Premier League changes from next season
As predicted Sri Lanka Cricket Inter-Club Premier Cricket Tournament season for 2013/14 will continue with 14 teams in the top tier. But according to highly informed sources it is likely to be further amended for the coming season.
Earlier it was reported with confirmation that the top segment of the SLC Inter-Club Premier Cricket Tournament will include a ‘Super Eights’ stage after the number of teams being chopped down to eight from the existing 14. According to confirmed reports from SLC, the tournament will go ahead as planned, with 14 teams in two groups and with two other segments, the Emerging and Sara, with ten teams each.
The Premier Tournament will also include a Super 8s stage. - File pic
“According to recommendations the coming season of 2014/15 will see some changes. We are hoping to discuss matters with all the clubs in the coming week before coming to a conclusion. As at present it is at discussion level and once things are confirmed an official announcement will be made,” a high ranked official of SLC told the Sunday Times.
The concluded three-day Premier Cricket Tournament was postponed on several occasions owing disagreement among some of the clubs and the cricket administration. However after lengthy discussions and certain amendments to the promotion and demotion policies it was later decided to go ahead with the tournament with 20 teams in two separate groups.
According to the proposal 20 teams played in a combined top tier segment which began in December 2012 as SLC officials recognised it as the only existing first class domestic competition.
It was also decided then that after the end of the first year, six teams from the Premier segment will be demoted to an intended emerging segment, which will feature 10 teams with four teams coming to the top from the Sara segment. This segment too is intended to be played as a three-day tournament but will not be considered first class.
Earlier SLC officials said they hope to confine 10 teams each by 2015 with the bottom seed of the Premier and top seed of the emerging segments playing a four-day relegation match. But according to the new development it is not clear whether the proposed format will be implemented in the 2014/15 season. According to the earlier proposal, four teams, two from each group of the Premier tournament, which will be conducted with the remaining 14 teams, will face relegation after the 2013/14 season.
Sinhalese Sports Club emerged champions in the concluded season where Burgher Recreational Club (BRC), Lankan Cricket Club, Saracens, Navy Sports Club, Galle Cricket Club and Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club were pushed down to play in the Emerging segment in 2013/14..
“The top segment will be restricted to 14 teams as decided and will have two groups, seven teams in each. We may have to introduce a Super Eights stage as teams will get to play only six matches the whole season. If there will be a Super Eights stage, the winner will be decided after a league competition,” Chandima Mapatuna of the tournament manager of SLC told the Sunday Times in April.
However, the top SLC official confirmed the inclusion of a ‘Super Eights’ stage in the upcoming Premier Tournament. – NA
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