Battlelines drawn in Sri Lankan legal dispute

The legal battle for control of Sri Lankan cricket has officially started after Thilanga Sumathipala's executive committee - all appointed at Sunday's AGM in defiance of the government's suspension of the board - filed an application in a Court of Appeal. Sumathipala's legal team requested an interim order to prevent the suspension of the board.

The suspended executive committee has confronted Jeevan Kumaratunga's surprise decision last week, claiming that the minister has been mislead by vested interests within the government, effectively pointing the finger of blame at Arjuna Ranatunga, now the deputy tourism minister, who has been a fierce critic of Sumathipala over the years.

They have also challenged the right of the appointed six-man interim committee, headed by Jayantha Dharmadasa, to enter the board premises. The Colombo headquarters has been locked up and protected with extra security guards to prevent access to the board's "immovable property". All employees have been sent home on leave.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's president Chandikra Kumaratunga has demanded an immediate report on the cricket board crisis, according to The Island newspaper. A ministry official was quoted as saying that a full report was being compiled outlining the chief reasons for the decision to suspend the board.

The central reasons justifying the suspension in the official Gazette Order issued last Thursday include Sumathipala's participation in ICC Executive Board meetings without ministerial permission in November and March and for "ineffective and improper financial management" leading to a massive $3.3 million loss last year.

Sumathipala's team has explained the heavy losses as the result of the cyclical nature of tour revenue and insisted that the financial future of the board is secure after their signing of a record $50 million broadcasting deal with Taj Television. They have also rubbished claims in the media by the sports minister of running an inflated salary bill.

But potentially more serious to the suspended executive committee will be the alleged reimbursement to Sumathipala of $300,000 of Sri Lanka Cricket funds for personal legal and professional fees during the course of the year. Claims of excessive travelling by officials will also be investigated.

In addition, the sports minister has accused Sumathipala of having links with the gambling industry, revealing to the BBC that he has been sent a detailed report from the ICC, which has set up a Code of Ethics inquiry to investigate his relationship to Sporting Star, a betting shop owned by his family.

The board's tsunami disaster fund Cricket-Aid, the brainchild of Sumathipala, has come under the spotlight too after newspaper allegations that the fund is not properly registered as an NGO. Critics have claimed that the setting up of a separate charity was unconstitutional under the present sports law.