SLC says ‘No’ to ICC’s Two-Tier cricket
View(s):There are some moments, despite the prevailing circumstances, where the grass looks greener and you see only smiling faces. Last Saturday, almost two-and-a-half days too early, when the Mathew brigade achieved the almost impossible. The Lankans had fairly and squarely spun a web round the Australian resolve.
When it happened the last time 17-years-ago, a 1-0 defeat, the irony was that the Australians managed to sweep their blushes under the carpet and, in no time, it was business as usual, with the Kangaroo hopping around nattily a few days later.
However, this time around, the circumstances were very different. The little Lankans managed to rub the salt in proper with this defeat. It’s big news all over the cricketing world. Moreover, Lankan cricket is being taken seriously once again, while the recent string of defeats are taken as a part of the usual revamping pangs that any team faces following an exodus of inevitable retirements.
To us at this end, this was the opportunity we were waiting for, to drive a point home. As he is also an advocate of this notion, Lankan Cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala was the only one to carry the mace against the message of the ICC’s ‘Two-Tier’ Cricket doctrine the Lankans are so vehemently opposed to.
From the very outset, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President has spelled out his opposition to the ‘Two Tier’ Cricket proposal that the ICC is trying to force-feed the rest of the Cricket community and, for the first time, Sumathipala took pains to explain his opposition to the ICC proposal.
The veteran cricket administrator said: “First of all, the proposal says the system would have seven ‘Top Tier’ teams and five ‘Bottom Tier’ teams. There are ten full member countries, from which, seven would play ‘Top Tier’ Cricket, while the other three, plus two other emerging nations, will join the ‘Tier B’. The ICC’s rationale is this system is aimed at attracting and sustaining Test Cricket, which is its primary argument, while the other is about the economics of Cricket.
“My argument is – firstly – are we looking at equity or equality? Equity is a matter we have to look at with the economics of the proposal at hand – which is a separate matter. Equality has to be looked at from the angle of status. Most full member Test playing nations have achieved this through years of hard work, dedication and growing from grassroots level. Some of them, initially, had to be in the Associate level and then move on to full member status. We grew with the game for over 100 years, sustaining ourselves with a lot of hard work, progressing from Associate level while investing in the game.”
Sumathipala explained that Sri Lanka played good Cricket during its involvement with the game for over 100 years. “Sri Lanka won the ICC trophy way back in 1979. Then, while still an associate member, Sri Lanka beat India in a World Cup tie. Sri Lanka’s ascendancy to full status was never an easy one, while it sustained itself within its realms right through. That is the hard earned status that Sri Lanka could be proud of in Cricket. So, this status cannot be compromised, and because of that, we are not in agreement with the ‘Two Tier’ Cricket segregation”.
“Then, the authorities are looking at the economics of this proposal. In 2003, I submitted a paper to make Test Cricket a four-day affair, because then, it was 90 overs into five, totaling 450 overs. Now, with night Test Cricket using a pink ball, we can play at least another 30-45 minutes of Cricket on all four days and make up for lost time. Hence, we can play the same amount of Cricket in a lesser number of days, with four-day Test Cricket.”
“Then, if Test cricket is played from Thursday to Monday, players have three days for rest and travel, before the next Test match. In this manner, we could take Test cricket to another level, where there would be more people watching the game in the evening session. In this manner, even production costs will be less, and we can a find a solution to the equity problem while retaining the status part intact. So, we are not willing to shift our stance on the equity issue in the ‘Two Tier’ proposal.”
The SLC President pointed out that cricket is a game that is constantly evolving. Even Test cricket segment evolved into limited-overs cricket, starting with 60-Overs-a-side. Then it became 50 overs, while another branch came up with a segment of 20-Over cricket. Sumathipala said he is fully for the evolution of the game, but would never compromise on the status of the game.
He said, “During the past few years, the ICC has got into a highly commercial frame of mind. At one juncture, ‘The Big Three’ was trying to control the game. That was wrong, how can India, England and Australia take control of the game. The game of cricket is all about equality. There should be fair play, so you cannot take equity into focus and change the game. We are happy, now that the ‘Big Three’ concept has been done away with. Now the post of ICC President is not confined to those three countries. These are the good things that have happened to the game of cricket.”
At the same time, Sumathipala reiterated that, though Sri Lanka is placed 7th in the ICC Test rankings, he is not perturbed about the ‘Two Tier’ proposal. He said he is very confident that Sri Lanka would rise to the 5th or 4th slots in the ICC rankings and is certain that it would be able to sustain that position for some time in the future. Sumathipala added, “The ICC is trying to push some countries to the ‘Bottom Tier’ – after they had earned their status through a lot of hard work. I am sure they would never be able to get back to their former positions once demoted. Then their sponsors will leave them. They will become second-class Test playing nations. I don’t think that is the way forward and that is why we, as matter of policy, are against the ‘Two Tier’ system.”