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New cricket selectors to look in the long term
By Srian Obeyesekere

The newly appointed Sri Lankan Cricket Selection Committee will take serious note of looking in the long term in re-structuring the game, according to its chairman, Sidath Wettimuny. 'It is obvious we start looking at the next World Cup. We will be looking to re-build in the long term. Now the time has come for us to think of the year 2003 when the next World Cup will be staged,' said Wettimuny speaking to the 'Sunday Island' yesterday.

Wettimuny, who had the distinction of scoring Sri Lanka's first test century in 1981-82 at Lords against England, however said that it would have to be a gradual process. He fell short of saying whether it would be a new captain who would come in when the selection committee meets on July 10 to name a captain and vice captain for the forthcoming home series against Australia in September. A former Anandian and Sinhalese Sports Club cricketer, Wettimuny, the second of three illustrious brothers, is expected to look at so many areas which need immediate attention in view of Sri Lanka's continuous rut in the one-day game including their humiliating exit from this year's World Cup held in England.

The other members of the selection committee are Messrs. Ashantha de Mel, Brendon Kuruppu and T. B. Kehelgamuwa.

The new Chairman of Selectors who replaced Duleep Mendis, also confirmed that former coach Dev Whatmore would definitely be coming down to coach the team once again. Asked whether Whatmore, who successfully coached Sri Lanka to winning the World Cup in 1995-96, had intimated to the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) that he would be released by the English county Lancashire of which he is the current coach.

Whatmore quit Sri Lanka following dissension with the BCCSL over his role as coach following an embargo being placed on him from giving interviews to the media. On been invited by the current interim board headed by Rienzie Wijetilleke, Whatmore is understood to have said he would accept the job on the sole condition that he had a free hand. Consequently, he had asked Lancashire to release him despite his contract having been renewed for another two years. The Sri Lankan born former Australian cricketer had indicated that it was an exciting and challenging task for him to once again restore Sri Lanka's image on the international scene.

ICC asks BCCSL to pay Rs.9 m as additional expenses of World Cup officials
By Shirajiv Sirimane

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is to deduct nearly 77,000 pounds (equalling to Rs. nine million) as additional expenses from the Sri Lankan Cricket Board's guarantee money for the 1999 World Cup in England. These amounts also include a surprise cash advance of 2750 pounds taken by two individuals in England.

The ICC has announced that these additional expenses include the tour expenses of Coaches D. S. De Silva and Trevor Chappel and the BCCSL Press Officer B. H. Perera, who is yet to return from England.

A further sum is being reduced for 103 World Cup match tickets that the BCCSL had requested for. Each ticket had been priced between the range of 40 pounds to 80.

BCCSL Secretary, Saliya Ahangama along with District Cricket Coach Oshadi Weerasinghe are the two debtors who had taken a loan of 2750 pounds.

Meanwhile two Letters of Credit (LC) were signed hurried by the BCCSL, three days before the Colombo District Court issued an injunction order restraining the BCCSL from functioning until September 1999. The value of the two cheques add up to 39,000 US dollars.

The first LC had been opened on June 7 1999, for USD 15,000 for supplying of turfing material from Australia at the Darly Road Hatton National Bank. The second LC amounting to US dollars 24,000 had been signed up with a Pakistan supplier for the purchase of cricketing material.

Many have pointed out that once again no proper tender procedure had been followed and these contracts had not been advertised. No quotations too had been called.

'The Sunday Island' understands that these two contracts had been arranged by the BCCSL member Shammi Silva who was in charge of the building the BCCSL Gymnasium that was opened on March 1999 at a cost of Rs. 10 million. When the budgets for the project was approved by the BCCSL on 1998 November it was estimated to cost Rs. Million.

Wimbledon-
CR stretched by Havelocks
By Althaf Nawaz

The unbeaten CR and FC had a torried time before they managed to pull off an exciting 25 points (5 tries) to 20 (a goal, 2 tries, a penalty) win over Havelocks SC in their Carlsberg Inter-Club 'A' Division rugby encounter at Havelock Park yesterday.

Nevertheless, CR had a tough task to pull the match their way until the long whistle. There were not much of difference between both sides but luck favoured the red jersyied men.

Havelocks, on the other hand, put up a belligerent performance which is undoubtedly the best so for this season, but failed to pull it their way. They missed three penalty conversions which were two sitters.

CR opened scoring through Shantha Rohana who did so off a scrum. Zulfikar Halimdeen had a poor day with his kicking boots. He fluffed all conversions.

Winger Kishan Musafar planted twice for CR to make the score line 15-0 at the breather.

Havelocks started their scoring first through a try by Kelum Seneviratne. Nalin Dissanayake added the extra points. S. Marasinghe followed it with another unconverted try. But CR hooker Viraj Prasantha barged through the Havelocks defence to make it 20-12. Replaced winger Irosh Fernando increased the lead for CR with another try after a superb three quarter move.

Meanwhile, Havelocks remaining points came off a penalty put over by Nalin Dissanayake and another by Sanjeewa Jayasinghe.

Aruna Jayasekera refereed.

Stand up those wo put SL cricket to this morass
by Mahinda Wijesinghe

Sri Lanka did not attain Full Member status of the International Cricket Council and enjoy the rare privilege of playing Test cricket because of the empty rhetoric uttered by scheming politicians. Nor was it due to Machiavellian administrators who try to prove their credentials by hiring the best legal brains in the country. And, I wonder at whose expense. Such heights were reached by the sweat of the brows of our past Cricketers and honorary - in every sense of the word - officials, who administered the game for the overall benefit of the game. To all of them we owe a great debt of gratitude. Presidents such as Robert Senanayake spent their private funds and used their personal contacts for the benefit of the game can never be forgotten. More than anything else, such personalities brought dignity and honour to the office. They served the game and were an adornment to the game and the country. Not for them the perquisites of office, nor did they ever abuse the trust and confidence placed in them.

So, on 21 July 1981 Sri Lanka became a Full Member of the I.C.C. after a protracted struggle. It was a dream come true. Now, we could stand shoulder to shoulder with England, Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and West Indies. (South Africa ceased to be a Full Member in 1961 due to their political dogma and was readmitted only in 1991.)

Like bees and dogs
15 years later, on 17 March 1996, in what could now be termed as one of the biggest upsets in the history of cricket, Sri Lanka won the World Cup. Suddenly, we were better than the best. The rise was meteoric and that proved our undoing. The Sri Lankans could not cope with the success that followed or the high finance that accrued there from. Like honey that attracts bees or just as dogs scrap for a bone, being elected to the Cricket Board was a lucrative exercise. The success intoxicated all that mattered and left them groggy. Without going into the sordid details of such goings-on, suffice it to say that, today, Sri Lanka cannot even send an official representative with voting powers to attend the Annual General Meeting of the I.C.C. After many debates, the I.C.C. finally agreed to admit a member of the Interim Body only in the capacity of an observer. What an unprecedented ignominy for a Full Member. Naturally, when one representative is nominated from Sri Lanka, the other side sends a letter of protest! Talk of looking up and spitting. By the way, officials who are working in an honorary capacity are committing all these acts!

Can those who wield the baton to rectify the current imbroglio do anything? Perhaps they are not aware that Rome is burning. They are also presumably unaware that the captain and his deputy have, at the time of writing, not even returned to the country. A compassionate leader does not and should not abandon his troops. It is the captain who is the last to leave a sinking vessel. Rats go out first.

Arjuna - it should have been 'why' not 'when'.

Suddenly, skipper Ranatunge is the villain of the piece. Is he the only culprit or was he merely a scapegoat? I believe he was a combination of both. Shoved into the hurly-burly of international cricket as an 18-year old schoolboy, the youngster was soon sucked into the vortex of high-powered politics and finance in the game, with none to guide on the proper lines. He began as a pawn. Otherwise, for a player of such immense talent, his career performances are a poor index. Nay indeed, it is a great tragedy. One day when he has a grandchild on his lap he may regret that a mere 4 Test and 4 one-day hundreds is a poor reward for a batsman of his capabilities. And, that he did not bow out of the game when people would say 'why did he go?' rather than 'when will he go?' As the President of the Court of Appeal said the other day: 'The seniors should make way for the younger ones, their juniors.'

In short, by overstaying his welcome, Arjuna destroyed all what he helped create. Arjuna performed and he was rewarded both financially and given state honours as well. He created such a niche for himself that he - not the so-called Selectors - was even permitted to make pronouncements as to when he will decide to quit. Naturally, because those who mattered were fawning over Arjuna and Aravinda. The president of the Board, for instance, commented just before the team left for the World Cup, that one of the reasons for Sri Lanka's success was that they allowed Arjuna 'to make his own moves'. Perhaps, Arjuna and Aravinda can still score runs, but they are not going to be any faster on the field and therein lie the crux of the problem. Modern cricket is all about speed and agility on the field. Look at 36-year old Azharuddin either at slips or patrolling the offside cordon.

Manager's coments from Cuckooland?
It was also very interesting to read some of the comments made by a former Manager, who was jettisoned recently, in a 'leading' Sunday newspaper just before the team left for the World Cup.

'Having seen the Sri Lankans at practice during the last few days, a new life seems to have got into them. The players look rejuvenated and full of zest. A refreshing enthusiasm has engulfed them. The tiredness, uncertainty, boredom of the past is no more. A will to succeed and a firm belief that the World Cup would be retained is well ingrained...Upul (Chandana) will play a very vital role and I will place a lot of faith and importance in him. It is time that he realise that he is probably one of Sri Lanka's most utility (?!) players...it is players like him that should show the way to the rest rather than be in the background...we are the champions, we will stay there.' No wonder, most people ended up in Cuckooland after reading such baloney, in addition to the promised 'tricks up the sleeve' by the then incumbent Manager.

Ranjan and Dav - the only good news
In the middle of all this gloom, it was most refreshing to read the appointment of Ranjan Madugalle as the Match Referee for the World Cup final. Look at the disadvantages he faced. When age and the ensuing maturity are considered key ingredients for a job of this nature, he was the youngest in the panel. Sri Lanka's present stocks, due to the internecine bickering, in the international cricket scene cannot be deemed high, to say the least. In fact, we are the laughing stock. Yet, Ranjan was given the nod. Well done Ranjan! In a dark hour, you did our country proud. So, at least one Sri Lankan was there officially at the World Cup final! The other bit of good news is that Dav Whatmore will be back. Hopefully, he will be allowed to crack the whip irrespective of personalities and instil discipline across the Board.

The litigious Board Secretary
Litigation in the cricket scene is overshadowing all else. All this is expense. One thing is certain, there will be quite a few lawyers who are going to be richer. Question is who is footing the bills? According to Thilanga Sumathipala, the Secretary of the Board would be instituting action in London against an expatriate Sri Lankan who has allegedly brought in a false charge. There would be a whopping legal bill, in sterling, to be paid. The Secretary, I believe, is involved in yet another case in Sri Lanka. Yet, this litigious Secretary had allegedly, on one occasion, not submitted the minutes of seven consecutive Ex-Co meetings. How these honorary officials are attempting to save the good name of Sri Lanka cricket!

Water down the turf?
Finally, I am told that the Sri Lanka A team are planning to leave on their tour of England a few days earlier than scheduled. The reason, I understand, is the lack of the type of pitches the boys would encounter in England. No bounce, no pace. So, they will be going to England in search of practice pitches. Over the years, many an official went overseas, at Board expense, to study the preparation and maintenance of pitches. Recently too, wasn't a senior official of the Cricket Board sent to various countries for the express purpose of studying this subject? Isn't this type of expenditure, which must be considerable, water down the turf?

Since writing this article S. Skandakumar, representative of the Interim Board has been allowed to attend the ICC meeting as a representative of Sri Lanka.

Army Inter-Regiment Golden Jubilee VB Tourney
Service Corps,Gajaba Regiment and General Service Corps emerge winners

Finals of the Sri Lanka Army Inter Regiment Golden Jubilee Volleyball Tournament were held at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on 11 June 1999 amidst a large gathering in a grand scale. All matches in 'A' B' and 'C' divisions were evenly contested. By judging the performance displayed by the Army spikers it was clearly evident that Army Team will be a major threat to all other team in the future tournaments.

First Final of 'C' division as commenced at 1.30 pm by introducing teams to Brigadier P G Charles, the Chairman of the Army Volleyball Association. Army Service Corps consisting of young and talented players seemed too heavy for the Gemunu Watch. Service Corps thrashed Gemunu Watch in straight 3 sets to nil under an hour to crown themselves as 'C' division champions. Suranga Madhawa (Cap) and Kelum Sanjeewa Perera played well for the winners and KL Chandrasisi excelled for the losers. Kelum Sanjeewa Perera of Service Corps was adjudged as the best player of the 'C' Division. This match was referred by Messrs. P L Abeysinghe and W. G. Gunathilaka. Scored: 25 - 12, 25 - 10, 25 - 13.

'B' Division finals was started at 2.3O pm with Brigadier Parry Liyanage Quartermaster General of Army Headquarters been the chief Guest. The two finalists Gajaba Regiment and Sri Lanka Artillery were introduced to the Chief Guest. The both teams were studed with good players and the match was extended to a five setter. Though the Gajaba Regiment won the first Set

in style Artillery Team came from behind to win second and third sets thus setting stage for a easy win. But The Keterians who were determined win their first cup did well to win the Fourth set with ease and then went on to win the Fifth and deciding set to annexe the Championship. Lt. Jayasinghe and R. M. Shantha stood best for the Gajaba Regiment and Weerakoon Bandara played well for the losers. R. M. Shantha of Gajaba Regiment selected as the Best player for 'B' Division. Messrs. Susantha Karunaratne and Buddhikantha were in-charge of the whistle. SCORES :- 25 - 10, 29 - 25, 21 - 25, 25 - 10, 15 - O9.

Reigning champions General Service Corps overcame Giant Killers Ordinance Corps in the A Division final. The players were introduced to the Chief Guest the Commander of the Army Lieut. General C. S. Weerasuriya. Both teams fought hard for the supremacy. Ordinance Corps started well by winning the first set but more experienced General Service Corps bounce back to game by winning second and third sets. Ordinance Corps once again proved that they are capable of defeating any side.Lalith Premalal and Alwis played best for the winners and KMK Sunil and Nihal played well for the losers. L/Cpl Nihal was adjudged the 'Best Player'.Messrs. Priyantha Senewiratne and Bandula Dharmapriya officiated. this match as referees. SCORES - 2O - 25, 25 - 22, 25 - 23, 18 - 25, 15 - 8.The tournament was organised by the Army Volleyball Committee.

The Adjutant General of Army Headquarters Major General K. A .M. G. Kularatne, Deputy Chief of Staff Major General K. Janaka C. Perera and the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Lieut. General C. S. Weerasuriya gave away the prizes.

Old Royalists' Rugby Dinner

When the school bell is rung at 2030 hrs. come Friday the 2nd July '99, the old Royalist Ruggerites will be sitting down to dinner for the 25th time - an occasion when gallant knights of yore flock together in happy camaraderie. The dinner has over the years, grown into the institution it is to-day, well-integrated with all that's Royal and her rugby. It was originally conceived in the minds of two enthusiastic old Royalist rugby stalwarts of yesteryear ,Gamini Salgado and Mahesa Rodrigo way back in 1966, when they thankfully saw the need to give the past Royal ruggerites an opportunity to meet ,greet, exchange views ,swap stories, perhaps develop new ones etc., and above all to feel that they are in one jolly old come-together. And what better time than Bradby time in Colombo.

The original dinner committee comprised Messers Gamini Salgado as Chairman, Mahesa Rodrigo, Ratna Sivaratnam, K. W. W. Edwards as secretary and treasurer, and yours truly as the chaser. To the uninitiated the chaser's job was to chase (obviously) after prospective diners since this was the initial effort.

The dinner first had an uninterrupted run from 1966 to 1973 including 1971, when the diners met in a semi-formal way at the CR&FC ,if only to ensure continuity. It was curfew from 11.OO p.m to 5.00 a.m. and one remembers an enthusiastic Eustace Fonseka wandering around full of 'Foggy, Foggy Dew' ,strumming his guitar and characteristically offering us the interesting option of departing at five to eleven or five past five in the morning ! The first dinner was held at the Ceylinco Hotel and for no accountable reason the first run of dinners came to an end in 1973 with the Dinner being held at the Capri. However it was thankfully revived at the Intercontinental in 1983, the year of the 100th Royal-Trinity match played at Longden Place. That year the Dinner was graced by two great principals of Royal, Messers E L Bradby and J. C. A .Corea, both of whom were specially flown down from the U K for the Bradby and the dinner by some grateful old boys.

Originally the dinner was held in the evening of the Bradby in Colombo. From more recent times it has been brought forward to the eve of the Bradby ,the diners not minding witnessing the match next day, through bleary eyes! In the early years the Chairman of the dinner committee was also the Chairman at the Dinner. The latter privilege is now reserved for the senior most old Royalist rugby player available, then next senior - and so on, each taking it in turn each successive year. By tradition there are four official toasts at the dinner; to the President of Sri Lanka and to absent friends proposed by the Chairman and toasts to the School and the game proposed by a senior and a comparatively junior diner respectively.

However, there was an additional toast to the dinner itself in 1994, being the 50th year of the Bradby. There were other special reasons why the dinner committee decided to have this special toast. It was not only to honour an 'institution' that has brought all these wonderful ruggerites together but also to recognise, honour and thank those who initiated it.

Over the years many illustrious old Royalist ruggerites have worn the mantle of Chairman of the dinner Committee with honour, beginning with Gamini Salgado. Others to follow were Ratna Sivaratnam, Ken Balendra, Dudley Fernando, Ana Wimaladharma, Jagath Fernando, Ajit Gunawardene, and the current chairman Stanley Unamboowe, not to mention the loyal and enthusiastic support from Dhammika Wedanda ,who has been holding the position of secretary almost to a point of satisfying consistency like the Bradby and Baked Alaska ,our most welcome dessert at the Dinner and many others pushing the scrum strenuously, as it were, such as Dr. Dilla de Soysa, Suren Madanayake, Jehan Canekaratne, Sriyan Cooray, Dilshan Hetti et al. Similarly many Royal rugby stalwarts have been Chairmen at the dinner: to name a few, Sydney de Zoysa, Winston Serasinghe, President JRJ, his brother Wilmot J. E D. W. Jayawardene, father of Trinity captain of 1961 and dear friend Jayantha J, Dr. Ernie Pieris,

Down the line to Mahesa Rodrigo, who most enthusiastically lifted last year's Dinner to a different height with his special brand of humour! This year's Chairman will be Percy Udulagama ,(curiously known as ' uncle' by everybody), a player of the mid- forties, who is currently being sent through the paces by our enthusiastic COP. Lionel Almeida captain of 1956 and this year's chief guest at the match will toast the School, while Branu Rahim, father of this year's captain Dinesh Rahim will toast the Game. This year ,too, the distinguished invitees will be the Principals of the two schools, the Vice-Principal of Royal ,the President of the SLRFU, the Secretary of the RCU, the M-I-C of Trinity Rugby, The Senior Games Master, the Games Coordinator and the Masters in Charge of Rugby at Royal,B. Weerasinghe, a former rugby master at Royal and Mr. Viji Weerasinghe, who has always earned a revered place in our hearts as one of the greatest sons of Royal.

If the dinner itself provides ample opportunity for revelry and camaraderie ,the run- up committee meetings, hosted by one or some of the committee members, have been equally enriching for both mind and body. It is serious business with laughter all the way, and victuals to titillate the most fastidious. One recalls one of those early committee meetings hosted by the evergreen Eddie Gray. He was receiving all his guests at his entrance somewhere down Park Road: Hullo, Gamini ,he said, Hullo Mahes, Hullo Roti, Hullo Puggy (Ref. was to CVG) and so on until his eyes set on yours truly, about whose identity he hadn't the foggiest idea, which immediately prompted him to greet yours truly with an ever enthusiastic, endearing ' Hulllllloooh Machang !' as though he was his only long -lost friend!! It was almost a mating call. Such was the bonhomie generated that even to this day we greet each other with a very understanding 'Hullo Machang'. One also recalls the enthusiasm with which President J RJ wished to attend the dinner. He used to insist on paying for his ticket even when he was the President, on the basis that he had a right to come for the Dinner if only as a past rugby player, having captained in 1924 .

However, his impending presence, used to naturally raise protocol concerns for the committee, when he was the President of the country. So much so that the committee sought assistance in this regard from an old Royalist rugby player-diplomat, whose unbridled enthusiasm in his assignment has earned him the 'honoured' nom de plume from the Committee, of Chief of Protocol (COP) ,which he has been proudly carrying to this day. His concern for protocol was amply illustrated once when he insisted on hearing the contents of a scheduled toast to be proposed by a certain politico ruggerite, who was then in the opposition, especially so when President JRJ was expected to be present. The number of times this prospective speaker was made to stand up and sit down by way of rehearsal by the COP at a committee meeting; the deletions and adjustments to the text under his keen 'censorship' and the splendid spirit in which the rehearsal itself was enjoyed not only by the members of the Committee but also by the prospective speaker himself ,then an MP and now a Minister, is ample testimony to the prevailing camaraderie amongst the diners ,then and now.

The whole effort became hilarious when the speaker, who was a flying flanker in his day finally broke away on a 'trip 'of his own at the Dinner, ignoring all canons laid down by the COP., culminating in subtle references to 'Dead-eyed Dick', his political 'bete noire', which was also taken by those concerned in the same friendly spirit in which it was proffered!

Enough fun and camaraderie has been generated over the years sufficient to enthuse the diners to come year after year and enjoy this unique blend of the school ,the game and the diners, all rugby players of yore, who have had the privilege of honouring both the School and the Game in their time. No old Royalist rugby player, worthy of his name, would want to miss the dinner because in one single night he would get just that opportunity to hold forth regarding his past prowess, his great school days ,the tries he scored or was never allowed to score because some goat couldn't be bothered to pass the ball to him .He would talk about how he should have captained but couldn't because somebody else was already captaining! Or about how he played with fire until the fire got extinguished rather early in the game due to serious capacity problems. He could talk about the second row forward whose enthusiasm extended to securing his boots with choir rope !! He could remind the eager listeners around him of the gap he is supposed to have taken a good thirty or forty years ago; or failed to take because he was too late in seeing it! Yet this was the gap that really mattered. He could talk about how seriously he considered the friendly advice given by his team-mate to amputate his arm for a sprained shoulder! It is all the same year after year. Yet each time, these stories are swapped they gather in richness and excitement with never a dull moment especially when they are vehemently challenged for their very veracity and then as the evening gathers momentum all roads would lead to the piano, (with the occasional detour for re-fuelling, where the jolly throng would break into song in grand unison till the wee hours of the morning with a rugby repertoire that would put the best to shame!

With modest beginnings way back in 1966 the Dinner has grown into the institution it is today rich in tradition and content ,with innovations willingly done without doing violence to the values we cherish. Last year's dinner was quite special in that special recognition was accorded to the Royal team of 1948, the first Royal team to win the Bradby, last year being the fiftieth anniversary of that memorable win. It was also uniquely coincidental that all the speakers last year also happened to be past captains: the Chairman Mahesa Rodrigo (1946) toasting the President of Sri Lanka and absent friends; Trevor Anghie (195O) and Harin Malwatte (1969) -toasting the school and the game respectively and another captain introducing the gallant warriors of '48.

The diners today and those to come must ensure the noble continuity of the dinner. Because it was, is and will be a Marvelous come-together, a unique night of knights! What that maverick young William Webb' Ellis was to the Game, Gamini and Mahes, both men of salt, have been to the dinner .All three of them conceived marvelous ideas which have reached thankful fruition - the one in that great Game of Rugby Football, the other in a great Rugby Dinner! See you on Friday.

U.L.K

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