E Rodrigopule: Comment On Australia Touring Sri Lanka (21 May 1996)

21 May 1996

Sports Comment: Australia In Sri Lanka

By Elmo Rodrigopulle

First it was good news and then it was the bad, the much-looked forward to cricket tour by the Australians in July/August for an intended two tests and a Singer quadrangular series.

First agency news reports had it that the tour was on and the cricket world in Sri Lanka rejoiced at the good news. Later reports put a damper when it was said that the Aussies would come, but only for the Singer quadrangular against India, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, and there was no way for the two test matches.

However the Aussies made it clear that they would be monitoring the security situation before deciding to fly here. The Aussies as an excuse gave security reasons for not coming here to honour the World Cup clash.

The Aussies have also said that their cricketers are having a very tight schedule in the next 12 months and so their inability to play the two test matches which was agreed upon at the previous ICC meeting.

Upali Dharmadasa and Triphone Mirando, the big wigs of the cricket Board winged their way to kangarooland hoping to salvage the tour. But their visit has come to naught as the Aussies have very diplomatically said no.

So the time and the money spent in going to Australia to try and coax them to come has been a total waste.

Why the Aussies have to be so indifferent is something that cannot be understood. The previous Cricket Board and the present one have bent backwards to convince the Aussies to come. They have offered them everything possible to see that the tour becomes a reality. But the Aussies seem to be a stubborn lot.

Even though the Aussies did not consent to play their World Cup match, a few of the Lankan cricketers flew to Australia to play in a festival game just after winning the World Cup final.

The only reason we can think of for the Australians not coming is that they have still not been able to come to terms with the defeat that was inflicted on them by the gutty Sri Lankans led by Arjuna Ranatunga in the WC final on a neutral ground and before neutral umpires.

Can`t the International Cricket Council, the world`s governing body for the game do something about this stalemate?

One hopes that the Aussies not wanting to come will not lead to a strained relationship between the two countries. If this happens there will be a lot of broken fences and mending it will be no easy task.

However one hopes that they will at least come and show their ability in the quadrangular tourney.

Source :: Daily News (http.//www.lanka.net)