach of St. Servatius College Matara, who play in Division One of the schools tournament, said that the request was unfair. “If SLC wanted they could have made a prior reservation and the schools would have scheduled their away games for this period. The tournament matches have to be played before March 5. The St. Servatius team would not want to forego the advantage of playing on a turf wicket they are accustomed to and would accept the request if SLC and the MDCA provide the Sooriyawewa International Cricket Ground together with transportation and accommodation. It is sad that SLC, which should be developing the game at the school level, doesn’t care if school matches are played or not.”
“This year’s tournament is crucial for Rahula College. We play in Division II of the All Island Schools Cricket tournament conducted by the SLSCA. We have a strong all round team this year. It is our chance to reach the final and be promoted to division one of the tournament. We have an advantage if we play on a turf wicket. SLC and the MDCA are being unfair by making this sudden request. We have fixed a match with St. Mary’s Kegalle for February 26 and 27. We played against them on a matting wicket last year and lost. They have a definite advantage playing on matting. Every game is crucial to us,” said Coach Rohana Ariyathillaka of Rahula College.
“St. Thomas’ College plays in Division II of the schools Under 19 tournament. Our practices are held at Uyanwatta and this is our home ground. It is unfair for SLC and the MDCA to ask us to go and play our home matches elsewhere. Any person who understands the game knows of the advantage of playing on your home ground. The MDCA should have made a reservation six months ago without disrupting our fixtures. We don’t have another ground with a turf wicket in Matara. We are looking forward to reaching the Division II final this year and the disruption may deprive us of the opportunity,” was what Charith Palliyage, the coach of St. Thomas’ College had to say.
SLC’s district coach, Prasanna Galappaththi who was aware of the conflict which was brewing did not want to comment on the matter. “As an employee of SLC, I will perform my duties and carry out any instructions given to me by SLC or any request made by the MDCA to the best of my ability.”
Matara’s first citizen Mayor Sosindra Handunge said, “Neither SLC nor the MDCA have made a request from me in this regard as at date (January 24) neither have they reserved the Uyanwatta cricket ground. I am aware that St. Servatius College, St. Thomas’ College and Rahula College have reserved the grounds until the end of March. I can’t cancel these reservations. It is SLC and the MDCA who should come to an agreement with these schools to cancel their reservations to make way for this match.”
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