Kumar Sangakkara has chosen the MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture to launch ascathing attack on the endless political power-struggles that bedevil Sri LankaCricket and to reflect upon the heavy responsibilities on Sri Lankan cricketersto promote reconciliation after the end of the civil war that blighted thecountry.
Sangakkara, in a hugely impressive speech scribbled out during ocasionalspare hours during the one-day series against England, provided a vividexplanation that will go a long way to explaining why he resigned from thecaptaincy after Sri Lanka?s defeat in the World Cup final, exhausted after onlytwo years in charge. He described how, since Sri Lanka?s 1996 World Cupvictory, their cricket administration had changed ?from a volunteer-ledorganisation run by well-meaning men of integrity into a multimillion-dollarorganisation that has been in turmoil ever since?.
His criticism could hardly have been more pointed. ?Players from within theteam itself became involved in power games within the board,? he said. ?Officialselected to power in this way in turn manipulated player loyalty to achievetheir own ends. At times board politics would spill over into the team causingrift, ill feeling and distrust.
?Accountability and transparency in administration and credibility ofconduct were lost in a mad power struggle that would leave Sri Lankan cricketwith no consistent and clear administration. Presidents and elected executivecommittees would come and go; government-picked interim committees would beappointed and dissolved.
?After 1996 the cricket board has been controlled and administered by ahandful of well-meaning individuals either personally or by proxy rotated inand out depending on appointment or election. Unfortunately to consolidate andperpetuate their power they opened the door of the administration to partisancronies that would lead to corruption and wonton waste of cricket boardfinances and resources.
?It was and still is confusing. Accusations of vote buying and rigging,player interference due to lobbying from each side and even violence at theAGMs, including the brandishing of weapons and ugly fist fights, havecharacterised cricket board elections for as long as I can remember.
?We have to aspire to better administration. The administration needs toadopt the same values enshrined by the team over the years: integrity,transparency, commitment and discipline.
?Unless the administration is capable of becoming more professional,forward-thinking and transparent then we risk alienating the common man.Indeed, this is already happening. Loyal fans are becoming increasinglydisillusioned. This is very dangerous because it is not the administrators orplayers that sustain the game ? it is the cricket-loving public. It is theirpassion that powers cricket and if they turn their backs on cricket then thewhole system will come crashing down.?
Sangakkara also responded to the knots of Tamil protesters who have used theSri Lanka tour to demonstrate against the presence of the Sri Lanka team inEngland. He told of his childhood and how his father had protected Tamils from ?politicallymotivated goon squads? during the riots of 1983 that sparked the long civilwar, a period in which ?the terrible race riots of 1983 and a bloody communistinsurgency amongst the youth was to darken my memories of my childhood and thelives of all Sri Lankans?.
?The early 1980s was dominated by the escalation of militancy in the northinto a full-scale civil war that was to mar the next 30 years. I recollect nowthe race riots of 1983 with horror, but for the simple imagination of a childnot yet six it was a time of extended play and fun.
?I do not say this lightly as about 35 of our closest friends, all Tamils,took shelter in our home. They needed sanctuary from vicious politicallymotivated goon squads and my father, like many other brave Sri Lankans fromdifferent ethnic backgrounds, opened his houses at great personal risk.?
A generation on, Sangakkara said that responsibilities rested heavily on theSri Lanka team. ?Cricket played a crucial role during the dark days of SriLanka?s civil war, a period of enormous suffering for all communities, but theconduct and performance of the team will have even greater importance as weenter a crucial period of reconciliation and recovery, an exciting period whereall Sri Lankans aspire to peace and unity.
?It is also an exciting period for cricket where the reintegration of isolatedcommunities in the north and east opens up new talent pools.
?The Spirit of Cricket can and should remain a guiding force for good withinsociety, providing entertain and fun, but also a shining example to all of howwe all should approach our lives.? The Guardian reports.
2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture
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