Improve the existing club tournament instead of reviving a dead Provincial Tournament!
The current tournament structure at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and at Inter School level needs to be revamped soon. There has been much talk of this but sadly nothing has been done. The newly appointed Interim Committee has been quick to recognize this need and appears to be working on some changes. Former Sri Lanka Captain Mahela Jayawardene has been entrusted with the task of proposing the changes and revamping the tournament Structure.
Already reports have trickled in indicating that the SLC Interim Committee wants to focus on quality rather than quantity, which augurs well for the future while there are also indications of bringing back the Inter Provincial Tournament.
The Inter Provincial Tournament has been conducted in the past and was proved to be a failure. Every time it was conducted the results were the same and the SLC has admitted that it was a failure. In other words it failed to deliver the expected results, not once but every time it was held. If that was so, one cannot understand why the SLC Interim Committee and Mahela Jayawardene wants to have another crack at this tournament!
Already there is a Premier League (three day and four days in the super eight stage) and a Premier One Day tournament where fourteen Premier Clubs participate. This tournament is conducted annually and has been used as the yardstick for selection. Instead of looking at reviving the Inter Provincial tournament which has been a proven failure, the SLC Interim Committee should look at upgrading this tournament. As the structure of this tournament is firmly in place and is well supported and accepted by the 14 Premier Clubs it is up to the SLC to drive it to the next level so that the desired results would be achieved.
Player Payments, Infrastructure facilities, Practice facilities, Cricket equipment etc. should be enhanced and improved considerably if SLC is to attract, retain and develop cricketers who can stand up and be counted at the International level. SLC has supported clubs in the past but needs to focus more and more on this tournament and the Clubs since it is the nursery to Sri Lanka A and the Sri Lanka team. As a Senior Sri Lanka Cricketer quipped an office assistant (peon) working (or shaming for most of the time) at SLC is paid more money today than a domestic club cricketer who plays for his club.