Final frontier or Last Post

Thilanga Sumathipala aims for an unprecedented swing in a race where the loser could be doomed to eternity :

by Callistus Davy

Former Sports Minister CB Ratnayake once branded it one of the most corrupt public institutions in the country but like it is with most organisations in the island, none of Sri Lanka Cricket's administrators have faced a court hearing as some carry on with impunity while the country's most popular sport gears up for a future-deciding ballot.

But unlike the past, eligibility and not corruption is the name of the game as the two protagonist front-runners for the top post of president, Thilanga Sumathipala and Nishantha Ranatunga, look set for a closely fought contest if not a no-show in the end as speculation is also rife that one party may throw in the towel and call it quits.

The winner would conquer unbounded boundaries while the loser will take his place in dubious history. Sumathipala does not appear in any way to cave in after setting the course for a probable make or break saga come January 3 when the election of office-bearers to Sri Lanka Cricket, perhaps second only to a National election, gets underway. Having initially made his entry into cricket administration as a treasurer in 1994, Sumathipala has been unlike any other administrator past or present. Determined to the very end, he will go into any extreme to even win opponents and given his blustering approach he will come off unscathed if allowed to.

"If we don't take over (cricket), it will be a disaster", Sumathipala, now the deputy speaker of Parliament, declared in an interview with the Sunday Observer.

Excerpts of the interview:

Question: It seems like you are always the fall guy with so much of unfinished business. Are you in some kind of a situation where it is now or never, the last chance scenario?

Answer: I don't look at it that way. Right throughout my life I have been involved with the game (cricket) and I don't think a cricket election will decide how far I will be involved in the game. But as far as the cricket board is concerned, if we don't take over (the administration) it will be a disaster. The general membership (voting clubs and associations) is of the view that it will be the end of the story for cricketers and cricket.

Q: How come with so much of drawbacks that you faced, the obstacles thrown at you and the criticism levelled, you never lost interest in Sri Lanka Cricket. Any other person would have turned his back but you stuck on?

A: I have a passion for the game. From my childhood days I was a cricketer and I have played First Class cricket. I became an administrator and I was surrounded by the game in various aspects. The game will always be in my heart. True lovers of the game are of the view that I should be part and parcel of the development of this game.

Q: In the time that you were out of the scene did any board official seek your advice on any matter?

A: Many a time. Especially when it came to ICC (International Cricket Council) matters. With regard to having this Australia, India and England trying to form the Superpower! Then during the World Cup in 2011 DS de Silva (former SLC president) and I had discussions with regard to World Cup planning and so on. Whenever national cricketers were down over some injustice, change of captaincy or taking over captaincy, retiring from the game, players have been talking to me and I have given them advice.

Q: Your opponents say that you are in conflict with the ICC code that prohibits anyone with connections to the betting industry. What guarantee is there for clubs that will vote for you that you will not face any legal issues after your election?

A: I will give an undertaking that if I am not acceptable to the ICC I will not bring my country, my Board (SLC), the game or anybody who has confidence in me to disrepute. I know very well how we have crafted the ICC rules.

I am hundred percent confident that there is absolutely no way the ICC can stop me from participating and attending meetings as a representative of Sri Lanka Cricket at the ICC. In fact the people I know at the ICC are laughing.

They are thinking what is wrong with a few people in Sri Lanka writing to them informing them when I have been cleared by the Sri Lankan authorities.

Q: Are you saying these allegations baseless?

A: I don't have a single inquiry, allegation or a report with regard to myself. There have been so many (probe) reports and not a single finding of me involved in any misdeeds. Never! That is to my credit. I have come through untouched. The only thing they can talk about is my family's involvement with gaming (betting industry) in the past. There is nothing against me over fixing, playing-out, robbing or cheating.

Q: The other day when you launched your campaign you boasted that you have the best backstage to deliver. But when you take people like Dharmadasa and Mathivanan, at some stage they worked against you?

A: What happened here is that we have seen how it (cricket administration) was deteriorating and I asked Mohan (de Silva) what should we be doing and then I spoke to Jayantha Dharmadasa. In fact I even spoke to Arjuna (Ranatunga) about a month and a half ago, and all the people. I thought it was time for us to get-together and plan something good for the game. Most of them except for the Ranatunga family asked me to lead and come back.

Q: But you face situations like when someone supports you he later demands his pound of flesh and that puts you in an awkward position where you might have to compromise and then take the blows?

A: I don't have any commitment to that whatsoever. We are coming with a very clean mind very focused. We want to give priority to discipline. We have committed ourselves seriously with regard to financial matters. Look at the (SLC) payroll. A 500 million rupee payroll of the staff and administration alone, without the cricketers. We are looking at a transformation of the game. The people who are with me have only one demand and that is 'Clean the Board'.

Q: How hard has it become to press for votes unlike what it was in the past? What do voting clubs want most?

A: They want a clean and fair administration and to have the basic facilities for their clubs. They want a strong cricketing structure.

Q: You are involved in national politics, but it seems the name Sumathipala is more associated with cricket than Statecraft. What would you want to be remembered for?

A: To be remembered as someone who was a good administrator in whatever I have done, lived up to expectations and delivered where and when it mattered.

Q: How do you see your main rival Nishantha Ranatunga?

A: No doubt he is a capable man who can also contribute. But he was only a good Number Two (secretary). He has never contested an election for the top post. Our approach is different to his (Ranatunga's). We have a six-point plan that covers the Sri Lanka team and future players, club cricket welfare, a corporate business plan for systematic development, a financial advisory committee and international communications to uplift the image of the country.