From time to time i will feature a video, highlighting Lankan fan's at the cricket.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Muttiah 'Murali' Muralitharan 9-65 Vs Eng Oval Test | 1998
MURALI MAGIC
Murali destroys the English batting line up.
Australia, Lanka to vie for Warne-Murali trophy
In a move to honour two of the greatest spinners of modern era, Sri Lanka [Images] and Australia are all set to fight for the Warne-Murali trophy when they lock horns in a two-Test cricket series starting next week.
With 700 Test scalps under his belt, Muralitharan is now nine wickets shy of surpassing Warne (708) as the highest wicket taker in the longer version of the game, and the Lankan offie would be hoping to achieve the milestone at the leggie's home turf.
Source
Click to expand...
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Murali likely to be rested against Queensland
"If he [Murali] continues practice and all that, if he's happy with his rhythm we'll probably keep him out," Mahela Jayawardene told AFP. "So if Murali feels that he'll need another match before the Test match, we'll consider that, but if not, we'll probably keep him out."
read more | digg story
Click to expand...
Kumar Sangakkara hamstring tear puts strain on tourists
SRI Lanka's first Test plans were thrown into chaos last night with star wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara virtually ruled out with a torn hamstring.
read more | digg story
Click to expand...
LEE WARY OF SRI LANKA CHALLENGE
Pace bowler Brett Lee is expecting Sri Lanka to provide a stern test for Australia's attack in the upcoming two-match series between the two countries, although he insists the Aussies are raring to go.
Despite Australia not having played a Test match in 10 months, Lee believes he and his fellow bowlers will be fit and firing when faced with the expected Sri Lankan batting onslaught in the two-Test series.
"We are ready for it, we're ready for November 8, we're ready for the first Test, get through these first (two) Tests and then we've got India," he said.
"I think they'll be coming full steam ahead definitely ... as far as the five-day cricket goes they'll be going out there from ball-one making sure they're actually going flat out."
The New South Wales bowler also welcomed the added responsibility of leading the bowling attack, saying he did not feel any extra pressure in the absence of retired stalwart Glenn McGrath.
"I've done it (led the attack) for about three years now with the one-day attack, so it's not going to be any different," he said.
"The fact now that we haven't got Glenn and also Shane Warne to rely on when days get tough - and I'm sure there will be some tough days over the next 12 to 18 months."
The 30-year-old may be on the comeback trail after suffering an ankle injury which ruled him out of Australia's triumphant 2007 World Cup campaign.
But, despite toiling without reward during NSW's recent draw with Queensland in the Pura Cup, he feels fit enough to challenge Sri Lanka's celebrated batting line-up and get some wickets.
"The thing that I took out of the game (against Queensland) is that I bowled 52 overs, it was pretty hot out there bowling the last four days (and) a pretty flat wicket," Lee explained.
"I was really pleased with the way I bowled even if I look up at the scoreboard and I don't see any wickets next to my name, I was really proud of the way I bowled out there and really pleased with my form.
"So going into the first Test the confidence is sky-high and I'm looking forward to it."
Lee also has every confidence that the new generation of Australian fast bowlers can fill the void left by the departed McGrath.
"We've got a fantastic squad of players - Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Shaun Tait just to name a few.
"So it's going to be interesting what they (Australian selectors) go for in the first Test."
Source
Click to expand...
Galle Stadium doubtful for 3rd Test Vs England
Sri Lanka Cricket accused of violating Antiquities Ordinances
Monday, October 29, 2007, 11:14 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 29, Colombo: Sri Lanka Cricket is likely to change the venue of the third test match with England that was to begin on December 18 at Galle.
Sri Lanka Cricket officials are accused of violating the agreements signed for the development of picturesque Galle Cricket Esplanade and creating an extremely bad precedent in the process of preserving the historic Galle Dutch Fort, an archaeological heritage of the country.
The Chief of the Department of Archaeology Dr. Senarath Dissanayake said to media that immediate legal action would be initiated this week to obtain an injunction order against the unauthorized structures built at the Galle International Stadium.
He said by putting up illegal structures at the stadium has seriously violated the Antiquities Ordinance No.9 of 1940 and the Antiquities amendments Act. No. 27 of 1988.
Source
Click to expand...
Jayawardene not worried about Hogg's form
Jayawardene said Hogg was probably one of the top ten spinners in the world but he was most dangerous in limited-overs games. "He's a decent spinner," Jayawardene said. "But how you play Hoggy in one-day cricket and how you play Hoggy in Test cricket is going to be totally different."
read more | digg story
Click to expand...
[FLASHBACK] Kumar Sangakkara 54 Vs Australia | World Cup 2007 Final
Yet another classy ODI half century from Sri Lankan Wicket Keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara. Widely considered to be the best Keeper/Batsman in both forms of international cricket. Mcgrath gets smashed for 3 consequtive boundaries including one six and two fours.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Several players on sidelines
FITNESS, not form, looms as Sri Lanka's biggest worry as it prepares for the first Test in Brisbane, after Sanath Jayasuriya (virus) and Chanaka Welagedara (quad strain) joined Kumar Sangakkara (hamstring) on the sidelines.
read more | digg story
Click to expand...
Murali starts tour strongly | Teases Aus media
"I'm not going to stop playing cricket at least for another 2-3 years. If I don't get those 9 wickets in Australia, I'll do it against England at home."
- Muralitharan speaking to Fox News
46 Runs Off 13 Balls | Jehan Mubarak | World T20 Cricket 07
Jehan Mubarak, who hit five sixes and three fours to reach 46 from a dozen balls. One more boundary would have broken Mohammad Ashraful's record for the fastest half-century, but he missed the final delivery of the innings completely.
Click to expand...Cricinfo - Sri Lanka call up Sujeewa de Silva
Sri Lanka will call up fast bowler Sujeewa de Silva as cover for the injured Chanaka Welegedera. Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's captain, said: "We are trying to fly out another quickie. If he [de Silva] arrives in time he will probably play in that [the warm-up game]. He's been playing some good cricket."
read more | digg story
Click to expand...
Jayasuriya in his 400th ODI presents the Pitch Report
Sanath Jayasuriya took the field for the record 400th time during the second ODI against England today 10/04/07, increasing the lead over Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar for the number of ODI appearances by three.
'It was a good outing' - Jayawardene
The biggest plus was Muttiah Muralitharan who took four wickets. Jayawardene confirmed Murali was "100 per cent" and would be rested for the warm-up. Malinga Bandara will come in to replace him for the tour match in Queensland. "He bowled pretty well, I was very happy with that - all in all it was a good outing for us."
read more | digg story
Click to expand...
[Video] Sri Lanka vs Chairmans XI Day 3 highlights
Sri Lankans 6 for 368 dec and 2 for 125 (Jayawardene 52, Samaraweera 41*) drew with Australia Chairman's XI 409 (Mash 95, Hughes 49, Plant 124, Heal 58)
Scorecard
Click to expand...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
I hope Australian fans respect Murali - Tom Moody
FORMER Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody hopes Muthiah Muralitharan will be respected for the "genius" that he is as the champion spinner braces for what could be another rugged tour of Australia.
read more | digg story
Click to expand...
Murali record: Security tight in Aus
Cricket Australia have made unprecedented security arrangements in order to avoid a crowd backlash against Sri Lankan spinner Muthiah Muralitharan.
Muralitharan is in Sydney for his first full Australia Test tour in 12 years, as he bids to break local hero Shane Warne's Test wicket record.Murali met Cricket Australia's top security advisor, to discuss arrangements for his protection this summer.
A security plan has been devised specifically for him because of the long history of animosity between him and Australian crowds. Plain-clothes security officers will reportedly be stationed near sections of the crowd close to Murali's fielding positions. At the first sign of trouble, the officers will call for back-up and eject trouble-makers from the ground.
read more
Click to expand...
Muthiah Muralidaran throws caution to the wind
BRUCE Yardley encountered an intense young man with a curious bowling action when conducting a spin bowlers' clinic in Sri Lanka 16 years ago.
Yardley watched him bowl a few balls and wondered whether he might be throwing.
He saw that the young man had a deformity in his right arm and suggested he should try to be more side-on in his delivery stride.
He then marvelled at how quickly his advice was adopted.
"I expected him to take six months to get side-on," the former Test off-spinner said.
"It took him three balls. It was just stunning.
"I came back to Australia and I said to people here, 'I have seen a kid who will turn the spin-bowling world upside down'."
The kid was Muthiah Muralidaran, and he did, indeed, turn the spin bowling world upside down.
He arrived in Australia last week for a two-Test series, needing nine wickets to supplant Shane Warne as the greatest wicket-taker in Test history.
From that first encounter with Yardley, who was later to become Sri Lanka's coach, Murali's career has been profoundly influenced by Australians -- not always to his benefit.
Within a year of meeting Yardley, Murali was in the Test side, making his debut in a drawn match against Allan Border's team in Colombo.
The first to fall to his baffling, wrist-snapping action in a Test was Craig McDermott.
His other victims in that game were genuine batsmen -- Mark Waugh and Tom Moody, who later became a trusted guide and confidant as Murali's national coach.
Murali has also been coached by John Dyson and Dav Whatmore, but it is fair to say that no Australian has changed his life more than Darrell Hair.
When Hair extended his arm and called "no-ball" at the MCG on Boxing Day 1995, the lives of both men changed forever.
There had always been whispers about Murali's action.
Hair turned the whispers into a shout -- literally.
Murali's action became the subject of international debate. He undertook biomechanical tests in Perth and Hong Kong, where the boffins cleared his action by saying it created the "optical illusion of throwing".
It served only to heighten the controversy. Then another Australian umpire, Ross Emerson, called him during a one-day game in Australia in 1999. More tests ensued, and Murali was again cleared.
Murali took his 500th Test wicket in a 2004 home series against Australia (who else?) when his action was queried by ICC match referee Chris Broad.
More tests followed. The new generation of super slow-motion cameras showed that virtually all bowlers flex their elbows at some stage during delivery.
There was no doubting Murali's elbow was bent; he couldn't straighten it if he tried.
But what became apparent was that every bowler's elbow was bent.
The ICC was given little option but to change the law to account for elbow flexion of up to 15 degrees.
As Yardley, one of his staunchest supporters, put it: "If they were going to target Murali, they had to target just about everyone else."
Things weren't helped when Prime Minister John Howard, who claimed to have bowled off-breaks in his younger days, labelled Murali a chucker.
It was a reason for Murali pulling out of the 2004 winter tour of Australia, and it took the trauma of the Boxing Day tsunami six months later -- in which Murali narrowly escaped with his life -- to change his thinking.
He came to play in benefit matches, in which Australians heckled him but also dug deep to support his beleaguered country.
Perhaps they had a heart after all.
While all this was happening, Murali was staging a private duel with Warne -- a good mate -- to see who could take the most Test wickets.
Warne finished his career in January this year with 708.
Murali touched down in Adelaide last week with 700.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting says Murali is a truly great bowler, but he is hell-bent on making sure Warne is still the record-holder when the Sri Lankans leave town.
"He is a world-class act, but it would be nice if he left Australia not getting those nine wickets in two Test matches," Ponting said. "If that's the case, we'll have done a pretty good job.
"He's also made it pretty clear over the years that he feels that Australian batsmen play him better than any other team in the world. Hopefully, we can keep him under wraps."
Murali's record against Australia is comparatively moderate -- 55 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 31 (against an overall average of 21).
He's dismissed Ponting only once, caught and bowled for 96, and in two Tests for his country against Australia in this country his analysis reads 3-348.
Playing for the ICC World XI in the Super Test in Sydney in 2005 he did a little better, with 2-102 and 3-55.
Murali is prepared for the heckling he is bound to receive this summer, including the cries of "no-ball" when he starts his spells.
According to Moody, who coached him until earlier this year, he is coming to terms with how Australians react to him.
"He's hugely disappointed with the reaction of the Australian public," Moody said.
"That's a lot to do with the fact that Shane Warne's an Australian, because everywhere else in the world he doesn't get anything like the reaction he gets in Australia.
"It's quite sad really, but it is that way. I've tried to explain to Murali . . . that Australian cricket followers react that way because they fear and respect what (he's) bringing to the table.
"It's not a hatred by any means. It's more a sign of respect."
AAP
Click to expand...
Gillespie may sort out problems with Muralitharan
Colombo (PTI): Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie, who is at the centre of controversy for questioning spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling action, may sort out his differences with the Sri Lankan.
Gillespie in his autobiography said that new laws allowing bowlers to bend their elbows up to 15 degrees had helped Muralitharan and Shoaib Akhtar.
Sri Lanka Cricket's Chief Executive Duleep Mendis said his Australian counterpart James Sutherland had responded to the Lankan protest by apologising on behalf of Gillespie and said they had spoken to the fast bowler about his untimely comments, the Sunday Times reported here on Sunday.
Meanwhile, SLC Secretary K Mathivanan the board was monitoring crowd behaviour towards the spinner in Australia.
Mathivanan said that in case the spectators abuse Muralitharan, tour manager Sriyan Samararatne would deal with the issue.
Australia has not been a happy hunting ground for Muralitharan since he was called for chucking by umpire Darrel Hair during the boxing-day Test in 1995. Thereafter, he was subjected to crowd abuse in a later tour.
The current tour could see the Lankan off-spinner overtaking Australian legend Shane Warne's all time record of 708 Test wickets as the Lankan needs only nine wickets to achieve the feat.
Source
Click to expand...
[Audio] Sanath Jayasuriya after his 154 against the CA Chairman's XI
27 Oct, 2007 Sanath Jayasuriya after his 154 against the CA Chairman's XI(3.86MB, 4min 19s) Listen
Courtesy of Cricket Australia
Click to expand...
[Audio] Murali media conference in Australia
28 Oct, 2007 Murali media conference (part one) (4.81MB, 5 min 16s) Listen
28 Oct, 2007 Murali media conference (part two) (4.29MB, 5 min) Listen
With the kind courtesy of Cricket Australia
Click to expand...
Sri Lanka Win Hong Kong Sixes
England's participation in the Hong Kong Sixes came to an end at the knockout stages on Sunday as they were comprehensively outclassed by the All-Star team at Kowloon Cricket Club.
A win and a loss on Saturday had seen Mike Gatting's men finish second in the Bradman Group, setting up a clash with Shane Warne's prestige outfit.
After losing the toss and being put in to bat, England made 80 for two thanks mostly to Dimitri Mascarenhas' 31 retired as Warne's Hampshire colleague bludgeoned the All-Star attack.
Alex Gidman scored 15 and Darren Maddy also chipped in with 12 but it was all in vain as the All-Stars surpassed England's total for no loss with seven balls remaining, man of the tournament Craig McMillan retiring on 31 and Brian Lara smashing 35 off eight balls.
However, after cruising past Pakistan in the semi-final, McMillan's 33 retired was the foundation of a four-wicket win, the favourites came unstuck against Sri Lanka in the final.
Batting first after losing the toss, the Sri Lankans made 127 for the loss of three wickets, skipper Indika de Saram top-scoring with an unbeaten 40 while Kaushalya Weeraratne retired on 32 and Jeewantha Kulatunga made 28.
Warne suffered in particular, going for 30 runs as eight-ball overs were introduced for the fi