Sangakkara's speech at Lords under probe

Wednesday, 6 July 2011 00:43 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s cricket authorities are to scrutinize the critical speech given by former cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara at the MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture at Lord's on Monday.

Sangakkara who resigned from his captaincy following the 2011 World Cup in April delivered a scathing attack on the politically influenced and corrupted cricket board Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

The speech has disturbed the cricket officials as well as the Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.

The Sports Minister has instructed the newly appointed cricket interim committee to examine Sangakkara's speech and submit a report, the national news agency, Lankapuwath reported.

Sangakkara, the youngest man to deliver the MCC SoC Cowdrey Lecture, is likely to be called to explain after the SLC submits its report to Minister Aluthgamage, the government news agency said.

The former Sri Lanka captain was the first person from Sri Lanka to give the prestigious annual lecture and the first current international player to make the address.

In the hour-long lecture Sangakkara said the "partisan cronies" at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) blighted the sport and led him to resign the captaincy after only two years in charge.

He said since the country's most powerful moment of national unity - the World Cup final victory over Australia in 1996 the sport's administration changed "from a volunteer-led organisation run by well-meaning men of integrity into a multimillion-dollar organisation that has been in turmoil ever since."

Sangakkara praised the 1996 World Cup winning captain Arjuna Rantaunga's leadership as "critical to our emergence as a global force."

Describing how the money and power corrupted the game following the 1996 World Cup victory, Sangakkara said the players from within the team itself became involved in power games within the board.

"Officials elected to power in this way in turn manipulated player loyalty to achieve their own ends. At times board politics would spill over in to the team causing rift, ill feeling and distrust," he said.

"Accountability and transparency in administration and credibility of conduct were lost in a mad power struggle that would leave Sri Lankan cricket with no consistent and clear administration," the batsman continued.

Sangakkara led the Sri Lankan team to the runner-up position at the 2011 World Cup playing against India in the final. Sangakkara is currently participating in the team's tour in England.