Low and odour of beating the gavel
View(s):There were a few factors which stabilised and enriched the game of cricket in this island paradise. First, it goes without saying, that the British took their game of cricket very seriously because, unlike in his faraway homeland, in Ceylon as they called it, cricket was played all year round.
The Masquerade -- Matara District (NCC) batsmen cross over for a run during their match against Hambantota District during their invitation match played in Colombo on Friday - Pic by Amila Gamage
Then, the game gradually filtered down. First through schools like the Colombo Academy — later renamed Royal College, Colombo, in the mid 1800s. And then the club system was given a local baptism, initially through entities such as the Tamil Union and the Nondescript Cricket Club. Prior to that, cricket was confined to the fancies of the British Raj. Gradually, the game started to take root. The two entities grew like two trees growing from the pods of one and the same source.
In reality, no one defined the roles of school and club cricket but, really, they were comrades in arms. The structure gradually grew into Sri Lanka’s university of cricket. As a result, the school cricket arena began to grow because the school cricketer had an afterlife in club cricket. At the same time, club cricket also totally depended upon the intake from schools for its growth and sustenance.
Initially, club cricket had an ethnic outlook, as a direct result of the divide-and-rule policies of the white sahib; hence clubs such as the Tamil Union, the Burgher Recreation Club, the Moors Sports Club and the Sinhalese Sports Club became part of our society.
Then there were instances where cricketers from particular schools preferred to join identified clubs. For instance, SSC got its intake mostly from S. Thomas’ and Ananda, Bloomfield from Nalanda, Colts from St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s, and NCC and CCC from Royal and Wesley. This was a huge impetus towards the solidification of this system.
No matter how one feels or, how one sees the system, club cricket has taken root in this country. Yes, from time to time, there were very learned cricketers who opined and advised Lanka’s cricket authority to shift to province-based cricket but, after almost 20 years of chasing the tail, that system is still in the embryonic stage. At the same time, the only person who made a kill out of this system was Thilanga Sumathipala, who rode upon that concept and added a whole load of provincial and district votes, which would, in turn, keep him safe and sound at election time. Besides that, up to now, the provincial system has only been a waste of time. It was a case of club cricketers jumping into various bandwagons and playing a series of ‘ahindas’ cricket, to which no one is committed. This is not because the system is bad. It is because it was not implemented with conviction.
Yes, the Indian Premier League became a colossal success and they are riding on it. But, just see the money involved. They bought loyalty through pay cheques. Interestingly, now the game of cricket has seen its latest twist in its history of evolution in Sri Lanka.
Now, the game of cricket is indulging in an exercise of beating the judge’s gavel. After a few weeks of hectic hurdling on how to defy the court order against conducting the Limited Overs Club Cricket Tournament, the Sumathipala camp has devised a method of putting the boys on the field.
On Tuesday afternoon, they homed in on the idea of renaming and dressing all clubs under the district pyjama and play an invitation tournament. Hey presto! The gavel was silenced.
A Sumathipala camp high-up explained the plot. He said, “The tournament will be called Inter-District Invitation Tournament.
Sri Lanka Cricket has 22 Districts cricket wise, but, we have adopted the bigger picture and have taken 24 out of the 25 districts in the island. The teams will be named after the Districts but, in reality, the teams comprise the 24 clubs or, the players who represent those Clubs, and the tournament will go on till April 2.”
However, it is interesting to note that players from Negombo CC- the team which filed legal action against the conduct of the Club Cricket tournament, will be a part of the tournament. Players of Negombo CC have been put into the jerseys of the Gampaha District. “A bit awkward isn’t it?”
To be more precise SSC plays under the Kandy banner, Tamil Union wears the Jaffna T-shirts, Matara District is NCC while CCC has the honour of acting as the Colombo District.
The insider explained, “We have to look after the players. Players did not bring the court order against the tournament”.
However, we wondered how this would stand in the eyes of accepted cricket and, at the same time, the organisers say that these are ‘List A’ matches.
We sought the opinion of well respected cricket administrator Sidath Wettimuny who, incidentally, headed the last Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket. Wettimuny opined, “I wonder, constitutionally, how they could defy a court ban. Secondly, if it is an invitation tourney, I wonder as to how it could be termed a List ‘A’ tournament.”
Then, he added, “In the present context, everything goes by word of mouth. For instance, SLC made a hue and a cry about recording a net surplus of Rs. 200 million in 2016. At the same time, even Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said there was a loss of over Rs. 400 million, when the last Interim Committee was in office.”
“This is blatant falsehood. It is on record and audited that, we had a Rs 100 million plus bank balance, while we also settled some of the debts amounting to Rs. 78 million. They only have to go through those accounts; it is stated in black and white.”
As far as we can see, it is a complete haze. Is the present ‘Limited Overs’ tournament, for which already Rs 2.5 million has been spent on the ‘pyjamas’, legitimate? Then we are worried about the odds we are facing to stay in the game.
Political interference has spread into every nook and cranny of the game. It is like a huge octopus spreading its crushing tentacles. Gradually, it is becoming the land of the ‘Three bags full’.
Now, the latest is beating the gavel. Yes, for over a century, the game of cricket has grown from two trees that drew its strength from each other. So much so, it became the youngest ever international outfit to stake its claim for the ICC Cricket World Cup. Right now, like gunslingers, we are street fighting from behind lamp-posts and ducking behind the law of the land. To me, it ain’t cricket.