Winning WC is the greatest achievement - Bacher(4 Dec 1997)

Thursday 04, December 1997

Winning WC is the greatest achievement in modern day cricket - Bacher

By SA'ADI THAWFEEQ

Sri Lanka winning the World Cup was described by United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) managing director Dr. Ali Bacher as "the greatest achievement in modern day cricket''.

"You have a set of talented cricketers and there is great excitement generated in South Africa over your team's visit in March-April next year. There is a big following for Aravinda de Silva, who is an outstanding cricketer,'' said Dr. Bacher, who arrived on a five-day visit of Sri Lanka yesterday.

"We are looking forward to a hard-fought series in the two Tests and also in the one-day triangular which will feature the 1992 (Pakistan) and 1996 (Sri Lanka) World Cup champions with South Africa,'' he said.

Whilst describing Sri Lanka as a `formidable cricketing nation', Dr. Bacher said South Africa had a lot of respect for Sri Lanka cricket and, that there was a huge television audience to watch the recently concluded Quadrangular tournament in Pakistan where South Africa defeated Sri Lanka in the final at Lahore.

"Our vision is to become the best in the world in all aspects of cricket. We are using all the resources at our disposal to achieve this,'' said Dr. Bacher, touching on the number of coloured cricketers who are now making their way into the South African national team.

"When we played, it was a white man's game,'' said Dr. Bacher, a former captain of South Africa before the country was debarred from playing international cricket for 22 years from 1970 because of their apartheid policies.

Dr. Bacher, who is in Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board said in his capacity as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) development committee, he would have talks with the Cricket Board on ways and means of globalising the game.

Dr. Bacher who has developed a close relationship with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board chief executive Dammika Ranatunga (of whom he had a high opinion as an up and coming administrator), said that he will have discussions with Cricket Board officials on sharing expertise and working together in areas of mutual interest between the two countries.

Dr. Bacher said his visit was also to confirm the itineraries of a South African `A' team tour of Sri Lanka in June next year, and a Sri Lanka `A' side visit to South Africa in October 1999. He said the senior South African team was due to make a full tour of Sri Lanka at the turn of the century, and that the Under 19 World Cup in January next year, of which Sri Lanka is also one of the participants, will be a big event in South Africa.

Dr. Bacher met Sports Minister S.B. Dissanayake yesterday and said that he (the Minister) was very interested in finding out how cricket was administered in South Africa. South African cricket is run like a business concern.

Dr. Bacher will leave for Calcutta on Saturday to attend an ICC Executive Committee Board meeting.

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