Decision to conduct a relegation tournament sparks controversy 

Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ Cricket Tournament  

by Reemus Fernando  

A number of schools playing in Tier ‘A’ of the Under 19 Division I schools cricket tournament have raised concern over what they describe as a ‘controversial decision by ‘Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association’ (SLSCA) to conduct a relegation tournament for the last six teams in contrary to the pre-tournament arrangements of demoting the last two ranked schools after the league stage.

Officials of several schools allege that contrary to the decisions taken at the fixture meeting where it had been agreed to demote the last two teams of the tournament, the tournament committee had decided to conduct a relegation tournament among the last six teams. They claim that this decision had been taken after some schools had completed half of their matches.

The principal of St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala in a letter addressed to the Director of Sports of the Ministry of Education has pointed out that the tournament committee of SLSCA had erred by changing the tournament rules after some schools had concluded several matches.

“At the fixture meeting which was held prior to the tournament, it was informed that the last two teams of the tournament would be demoted to Tier ‘B’. But by December 29th the teams were informed that a relegation tournament would be played among the last six teams,” the letter written by the principal of St. Anne’s states.

The SLSCA had also made it compulsory for schools taking part in the tournament to complete at least two out of the five tournament matches by December 31.

When contacted on this regard J.A.K.S. Indrajith, the secretary of the SLSCA refuted. He said that the decision to conduct a relegation tournament was taken prior to the start of the tournament. He said that a relegation tournament would prevent strong teams from being demoted.

Eighteen teams in three groups competed in the Tier ‘A’ tournament where every team had five matches in the league. At the completion of the tournament, Nalanda, the school represented by the president of the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association, and St. Thomas’, Matara are the last two ranked teams. If the original decision stands these two teams would be demoted. But now St. Anthony’s, Katugastota, De Mazenod, Kandana, Gurukula, Kelaniya, St. Anne’s, Kurunegala, Nalanda, Colombo, and St. Thomas’, Matara will have to compete in a relegation tournament.

“The president did not get involved in the tournament committee decision. This was taken in the best interest of cricket. In fact, the schools represented by the members of the tournament committee are at the receiving end,” Indrajith told ‘The Island’.

When contacted in this regard a senior Master in Charge of Cricket of a leading cricket-playing school said that the tournament format was destined to produce chaos. “We could only anticipate a situation like this when you have only five matches to decide your strength. There was always the danger of matches being washed out due to wet weather expected during the third term (October to December) and strong teams getting lower ranks. Now you can’t help it. It would be unfair for the teams who had no knowledge of a relegation tournament,” said the senior official.

Upali Amaratunga, the Director of Sports of the Ministry of Education said that he has received complaints in this regard. He is yet to conduct an inquiry.