Havelock’s Humiliation

By Harsha Amarasinghe

Havelock Sports Club may not have won the inter-club league rugby title in ten years, but always been considered a massive club in the domestic rugby circuit – above all, from generation to generation, the Havies were represented by thorough gentlemen who always placed very high value on integrity.

Although dictatorship is no stranger to Sri Lanka, many rugby-loving fans in the country were saddened to learn last week that dictatorship has also hit one of the most prestigious rugby clubs in Sri Lanka.

It has been reported that several senior members of the club have filed a case in courts against the club administration including the President Thusitha Pieris over violation of the club constitution.

Among the key points in the court case are; (a) Appointing a member as the Patron outside of the AGM, when the constitution states that the Patron can be nominated by the committee but must be elected at the AGM by the entire membership, and the appointed member is not the most suitable to this position given the history of how the Patron has been appointed at the club; (b) Refusing to circulate and ignoring the recommendation sent by senior members asking for the most senior, suitable and most worthy member of the club to be appointed as the Patron of the club; (c) Refusing to call for an SGM after receiving a notice signed by 52 members calling for a SGM. Even though the constitution of the club states that an SGM must be called by the Secretary of the club after he receives a notice signed by 20 members, this violates the rights of the club members. And the club constitution does not state that an SGM can be rejected by any means after it has been called for by the required number of members; (d) Appointing the same member to the post of Vice Patron and Trustees, when the club constitution clearly states that the Trustees of the club need to be independent and cannot hold any other position in the club.

Havelock administration has not lived up to the expectation over the last few years letting most of their star players join Kandy Sports Club. Since that monumental title victory in 2012, the Park Club has lost players such as Shehan Pathirana, Danushka Ranjan, Ganuka Dissanayake and no one knows what happened to Dulaj Perera. While Kandy Sports Club is the Manchester City Football Club of Sri Lanka in so many ways, Havies should have found a way to convince their top players to stay at the club and it is why one needs a management at a club – any Tom, Dick and Harry could manage what they have been able to do in the recent years.

Dimuth back for ODIs?

Dimuth Karunaratne who without any doubt Sri Lanka’s best batsman in Test match cricket, was asked during a press conference on Monday whether he is hoping to get back to ODIs following the national team’s heroics in Bangladesh recently – to which he replied positively stating that he’d prepare well hoping an opportunity would arise.

On the other hand, T20 captain Dasun Shanaka hinted that Sri Lanka might look for different faces in ODIs amid their preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. This might pave the way for Karunaratne to get back to the ODI side.

Sri Lanka Cricket selectors must be well aware of what to expect from the left hander. While he may not be your ideal opening batsman when you are chasing over 350, he could certainly add some much-needed stability to the top order in the 50 over format.