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March 26, 2021
Players failing to meet standards have to exit – Chairman Tech. Com. Aravinda | ‘Survival’ will have to change to ‘Thriving’ – Cricket Dir. Moody

Sri Lanka Cricket

COPE asked us about admins. of 2008 & 2010 – Shammi, SLC President; Financing Clubs an SLC obligation – Mohan, SLC Secy.

Sri Lanka’s cricketing future came full cycle with Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee Aravinda de Silva announcing that standards will be set and players who failed to come good to be shown the door while Sri Lanka Cricket’s new appointee Tom Moody, back as Director, Cricket Affairs, s since his 2005-2007 stint as head coach, stating that the current scenario performance environment that bordered on only surviving and not thriving had to change henceforth.

Involved in this new and far sighted cricketing drive to the future is also Sri Lanka’s world greatest highest wicket taker in Tests and ODIs, Muttiah Muralidaran, who was associated in the confab as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

His announcement came on the heels of Sri Lanka Cricket Hony. Secretary, Mohan de Silva, who in his welcome address, having extended a special welcome to Moody at yesterday press confab at the Taj Samudra Hotel. Referring to Moody’s role in mentoring the SL team to the 2007 World Cup final, he said, “The Director, Cricket Affairs, and the Technical Advisory Committee is working very hard to come out with strategic objectives to enhance competitiveness in Sri Lanka cricket in the arena of world cricket. One strategic move we have made is the appointment of Moody and we are privileged to have him for three years.”

BENCHMARK STANDARD POLICY FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS

The SLC Technical Advisory Committee, Chairman Aravinda de Silva summed up that the name of the game would be to set a benchmark policy for all parties involved with cricket from school cricket downwards to follow. “We cannot have one coach dictating his own policy and another policy. It all has to be standardized under one common policy, and Tom Moody’s role in that direction will be decisive. His 3-year contract will essentially be aimed at creating the desired change in all those involved in the game from the coaches to other areas to be fine honed in such a common policy of driving Sri Lanka cricket so that henceforth the locals will be well equipped to take it from there.”

POOR CYCLE PERIOD TO RECOVER FROM

But Moody, whom Technical Advisory Committee Chairman, de Silva described as the right choice towards forging the necessary change given his worldwide country to country know how, while describing his return as a hard decision, observed that change cannot come overnight when he said, “It is a poor cycle difficult to revive overnight. Australia faced such a period and came out of it during Ricky Ponting’s tenure. It is a big gulf to recover from. Always there is a recovery period when you hit a poor cycle.”

MAINLY THE STRUCTURE HAS TO CHANGE

The 55-year old former head coach went on to emphasise that ‘it is not the players, but it is the structure that needs to get right. Sri Lanka is in a position that needs a review. Having started as head coach I’m well equipped to make a significant change, but not overnight. It is a process involving good people to get to the top end of ICC rankings.

Citing the domestic structure as the primary area needing change, Moody said, “Having done a lot of research, the domestic system is not of excellence. Once you provide excellence there you can enjoy the rewards of the first class structures and the players will respond at international level. There is an enormous gulf between the domestic structure and the international structure. A lot can be done. I’m not here every day of the year, but through technology we can achieve. It is important to get the right people in the right places.”

PATHWAY FROM SCHOOL LEVEL UPWARDS

Giving impetus to Moody’s reasoning upfront, Sri Lanka’s former master batsman, Aravinda de Silva belonging to the singular realms of the incredible elite hall of fame of the only batsman in world cricket to have scored a world cup century chasing in an epoch winning final, the Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee, while emphasising that Tom Moody was a choice who understood the Sri Lankan culture by his past association, said, “We will be looking at our first class structure and development of cricket to creating a pathway from the school level upwards. We will be looking at player contracts, support staff, the coaching philosophy, the club structure and focus on women’s cricket as well given it is growing all over the world to give our women cricketers an even opportunity. “

UNFAIR & BASELESS ALLEGATIONS

Meanwhile, cricket touched a pertinent point with SLC President, Shammi Silva and Secretary Mohan de Silva fielding questions from journalists regarding allegations from the rival camp in the run up to the May hustings to elect office bearers. Mohan de Silva parried the question about allocating funds to clubs when he said, “The recent period hit by the COVID-19 pandemic has been a bad call for cricket. As it is, SLC has an obligation by all clubs. Even SSC requested for financial help during this trying period.”

‘SLC LEFT IN BANKRUPTCY BY REGIMES BEFORE US’

SLC President, Shammi Silva countered questions that COPE had come down hard on SLC when he said, “That is a very unfair allegation. It has not been recorded by the media that what COPE had wanted from us exceeded events that had transpired during other administrations. The doings of administrations dating to as far back as 2008, 2010 and other tenures have been raised that do not come under the ambit of our administration.”in such a pathetic state that the outgoing administrators had left the board. We do not wish to mention names, but we wish to point out the sorry plight in which these people who administered SLC before us had put it into,” the SLC President remarked.

What is more, he stated that ‘the last three SLC administrations that we were in had in fact steered Sri Lanka Cricket out of total bankruptcy to a 2 billion profit making viable entity. “When we came SLC could not pay players salaries and staff salaries.

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