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Handicapped SLR can still be the guardian of rugby  

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SLR got the sport going after a long break for the covid pandemic and even found a sponsor to boost the domestic inter-club tournaments. 

by a Special Sports Correspondent  

Rugby in Sri Lanka is in a state of limbo at the moment with an order being carried out to suspend the registration of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) with the Ministry of Sports Youth Affairs.

There were many reports in the media regarding this move which were misleading because some of those appearing in newspapers said that the suspension was temporary. The Director General Sports of the Ministry of Sports confirmed that the suspension stands and there is nothing temporary about it.

The suspension comes at the time when the club rugby tournament was commenced with the greatest of difficulties and the SLR President Rizly Illyas did well to find a sponsor to boost the conducting of rugby activities in the country. Now the SLR must understand one thing. With the suspension, this sports body returns to the status where at one time it was not affiliated to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. That means this sports body cannot field a team to an international tournament and call it the national team. It can oversee rugby activities in the country.

Sri Lanka Rugby was earlier known as the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU). The union then had a few affiliated clubs and there were matches played between member clubs. The clubs grew in number over the years and there were over ten clubs playing Division One rugby. But some of those clubs are defunct and at present the number is eight. These eight teams are contesting a domestic inter-club league rugby tournament which is nearing an end now. The suspension imposed on the SLR in no way hinders the tournament. Rugby in Sri Lanka has grown and the SLR is represented by representatives of seven provincial unions.

Informed sources told this newspaper that the SLR’s elected body must do one thing; state clearly on its letterhead that its registration with the Ministry of Sports has been suspended. It is known that the SLR plans to conduct a knockout tournament and a seven-s-side tournament for member clubs this season after the league tournament. These too can take place under the supervision of SLR.

The main reason as stated in the newspapers for the suspension imposed is that the SLR disregarded the Sports Minister hence paving the way for the suspension. We also read in the newspapers that some provincial unions had not paid their subscriptions to the SLR, during the past two years, but had been actively involved in SLR’s AGM. It is said that these provincial unions to be readmitted to the SLR had to get the sports minister’s approval, but that protocol had not been followed. But this point is contested by rugby stalwarts who underscore that the SLR is an independent sports body and the sports ministry gets involved only when approval is needed for a national team to represent the country abroad and not in general administrative matters and disputes. Other than that if a member provincial union or a club has a dispute with SLR it can obtain redress for its grievances by seeking the assistance of the law.

We are nearing the time for the next Annual General Meeting of the SLR and it is interesting to see what the Sports Ministry plans regarding its next step. Just for the record back in 1996 the then Minister of Sports S.B Dissanayake suspended the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation (SLTF). Later an AGM was called by the Sports Ministry and a new set of office bearers were appointed. The founder of the SLTF fell out with the new committee. His only way out was he started promoting one of the affiliated clubs of the SLTF which is the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Association (SLTA). At present, the SLTF has close links with the ministry of sports while the SLTA works independently with no opportunity to send a national team abroad.

The competent authority which has been appointed to oversee rugby activities in the country plans to work with the administrative staff of the SLR.

A real problem will arise if the competent authority for rugby takes steps to conduct an AGM. In that event will the suspension of SLR’s registration with the Sports Ministry be lifted so that it would be fair by all parties involved in this dispute? This is the right thing to do, according to top figures in the rugby fraternity. We all know that the AGMs of all national sports bodies must be conducted before the first quarter of the year ends.

It is a known fact that the SLR’s president and the sports minister were not in a position to see eye to eye on rugby matters. Informed sources say the rugby’s big boss resented moves made by the sports minister when the latter wanted to interfere in rugby’s activities.

Rugby is at present not in a healthy position to get into disputes. It has earned a sponsor after much sweat. SLR got the sport going after a long break for the covid pandemic. The Sports Minister being a past player should have thought better and acted much wiser. Many consider the sports minister’s move to ‘block’ the SLR at this juncture as a very unreasonable and unjust act.



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Sayuri, Nuren clinch Under 12 singles titles

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Nuren Wevita (Pix by Kamal Wanniarachchi)

St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road player Nuren Wevita and Sayuri Mututhanthiri of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo clinched the lowest age category titles of the 110th Colombo Championships concluded at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Friday.

Wevita won the Under 12 boys’ title with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kashya Seneviratne in the final. Sayuri registered 6-1, 6-3 win over Rehansa Ranasinghe in the girls’ title fight.

Sayuri Mututhanthiri

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Roston Chase appointed West Indies’ Test captain

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Roston Chase played his last Test more than two years ago [Cricinfo]

Roston Chase has been appointed West Indies’ new Test captain. The allrounder’s first Test as captain will be his 50th; his 49th, against South Africa in Johannesburg, came more than two years ago. West Indies have played 13 Tests since then.

Chase has previously led West Indies in one ODI and one T20I. His first assignment in the longest format will be the three-Test home series against Australia, which begins on his home ground in Bridgetown on June 25. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican will be Chase’s vice-captain.

The series will be the first of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle for both teams.

CWI said that Chase had been appointed from a shortlist of six after a “detailed assessment process that included psychometric testing to evaluate leadership style, behaviour, and overall suitability for the role”. The other candidates interviewed were John Campbell, Tevin Imlach, Joshua Da Silva, Justin Greaves, and Warrican.

Shai Hope, West Indies captain in the white-ball formats, asked not to be considered in order to focus on his exciting leadership roles.

“This selection process is one of the most comprehensive and forward-thinking we have undertaken,” CWI president, Kishore Shallow, said. “I am deeply impressed by the professionalism, objectivity, and strategic thinking that shaped the final decision. It sets a new benchmark for leadership appointments in West Indies cricket.”

West Indies head coach, Daren Sammy, said: “I fully endorse this appointment. Our new captain has earned the respect of his peers, understands the responsibility that comes with the role, and has shown the leadership qualities we need to take this team forward. I urge fans across the region to rally behind him–we’re building something special.”

The 33-year-old Chase takes over from Kraigg Brathwaite, who resigned in March after 39 matches in charge of the Test team. West Indies won 10 of those Tests, lost 22 and drew seven.

At the time of Brathwaite’s resignation, CWI had handed Hope – already West Indies’ ODI captain – the T20I reins, but had held back on naming a new Test captain, announcing that they would do so “in the coming weeks”.

Brathwaite’s tenure was notable for a young West Indies team beginning to find ways of winning in different conditions with a growing pool of fast and spin bowlers. Notable performances included a 1-0 home series win over England in 2022, the Gabba Test win of January 2024, and a 1-1 draw in Pakistan in Brathwaite’s last series in charge, in January 2025.

Chase has scored 2265 runs at an average of 26.33, with five hundreds, and taken 85 wickets with his offspin at 46.00. One of his first tasks as captain will be to repair his batting numbers, which have fallen steadily following a promising start. He made a century in just his second Test, to help save the Jamaica Test against India in 2016, and scored two more over his first 10 Tests, across which he averaged 48.53. Since then, however, his numbers have declined significantly.

CWI announced Chase’s appointment via X, formerly Twitter, and said it had been “unanimously approved by the CWI Board of Directors” during a meeting on Friday.

[Cricinfo]

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WTC winners to get USD 3.6 million in prize money

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The winners of the Woorld Test Championship [WTC] final, to be played between South Africa and Australia at Lord’s starting June 11, will secure a prize money of USD 3.6 million, more than double of the winners in the last two cycles. The runners-up, meanwhile, will bag more than USD 2.1 million, while the prize for the same in the previous editions was USD 800,000.

The winners in the last two cycles — New Zealand and Australia — had earned USD 1.6 million each.

“The increase in prize money exhibits the ICC’s efforts to prioritize Test cricket as it looks to build on the momentum of the first three cycles of the nine-team competition,” the ICC said in its release.

India, who finished third on the table, will receive over USD 1.4 million, while fourth-placed New Zealand get USD 1.2 million. Even the prize money for teams finishing fifth (USD 960000) and sixth (USD 840000) — England and Sri Lanka — is more than what it was for the runners-up in the previous editions.

South Africa topped the table in the 2023-25 edition with eight wins from 12 games, and were the first team to seal a final spot with a dramatic two-wicket win over Pakistan. Defending champions Australia got through by pipping India to the second spot after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 at home.

Both teams have named their squads for the final. The focus for South Africa will be on their pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada after his one-month ban for failing a drug test, while Cameron Green makes his return to Australia’s Test side after undergoing a lower spine surgery last year.

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