Opinion – Long Term reforms needed to domestic competition

1) Switch from a club-oriented structure to a Provincial structure. Take the 9 provinces in Sri Lanka and distribute them amongst 5 provincial cricket associations. For example:

Team 1 – Western Province

Team 2 – Southern Province

Team 3 – Central, North-Western & North-Central Province

Team 4 – Northern & Eastern Province

Team 5 – Uva & Sabaragamuwa Province

2) Delegate authority to these associations to run their own inter-school and inter-club cricket tournaments in their respective region. This is more logical as these associations can support the schools and clubs in their area by providing necessary infrastructure. This will be a major cost saving for SLC in the long run as the apex level can shift their focus into core activities regarding international cricket.

3) Each association should be provided with a home ground so that the players and support staff can do the required preparations ahead of domestic tournaments. There are 5 venues SL are currently playing international cricket in so it fits the structure of 5 teams. This will ensure that domestic players are playing in venues of international standards. Best example is Oshada Fernando who hadn’t played FC cricket in Galle previously.

4) The best performing players at school and club level can be selected to represent their provincial teams at the following levels:

Under 15, Under 17, Under 19, Second XI & First XI

5) Tournaments can be played in the following formats

Under 15, Under 17 & Under 19 : 3 Day & 50 Overs

Second XI and First XI : 4 Day, 50 Overs and T20

6) Each association can select 32 to 36 players at the elite level who will be given annual domestic contracts and will play Second XI & First XI cricket for that particular year. This is another cost saving for SLC as they are already playing centrally contracted players so the domestic contracts will be paid by the Provincial Cricket Associations.

7) Coverage of domestic tournaments by media

So in my opinion, these are few changes that could uplift the standard of domestic cricket and enhance the quality of players.