Veteran administrator Nuski Mohamed on why it should not be done haphazardly:

Changes to SLC constitution Yes, but …..

by SA’ADI THAWFEEQ

The need for a change in the constitution and the voter system of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been around for some time now. It gathered momentum when former Sri Lanka cricketer Sidath Wettimuny during his tenure of office as chairman interim committee presented a document to affect the necessary changes to the Prime Minister. That document called for a change of constitution but not with the consensus of the SLC stakeholders where a two-third majority is needed for such changes. Nuski Mohamed, a veteran in cricket administration going back to the times of the late Gamini Dissanayake when he was president of SLC in the early eighties, and president of Saracens Sports Club, a controlling club of the SLC is of the opinion that whilst a review of the current constitution should be a necessity it should not be carried out for the wrong reasons but only for the purpose of ensuring the advancement of the game of cricket.

“The original constitution was formulated in 1948 and had clauses to increase the membership, the clauses referred to are 5, 6, 7 and 8 relating to the various categories of membership. This was introduced due to the fact that the Board at that time wanted more and more clubs and associations to take to the game,” explained Mohamed. “However this clause becomes redundant as of now and needs to be deleted because the game has moved with the times and SLC should not be an entity enrolling members anymore.

“Board membership must be fixed for the future on the fixed number of clubs and districts based on certain criteria such as level of cricket being played, infrastructure, history of the club including membership, contribution to the national team etc. and there needs to be anevaluation process,” he said. Mohamed pointed out that as many as 20 controlling clubs of the 29 are very old clubs with a history of over 100 years and have been established long before the Cricket Board was formed and they were members of the Ceylon Cricket Association (CCA) which was formed in 1922. They are:

1869 DimbullaC & CA
1871 MalayCC
1873 ColtsCC
1874 GalleCC
1888 NCC
1893 Bloomfield
1894 CCC
1896 KalutaraTown Club
1895 TamilUnion C & AC
1899 SSC
1904 MataraCC
1906 Nomads (Col Municipality)
1908 MoorsSC
1914 BorahsSC
1915 BRC
1924 PanaduraSC
1937 SaracensSC
1941 MoratuwaSC
1946 Catamarans
1947 Mutuwal

“There’s a process of evolution that took place over a period in the last 50 years where outstation clubs like Kurunegala, Matara, Badulla, Kegalle for instance in order to popularise the game in the district were made members of the Cricket Board for very valid reasons,” said Mohamed.

“Other clubs like University and Nomads (Colombo Municipality) they were a force in cricket and won tournaments at the highest level and had to be recognized. The Army, Police, Navy and Air Force under the wing of the Defence Services continue to play good cricket, Mercantile and Schools have their own tournaments and were recognized for various reasons,” he said.

Mohamed pointed out there is a rationale behind the current membership which evolved over the years.

“The major change which increased the membership of the Board was the introduction of the districts and the provinces in the late nineties and the membership swelled from 50s to 80s. However there was a rationale for this and it was to diversify the game in the districts and the provinces,” said Mohamed.“They were given equal voting strength as the controlling clubs which in current day context is questionable because they lack the important ingredients, even that of now like infrastructure, centre for the district with management and equipment, a first-class tournament, management skills, etc. The mobilization is not right at district level,” he said.

“There is something radically wrong in Kandy which is a strong centre but there is no first-class team.

They have as many as 6-7 schools and plenty of grounds at Asgiriya, Pallekele, Peradeniya University at Kingswood, Dharmaraja but they still cannot field a team in the Premier division.

“So restructuring does not revoke mainly on the membership criteria but it also has other criteria like non-conformity with the Sports Law and the functions of the respective committees and officials etc that also needs urgent review.

“Questions arise due to the equality of status between top controlling club and a district which could be a point of debate. Almost 20 years have elapsed between the districts getting membership of the SLC but they have not justified the needs.

These aspects need to be critically examined. In the longterm and in the process of restructuring the district need to be part of the membership of the SLC no sooner the game is played at the correct levels in the districts.

This is a matter of time. Currently over 800 schools distributed all over Sri Lanka has taken to the game and there needs to be a centre at district level.”Thepresent membership strength as it stands is 85 comprising:

Provincial &
District Associations 27
Cricket Associations 6
Controlling Clubs 29
Affiliated Clubs 23
Total 85

Mohamed opined that as things stand now the membership restructuring process of SLC will need to weigh heavily with the clubs and the club structure which forms an integral part of the SLC and which clubs deliver the players to the National team.

“There is no alternativeto the club structure in the very short term unless and until acredible District. Provincial tournament is organised on a permanent basis with proper player identity,” said Mohamed. “Thiswill not happen overnight and therefore the clubs need to be given the muscle and the strength to participate in a very competitive first-class tournament with due recognition in the SLC membership structure.

”Attempts have been made in the past on several occasions to introduce a provincial or inter-district cricket tournament but all attempts to do so have failed because of the lack of infrastructure in those areas while in the meantime club cricket continues to reign supreme.

“The clubs have delivered in the International arena where within the span of over 30 years since receiving Full Membership of the ICC we have become competitive at the top level of the game with all Test playing countries and have won World Cups and Asian titles over this period of time,”pointed out Mohamed.

“We cannot kill the goose that lays the golden egg. It is therefore unfair to blame the system or the constitution which of course need changes with the advancement of the game from time to time.

“The SLC mindful of the changes that need to be made has appointed a subcommittee to review all aspects of the constitution.

They have understood the fact that some of the clauses of the current constitution are not in step with the modern day requirements.

There are also clauses which are in conflict with the Sports Law as amended during recent times.

As that may be the case, the changes that need to be made should be after following a careful study, proper evaluation and through aconsultative process with the stakeholders keeping in mind that SLC needs to move forward and in the right direction.