Consequent to the recent announcement by the Government Information Department that the Cabinet of Ministers had taken a decision to move for the amendment of the Holidays Act in order to prohibit playing of sports events on Poya days, the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka of its own accord examined the scheduling of all domestic and international cricket matches organized by the BCCSL in Sri Lanka.

It was found that one domestic match and one Test match were being played on Friday, the 30th of November, which is a Poya day. The BCCSL was able to reschedule the domestic match, which is a Division I Premier League match between Antonians SC and Chilaw Marians at the Free Trade Zone grounds in Katunayake.

However, it was not possible to re-schedule the 3rd West Indies Test, as the Test series had to be played within the constraints of the date of arrival of the West Indies, warm-up matches for the visiting team, the date of the General Elections, and the launch of the ODI series on the 8th of December.

It is pertinent to add that before the Cabinet decision was taken, the BCCSL had deliberately avoided this Poya day in the original itinerary of the West Indies tour. However, after the date of the General Elections was announced, the Police Department advised that it would be best to avoid a period of several days before and after the 5th of December, in order to ensure the safety of spectators and players. It then became necessary to move forward all three West Indies Test matches, making it impossible to avoid playing on the Poya day, given that there must be a rest period of three days for players in-between Tests.

The Chairman of the Interim Committee and several senior officials of the BCCSL met with the Mahanayakes of the Asgiriya and Malwatte Chapters last week, and explained the situation, before going ahead with the 3rd West Indies Test.

The BCCSL is now examining the possibility of rescheduling the 1st Zimbabwe Test match in order to avoid playing on the next Poya day.

© BCCSL