Clean promises, dirty selection

This week's revamp of the national selection panel, capped by the return of a proven failure, has sent shockwaves through cricketing circles, leaving jaws on the floor and eyebrows firmly raised.

- BY REX CLEMENTINE

What is even more baffling is the timing. With barely two months to go for the World Cup that Sri Lanka will co-host, why this mad dash to reshuffle the deck? It smacks of panic rather than planning.Yes, the term of the selection panel had technically expired. But cricket, like life, is not always played by the letter of the law alone. Common sense, that increasingly rare commodity, suggested a simple two-month extension for continuity's sake. Upul Tharanga, after all, had done a stellar job: transparent, practical and refreshingly free of smoke and mirrors. Few would have raised a murmur had he been granted an extension. Under his watch, Sri Lanka won a Test in England after a decade in the wilderness, chalked up series wins over India and Australia and climbed to fourth in the ODI rankings. That is a CV that reads far better than that of the man now warming the chairman's seat.