Inter Club Cricket Under-23 tournament still in abeyance
The revival of the scuttled Under (U)-23 tournament still seems to be in abeyance, even though the Premier League Tier ‘A’ tournament will begin as scheduled on November 30.
When inquired Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Head of Operations Chinthaka Edirimanna told the Sunday Times that right now, plans for the U-23 tournament are on hold. He explained, “The tournament is not on our schedule and we have to initially get clearance from the SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, to have the tournament, and then see if we have the necessary funds to go ahead with it. Besides, we also have to find out if all the clubs are willing to take part in this tournament”.
Under 23 match in progress - File photo
However, stakeholders’ forum convenor Michael de Zoysa, just prior to leaving the island, painted a different picture. He said all arrangements are in place to go ahead with the relaunching of the U-23 tournament, following discussions with Sports Minister Faiszer Musthapha. Last week de Zoya said, “We had a very good meeting. Minister Musthapha agreed to have the U-23 tournament, which was taken away from the club system. At the same time, as a priority, the Premier Club tournament would be rolled out immediately.”
Meanwhile, a senior member of the last tournament committee also agreed that the U-23 tournament is a vital cog in the club cricket structure. He said, “We even had a discussion with a past cricketing great who is still in the system and he was of the opinion that the U-23 tournament gives a lot of muscle to the Premier League system, and even cricketers such as Dinesh Chandimal really blossomed out with that tournament. In cricket, we need a fix in place between school cricket and the Premier League – it gives a lot of bench strength.”
According to Zoysa, the U-23 tournament was going to have 22 U-23 sides and 2 U-19 teams, and they would initially play an invitation tournament.
Edirimanna, however, said the Premier Club Tier ‘A’ tournament of three-day encounters will get under way on November 30, with the participation of 14 clubs.
The two-day Tier ‘B’ tournament will be played two weeks later. This segment will contain 8 or nine teams. On November 22 and 23, there will be a series of matches for the Governors Trophy to ascertain relegation and promotion criteria. However, according to the SLC Head of Operations, “There are some sides that are outside the SLC system taking part in this tournament. If any of the sides outside the SLC system wins the relegation/promotion play-off, it will not be promoted to the Tier ‘B’ system. In that case, the Tier ‘B’ tournament will have only 8 teams, if not 9.”