Sports
Cabinet sub committee recommends cricket board to be overhauled
by Rex Clementine
The Cabinet sub committee appointed to look into affairs of Sri Lanka Cricket and submit recommendations in a report has called for the complete overhaul of the governing body. The committee headed by Foreign Minister Ali Sabry comprised Tiran Alles, Kanchana Wijesekara and Manusha Nanayakkara gives thumbs up to constitutional reforms going along with the Chithrasiri Committee report. Retired Supreme Court judge K.T. Chithrasiri had presented a comprehensive new constitution to govern cricket.
The Cabinet Sub Committee in its report says, ‘we agree with several observations made by individuals who appeared before our committee, and it has come to our attention that many members of the SLC administration have made their employment at SLC their primary source of income. Consequently, they have utilized all available resources at their disposal to prolong their tenure at SLC.”
“The existing constitutional composition and structure of SLC must be reformed to ensure efficiency, transparency and good governance and that funds are used for development of cricket rather than for self-interest or favour.”
The report criticizes SLC’s controversial voting system. It points out that while cricket’s most successful team’s board; Australia has just six votes while the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the richest cricket board in the world, has just 38 votes while Sri Lanka has a staggering 147 votes.
“We believe that the current constitutional structure of allowing clubs which controlled 147 votes, which are supported by SLC, to decide the Executive Committee should be discouraged and that a new constitution in accordance with international standards should be introduced.”
The report notes that any change introduced for cricket’s governance will be fiercely contested by SLC’s Executive Committee.
“Any constitutional amendment that changes the status quo may be near impossible to implement as the process must be approved by the same stakeholders and present members. It has also been observed that any attempt to amend the constitution and the sport regulation has been consistently met with severe resistance from the incumbent office bearers and therefore has not yielded the desired results.
Indian cricket was faced with a similar situation to Sri Lanka with businessmen having a stronghold on the sport’s governance, but court’s intervention saw term limits being introduced and big boys of Indian cricket were sent packing.
“In order to discourage interested parties from perpetuating their stronghold on cricket administration, we recommend limits on holding key positions such as President, Secretary and Treasurer to a maximum of two years terms and any position in the Executive Committee to a maximum aggregate length of eight years,” the report says.
The report goes onto recommend that if the SLC Executive Committee resists change, an Interim Committee to be appointed to usher in change. “We further recommend a clear timeframe be established for the introduction of the new law and hold elections in compliance with such laws. In the event the current SLC administration is unwilling or unable to cooperate with the proposals we recommend that an interim committee be established with clear timelines and targets to implement the process and reconstruct the SLC in accordance with the newly adopted legislation.”
Sri Lanka Cricket is currently suspended and the members of the Executive Committee of SLC have gone onto point out that the board will continue to face trouble with the ICC if they aren’t allowed to have a free run. However, the Cabinet Sub Committee report disputes these claims.
“ICC is of the opinion that cricket must be administered by SLC with minimum interference. However, the ICC is not opposed to the implementation of local laws. The ICC will not and can not be expected to be a hindrance to ensuring proper administration of local laws to prevent mismanagement and corruption.
The report then goes onto quote an ICC regulation. ‘A government would not be prevented from investigating the affairs of a Member Board in order to ascertain whether any criminal offence has been committed including fraud,’ the ICC clause says.
Presenting their points to the Cabinet Sub Committee, Sri Lanka Institute of Chartered Accountants had observed that cricket administration for some had become a livelihood.
The Auditor General, meanwhile, had some interesting remarks to make to the Cabinet Sub Committee, “The ExCo had increased their per diem from around US$ 500 to US$ 700 recently whereas the Government of Sri Lanka had reduced the per diem of public servants due to the shortage of foreign currency.”
“In the Auditor General’s view, this incident exemplified corrupt practice where Ex Co members who were entrusted with the authority of SLC had utilized that authority for personal gain.”
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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