Fence mending is good but .... a response and a reply

In response to the article which appeared in this column last week, titled Fence mending is good but.... the media manager of the Interim Committee, Sri Lanka Cricket writes...

Re. Article Captioned, Fence Mending is a must but...

We refer to the article appeared in your Newspaper dated 8th December 2008 and wish to make the following statement for the benefit of sports loving public.

It is disturbing to read your writers comments which suggested that your good newspaper was questioning the truthfulness of the comments made by the Chairman SLC Mr. Arjuna Ranatunga that he phoned Mr. Pawar and offered unconditional support towards BCCI.

It is also heartening to observe Elmo Rodrigopulle been a respected senior writer suggesting that Mr. Pawar is just an also ran man in Indian cricket while businessman turned BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi branded as the livewire of BCCI as per him.

Chairman Arjuna Ranatunga maintains a healthy relationship with Mr. Pawar who is also tipped to take over the ICC presidency in the future and to undermine the importance of this bond is a clear indication of your newspaper continuing to tarnish the good name of the Chairman and Sri Lanka Cricket.

We kindly request you to refrain from publishing such articles in a negative manner on regular basis and urge your respected organization to educate the cricket loving public on the positives and developments that has taken place at Sri Lanka Cricket.

Please be kind enough to give this article the same prominence as the article published by you.

Shane Fernando, Media Manager

The reply

The response of Shane Fernando, Media Manager of the Interim Committee, Sri Lanka Cricket does not at all meet the point that we made.

What we emphasised was that the chairman, SLC Arjuna Ranatunga should have spoken to the people that matter in Indian Cricket is Shas Manohar, President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Lalit Modi, Vice President who is the livewire of the Indian Premier League and not to Shard Pawar who was a former President and apparently who has no say in Indian cricket now.

We stand by that position.

We do not know how Shane Fernando got the impression that we were questioning the truthfulness of the statement made by Arjuna Ranatunga that he phoned Pawar and offered support to send down a Sri Lanka Cricket team to play charity games for those families affected by the terrorist attack in Mumbai if required.

Our use of the phase ‘if the story is true’ was only a defence in case Mr. Ranatunga denied he had spoken to Mr. Pawar and not at all to question Mr. Ranatunga’s truthfulness.

The fact that Mr. Pawar is tipped to take over the ICC Presidency is irrelevant to the present issue.

A great pity

Now that the England-India Test series is on again after several doubts, it is disappointing to note that the tour of India to Pakistan would not take place, if what we are hearing and reading are true.

Everyone applauded loudly when cricket was resumed between the two countries after a 15-year gap due to political tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

The Mumbai attack by terrorists has strained the relations and at the present moment there is no way that this eagerly looked forward cricket battle could get on the pitch.

The teams were gearing upto play one of the best series ever in Pakistan which was to be a Three Test series, five One-Day International and a Twenty20 during the five-weeks from early January.

The BCCI and the PCB are batting trying to get the tour on rails. But at the moment the tour is off the cricketing radar. Pity.

Had the tour materialised, the coffers of the two boards and the pockets of the players would have been bulging. Any form of cricket between the two countries evokes tremendous interest and had the envisaged tour taken place it would have been no different.

Anyway for the sake of the game, we hope like all others do that cricket and sport between the two countries would resume soon.

The two boards are exploring the possibilities of playing the series in a neutral country.

If that is the case Sri Lanka Cricket could offer to play the series here.

There are a lot of Indians and Pakistanis here and if played here there is the possibility of many Indians and Pakistanis coming as tourists which would be beneficial for our tourism.

Albert Fernando remembered

Pupils of the late great football coach Albert Fernando honoured their coach by playing an interesting soccer match between themselves in the colours of Old Bens ‘Greens’ and Old Bens ‘Whites’ on their redeveloped ground at Bloemendhal Road in Kotahena on Saturday.

Being over 40s the players whose names are too numerous to mention still showed form and magic of old and were exciting to watch.

Fernando was the only coach to have trainers licences from both Brazil and Germany.

In addition to the excellent strikers midfielders and defenders he produced, he also gave to the game goalkeepers who could have held their own with the best in Asia.

They were from the time I can remember Nugera, Issac Wenaden, Lawrence Fernando and Vijaya Silva. They were magnificent between the posts and some of the saves they made are still vivid in my mind.

Silva was the only keeper to save a penalty as a schoolboy from the legendary Azeez who it is said carried dynamite in his kicks.