da 888casino： Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium The three Coca Cola Cup matches scheduled to be played in the DambullaInternational Cricket Stadium next week have been cancelled on the advice ofgovernment authorities
Rex Clementine19-Jul-2001Rangiri Dambulla International StadiumThe three Coca Cola Cup matches scheduled to be played in the DambullaInternational Cricket Stadium next week have been cancelled on the advice ofgovernment authorities.Interim Committee Secretary, Kushil Gunasekara, said this morning that thethree matches will now be played at R. Premadasa Stadium, but will not beplayed under floodlights.The decision to cancel the matches came from the Sports Ministry and notfrom the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka.Speaking today, the Sport Ministry Secretary, Dr. Prathap Ramanujan,explained that: “We have received information that some people are going toseek an injunction just before the match to disrupt the games.”The threat of an injunction arises because the Sri Lankan board still owesthe construction company, Sierra Constructors, outstanding monies and isunable to make the final payments until allegations of financialmismanagement have been properly investigated.Board sources claimed their hands were tied by the Attorney General’sDepartment, who had ordered the payment freeze.Sierra Director, Priyantha Perera, though claims that even if theoutstanding bills are not settled before the matches at Dambulla, they wouldnot sabotage the matches: “This is an issue of national importance. We haveno intention of disrupting the games. We have confirmed to the Cricket Boardthat they can go ahead with the matches and we’ll not take any legalactions”.Perera was unimpressed by the Sport Ministries intervention: “Our agreementis with the Cricket Board. We have nothing to do with the Sports Ministry orthe Minister.”Sierrra Constructors signed the contract in building the stadium with theprevious Executive Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in SriLanka headed by Thilanga Sumathipala. The stadium was constructed in anastonishing 165 days, costing approximately 400 million rupees (USD $4.5million)