Sri Lanka: Eleven qualify as cricket umpires

By S M Jiffrey Abdeen
23 December 1998



Eleven candidates from the Central Province obtained over 75 per cent and qualified to become cricket umpires of the Kandy Regional Cricket Board II in the recruitment examination conducted by the Umpires Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka and held at the Asgiriya Pavilion recently.

This three-day umpiring course and the examination were conducted by the Director of Umpiring of the BCCSL and International cricket umpire K. T. Francis and assisted by Udaya Wickremasinghe, B. C. Cooray, F. R. De Mel.

S. A. I. Deepthi Bandara topped the list closely followed by A. M. J. S. Wijetunga. The others who obtained pass marks were U. S. Kodituwakku, D. M. A. N. Dissanayake, S. A. D. K. Bandara, D. M. M. M. A. D. Dissanayake, M. N. M. Nusry, J. P. A. Jagath Keerthi, W. H. M. S. P. Wijekoon, U. I. Hettiarachchi and G. Negaseelan. These candidates will now have to undergo their medical tests before they are absorbed into the Regional panel.

The seminar and examination were conducted both in Sinhala and English by the examiners in order to assist the candidates over their language problem. A total of 35 sat the examination and only 11 were successful.

Regional Secretary, Janaka Pathirana, said that once these umpires are enrolled, they will be assigned for the tournament matches conducted by the Cricket Board and also their services will be available for schools and other club matches which will help to overcome the shortage of cricket umpires and also help to lift the overall standard of umpiring.


Source: The Daily News