Can women do what men did?

By Jatila Karawita

The Sri Lankan women’s cricket team captained by all-rounder Rasanjali Silva will leave for New Zealand next week to compete in the CricInfo Women’s World Cup 2000 organised by New Zealand cricket for Women’s International Cricket Council.

The eight Test teams are slated to vie with each other for the most prestigious trophy in women’s world cricket in a pulsating battle for supremacy with no quarter asked and nor given.

Sri Lanka which comprises of a well knit outfit will go as the youngest member of the IWCC brimming with confidence to spring a surprise the way they did at the debut World Cup in 1997.

Following months of coaching and gruelling exercise by former Test wicket-keeper bat Guy De Alwis the team members are bubbling with enthusiasm and determination to do their country proud.

‘We have done our best and it was arduous for me and now it is up to these ladies to prove their worth and emulate their opposite sex’ said Gwen Herath who is the President of the Women’s Cricket Association of Sri Lanka referring to the feat achieved by Sri Lanka’s male cricket team in 1996 when they clinched the World Cup under Arjuna Ranatunga.

The chief sponsor of the Lankan women’s cricket team is Lanka Tiles Limited.

foreign tennis coach

The SLTA has taken a bold step forward by deciding to recruit a foreign coach to be in charge of the tennis coaching operations in Sri Lanka.

“We had to take this decisive step as the standard of our players has been sliding in comparision to other Asian countries”, said Lalith Withana, President, SLTA.

Andre Mas, a Frenchman, has vast experience in tennis coaching in other countries and also in France. He has also been the coach of a number of top French players which includes Davis Cup players, he said. In fact Olivier Delaitre, one of Andre student’s was a member of the French team that won Davis Cup in 1992, while Thierry Champion reached the quarter finals of the French and Wimbledon singles events.

Andre Mas the French coach who has been in the country for the past one month, was optimistic about Sri Lanka’s future tennis prospects. “I have observed children as young as 12 years old practicing very hard and with a purpose for two to three hours without any supervision. In most other countries you will not find such commitiment at such a young age”, commented Andre. Sri Lanka’s performance in the international arena reached a peak in the 1980’s when Umesh Walloopillai won the Asian Junior Championships beating players such as Leander Paes. Last year Leander Paes won the Wimbledon Doubles title and is considered as one of the best doubles players in the world. During this period Sri Lanka reached the semi finals of Group 2 in Davis Cup beating countries such as Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Players of the calibre of Arjun Fernando and Frank Sebaratnam contributed significantly to Sri Lanka’s rise.

However, Sri Lanka’s performance in the international arena dipped dramatically and are now placed in Group 3 of the Davis Cup. The SLTA is however, optimistic for the future of tennis. “We have some highly enthusiasitc, committed and talented under 14 players and in order to realize their full potential, we hired a foreign Coach at great expense,” said an official of the SLTA.

Anouk’s victorious return

The flagship event of the R.C.G.C. Ladies’ Section, the Club Championship sponsored by Lion Shipping for the fourth consecutive years and the Bronze Cup, the Handicap Event for higher handicappers was held recently at the Ridgeways Golf Course.

Championships

Anouk Chanmugam whose presence on the course is all too infrequent made a victorious return to the game when she won the Championship beating Suwan Selvaratnam in the finals. Anouk did not produce her best golf but neither did Suwan.

Anouk’s 6 pars in the front nine gave her a 2 up lead. A ragged second half by both golfers followed. Suwan gave herself a chance when she chipped in at the 15th for the only bridie in the match and became one down. But Anouk won the next hole in par and halved the 17th to win 2/1.

The earlier rounds were marred by walk overs. In the top half-Suwan beat Elivira Herze 6/5 but received a walk-over from Yvonne Abhayaratne and in the bottom half, Anouk received a walk-over from Shannon Keen and the beat K. Osaki 5/4.

Bronze Cup

The winner was Y. Kobyashi (H’cap 33) the popular Japanese player who beat E.J. Shon (H’cap 24) 5/4 - the match was refreed by Joe Perera.

In brief

Badminton finals tomorrow

Athletic Championships

16 Clubs in the preliminary round

No more poor and honest

What twists and turns the match-fixing and betting allegations are taking. All for one reason. The greed for money - as some say the root of all evil.

April 7th 2000, will be always remembered as the day when the biggest cricketing scandal was uncovered. The day when police in New Delhi disclosed that they had the voice of South African captain Hansie Cronje on audio tape communicating with a bookmaker. The can of worms had been opened.

The doubt, the speculation, the rumours were soon to be ended as the drama unfolded. Reality had to be faced. International cricket match results were being tampered with. It was an infectious virus that the cricket world had to deal with. The depth of the disease is still unknown. Each day more and more information true, partly turned and false is being discovered and publicized.

Edwin King, a retired judge who describes himself as “a cricket nut” was commissioned by the South African Cricket Board to inquire and report. Cronje and very many others provided the story. Was the truth and nothing but the truth always spoken? That is debatable. A much-traumatized Cronje was quizzed for ten hours. He finally turned his back on the courtroom, weeping, escorted by bodyguards.

By virtue of his own admission the disgraced South African skipper, has been banned from the game for life. Two others involved have received short-term bans - minor punishments. Has the South African Cricket Board done everything within their powers to eradicate this menace? Or have they just done what seems to be right to please the Cricketing world? On the surface there seems to be more that what has come out. Only time will tell.

Following on the lead taken by the New Delhi police, the Central Bureau of Investigation in India, tackled the issues more in depth. With the assistance of Scotland Yard they began to comb players, administrators and bookmakers. It was a big bombshell when Manoj Prabakhar disclosed that Kapil Dev had offered him money to underperform. The legendary all-rounder was also reduced to a weeping wreck when interviewed by BBC TV. What mental trauma can do to the toughest of men!

After hours of interrogation and sweeping raids conducted by tax men in India, the CBI has produced a lengthy report. Will this be the stepping to a tough investigation by the ICC and the relevant governing cricket boards? I reckon it could well be. The report has coughed out names of some top international players for varied involvements. All be it on the evidence furnished by a few players - mostly with tarnished images - and a few bookmakers conducting illegal business. What is eye- catching is that there are connected incidents prompting the man on the street to believe.

What has shocked Sri Lankan cricket fans is that Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva have been linked to the scandal. Both of them have denied having any connections with any bookmakers. As players who have contributed towards the success of Sri Lankan cricket enormously it is not fair to level any charges against them without an absolutely unbiased hearing. Desmond Fernando PC, has been given that task. There is no doubt that the millions who cheered these two men and wept tears of joy when they caned the Aussies in Lahore in 1996 and brought home the World Cup, would hope and pray their names will be cleared of these accusations levelled at them.

Of course the whole scenario or world cricket has changed. The excitement of one day cricket, the massive part played by the electronic media, has attracted many vultures to infiltrate the game. As the caption of an article in the Wisden Cricket monthly stated: CRICKET WAS ONCE POOR AND HONEST, NOW IT’S NEITHER.

The need of the hour is ....

Football school not an academy

By Gamini Perera

Apropos the article written by former national football player and the incumbent Director, National Youth Development Programme of the FFSL, M. Subani Hashimdeen, which appeared in The Sunday Times of October 29, 2000, I wish to enlighten on this subject for the benefit of our readers.

Hashimdeen in his article titled: “Special centre to promote mature football”, states that he would like the Football Federation to start a Football Academy for the benefit of youth which will be very vital for the development of the game in this country.”

There is a vast difference in an Academy and a School.

In an Academy, which is a society of scholars undergoing specialized training in their respective fields while a School, which is an institution which teaches the basics of a subject to its children.

Hence, the need of the hour is a school for our youth and talented players to congregate and learn the basics and the skills of the sport.

A Football School, generally called a Sports School, the world over in the football playing countries, is primary to impart football knowledge and build-up an all-important youth base, leading to a strong and highly competitive national team.

‘Catch ‘them young’

There is a lot of noise being made these days with the slogan, ‘catch them young’.

But until the administrators are prepared to spend more money, more time, more energy and almost all the resources at their disposal for the development of a solid youth base, our football will continue to grope in the dark aimlessly. This fact must be emphasised.

The philosophy of our football administrators, as well as those trained coaches should be not only to guide and produce players, but also to turn out men, living football as a way of life.

Lives that can be emulated by the growing soccerites who had opted to choose football as a career. This is what is simply known as Professional football.

No less a person than the then Sports Minister, S.B. Dissanayake addressing the gathering at the foundation stone-laying ceremony on January 14, 2000 said: “Football is a popular sport throughout the world, but in Sri Lanka the game is still at a junior level.”

He was referring to Sri Lanka’s performances in the international scene during the concluded year.

Germany’s sportschule

There are a variety of sports schools around the world and some of the best are in Europe.

The Sportschule in Koln, West Germany which is managed by courtesy of the Middle Rhein Football Association is one of the best laid-out Football Schools in Germany.

A sports school in relation to football and what facilities it has is something that must be seen to be believed.

The pride of place in a football school is the indoor gymnasium, which is constructed with a multi-purpose utility value, drawing the maximum with the available space.

Going through the souvenir issued in connection with the foundation-laying ceremony which took place on Thursday, January 13, 2000, ample space has been provided in the second floor to house an indoor stadium. This is a far-sighted idea that should be lauded.

Vast complex

A sports school is a vast complex starting with one or more well-laid playing fields, with adjustable construction of playing facilities, such as kicking-boards, and deflecting boards on wheels, easily removable out of the field when needed - all to attract the young pupils.

There are classrooms for lectures and a full-fledged library in a football school. It not only has the latest publications in football, but also films and video tapes on football, both in the training aspect as well as in the competitive category, covering all that is taking place in the world of football.

Medical facilities with a qualified doctor in attendance, when the trainees are at work is another requirement of importance in a school of football.

A trained physiotherapist with the relevant apparatus should also be provided. No football school is complete without the facilities for serving wholesome and clean food.

A school of football also provides a national training policy on the sport. This policy and directive will go out in the form of the coaches and the trainees will be trained on an uniform pattern.

A structure and form

As I had always advocated in my articles, football in Sri Lanka needs a well-planned, progressive structure and form that would take shape on a solid foundation, like a Football School, and not just a magic formula.

For a magic formula, on a crash programme to produce immediate results, could only last for a while without taking root.

It is from a Football School or a Sports School that the youthful aspirants will graduate into a Football Academy, which has been suggested by former national player, M. Subani Hashimdeen.

Daluwatte re-elected

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