Ticket to cricket abyss: Why forget the homegrown
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Are these some very ominous signs? At the news conference which was held to welcome the Australian cricketers, none of the big guns of Sri Lanka Cricket was present. The most conspicuous being the absence of Jayantha Dharmadasa, SLC’s pillar in charge of international cricket, and the ceremony was chaired by Chief Executive Officer Ashley de Silva. In general terms this should be the case, but, according to the present Sri Lankan culture it does not happen in this manner. The next was that Champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was their at the Australian nets helping out their spinners, while the series is being held for the Murali-Warne Trophy and there is more to follow.
The latest news to hit the street was that the ‘Big3’ already has invaded, and the Indian moghuls are going to streamline the entire ticketing system and the accreditation for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). According to SLC sources, the Indian company, which has worked with the IPL and some foreign entities, will, in addition to ticketing and accreditation handling, streamline the system and then hand it back to the SLC administration in two years. No! This is definitely not another ruse to get a commission out of nothing or, to undermine the capability of the Jayantha Dharmadasa-led foreign cricket pillar of the SLC, which is now on the verge of collapsing under the pressure of inactivity. But this is an exercise in being proactive and standing in the right place at the right time.
However, the little guys on the other staircase under the same roof, have a different view of the same situation. One of them lamented, “I have been a member of the Tour Organising Committee on many occasions and it has been working smoothly. May be there would have been a slip-up here and there and they have been negligible but we have always kept things well under our control. Yet, the base factor is that the expenditure is not so high when it is locally handled, and whatever the expenditure is made is done locally.” Yet, the guy from the main shaft says, “Hey, this is how it is done internationally and it is high time we also started being above the average Johnny. Though the ‘Big3’ would own the software, the system will be ours. Just see, we have begun by saving money.
Initially, the Indian company demanded Rs. 23 million for the project and we brought the price tag down to Rs. 11 million. There alone we have started off with a huge saving.” Then another from the same group came up with a brilliant idea. He said, “Why don’t we suggest getting another ‘Big3′ or ‘Big4’ from India to organise a system of having the perfect tournament.” He said, “We all know about the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) Tournament where the T-20 is concerned. So why can’t we get the Indian know-how to perfect our tournament structure too. Well! For the past two decades or more, we have floundered with our tournament structure. At the moment, we are neither here nor there with the prevailing club system, which is being undermined by a hastily concocted provincial system which is still not clear to anyone.
“The club system is like a fully fledged orchestra with 24 Premier Division Clubs trying to play in one tournament. May be that SLC does not propose to take this tournament seriously. At the same time, the SLC hierarchy is decentralising the ownership of a majority of the projects to the provinces but, insiders scream that it is being done in an ad hoc manner. Nevertheless, still it is not clear how the Provincial Cricket Tournament is proposed to be played. May be, once the SLPL is set in place – anyway in a tournament played in the Provincial Cricket module — things could fall into perspective.” Aren’t we getting a bit muddled in our own thoughts? First we undo every good move that the previous cricket administration did, saying either the SLC did not have sufficient funds to go ahead or the projects were not planned out properly.
But, instead of stitching the loose ends and putting them into ship-shape, they abandon the projects and embark on others which are going to cost more. Then what about the monies already paid to get the previous projects off the ground? Please could anyone tell us how many millions went down the drain and who is going to bear the loss? If the present regime could prove that someone is responsible for such a faux pas, make him pay for it. But, at the same time, there are some other projects which are also not so convincing. Well, we were all against the setting up of the Hambantota Stadium. In cricketing terms, such a gigantic project was not needed for the 2011 Cricket World Cup staged in Sri Lanka but, the reality is that, it is there and is good enough to stage an international game, with lights.
But, ironically, the ground is not going to be used even as a provincial hub. At the same time, the Dambulla Stadium, which was at the receiving end for some time, has resurfaced. Now, while having a ground with all the facilities in Hambantota, the Dambulla Stadium also was spruced up — with Rs. 50 million being spent only for the lighting. In these lean times, can SLC afford such luxuries? Coming back to our original argument, it seems that we Sri Lankans have very little faith in our own capabilities. However good they are, there is very little opportunity for homegrown ingenuity. The outsourcing of the tickets we see as one that we well could afford to hold back till other important issues are sorted out. Then, what could we do with the talent we have in abundance — talent we could utilise but, withheld in abeyance through our own tunnel vision?
The biggest example is Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena. At some point or the other, they have been a part of the ICC Cricket Committee. Among the current international cricketers, the duo are hot property. Both have retired from international cricket and are freelancing with their immeasurable knowledge of the latest developments of the game. Mind you this is not secondhand; it is current hands-on experiences.
Yet, besides a brief ‘interlude’ as a selector who was passing through, where Sangakkara just stepped in and out of the frame as a selector, neither cricketer has even driven down Maitland Place at recent times. Then the two bowling icons — Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas — are not in the local frame, but are coveted by experts overseas, whenever their expertise is required. A few weeks ago, Thilan Samaraweera was asked to give some tips to the Australian cricketers on batting on Sri Lankan conditions. Roshan Mahanama has just retired from being one of the most respected Match Referees at the ICC.
The list may be longer than this but, as far as we can see, these icons keep distancing themselves from the day-to-day affairs of SLC. Why? Is there something wrong with our system or, doesn’t the SLC value the input these ex-cricketers could give to improve the quality of our cricket? The Australians have arrived two weeks ahead of the schedule in spite of the additional expense. They are looking forward to a convincing series win, which has eluded them for the past decade. That is why they are paying such a lot of emphasis on this particular tour. For the Lankans, who are tottering at present and playing along with 35,000-foot problems, losing a series may not mean much. But, the situation is very tentative. The two-tier system is lurking on the horizon, with a certain faction working towards that goal. Are we being just block-headed or just could care less?