Sports in Jaffna in for good times

With peace dawning in Jaffna and the country thanks to the sports loving President Mahinda Rajapaksa, sports in Jaffna is in for good times once again.

Before the senseless war broke out and everything was shattered in the North, sports there was tops and many were the sportsmen and women who showed their potential and talent and became household names in the country before going on to sport national colours.

You name the sport - cricket, football, hockey, basketball, athletics and table tennis. There were outstanding sportsmen and women excelling in these sports and when contesting their better trained and well equipped sportsmen and women from Colombo, they even put to second best their counterparts.

Now comes the great news that should warm the cockles of all sportsmen and women in Jaffna and that is that the Alfred Duraiappa Stadium in Jaffna is to be soon made an international stadium.

And in this instance the sports loving people in the North should say a big thank you to Basil Rajapaksa, Parliamentarian and Presidential Advisor and brother of the President who visited Jaffna recently to inspect the projects in progress.

On his visit Basil Rajapaksa wanted the Alfred Duraiappa Stadium to be converted into an international sports stadium. The Indian Government would fund the project and Rajapaksa who is aware that sport is the great leveller was quick off the blocks as it were and discussed the matter with Sports Ministry officials.

With this announcement, sportsmen and women will once again get into their sporting gear and the potential and talent that was there not so long ago should surface and before long make it to the national team.

Talking of Jaffna sportsmen and women during their halcyon days the names that come promptly to mind are those of brothers Suntheralingam and Mahalingam, Ram Suntheralingam, Dr. J.C. Duraisingham, R. Jeewaratnam who was the first goalkeeper from Jaffna to stand between the posts for the national team, Arumugam, Ethiriweerasingham, Winslow, Naguleswaran, Ganeshkumar, Anton Benedict, Sivaratnam, Kanagasunderam, Kanaganayagam, Nadarajasunderam.

As for the women the one name that is vivid in my memory is that of Rukmani Vethanayagam

The schools in Jaffna like St. Patrick's, Jaffna Central, Hindu College, and Mahajana produced some outstanding footballers and they entered many soccer tournaments that were played in Colombo showed their prowess and art times proudly carried away trophies.

The quicker the Alfred Duraippa Stadium is brought to international standard the better.

Twenty20 cricket the thing

That Twenty20 cricket is the thing there is no doubt. It is true that Twenty20 is not cricket in the true sense of the word. But it is a necessary evil and it has come to stay.

The International Cricket Council is not interested in doing things for the established game and making it attractive for the participants and the spectators.

Recently the ICC made it know that they are toying with the ideas of reducing Test cricket from five days to four. Then they spoke of two tone cricket - day-night Test cricket. These two announcements evoked rib tickling laughter.

ICC had no way out than to not only embrace Twenty20 cricket but also give it official status. It will not be long before all countries switched to playing more Twenty20 cricket and reducing the Test and 50 over matches from their traditional itineraries. If and when that happens it will be sad for Test cricket which is what the game is all about.

Cricketers, spectators and sponsors yearn for more Twenty20 cricket. Proves that the ICC is out for rupees and lacks sense.

Adam Gilchrist the former Aussie mauler has gone on record saying that more Twenty20-over cricket should be played, reducing the other forms of the game. He is talking sense and cannot be faulted.

It is sad to also note that outstanding Test cricketers are retiring, and making it known that they would like to concentrate on the shorter versions of the game, especially the Twenty20. In doing this it is apparent that they realize that earning big money and securing their future is more important

The players who have turned their backs on Test cricket to concentrate on the shorter versions of the game are Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan and England's Andrew Flintoff.

Many more cricketers are contemplating following in the footsteps of Vaas, Muralitharan and Flintoff . When that happens Test cricket will be like a carnival without lights and it would not be long before Test cricket is completely wiped off the scene. If and when that happens, the International Cricket Council must hide their faces in shame for perpetrating this crime on the game which will have no mercy.