A SYSTEM CHANGE
By Srian Obeyesekere
The Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket’s Restoration Committee, Eran Wickramaratne, addressing the media yesterday at Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters flanked by Prakash Schaffter, Hony Secretary, SLC and Sidath Wettimuny, Chairman Cricket Committee, SLC, while emphasising that ‘cricket is cricket’ and not owned by anybody, but wholly belonged to the country’s cricket loving populace, said that his priority task was to change the structure governing Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) while simultaneously finalising the draft for the change of the constitution as fast as possible looking at a 6-month period for which his committee had received the greenlight from the International Cricket Council.
But, while it was being speeded up, there could be no knee jerk backdoor quick fixes to the job at hand, he added. He went on that his committee was very much on the ball on the job since taking on this enormous task in having weighed all the relevant pros and cons. “In the first few weeks we have been trying to understand things particularly in regard to the change of the constitution.”
BEFORE PARLIAMENT
“Once drafted it will go to Parliament,” he voiced while in the same breath plainly spelling out the change in the following words, “lt is a systems correction we are after covering all areas including finance. Every cent will be looked into as it was connected to uplifting cricket from the cradle of school cricket upwards.”
CRICKET NOT ANYBODY’S PROPERTY
“Cricket is cricket not owned by anybody. Not even the government but the cricket loving public of Sri Lanka at large who are the game’s shareholders. In that context, it is not only your presence, we expect your support in this as well,” he extolled the mass media that rocked in seeking answers as to the work at hand by the Restoration Committee appointed by the Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs tasked at creating such a change.
Addressing the media after Hony Secretary Prakash Schaffter had delivered a warm welcome keynote address with particular emphasis thanking the media’s participation, the Chairman observed that there was a volume of restoration and reform directly relating toh putting cricket on the right track. The gamut included women’s cricket which he noted was not popular in our time, but now we see women’s cricket has surged in a big way.
Wickramaratne, an astute politician who is a an economic expert, while making the point that he had a clean record in every sphere he worked heading institutions including a blotless record heading the OPEC, stressed that he had taken up this cricket restoration challenge on a direct invitation by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake purely because of his inherent love for this great sport binding an entire nation devoid of political affiliations as everybody are stakeholders of the game. He made the point that everybody serving on his committee from Prakash Schaffter to Sidath Wettimuny and others were professionally well qualified and knowledgeable in their respective fields.
He reiterated that ‘Cricket is cricket. There is no putting fingers into cricket by any party. There is no pressure on us from the president or minister of sports in what we are doing which is importantly in accordance of the ICC norms and regulations.
CORDIAL CHAT WITH ICC
We have had very cordial discussions with the ICC representatives who were in Sri Lanka during the week.
LOCAL COACHES LACKING IN IMPLEMENTATION
Yesterday’s confab significantly saw the committee rounding on a series of aspects where Chairman Wickramaratne flanked by Prakssh Schaffter, Honorary Secretary SLC Transformation Committee, and Sidath Wettimuny, Chairman Cricket Committee, in agreement that the constitutional change was something much needed due to a flawed voting system that had seemed to have been abused which to correct needed the legal system to be corrected. It drifted to public expectations that cried for result oriented change as well as other key areas relating to the game and players, local coaches, the latter sector whom they felt were not well versed in their job which therefore needed a total overhaul.
FLAWED – SIDATH WETTIMUNY
In this regard Sidath Wettimuny voiced that it was regrettable that local coaches lacked in knowledge of implementation which was a serious drawback which needed to be addressed. It was that local coaches had not found the desired expposure. He had already discussed with national head coach Gary Kirsten as to his help in addressing this issue with the former South African great agreeing to conduct a coaching clinic for local coaches. Wettimuny commented that success could only come by addressing all aspects of the game.
“We have to see what areas have to be developed. Player mental aspects was a priority to getting the right mindset.
Wettimuny said that it was a setback that Sri Lanka had not got a proper test itinerary this year.
“Im a fan of test cricket and it is of primary importance to see if we can get more test matches on the itinerary,” he said while at the same time pointing out that getting the right stakeholders in franchise cricket was important financially.
Prakash Schaffter, the Hony Secretary observed that player-manager concept has to be regulated properly.
(Courtesy Sri Lanka Cricket)
