The Cricket Board's new condition that anyone wanting to represent the country should appear in at least 60 percent of the matches will make this season's tournament more competitive and meaningful and, is bound to attract a large following at key matches.
The absence of national cricketers during the domestic season due to their international commitments with the national team has been partly responsible for the tournament failing to attract a suitable sponsor.
Coca Cola company Pure Beverages, who sponsored the tournament for the past four years, pulled out from their sponsorship as they didn't have any firm commitments with the Cricket Board.
The failure on the part of the Cricket Board to find a suitable sponsor will put a heavy burden on the 29 clubs playing in the division (14 in Segment 'A' and 15 in Segment 'B'). In the past four years during the height of the Coca Cola sponsorship, these clubs benefitted immensely from the lucrative package offered by the company, with each of them getting nearly Rs. 80,000 for their expenses for the season. The Coca Cola Company pumped in as much as Rs. 4.2 million of which Rs. 2.2 million was given as prize money.
The current season got off to an inauspicious start as far as the defending Sara Trophy champions CCC were concerned. Having committed themselves to host the matches against SSC, NCC and Galle CC on their home ground at Maitland Crescent, CCC now find themselves in a fix. They are finding themselves unable to fulfil their requests as they have dug up the square on which the matches are to be played.
As a result, last week's match against SSC failed to come off and CCC face suspension if they are unable to get their match against NCC started tomorrow.
The tournament committee held a lengthy inquiry into the CCC-SSC game on Tuesday at the end of which, the members were so exhausted, a final decision on the matter was put off for the following week. Reports submitted by the umpires and those of the SSC and CCC were taken up at the inquiry.
According to tournament committee sources, CCC has admitted administrative bungling on their part. The tournament committee are keen that CCC should play the full SSC side and are looking at ways of playing the match during a weekday with all costs to be borne by CCC.
The CCC are also in hot water in the division III tournament where they face suspension for playing unregistered cricketers. They have already got a black mark for failing to appear at the initial inquiry conducted by the tournament committee. A second inquiry is scheduled for Monday.
Sebastianites, Police SSC, NCC, Bloomfield and Kurunegala YCC began the new season with victories. All the wins were confined to first innings points as the weather had a hand in washing out the entire first day's play in virtually all the matches.
Sebastianites not only registered a good win over Tamil Union, but they also produced the first centurions of the season in S.K. Silva and Manoj Mendis. The centuries ensured that Sebastianites topped the 300-run mark in each innings and earn the highest number of points in comparison to the other five clubs during the weekend.
Silva, a prolific scorer last season, missed out on a rare feat of a century in each innings when he was dismissed for 83 in the second innings. Tamil Union were spun out for 180 by left-arm leg-spinner Manoj Perera, who finished with five wickets. Niroshan Bandaratilleke, the Tamil Union spinner took six wickets in the Sebastianites second innings.
Police SC had a match-winner in Anura Priyantha, who not only opens the batting for them, but also the bowling. The former Rahula, Matara cricketer ran through the Galle CC batting in the first innings with his right-arm medium-pace seamers taking 6 for 30. He added three further wickets to his tally in the second innings in dismissing the home side a second time round for 187, but his fine efforts failed to bring Police victory, as they fell short by 10 runs, chasing 121. In this low scoring game, Sarath Soysa's 64 was the highest individual contribution.
NCC had a handful of cricketers making their Sara debut for the club in their 115-run first innings win over Panadura SC. They have a new wicket-keeper with Chamara Dunusinghe crossing over from Antonian SC, two new bowlers from Sebastianites Sajeeva Chanaka de Silva and Dinesh Samarasinghe and top order batsman from Police, Sunanda Rajapakse. With the exception of Samarasinghe, who went wicketless, the rest chipped in with handy contributions to defeat Panadura.
Russel Arnold, the record holder for the highest aggregate in a first-class season in Sri Lanka, came off the shackles imposed on him by West Indies 'A' fast bowler Cameron Cuffy in the 'Test' series where he failed miserably, to top score with a fluent 70 and also take three wickets with his off-breaks.
Twin half-centuries from Indika Batuwitarachchi and eighties apiece from the bats of Nilantha Bopage and Sampath Perera, gave Bloomfield a first innings points win over Colts for whom Sri Lanka wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana is now turning out. Despite a good bowling performance by Sri Lankan spearhead Chaminda Vaas (4 for 65) to dismiss Bloomfield for a moderate total of 262, Colts failed to top that total by 77 runs.
Old warhorse Ajith Ekanayake was instrumental in earning Kurunegala YCC a win over last season's Segment 'B' champions BRC. Ekanayake made a top score of 82 out of his side's total of 153 and defended it well by helping to dismiss the home side for 142 by taking three wickets. Ekanayake also made 45 with the bat in the second innings.
BRC's only consolation was Dushantha Ekanayake's five wickets in the first innings and Ashan Ranaweera's sparkling half-century in the second innings where he smashed five sixes and four fours in scoring an unbeaten 61.
Kalutara Town Club, the other new entrants to Segment 'A' along with BRC, had to sit out the inaugural weekend when their match against Antonians SC had to be postponed for the lack of a venue.