Sports
COPE exposes large scale corruption at SLC
by Rex Clementine
Sri Lanka Cricket’s top brass was put on a sticky wicket by Parliamentary watchdog COPE – Committee on Public Enterprises – when a probe was done into several dealings of the sport’s governing body this week.
COPE Chairman Professor Charitha Herath made a scathing attack on SLC’s Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer Ashley de Silva for the large scale corruption within the institution.
Professor Herath went onto note that why the game of cricket has suffered new lows in recent times. He said that it was not because of dearth of talent but the sport has been grossly mismanaged by officials who use cricket as their ‘backyard’. COPE recommended urgent legal action to be taken against SLC officials who have developed ruthless, mean and new methods to siphon off large chunks of money.
One of the biggest frauds at SLC in recent times was highlighted during the COPE hearing. An SLC insider instructed the board’s television partner Sony to transfer a sum of US$ 5.5 million to an offshore account in Hong Kong. The transfer was prevented when Sony got suspicious and requested an employee of SLC that why the money had to be transferred to Hong Kong? When the employer informed that no such move had been instructed by the board, it came to light that on a previous instance Sony had already transferred a sum of US$ 187,000 on the instructions of an SLC insider to a bank account in Mexico. That money is still unaccounted for.
SLC at this point informed COPE that the board had suspended the head of finance for this transaction. However, the COPE in return responded that the Head of Finance is just a small fry in a large scale racket.
COPE noted that the transfer of these large chunks of money had been cleverly disguised. SLC’s Ex Co had first removed Chandramali Koralage, the long standing Head of Finance. Together with her, the Accountants who worked for SLC were removed as well. SLC then brought in a new Head of Finance and from there on daylight robbery took place at Maitland Place.
COPE further said that SLC’s unwillingness to conduct an internal inquiry into the loss of massive amount of money was proof that those running the sport did not want to go to the bottom of the problem and find out who were the real culprits.
COPE made some more stunning revelations with regard to the termination of Chandika Hathurusinghe’s contract. It was exposed that if the former Head Coach’s full salary had to be paid for his remaining period of service, SLC would have ended up paying something to the tune of Rs. 100 million. However, by taking him to courts, SLC has already incurred a loss of Rs. 30 million as legal fees and could eventually end up paying the Rs. 100 million and more to Hathurusignghe for wrongful termination of contract. COPE noted that by taking such questionable decisions, parties within SLC could be getting paid under the table while the organization suffered colossal financial losses. COPE Chairman Professor Herath went onto note that SLC CEO Ashley de Silva’s arguments on this account were childish. De Silva was also severely reprimanded for not knowing the contents of his own organization’s minutes.
It was also noted that SLC had written off large chunks of money that companies and members owed the board – at times funds up to the tune of Rs. 25 million. It was observed that some insiders were getting paid handsomely or these were done expecting votes at the AGM. These payments had been subtly marked as match payments or construction payments. However, there is no agreement between SLC or contractors for any of these constructions.
It was also pointed out during the COPE hearing that there were individuals who provided no service to SLC but were paid a monthly allowance of Rs. 500,000; Rs. 200,000 for transport and Rs. 300,000 as other allowances!
It also came to light that SLC had put up a cricket ground in 2017 in Pollonaruwa to please a powerful politician. Although the board had spent Rs. 131 million on the project, no proper approvals from relevant government offices including the Archaeological department had been taken.
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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