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COLOMBO (Sri Lanka), June 6: Sri Lanka cricket is facing a serious financial crisis, newly-elected board president Thilanga Sumathipala said on Friday.
The Sri Lanka cricket board (BCCSL) is facing a damages claim of $11 million after cancelling a television contract with WSG Nimbus in October 2001.
A Singapore tribunal ruled last week that the BCCSL’s termination of the $27.1 million three-year contract was wrongful and that WSG was entitled to recover damages.
“They have claimed $11 million and our financial position is very serious,” Sumathipala said at a news conference.
“We now have to be very careful about what we do in the next three years. I am confident that we can resolve the issue but at what cost to the BCCSL I do not know.”
The tribunal also awarded WSG $768,000 and legal costs of approximately $250,000, which have to be paid immediately.
The agreement was cancelled by an earlier board after complaints that WSG had repeatedly missed payment deadlines.
Last week the BCCSL announced a $940,000 financial loss in 2002 and restructured the national team’s central contracts.
DYSON APPOINTED COACH
Former Australian batsman John Dyson will be Sri Lanka’s next coach, newly-elected board president Thilanga Sumathipala said on Friday.
“We will be entering into a memorandum of understanding with John Dyson,” Sumathipala announced at a news conference.
The 48-year-old will replace stand-in coach Duleep Mendis, who took over from Colombo-born Australian Dav Whatmore, after the West Indies tour that finishes on July 1 in Jamaica.
Dyson played in 30 test matches for Australia between 1977 and 1984 scoring 1359 runs.—Reuters
