ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2015

Sri Lanka in 2014/15 The Sri Lanka Test side, which had occupied fourth place in the ICC rankings at the end of the 2014 season and had seemed to be on an upward trajectory, went abruptly into reverse in the following twelve months. They were, indeed, the year’s big movers so far as the ICC table was concerned; by the end of the 2015 season they had dropped three places to seventh position, not too far clear of a perennially struggling West Indies side. Three rubbers were played during the period under review. Defeat in the first of these – two Tests in New Zealand, both lost – was perhaps not too surprising given the unfamiliar conditions and the newfound confidence, even swagger, of the New Zealand side. But during the ensuing off-season (see the ‘Matches in 2015’ section), Sri Lanka succumbed to successive home defeats by identical 2-1 margins, first to Pakistan and then to habitual poor travellers India. So Sri Lanka could not complain about their plunge down the ratings, but amid the three series defeats there were substantial consolations. The two home rubbers in 2015 were both highly competitive, and even in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, aided by Kumar Sangakkara’s 11th and last Test double-hundred, claimed a substantial first-innings lead in the second Test, only to be overwhelmed by a record sixth-wicket stand of 365* when New Zealand batted again. This ‘bowling collapse’, if so it can be termed, was later repeated at home in the decisive third Test against Pakistan, when the visitors, chasing an imposing victory target of 377, were 13-2 but proceeded to secure victory for the loss of only one further wicket. But hopes of a better future were held out by the successful introduction of the young off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal into the side, as well as the continued good batting form of the captain, Angelo Mathews. After the second home Test against India, Kumar Sangakkara called a halt to an illustrious 134-Test career that began in 2000. His record is truly outstanding. Only Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis exceeded his total of 38 Test centuries, and only those three, plus Rahul Dravid, his final tally of 12,400 runs. And only the inevitable Don Bradman, with 12, could claim more Test double-tons than Sangakkara’s 11. The tribulations of the Sri Lankan Test side find a parallel in the troubles of the country’s cricket administration. From 1 April 2015, Sri Lanka Cricket was placed in the hands of an interim committee appointed by the sports minister. This put Sri Lanka at odds with the ICC, which bars political interference in cricket administration. The result was an impasse between SLC and the world body, and it is inevitable in these circumstances that the governance of the game will suffer. Certainly SLC allowed a confused situation to develop regarding the annual relegation play-off, in which the bottom team in the Premier Championship and the top side from the non-first-class ‘Emerging’ tournament met to decide which of them will enjoy Premier (and thus first-class) status in 2015/16. The relegation play-off was instituted in 2013/14 as part of the reorganisation of the Premier Championship and it was announced at the time as a first-class fixture. Last season’s game therefore appears on page 598 of the 2014 Annual . The 2014/15 play-off, between Air Force and Galle, appeared to proceed on the same basis (and resulted in a remarkable 4-run victory for Galle despite their dismissal for a miserable 31 after being put in to bat). Yet after the game, Sri Lanka Cricket announced that it had not, after all, been a first-class match. This is, obviously, SLC’s decision to take, and considered in isolation, it makes a certain amount of sense: after all, one of the sides (Galle) was not otherwise first-class in 2014/15. And the fact that the game was announced and played as a first-class fixture is not conclusive in itself, because it is recognised that Boards are allowed to change their mind about these matters, even retrospectively, provided that the decision is taken (as it was in this case) within a reasonably short time after the match was played. So the main issue with the SLC decision is not that it took 467