Roshan Mahanama conducts seminar for SLC Match Referees

Roshan Mahanama, former Sri Lanka Captain and current ICC Match Referee conducted a seminar on October 12 for local match referees at the invitation of Sri Lanka Cricket. The seminar was extremely well received by the participating local match referees.

Mahanama in his presentation briefed the local panel on the role of the match referee, man management skills required of a match referee and handling difficult / different match situations. Mahanama said that he has grown in confidence over the years in his role as a Match Referee by recalling his experiences as player & captain but also noted that he gained many insights through discussing relevant issues with other referees, umpires, players and administrators. He stressed the importance of keeping in tough with the laws of the game, the code of conduct that applies to players and officials and the playing conditions of each tournament a referee is called upon to officiate. Without this knowledge, Mahanama pointed out, one cannot be considered a good match referee. He also appealed to the participants to keep an open mind because "regardless of one's experience and knowledge, there's always room for improvement."

Considering the success of the program, SLC is hoping to continue with similar programs to train and educate its panel of referees. SLC plans to expand its current panel of referees by inviting recently retired past national and 1st class players to become referees.