Wettimuny excited by new challenge

Sidath Wettimuny, the former Sri Lanka opener and chairman of selectors, has been named as the new president of the Sri Lanka Cricketers' Association (SLCA).

"I am new on the job and it is an area quite new to me," Wettimuny said. "I need to sit down and discuss it with my committee members. But it won't require rocket science to get into it.

"I don't have immediate plans of what I would like to do. But there is a fair amount of work you can do for the welfare of first-class cricketers after they retire from the game," he said. "We can act as an advisory body to cricketers who quit the game. Many of them have lost direction and are groping a bit financially. We need to get them involved and guide them along."

Wettimuny noted that the SLCA, whose membership is approaching 300, has done its bit for the welfare of cricketers by launching a pension scheme among other things. He also mentioned he has ideas of introducing a medical insurance scheme to all first-class cricketers.

We can think of ways of improving the quality, especially of past cricketers and do something for them," said Wettimuny. "As long as we have no conflict of interests with Sri Lanka Cricket we can work in close harmony for the welfare of all cricketers in general."

The outgoing president, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, was pleased with Wettimuny's appointment. "Making Sidath our president has made our association strong," he said. "He is a respected figure in cricket circles. He takes a neutral stance under any circumstance.

Sidath has big plans for the betterment of Sri Lanka cricket like running provincial and district tournaments, but he is unable to implement any of it as long as there is a voting system in place."

Wettimuny, 50, scored Sri Lanka's inaugraul Test hundred - 157 against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1982 - and two years later set Lord's alight with 190 against England which earned him a place as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year, the first Sri Lankan to be honoured. For the past 19 years he has been in the garment trade, exporting mainly to the UK.