Andy Atkinson who is the ICC pitch consultant has expressed his concerns over the progress of R. Premadasa stadium in Khettarama, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The stadium has been under renovation for the ICC World Cup 2011 starting in seven months with stands being demolished to accommodate more spectators, and according to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) things were all going as planned.

The man has never played competitive cricket, but is considered a cricket pundit and a good commentator amongst Indians.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) recently announced that they would be banning it's 76 contracted players from playing in foreign leagues before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Seven months ahead of the ODI World Cup, the decision makers at SLC have convinced themselves that it would be best to hit the pockets of a select few players, not all.

According to AFP, the decision to enforce the ban came after consulting the team management and the selectors. But, interestingly, the ban does not affect Chaminda Vaas or Sanath Jayasuriya who are currently playing in England for Northamptonshire and Worcestershire respectively. And it will it not hurt the pockets of those playing in the Champions League in India!

Last week the new Sports Minister came out all guns blazing calling the Sri Lanka Cricket administration the third most corrupt institution on the island. He said that SLC is only behind the police force and government educational institutions when it comes to corruption.

Then the new Minister of Sports claimed that he would reveal the financial irregularities and those behind it in the coming weeks, while informing the mass media at the same press conference that he would replace the corrupt interim committee.

Four days later, minister Chandrasiri Bandara Rathnayake, has backtracked on his words and retained those individuals he vilified earlier.

In my last post I asked if C.B. Rathnayake the new sports minister will save our cricket from the corrupt administration that currently runs SLC. 'Will CB save Sri Lanka Cricket,' I wondered. The decisions taken by the minister in the last 24 hours have backed S. R. Pathiravithana's view that the man from the hill country is about to ruffle a few feathers and do what it takes to get us back on track.

S. R. Pathiravithana in his weekly column on the Sunday Times feels that C. B. Rathnayake, the new Sports Minister who was assigned the task recently by President Rajapaksa, has what it takes to clean things up at SLC.

Describing the state of Sri Lanka Cricket (the cricket board not the team), as a toilet roll doing it's rounds around a wet, muddy, and flooded Colombo, Pathiravithana believes that incompetent administrators who previously held ministerial seats were responsible for much of the corruption and waste.

The talk doing the rounds these days in Colombo is that this ICC World Twenty20 2010 may be Kumar Sangakkara's last tournament as captain. Sangakkara's decision, a reliable source says, will be determined by Sanath Jayasuriya's inclusion in the team for future tournaments.

As of  May 10, 2010, Group F, to which Sri Lanka, West Indies, India and Australia belong, has only one clear semi finalist - Australia. The remaining three teams still have a chance of making it through to the semi finals of the ICC World twenty20.

When journalist interview cricketers it usually sounds like they are trying to score points with the player, or trying not to lose the chance of getting their hands on another to interview in the futu

The Sunday Times in Sri Lanka has a column called 'Aney is it True' by Nam. The author has a lot of inside information, and generally he/she is on the ball. I like spending my Sundays trying to decipher the riddles and the innuendo. More often than not I come across one or two that leaves me scratching my head. So, I thought it would be better if we tried deciphering this together.

Mahela Jayawardene wants to move up the order in the 20 over format. The former Sri Lankan skipper says that his style of batting will yield more results for him at the top of the order.

If week one was nothing to write home about, then at the halfway stage most Sri Lankan fans have tuned off. The Sri Lankan players at the Indian Premier League have been miserable to say the least.

The Sri Lankan report card at the end of week-1 of the six week long 2010 Indian Premier League tournament.

I am trying not to sound overly critical here, but honestly if I was Indian I would feel cheated.

Tillakaratne Dilshan and wife actress Manjula Thilini were on a Sinhalese language talk show on Swaranavahini this past Sunday.