Latest News
SLC suspends all board-run domestic tournaments
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Friday announced that it was suspending all board-run domestic tournaments in the country, a move understood to have stemmed from a dispute surrounding the restructuring of these tournaments.
“Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to immediately halt all board-conducted domestic tournaments,” SLC stated in a media release. “This includes the ongoing Major Club 3-Day Tournament and also the Invitational Club Tier ‘B’ 3-Day Tournament.”
The situation goes back to 2021 when SLC had sought to revamp its domestic structure that critics had long viewed as bloated. The plan, which was recommended by the now-defunct Technical Advisory Committee headed by Aravinda de Silva, had seen a two-tier structure done away with and replaced by two groups of 13 teams.
The idea was that these 26 teams would compete in three-day matches over the course of a season, with the bottom two sides from each group (four in total) relegated for the first two years, with three teams being relegated in the third. This would then leave 15 teams playing in Sri Lanka’s premier domestic tournament, thus addressing complaints over its bloated nature as well as presumably cultivating a culture of higher calibre cricket.
However, a byproduct of the relegation system was that the relegated teams would no longer have a three-day tournament to compete in, instead contesting in the Governor’s Trophy, a limited-overs tournament. This in turn led to several relegated clubs complaining about a lack of cricket both in quantity and quality.
On June 17, following these complaints, SLC, at an Emergency General Meeting, held a vote among its members to reinstate the two-tier system that had been in place prior to 2021. The move was ratified by SLC membership and thus the Major Club three-day Tournament and the Invitational Club Tier B three-day tournament began in June and July 2023 respectively.
In terms of deciding which sides would compete in the new Tier B tournament, SLC decided to include the four relegated teams from 2022, as well as the top six teams from the Governor’s Trophy tournament.
This move however was protested by Gesto Cricket Club (GCC), a team competing and hovering near the bottom of the Governor’s Trophy tournament. While the exact reasoning is unclear, they would take the matter to Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeals, which in August ruled to take up the hearing at a future date until which time the tournaments would be allowed to continue as planned.
GCC, unhappy with this outcome, appealed the decision to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Sports. This appeal would be ratified by Sri Lanka’s sports minister, Roshan Ranasinghe, following which the Director General of Sports wrote to SLC on August 25 stating that any move to change a tournament’s structure could only happen through a change in the SLC’s constitution. As per Sri Lanka’s Sports Law, any change to SLC’s constitution requires the approval of the sports minister.
Foreign News
At least 13 people killed in Nigeria stampedes at charity events
At least 13 people, including four children, have been killed in two incidents in Nigeria as large crowds gathered to collect food and clothing distributed at annual Christmas events, police say.
In the capital, Abuja, at least 10 people died on Saturday and many more were injured in a scramble to receive gifts of charity being distributed by the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama district.
“This unfortunate event, which took place around 6:30am [05:30 GMT], resulted in a stampede that claimed the lives of 10 individuals, including four children, and left eight others with varying degrees of injuries,” said Josephine Adeh, a police spokesperson.
In a separate incident in Okija in Anambra State in southern Nigeria, three people were killed in a crush at a charity event organised by a philanthropist, state police said.
“The event had not even started when the rush began,” police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga said. There could be more deaths recorded as officers investigate, he said.
In both incidents, the victims were mostly women and children who were trampled as crowds tried to reach the provisions being offered.
[Aljazeera]
Latest News
Pakistan jails 25 Imran Khan supporters over violent protests
A military court in Pakistan has convicted 25 people for their role in violent protests following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the country’s armed forces has said.
The court said it handed down sentences of between two to 10 years’ imprisonment in connection with attacks on military facilities last year.
Protests erupted nationwide in May 2023 after security forces arrested Khan during his appearance at the High Court on charges of corruption – allegations that he called politically motivated.
Thousands of Khan’s supporters stormed government buildings and military installations and the government responded with a crackdown on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
At least 1,400 protesters were arrested last year, police said, but only about 100 of the people detained have faced military trials.
The army said full justice will only be served when the masterminds behind the protests are punished.
A Supreme Court ruling last year provisionally allowed military courts to try civilian suspects.
“All sentences announced by the military courts are disproportionate and excessive,” a spokesman for the PTI party said, adding that “these sentences are rejected”.
Amnesty International has said that trying civilians in military courts is “contrary to international law” and adds that it is “purely an intimidation tactic, designed to crack down on dissent”.
Pakistan’s army has heavily influenced the nuclear-armed country for most of its existence and is a crucial behind-the-scenes player.
[BBC]
Latest News
Bangladesh take on India in Women’s Under 19 Asia Cup final on Sunday
Bangladesh Under 19s led by Sumaiya Akter will take on India Under 19s led by Niki Prasad in the Women’s Under 19 Asia Cup Final in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on Sunday [22].
India Women Under 19s having beaten Nepal Women Under 19s in the group stage beat Sri Lanka Women Under 19s and Bangladesh Women Under 19s in the Super Four round to enter the final while Bangladesh Women Under 19s having beaten Sri Lanka Women Under 19s in the group stage beat beat Nepal Women Under19s in the Super Four round to enter the final
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