Rs 92 million boost for SL domestic cricket

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has set aside a whopping budget of Rs 92 million for the 2006-07 domestic cricket season which includes a car worth Rs. 1.6 million to the Premier League Man of the Tournament.

A budget of Rs 35,943,000 has been set aside for the Premier league which will feature 14 clubs while a further Rs 12,183,250 will be spent on the Premier limited overs tournament which will also feature the same number of clubs.

Although prize monies and allowances to clubs and players have been upgraded for all the tournaments conducted by SLC, the main focus will be on the Premier competitions where the league champions are expected to net prize money of one million rupees and the runners-up 750,000 rupees.

Best batsmen and bowler will each receive Rs 100,000. A total of 58 matches are scheduled to be played by 14 clubs - consisting of 42 three-day games and 16 four-day games. Further, each player will receive Rs 9,000 per match (3-day) and Rs 12,000 per match (4-day). Likewise, each team will receive Rs 75,000 per match (3-day) and Rs 100,000 per match (4-day).

For the limited overs tournament, where 14 clubs play 45 matches, the winning team will receive Rs 500,000 and the runners-up Rs 300,000. The man-of-the-tournament will get Rs 50,000 and the best batsman and bowler Rs 35,000 each. These figures remain unchanged from the previous season.The new additions are the awarding of a car to the player of the tournament (league) and Rs 5000 for the man-of-the-match for a premier league game and Rs 2500 for a limited overs game.

Giving reasons why SLC has decided to pump in so much money on domestic competitions, K. Mathivanan, SLC secretary said, "We want to give a more professional outlook to our domestic competitions especially the Premier. We want the players to really focus on the game and produce quality cricket."

Mathivanan disclosed that there was a Rs 20 million increase from last year's domestic budget. The 2006-07 season has already got under way with the completion of the under-23 tournament last weekend where SSC emerged champions defeating NCC on first innings.

For the Sara trophy league and limited overs tournaments the budgets set aside are Rs 11,494,180 and Rs 4,396,750 respectively. The division II Donovan Andree trophy and the Twenty20 competitions will cost Rs 6,977,500 and Rs. 2,045,000 respectively.

Mathivanan also revealed that discussions are under way to provide player clothing for each of the 14 Premier clubs and for live television coverage of one match per weekend. "The awards for all the tournaments will be distributed at a gala dinner hosted by SLC at a leading hotel at the end of the season," he said.

The following tournaments for the 2006-07 season are scheduled to start on the following dates:

October 21: Sara trophy (limited overs) November 1: Premier trophy (limited overs) November 8: Premier trophy (league) November 18: Sara trophy (league) December 2: Donovan Andree trophy (division II) January: Division III (final round) February 3: Twenty20