Silva to appeal SLC ban

Thursday, 21 September 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Madushka Balasuriya

Chamara Silva is to appeal his two-year ban from all “cricket-related activities”, the Daily FT learns.

Silva was banned after he was found to have “not played to the spirit of the game” following a seven-month inquiry into a suspicious first-class match between Panadura CC, the team he captains, and Kalutara PCC.

The match, which had taken place from 23-25 January 2017, had seen the first two days produce 570 runs between the two sides. However, an extraordinary final day saw that number exceeded. Panadura added 223 runs in 22.3 overs at a run rate of 10.34 having begun the day on 180/2 in response to Kalutara’s first innings score of 390. Kalutara were subsequently bowled out for 197 in 22.5 overs in the second innings, before Panadura hit 167 for 7 in 13.4 to win the game. The last day eventually saw 587 runs scored in total.

The result meant Panadura beat second-placed Sri Lanka Ports Authority - who first brought attention to the suspicious nature of the game to SLC - to the top of the standings, while the high-scoring nature of the match meant Kalutara managed to stave off relegation.

As the independent committee investigating the affair was not able to find conclusive evidence as to who was responsible for manipulating the result of the match, it was decided that both Silva and Kalutara Captain Manoj Deshapriya would receive the harshest punishments - two-year bans, while their teammates were each banned for a year.

The SLC earlier this week explained the reasoning behind the decision, stating that there was no evidence pointing to any party other than the players of the respective clubs being involved. This they said was also why the committee had only investigated the players, as they were the ones who were originally charged.

Silva may feel hard done by this though, as he did not take part in the final day’s play, which was when the suspicious scoring took place. The committee however explained that this still did not prove that Silva was not on the premises on the final day, nor did it explain why the former national cricketer had refused to appear before the committee during the investigation process despite several requests to do so.