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Outgoing interim committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny has called for a change to Sri Lanka Cricket’s constitution in order to bring in greater accountability.Wettimuny heads a nine-member interim committee that will be dissolved by the end of the month before the board elections on January 3. Wettimuny, who has been a part of several interim committees in the past, said the presence of seven such committees in the last 14 years indicated a flaw in the system. He further suggested that SLC would need to change its constitution through an act of Parliament and not by membership.”As you can see in the media there is absolute chaos about elections and constitutions. The Attorney General is saying the constitution is flawed. My thinking is until we change the Sri Lanka Cricket constitution nothing will work,” Wettimuny said. “To have served in seven interim committees within a span of 14 years shows that there is a flaw in the system.”This has been an ongoing process. We need a constitution which has more accountability and transparency. Until that is done and you bring something proper nothing will happen.”The only way out for Sri Lanka Cricket is to change the constitution by an act of Parliament, not by membership because you will never get the required two-thirds majority.”Wettimuny also raised the issue of accountability in terms of SLC’s financial dealings with stakeholders.”In December last year, Rs. 250 million was doled out to stakeholders. Does the SLC have any accountability what was being done with this huge volume of money? I am told a vote is going at half a million,” he said. “I don’t know whether this is true. But how can you run a set-up like this?”When we take over and run Sri Lanka Cricket, we run it with no interest in a vote. We have taken impartial decisions without political affiliations. You can look at it from whichever side, what we have done in these last eight months I don’t think anyone has done in the last 15 years. If you analyse that’s the truth. You’ll have to ask yourself will it be done under normal circumstances.”Wettimuny said that he had proposed a draft constitution and handed it to the Sports Minister for further action.The nine-member interim committee headed by Wettimuny came into effect in April this year, and was appointed by the former sports minister Navin Dissanayake.The committee was established because the posts held by the office bearers had become null and void. The laws governing all sports bodies in the country require annual elections to be held on or before March 31. SLC’s elections, however, were postponed until the end of April due to the World Cup, which ended on March 29.Wettimuny said the committee had addressed issues on the administrative and cricketing front. Wettimuny also stated the committee had made sure the national team’s dressing room was a happier place by getting the right people to do the right thing.”If you ask the players they are happy. We are convinced the people are happy and the workforce is happy,” he said. “Ladies cricket had a lot of issues but now that is under control. Even Lasith Malinga is working with the ladies cricketers at the moment helping them to try and perform better in the upcoming T20 World Cup.”

Northern Districts lost their last eight wickets for 42 runs to finish on 142 in Hamilton, but that did not hurt them; they restricted Wellington to 135 for 9 to win by seven runs.Daryl Mitchell and Ben Laughlin took seven wickets between them to dent Wellington, not allowing any of the batsmen to create partnerships. Mitchell dismissed both Wellington openers – Hamish Marshall and Michael Papps – off consecutive deliveries in the fourth over. He finished with 4 for 35. Tom Blundell’s 42-ball 63 offered Wellington’s lone resistance; he was the ninth man out, dismissed by Laughlin, whose miserly figures of 3 for 13 meant Wellington’s required run-rate kept on increasing. After Blundell’s dismissal, they managed only seven runs off the last over.Earlier in the match, Joe Carter (32), Nathan Reardon (34) and Corey Anderson (34) batted aggressively to take Northern Districts to 100 for 2, before the collapse began; team was dismissed in the final over for 142 as their last seven batsmen aggregated only 21 runs.Defending champions Auckland beat Otago by 22 runs at home after Hong Kong’s Mark Chapman hit 76 off 32 balls in an innings that included seven sixes and four fours.Four Auckland players made their T20 debut, one of them being opener Glenn Phillips, who scored a 32-ball 55, combining with Rob Nicol and Jeet Raval to stitch together two consecutive partnerships of 35 runs each. Chapman arrived after he was dismissed – with the team at 74 for 3 – and he added 108 runs for the fifth wicket with another debutant, SM Solia (30), before he was out in the last over of their innings.In their chase, Otago recovered after an early setback, with Anaru Kitchen (42) and Derek de Boorder (44) adding 64 runs for the second wicket. But with wickets falling every few overs, they finished 22 runs short of a win at the end of their 20 overs. Legbreak bowler Tarun Nethula picked two wickets and also effected de Boorder’s run out during a crucial stretch of the match.Central Districts beat Canterbury by seven runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected match in New Plymouth in a game that stretched 28.5 overs overall.Central Districts finished on 198 after their 20, in part due to a second-wicket partnership of 73, followed by a 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The first of those was between George Worker (32-ball 36) and the captain Will Young (27-ball 33), which was complemented by Tom Bruce (24-ball 39) and Doug Bracewell (21-ball 37). Andrew Ellis finished with three wickets, but conceded 49 runs.In their chase, Canterbury lost three wickets by the time they scored 33, but their scoring rate was high. Opener Chad Bowes struck 24 off 10 balls as they raced to 50 in under six overs. But a rain delay in the eighth over followed by another rain stoppage in the ninth, meant they finished on 77 for 3 after 8.5 overs, short of Central Districts’ par-score by seven runs, with Cam Fletcher (20) and Ellis (27) remaining not out.

India and Sri Lanka have been fined for slow over-rates during their CB Series match in Adelaide on Tuesday. Jeff Crowe, the match referee, imposed the fines after the two sides were found to be one and two overs short of their targets, respectively, when when time allowances were taken into consideration.In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing over-rate penalties, players are fined 5% their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was fined 10% of his match fee, with each of his team-mates receiving 5% fines. Mahela Jayawardene was fined 20% and the rest of his players 10% of their match fees.”The over-rates for all teams in this series so far have been pedestrian at times with teams failing to complete their full quota of overs in the stipulated time on several occasions,” said Crowe. “Allowances and early finishes have meant players have been fortunate to escape fines in previous matches and this is an area that all the sides need to give further attention to and improve upon.

No venue shift for Bangalore
The Bangalore Royal Challengers’ match against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday will go ahead as scheduled after Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, refused their request to shift the match in light of yesterday’s serial bomb blasts in Jaipur, which killed about 60 people. “We cannot do that [shift the venue]. The match will go ahead as scheduled in Jaipur on Saturday,” Modi told Cricinfo, adding that additional security will be provided at the team hotels and the Sawai Mansingh stadium, the match venue.Laxman backs under-fire Dravid
VVS Laxman has firmly backed Rahul Dravid, his India team-mate and Indian Premier League rival, whose Bangalore team is in the middle of a torrid run. “For sure, Rahul is a good captain,” Laxman, told Cricinfo. “Even if you see the games Rahul’s team have lost, some of them were very close. If they had won those, no questions would have been raised about his captaincy. I am sure he will bounce back because I know he is a very tough character.”Kolkata’s poor time management skills
The Kolkata Knight Riders have been handed US$1000 fine by Talat Ali for maintaining a slow over-rate during their match against the Delhi Daredevils, the third time in as matches that they have been rapped for the offense. The IPL’s regulations state that a team will be fined $500 for each slow over. Ali had leveled a similar fine on them after their match against the Deccan Chargers, prior to which they incurred a $500 fine after facing the Bangalore Royal Challengers on May 8.

Australia captain Pat Cummins won’t feature again in the Ashes and there is uncertainty about whether he will be available for the T20 World Cup in February, with selectors and medical staff unwilling to take any risks over his long-term health.When Australia’s squad for the MCG Boxing Day Test was named on Tuesday morning, it was confirmed, as Cummins had flagged after Adelaide, that he would sit out the match. Head coach Andrew McDonald said a few hours later that Cummins’ series was over after one appearance, which helped secure the Ashes.Cummins was diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction after the tour of the West Indies, but following an aggressive rehab programme, he bowled brilliantly in Adelaide where he claimed six wickets as Australia won by 82 runs.Related

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“He’s pulled up fine,” McDonald said. “He won’t play any part in the rest of the series and that was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return.”We were taking on some risk and people that reported on that would understand the risk associated with that rebuild. We’ve now won the series and that was the goal. So, to position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do and Pat’s really comfortable with that.”Even though Cummins’ Ashes has been limited to one match, McDonald said it had been a huge effort from all involved to even get to that point.”If he had any setback in the build as well, we would have shut him down straight away,” he said. “Everything went really smoothly and full credit to him [and] the medical team. To navigate through that risk profile to get him back and take six wickets in that game and nail the Ashes series was incredibly pleasing for everyone associated with that.Pat Cummins added to his tally against Joe Root in the third Test•AFP/Getty Images

“If you look at the… decision sort of four months ago and the journey he went on to get to where he was to be able to play the third Ashes Test when people thought it was nigh on impossible, that took an incredible amount of work from our SSSM [Sports Science Sports Medicine] team.”McDonald said that would be part of a discussion with the other selectors later on Tuesday about the T20 World Cup squad, which is due to be named soon, and indicated that further medical advice would be taken around Cummins’ participation.Cummins has not played a T20I for Australia since mid-2024 at the previous World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA. Shortly after the upcoming edition takes place in India and Sri Lanka, IPL 2026 will begin, where Cummins is due to captain Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).”That’ll be an assessment,” McDonald said of Cummins’ T20 World Cup chances. “I’m assuming he’ll have a check-in scan at some point and gather more information around where his back is at… looking forward to the World Cup, whether he’ll be there or not. I can’t really say. It’s quite grey at the moment. We’re hopeful.”2:09

Starc: Job’s not done after Ashes win

McDonald on Starc: ‘I don’t know how he does it’

Cummins’ injury along with the one suffered by Josh Hazlewood, who won’t feature at all in the Ashes, and Sean Abbott, who was ruled out before the first Test, has tested the depth of Australia’s pace resources.Mitchell Starc led the attack superbly in the first two Tests before producing a series-clinching three wickets on the final day in Adelaide and has already stated his desire to continue through all five matches.”Starc’s amazing, he’s pulled up fine, I don’t know how he does it,” McDonald said. “I walked into the physio room the other day and sort of just went through the body count and how we’re going. I won’t use exactly what [the physio] said, but he just said he [Starc] is a freak.”He keeps running in, presenting the pace that he does. There’s a lot to be learned around preparing yourself and targeting the right matches at the right time. He’s given up a lot of IPL opportunities and you’re seeing a player that wants to play Test cricket and he’s still at his best. It’s an incredible story. Let’s hope it continues for a long time yet but he’s a freak, end of story.”Australia have added Jhye Richardson to their pace options for the fourth Test at the MCG following his recovery from shoulder surgery. Richardson last played a Test during the 2021-22 Ashes.

Lawyers working for the Indian Cricket League are believed to be preparing the ground to file lawsuits against the ECB, following yesterday’s news that five ICL players were refused registration by the England board.The five players – Justin Kemp, Hamish Marshall, Johan van der Wath, Wavell Hinds and Andrew Hall – were all refused by a rule which requires non-England players not to have played for their home countries in the past 12 months. The ECB seem confident that they are on a firm legal footing but, privately, the ICL believe they have a very strong case for a ‘restraint of trade’ suit.”Our clients are taking this extremely seriously,” a lawyer representing the ICL told the , “and we will be supporting them. They find themselves in a nightmare situation where they have signed a contract with the counties in good faith and now they are not allowed to play.”The counties themselves are unlikely to take action against the ECB; most have seen this situation coming for months. The worst situation for all, though, is if the players take action against the counties themselves; if the counties lose, the ECB would have to bail them out. Where this leaves the likes of Marshall, who turned his back on New Zealand and is now effectively unemployed, is unclear.These five players won’t be the last; the ECB are expecting another raft of applications which will only intensify the pressure on both the counties and the board, not to mention increase the ICL’s belief that their legal case for action is solid. The Professional Cricketers Assocation (PCA) announced two weeks ago that it would step in to help the players better understand the muddle, and would conduct meetings with all the counties before the start of the season.”Our position hasn’t changed from two weeks ago when we made our last statement,” Jason Ratcliffe, the PCA’s assistant chief executive, told Cricinfo today, adding that the meetings had yet to be concluded.

South Australia will play host to an Aboriginal Cricket Carnival next weekfrom March 11-13.The SA Aboriginal Cricket Carnival was first held in the late 1980’s where6-8 Aboriginal community teams competed in limited overs cricket at Park 25in Adelaide. The Carnival ran for 5 consecutive years during the late 80’sand early 90’s.The SA Aboriginal Sport and Recreation (SAASRA) facilitated the event toencourage the Aboriginal communities to become involved in the sport.A need was identified through community consultation to re-instate a numberof Carnivals of various sports and link those Sporting Associations andtheir development programs to the Aboriginal community.SAASRA in conjunction with the SA Cricket Association (SACA) discussed andsupported the concept of the Aboriginal Carnival. This concept was furthersupported by an initiative of the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) who iscurrently developing a National Strategy to encourage Aboriginal people intocricket at local, regional, state and national level.A Super 8’s State Team will be chosen from the Carnival to compete at theImparja Cup to be held at Alice Springs in April 2002. Teams competing inthis years Carnival will represent the following communities:

• Pt. Pearce, Yorke Peninsula
• Koonibba, West Coast
• Pt. Lincoln
• Port Augusta
• Murraylands
• Gerard, Riverland
• Whyalla
• Metro Adelaide

Mahela Jayawardene praised his bowlers as they wrapped up an historic first Test win in the West Indies with only 16 minutes remaining on the final day. Chaminda Vaas led the march with 5 for 61 as the hosts were dismissed 121 short of their unlikely target of 437.”We had a challenge when we came and that was to win a Test match in the West Indies and we have achieved that,” Jayawardene said. “We played hard and a lot of guys contributed. It was an amazing effort from Vaas and our quicks took 13 wickets in the Test, so a lot of credit to them. Murali bowled his heart out and overall it was a very good team effort.”Jayawardene felt his day-four declaration gave West Indies a hint of a chance and he was pleased when he saw aggression from the home batsmen. “We wanted them to play a few shots on this wicket because that’s how we could have created opportunities,” he said. “That’s why we gave them a target they could have achieved, rather than giving them 500 when they would have been in a very defensive frame of mind.”The move eventually paid off, but the scenario became more difficult during the 134-run, second-wicket partnership between Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Bravo, who was promoted to open instead of Chris Gayle, scored 83 while Sarwan picked up a cautious 72 before becoming the fifth to fall.”If they had batted till about tea it would have been a different story, we would have struggled,” Jayawardene said. “We managed to get Bravo before lunch and then Sarwan before tea, which were two crucial wickets, and in between we got Shiv [Chanderpaul].”Gayle entered at No. 6 and held firm, finishing with an unbeaten 51 and narrowly missing holding on for a draw. “Even though Chris was at one end, we knew we could put pressure on the other batsmen and see what would happen,” Jayawardene said. “Our guys bowled really well to pick up those wickets. In the last hour it could have been anyone’s game in the sense that they could have saved the game or we could have gotten the win. Once we got into that situation we knew we had to give everything.”With his side holding a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, Jayawardene said there was no chance of thinking about a draw in Port-of-Spain from April 3. “It’s important that we go for a win in the second match as well, that’s the way we play cricket,” he said. “That’s the attitude whether it is home or away.”

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