Sri Lankans per say, are sport mad...loyal fans, hugely informed and constantly looking to give their opinion..good or bad !!!

I am just another one of those ....fiercely loyal, enormously proud to be Sri Lankan, and perhaps a little less capable of giving advice to our cricketers..win or lose.I am told that such experts are to be found all over the island..?

The good news is that I will be here on a regular stand up basis..sharing valuable insight , discussing ways to improve our standing, the who, what , where, why, when story, and bits of advice that can give you direction and much needed guidance. I am a firm believer in seeking advice and knowledge from the source, the expert and the professionals who are actively involved in sport.

I will take it upon myself to encourage our active population both young and old..to ask..to talk and pipe up when they are not sure..and not just pretend to know..it’s a national past time to shy away and not admit to not knowing.It is also vital that they learn the language...learn to speak the game, English that compliments...a fact that I will expand at length for all to understand ..and accept.

We have multi talented natural born athletically able kids...but a lack of a proper system to guide and nurture them makes us far from competitive at most disciplines, except perhaps international cricket - our brand to the world !!!!

Let’s set up this platform so all of you , parents, athletes, kids, coaches, teachers and the public themselves, have a point of reference, a source to check with, and a link to the experts in our warm country.

 Life for us..in 2010 is still desperately lacking and just not up to standard...from activities to encourage skill, to sports, medicine...we are denied and short on most fronts...which translates only when we travel away from home, to line up against the best in Asia and beyond...sadly it still only up for discussion, and has been, since my playing days a decade ago.

I plan to change a few things , knock up against the old ways and push the Establishment to accept change and move forward...I will seek your opinion to get this rolling...after all...it’s about us, and our kids that will make this country truly competitive in the years ahead.

There has to be a clear sense of belief and support from the establishment...the development of sport is a daily and defined strategy, that will give our talent real opportunities in the next 5 years....this cannot be taken lightly, or left to gather dust in dark files hidden away from public scrutiny.

We should call out and lobby, for the institution of the national "high performance centre”, a standards body that clearly identifies how to achieve the Asian qualifying standard, and subsequently..the elusive world mark in designated sport disciplines. 

 The initial push must be to set up a structure that nets  talent from all corners of the liberated island, provide good basic facilities, have a network of satelite training and development centres, that encourage the local schools to participate and blood their talent.

The natural skill radar must be connected to the national coaching and training grid...this must be closely monitored and a tracking system installed to seek the next Susanthika, Muralidharan, Jayasuriya, Bolling, Abdeen, Ranatunga, .....mini centres of excellence will be able to mark the natural born talent and nudge them into the system.

That’s the introduction for all of you this Sunday...look forward to some good stuff and never feel that you are alone..sport has been my life since I was 8 yrs old...and all of my experience can now step up to make a considerable difference in what I call the  " new Sri Free Lanka "....it’s about us, it’s about sport, it’s about sharing and it’s about the unifying nature of sport...a concept that we must not only embrace ..but actually set up to live as such, not fearing the future but staring the challenge upfront. We owe it to our children, to give them the best chance ever...the victory over darkness is then truly complete and adds meaning to the sporting quality and quality of life. Cheers sports fans....Sundays will never be the same again.

Please send your comments to: etsports@wijeya.lk