Malalasekera heads 4-member interim cricket board

Tourism and Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella said yesterday that he had appointed a four-man interim board headed by former Royal College and Cambridge Blue cricketer Vijay Malalasekera to carry out the day-to-day activities of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL).

Former Sri Lanka captain Michael Tissera and former Test cricketers Sidath Wettimuny and Ashantha de Mel are the other members of the committee.

The board came into place after the Minister decided on Wednesday to dissolve the BCCSL after he had found they had violated the Sports Law by not properly notifying the membership of the annual general meeting which was scheduled for March 31.

"Under the Sports Law, section 29 you have to submit the accounts with the notice of the AGM and the annual report together with the list of voters. The Cricket Board has not done that. They have not submitted the accounts and not even the annual general report and the list of voters. It is a clear violation of the Sports Law which cannot be rectified now.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) what the District Court told them was to comply and come. Comply means to give one month's notice which the present Board cannot do because their term expires on March 31. Consequently, I had to appoint an interim board.

"I have dissolved the Cricket Board under section 32, where they have not carried out their duties and obligations. It will be a big joke to hold the AGM without the accounts.

"The important thing is the accounts have to be presented to the members before one month of the AGM, so that they can discuss the accounts and judge the performances of the clubs.

"I wanted to hold the AGM as early as January. Then one faction opposed it and it was postponed till the end of the England cricket tour. However, the Attorney-General advised me that you cannot have the AGM after March 31. On his advice the date was brought forward.

"The fact that I postponed the elections actually helped the Cricket Board. When I wanted to hold the elections before the English tour they agreed. If they had agreed they should have had the accounts ready in January," said Kiriella.

The Minister said that he had personally spoken to the members of the interim board before appointing them. He said the President had also spoken to some of them.

"I had a casual chat with the Leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickremesinghe, about this and even Tyronne Fernando, a former Cricket Board president.

"Fernando welcomed the move and Ranil told me to appoint people who had cricket at heart. That was the important thing," said Kiriella.

"The people whom I have appointed have cricket at heart. They have played at the highest level. They are full-time people; they are all committed. I asked them whether they would have the time to devote to cricket, and they have given me their assurance," said Kiriella.

The Minister said that under the Sports Law he had the powers to expand the interim board.

"Initially it will only be these four, but I will be expanding it in due course. There are a few matters which have to be inquired into and once we sought out all these matters in consultation with the President, I will take the next step," said Kiriella.

"In my opinion you can run this Cricket Board with ten people. The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) is run by 10 or 12 people," he said.