http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sidath-Wettimuny-c90193 – Cricket News Update
Former Sri Lankan cricketer, Sidath Wettimuny, has said that Sri Lanka must ameliorate its domestic cricket structure in order regain its lost glory at the international level.
After sweeping the 1996 World Cup tournament, the Lankans were seen as a virile cricketing nation until now. Their performance has dropped in the last one year, especially after losing some of their key players such as the legendary off-spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Muralitharan-c1864
and the left-arm fast bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540, one of their most outstanding players, has limited himself to ODIs only.
Most cricket analysts attribute Sri Lanka’s success since 1996 to Muralitharan. His nonpareil talent is irreplaceable for the Lankans and definitely a major loss.
Wettimuny, who played 23 Test matches for Sri Lanka in the 1980s, feels that the Islanders must focus on their domestic cricket if they want to compete well at the international level. He said that the Sri Lankan Cricket Board has experimented with domestic
cricket in the past and now they should aim towards stability.
He said, "We need to make the provincial structure a lot more permanent, tangible and something that is set in stone. We've always moved our provincial tournaments up and down, not giving them pride of place. This time we managed to get a fixture where we
stated that it should always be.”
The former batsman further added that the rapid changes in the Sri Lankan Cricket Board are also a major reason behind the inconsistency of domestic cricket. He believes that Sri Lankan cricket officials must be consistent with their policies if they want
to see the national team succeed.
"I hope whichever board comes in will follow it through. Since 1996, we have had so many boards coming and going - every year we've had changes - and what that does is it breaks the continuity of thought and the implementation of plans", Wettimuny added.
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