It has long been a rule down the years that newsprint columnists rarely respond to criticism of their columns/and or articles, as having made their point they move on to their next theme, whether or not what has been written is acceptable to readers. In this it is the public’s right to make their points known in their own way but these need to be clear in their logic and displaying responsibility when commenting on the article and or column.

But the columnist also reserves the right to comment on any response which is in error, fails to answer the question and tries to hide the facts. As such, and as a responsible journalist and analyst with now fifty-four years experience in several countries, what is learnt early in the trade is that all facts and figures need to be thoroughly checked and verified before a column is written and committed to the public domain.

In response to my column of May 11, under the heading "What is this? A shadow coach" the letter by Mr. M. F. M. Anoozer appearing May 16 in the sports pages of The Island, is a grovelling reply which even the most obtuse of readers would discover that it says a lot, yet nothing at all and doesn’t answer the question of what is a shadow coach, as no one has as yet supplied an answer to the meaning of this conundrum, even Mr Anoozer.

Ah, yes . . . Mr. M. F. M. Anoozer, it appears that your friendship and love for Sri Lanka A Team coach Chandika Huthurasinghe are obvious and we know you are a member of, and held the post of Honorary Cricket Secretary of the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletics Club. It is a shame you did not reveal your association with the club and the "Shadow Coach" in the first place, as it indicates you have something to hide, and explains your not defending Anusha Samaranayake.

Because of your association with the TUC&AC it is all too obvious that Hathurasinghe approached you to reply on his behalf. You seem to have taken a lot of the information fed to you as the absolute truth, what a shame you have not met with and talked to the honest performing players in the Premier League, instead of the select few to benefit from Hathurasinghe’s favours.

It is well-known how "Hathurasinghe parachuted into the position of the Sri Lanka A Team job", as your rightly pointed out, from the UAE, where he was coaching. He had, so SLC sources tell me, canvassed for the job over several months, and was helped by a then Interim Committee member from TUC&AC and another prominent member of the Interim Committee and the A Team manager. There was no due process, as the job was NOT advertised, and there was no indication to any of the local coaches in the system that the job was available. Please check your facts Mr. M. F. M. Anoozer.

As a further note to that the then Chairman of the Interim Committee, Mr. Jayantha Dharmadasa, is known to have admitted in private that he made a mistake in appointing Hathurasinghe as the A Team coach, after receiving advice from those in responsible positions.

Now for some of the salient failures you forgot to mention Mr. M. F. M. Anoozer: the SL ‘A’ Team, performed poorly on the tour of the West Indies in November/December 2006, managing only one win on that tour. The last time the Sri Lanka A played West Indies A in 2005, the Sri Lanka A team won 2-1 in the "Test" series and 3-1 in the ODI slogs series.

Following the poor showing in the Caribbean was a poor tour of England where again the "star-studded" side lead by Thilan Samaraweera, failed. They were bowled out for 105 by Lancashire, when chasing 140 to win a limited-overs game. As with the current Sri Lanka under-19 side in Bangladesh poor batting was the reason.

Yet take a look at the records of the previous Sri Lanka A Team tour of England, That is the side captained by Jehan Mubarak, they won 7-0 in the OD matches played and only lost one four-day match for the whole tour. It is also noted that Sri Lanka defeated South Africa A in a Test series in 2005 for the very first time, which they failed to repeat, however, under Hathurasinghe they did win the OD series 4-1, which is your only salient point, Forgotten here is that games were against a South African A squad drawn mostly from what is South Africa’s emerging players squad to give them exposure at a higher level.

Any obtuse reader would laugh at the comments on how Sri Lanka A beat Zimbabwe A or Bangladesh A. On current form, a full Sinhalese Cricket Club, or even Colts Cricket Club would thrash those two pretentious sides anytime anywhere. And it is now history how Sri Lanka A beat the Bangladesh National team at Moratuwa in 2005, when Bangladesh were238 for nine in their allotted 50 overs, while Sri Lanka A replied with 239 without loss in 42 overs.

Now to the point how nine players have made their international debuts. This is not relevant to the story. Most of those players have spent the last eight years under different coaches and in different teams, working their way into the national team. Now you are saying how Hathurasinghe can take nine players off the street and turn them into Test and limited overs international players in two years . Please give credit where it’s due: the coaches, such as they are, of schools, clubs, the U23 squad along with the, academy, the national under19, and the development squad have played a part, not just the Shadow Coach.

Let us not beat around the bush Mr. M. F. M. Anoozer: the incident (regarding Kanchana Gunawardena and Tharanga Paranavithana) as described, did, actually take place. The only reason Paranavithana has made his Test debut is credit due to Asantha De Mel, for doing the right thing. If Hathurasinghe had his way, maybe Gunawardene might have made it to the national side on favouritism.

Your mention of Brendon Kuruppu is also interesting. A former Tamil Union coach, currently manager of the national team, who appeared in the rooms of the TUC&AC during the limited overs domestic final, obviously still coaching and advising the Tamil Union players, he was even seen in the same line with the TUC&AC players shaking hands with the opposition at the conclusion of the game. I didn’t think it was allowed for the national team manager to hold a club position, or be openly seen as an active cricket member of the club while holding a senior Sri Lanka Cricket position. Maybe the chairman SLC should investigate this matter.

What is also known is how during the recently held first national team practice, sans the coach Trevor Bayliss, Hathurasinghe was involved in a dispute with Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach. Now Farbrace is a cheerful, mild-mannered type of guy and not one for getting into a dispute unless necessary, but in this our Shadow Coach tried to usurp Farbrace’s authority.

What is the Shadow Coach trying to attempt here? And again, why is he in this role without consultation with the two men running the side?

It is understood that this matter has been referred to the cricket committee for investigation and the Shadow Coach needs to be put in his place. This though is not all, Hathurasinghe is now trying to convince Mahela Udawatte to leave Chilaw Marians and join TUC&C, and from whispers in club circles, obviously with the help of a top TUC&AC official.

Your pithy Sinhala saying "*Pala ena gahtalu gal gahanne*"- "People throw stones at trees which bear fruit" is appropriate in this instance. They generally throw stones at the fruit. The only problem in this instance is that, the people are throwing stones at the tree, and not at the fruit.

Another point Mr. M. F. M. Anoozer, is that between 1999 and 2003 there was a large road sign (land side) on the outskirts of Matara which cheerfully informed us as we approached the town, "You are now entering Sanath Country" with a large beaming face of the Matara Mauler (perhaps you object to this metaphor as well) as a greeting and from where the line used in my column derives. But you are so keen to poke misplaced fun at the allegory you not only miss the point but it explains why your dismissive comments about President Mahinda Rajapakse, Sanath Jayasuriya, and a cricketer’s birthplace as irrelevant, with regard selection are typically crude.

The player in question has performed well, yes he was born in Matara, and he should have an A team contract, yet he has again been overlooked. Please also show respect for the country’s President for as her leader you should not refer to him as irrelevant.

To end on a philosophical note, Confucius once said "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones", and to clarify a point, I have neither met nor know Mr. Jayantha Senevirathne.