Clubs to comply with strict health guidelines during U23 cricket tournament

A Major Youth Club Under-23 cricket match in progress

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Clubs hosting the Major Club Youth (Under-23) 50-over cricket tournament will be given the responsibility to ensure that strict health guidelines are adhered to when the matches are played in the start of the new domestic 2020-21 cricket season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Major Club Youth (Under-23) tournament is expected to kick-start the new season on 16 September with a card of 12 matches played across the country.

However there is a slight difference to the running of the tournament by Sri Lanka Cricket as compared to the recently concluded Premier Super Eight and Plate matches because the venues the Under-23 matches are to be played will not be under their control.

In the Premier tournament, Sri Lanka Cricket chose the venues for the matches and supervised them and they were able to control the venues and ensure strict health guidelines were followed because not more than seven matches were played at one time.

However in the Under-23 tournament there will be at least a minimum of 12 matches played per day. “The grounds are not under our control. The respective clubs have their own grounds and it will slightly different to the Super Eight and Plate tournaments which was conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket with the grounds being under our supervision,” said Tournament Committee Chairman Bandula Dissanayake.

“We can’t pick the venues and supervise them as we did for the Premier tournament because of the volume of matches being played for a day.”

“We are giving the club authorities the responsibility of ensuring that health regulations are adhered to strictly during the matches, because for a day there are too many matches to check individually and it is played all over the country. However we will try to send a few of our people around Colombo and do a random check,” he said.

“We called the captains and coaches of the respective teams participating in the tournament for a meeting yesterday and told them quite clearly that health regulations must be followed strictly, for it is the best we can do because of the volume,” Dissanayake added. A total of 26 clubs are taking part in four groups in the tournament which will run from 16 September to 11 October.

Colts will open the defence of the title against Moors SC, while last year’s runner-up Chilaw Marians CC take on Panadura SC in the opening weekend of 12 matches down for decision.