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Letters to the Editor
6th June 1999 |
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Thank you, but now it's time to quitArjuna on several occasions, both in the print media and the electronic had said he would not give up his captaincy. After the pathetic and disgraceful performance against India last month (May 26) he once again reiterated this statement. The question is on what authority does he take this stand. We have been unceremoniously eliminated from the1999 World Cup and are no more the One Day Champions. A culmination of a long series of events has led to this humiliating exit. The rot began when the administration of the Cricket Board changed . The last election of the Cricket Board amply proved this point. We had a string of distinguished gentlemen who ran the past administrations skilfully and professionally and lifted the standards of our Cricket. The results of their hard work were glorified by the new administration who had large sums of monies at their disposal. They paid large salaries to the cricketers well beyond their true values. They ended up as passengers in the 1999 World Cup squad. It's a case of the Board looking after the Cricketers and the Cricketers in turn supporting the Board, totally blocking new cricketers coming into the scene. The next phase of the rot was when Coach Dave Whatmore resigned. It is no secret that Whatmore left because he could not go along with certain people who dominate the Sri Lanka cricket scene. To redeem our prestige in the cricketing world, the President must step in immediately and dissolve the Cricket Board and appoint an Interim Board consisting of distinguished past cricketers and professionals (who have upto now kept off the Administration due to obvious reasons) with a mandate to overhaul the complete administration. We are grateful to Arjuna for his services in the past and for winning the1996 World Cup for Sri Lanka, but the time is now right for him to quit not for now but for good. He has lost the support of the cricket loving public. This had been coming for a long time and not because Sri Lanaka was eliminated from the 1999 World Cup. Sri Lankans love cricket. Please do not deprive them of the gentleman's game. A. Seneviratne
Correct wrongs and get on with the gameThe performances of the Sri Lankan cricketers in the preliminary rounds of the current World Cup matches have undoubtedly brought us to face with the inevitable although it was quite evident for the last two years that the players did not measure up to international standards of today. Motivation was lacking, so said many and the media played well enough for us to believe that what we lacked was simply the will to play. Professionalism in sports should bring out the best in individuals for their own benefits for no one has a right to be included in the payroll unless the player is performing well consistently. Today there is a lot of money paid for one's playing ability and this includes contract fees, match fees, earnings from advertisements and gifts showered by the government. But one must earn this money. In moulding the team into a fighting unit, we had a Tour Manager, Cricket Manager, Coach, Bowling Coach, Fielding Coach and a Motivator and it is surprising that none of them were helpful in any manner. We even sent a Board official beforehand to Britain to supervise arrangements for the team's stay. A host of other officials were to follow. It is interesting to note the expenditure involved out of Board funds to ensure that the team played the game. In choosing the team we opted for experience, believing it to be experience in playing cricket and so we had the most experienced Captain in the whole tournament, the world's's best opening batsmen who could tear any opening attack into shreds, a frontline batsman who was among the best in the world, our own 'Jonty Rhodes', a spare wicket keeper who was never a keeper in first class cricket and whose current performances even otherwise would not have merited inclusion in a club team and an inexperienced paceman who hurls down a heap of rubbish in the opening overs. Our batting was so strong that if two or three wickets fell early in the innings, others folded up very meekly. After losing an International game we have often heard from the Captain that he has identified the failings and such matters will receive his immediate attention. We have seen this happening repeatedly. It is for the governing authority for cricket in Sri Lanka to at least justify the massive expenditure that goes to upkeep the game. There is no point in experimenting with a side that has aged and whose physical fitness is well below par and whose reflexes are weak. Primarily the administration must be composed of people who played the game with distinction, who are upright and whose honesty and integrity would be above question. The controlling clubs within the Board must ensure that this happens. A competent coach who should be a foreigner must be immediately engaged and given a free hand to develop the game. It must be of necessity that he is co-opted to the selection committee. These recommendations, however radical in nature and difficult to adopt in the present circumstances will need the thinking of the bold and the courageous to plan a way out of the morass cricket in this country has fallen into. "When you know, to know that you know - Confucius Mahinda Jayawardena
Can they be called roads?The roads in the suburbs of Maharagama Town, viz. Cancer Hospital Road, Daham Mawatha, Katuwawala Road etc., are broken down to such an extent that the tar remains in only a few places. These roads cannot be used either to travel in a vehicle or on foot. A sick person cannot be taken to a doctor or hospital in a rush not even in a three wheeler. The patient will be so badly jolted that his illness will aggravate. Most of the three wheel drivers refuse to travel on these roads, or they charge more than the normal hire. On rainy days the travellers in vehicles and also the pedestrians will have to jump over the broad and deep holes of muddy water. When a vehicle is passing, pedestrians will have to step in to gutters of muddy water to avoid the splashes of muddy water of passing vehicles, unaware of their depth. To increase the misery, huge heaps of rubbleis scattered. In the meantime people from the Departments of Telecommunication and National Water Supply and Drainage Board dig the roads from time to time. Manjari Peiris |
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