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Sunday, 27 March 2005  
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Straight talk by Lal Gunesekera

Has cricket talent evaporated?

Where is the talent that Sri Lanka used to boast of in the past? What has happened to the talent scouts? These are questions that need answers from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and looked into as an urgent matter. When the Sri Lanka national side needs replacements, with whom are they going to be replaced with? This is a pretty serious matter for SLC to look into immediately and find solutions.

The Sri Lanka 'A' side's performances in the two "Tests" recently against England 'A' were very disappointing and apart from Shantha Kalavitigoda and Malinga Bandara I just could not see any other cricketer who could fit into the national side. Kalavitigoda from Colts got the nod from the selectors and has been included in the team to New Zealand for the two Tests that were earlier put off due to the Boxing Day tsunami.

Kalavitigoda scored heavily in the domestic scene and his knocks against England 'A' forced the selectors to pick him ahead of Avishka Gunawardene, Ian Daniel and Thilina Kandamby, who were all given plenty of opportunities, but failed to come good. Bandara has been very unfortunate to have been left out from the Kiwi tour.

It was against the Kiwis that he made his debut in 1997-98, but not continued with subsequently. His exceptionally good bowling against the Englishmen (particularly in the Second "Test" did the trick. He played in the Surrey League for two years (2003 and 2004), but was not even picked to represent Southern Province at the recent Inter-Provincial tournament.

He fared well for Galle CC, but yet the SP selectors found him "not good enough". He must be encouraged and the selectors would have done well to pick Bandara to partner Upul Chandana in New Zealand, though Rangana Herath has found favour with the selectors.

Left-arm 'pacie' Ruchira Perera too has got a recall after more than a year in limbo, and I hope that he will be a more disciplined person on tour - I mean particularly off the field, and not give the tour management any headaches. He has come in for the injured Nuwan Soysa.

The Sri Lanka 'A' side are now engaged in a limited-over triangular with England 'A' and Pakistan 'A', and after their second consecutive defeat in two days, Stan Nel the Sri Lanka 'A' team coach has said that the Lankans "do not have the desire to win". They lost to Pakistan 'A' by 6 wickets and then to England 'A' by 5 wickets.

It is the duty of Nel to see that his 'Charges' are in a proper frame of mind - some sort of psychology is needed. Michael Van Dort came good with a nice century against Pakistan and reminded the selectors that he could yet get runs. Then Russel Arnold and Malintha Gajanayake did well with the bat against England 'A'. The heat and humidity in the country may certainly affect the players, but it's no excuse.

Roy to quit

The former Sri Lanka Vice-Captain Roy Dias, who was a dashing batsman and one of the finest fielders in the cover region after David Heyn, was Nepal's national coach for about four years. But he is to quit to take up another appointment in the region. Why not SLC make use of Dias' abilities or will they lose him again as what happened to players like Rumesh Ratnayake etc?

To dissolve or not?

The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Jeevan Kumaranatunga, is reported to have said that inquiries into certain allegations against SLC is yet being "looked into" and the decision whether to dissolve it and appoint an Interim Committee will then be taken.

It was only last week that Minister Kumaranatunga sent Damian Fernando, the Ministry's representative in the SLC Executive Committee, to Delhi for the ICC Board meeting in place of President-elect Thilanga Sumathipala. In the end what happened? Fernando was made only an "observer".

Minister Kumaranatunga has also said that SLC had spent Rs. 8.5 million alone in 2004 on salaries for just 36 employees which was "totally unnecessary" and that they should work voluntarily. What a funny statement to make when all controlling bodies are making every effort to professionalise their administrations. Please do not interfere with salaries etc. Mr. Minister, you do not pay their salaries!

Soccer wrangle again!

The standard of soccer has deteriorated to such an extent over the years, and now, even the referees too have come in for severe criticism. At the recent Champion of Champions final at the Sugathadasa Stadium between Blue Star of Kalutara and Negombo Youth, the winning goal from the Kalutara outfit was disputed and the losers failed to go up and receive their award as a protest.

Whatever it was, Negombo Youth, should have walked up to claim their prize. It's all about sportsmanship. You could make an official complaint and await the findings of the inquiry, but remember that sports and sportsmanship go hand in hand.

Negombo Youth claim that Blue Star's financier is non-other than the controversial soccer administrator, Manilal Fernando, and are of the opinion that the side from Kalutara are always favoured by officials.

They say that the game "was fixed".

News is also that of the Rs. 4.5 million sponsorship of the 2004 Premier League Championship, 10 per cent has gone to the canvasser, who is a relative of a high ranking official of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL).

It's high time for Minister Kumaranatunga to look into the affairs of the FFSL too, if he wants to "clean up" the sports administration in the country, including that of the Ministry itself.

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