The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has come forward to financially support Schools Cricket Association in paying part of struggling school coaches outstanding wages, Cricket Age exclusively learns.
The Covid-19 outbreak has pushed Sri Lanka Schools Cricket coaches life towards an unimaginable financial crisis. On May 14 itself, Cricket Age had published that a large number of Schools in Sri Lanka have stopped their cricket coaches salaries during the ongoing lockdown period. While few schools have paid full or 25% salaries, majority of schools have not paid the salary at all for the month of March-April. Sri Lanka’s school cricket is probably the best in the world, with majority of national team players comes through the system.
“We have decided to release a lump sum payment for the affected coaches through the Schools Cricket Association. The amount will be decided at the board ExCO meeting. we have decided to release the payment through Schools Cricket Association, because we don’t know how many school coaches have not received their salaries” a top SLC administrator told Cricket Age.
On May 16, Cricket Age had published that as cricket, like other all activities, remains suspended due to the ongoing lockdown, only few top ranked Schools in Sri Lanka like St. Thomas, Royal College, Ananda College, St. Peters have paid full salaries to their cricket coaches for the month of March-April. However, almost 90% outstation schools have not paid salary to the coaches.
As per Education ministry regulations, School principals are authorized to appoint the coaches and their salaries comes from the all boys association and school development funds. In the pandemic time, however, it seems they are penalizing the school coaches, that too without any fault.
In Sri Lanka, over 700 Schools are playing Juinor Cricket. A leading School in Kandy have donated SLR 1,50,000 to Covid-19 fund and not paid the coaches. In this difficult time, SLC, being the paternal body of cricket in the Island, has extended it’s helping hand, even though Scholl cricket doesn’t come under it’s wings.
Schools, who have fully paid
Royal College
St Thomas’s Mount Lavinia
Ananda College
St. Peter’s College
Thursatan College
Mahanama College
Wesley College
St Benedict’s College
Schools, who have paid 25%
Nalanda College
D S Senanayake College
Schools, who have not paid anything
Lumbini Vidyalaya
St Anthony’s Wattala
(Slab wise payments have been made by some schools
eg : St Joseph’s College Maradana)
