SLC wants ICC to postpone discussion on draft proposal

Sri Lanka Cricket will ask the ICC to postpone the discussion on the draft proposals put forward by a working group of the Finance & Commercial Affairs committee, an official SLC release has said. SLC has avoided offering a definitive stance on the proposals, but has suggested it is resistant to their implementation, as it would result in a significant loss of the board's influence on the global governance of the game. The position paper is set to be discussed at the ICC meeting on January 28 and 29.

"The executive committee agreed to write to the president of the International Cricket Council and inform them the unanimous view of the executive committee of Sri Lanka Cricket is that the said position paper needs to be deferred and reconsidered on a future date," the statement said. "The executive committee further decided to discuss with the general membership of SLC too, at a future date."

In addition to the release, SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said the executive committee had largely been wary of the proposals and their implications. "We feel that Sri Lanka has earned certain things at an administrative level through Sri Lanka's performance over a long time. We will explain to the ICC about the things that affect Sri Lankan cricket, which we are not supportive of."

Ranatunga also said SLC had not been in close contact with any other boards, and that Sri Lanka was unlikely to enter into a union but will, instead, present its "honest and independent" view to the ICC. CSA have so far come out in strong opposition to the proposals, with the other possibly affected boards yet to take concrete stands.

SLC's treacherous financial position leaves the board particularly vulnerable to any outcome that will hamper revenues in the short term, but the board's response thus far indicates they are also concerned about the long-term implications of adopting the F&CA committee's working group proposals. The scheduled home series against India in 2017 is the centrepiece of the board's broadcast deal with Ten Sports, and any threat to that tour will have substantial impact on the board's finances.

The proposal does contain some incentive for SLC. The proposed Test match fund, set aside to support nations where Tests are less financially viable, is a potential boon. In 2013 alone, seven Tests were either moved or postponed from Sri Lanka's itinerary, though several of these removals had more to do with the fiscal position of foreign boards with whom a bilateral series had been scheduled.