Wesley College sacks cricket coach

Daily Mirror: Wesley College has sacked its junior cricket coach following complaints received from parents that their budding cricketer sons were allegedly being misguided, the Daily Mirror learns.

The Daily Mirror learns that the Cricket Development Council of the Old Boys Union of Wesley College held an inquiry following the complaints and found that the allegations were substantiated by the parents of players.

School authorities preferred to withhold the name of the controversial coach but the Daily Mirror learns had he (coach) submitted his resignation after realising his services were to be terminated.

An official of the Wesley College Cricket Development Council, who wanted to remain anonymous for sensitive reasons told the Daily Mirror that distinguished old boys of the school were also keen to maintain the dignity and name of the school and were unanimous in their decision to do away with the junior coach.

“Anybody can approach us and discuss what is happening at the College. If we find any member of the staff or students conducting themselves in an uncalled for manner we will recommend stern action. We want to maintain credibility of the College,” he declared.

He alleged that the coach had behaved in a manner unbecoming of what was expected of him.

The Daily Mirror learns that the sacked coach also harboured differences with two other top notch coaches attached to the school’s senior team which was also taken into account when the decision to sack him was made.

Wesley’s sacking of its junior coach marks probably the first time in recent years that a coach has been sacked from his job.

The Daily Mirror understands that several junior coaches especially in Colombo and the suburbs are exploiting their positions for vested interests and continue unchecked. Click to expand...

Inter-Provincial Twenty-20 | Schoolboys humiliate Basnahira South

The Island: A Schools Invitation XI, led by SL U-19 player Dinesh Chandimal, recorded an unexpected win against seasoned Basnahira South on the opening day of the main domestic Twenty-20 tournament, the Inter- Provincial Twenty-20, at Colts grounds on Thursday.

The schoolboys’ opponents fielded a team comprising four national players, Dilruwan Perera, Malinda Warnapura, Hasantha Fernando and Hemantha Wickramaratne, alongside SL’s premier cricket stalwarts Nandika Ranjith, Anushka Polonnowita, Nimesh Perera and Chanaka Komasaru.

Schools Invitation XI bt Basnahira South by 13 runs at BRC Grounds:

Scores:

Schools Invitation XI 152 for 7 wkts in 20 ovs (Tharinda Fernando 55 (45 balls, 4x5, 6x1), Dinesh Chandimal 29, Angelo Perera 32; Dilruwan Perera 2-22, C. Komasaru 2-29)

Basnahira South 139 all out in 19 ovs (Nimesh Perera 25, A. Polonnowita 54 (27 b, 4x5, 6x3); Vinodh Perera 3-29, Chathura Peiris 2-14, Imesh Udayanga 2-20)

Wayamba bt Basnahira North by 5 wkts at Colts CC Grounds:

Scores:

Basnahira North 158 for 9 wkts in 20 ovs (Gayan Wijekoon 33, Thilina Kandamby 33, Shanuka Dissanayake 33; Chanaka Welegedara 2-21, Shalika Karunanayake 2-40, Himesh Silva 2-2)

Wayamba 160 for 5 wkts in 19.1 ovs (Damitha Hunukumbura 87 (54 b, 4x14, 6x1), Sameera de Zoysa 26, G. Wijekoon 2-25)

Ruhuna bt Kandurata by 1 run (on D/L Method) at Colts CC Grounds:

Scores:

Kandurata 172 for 8 wkts in 20 ovs (Jeewan Mendis 47, Chinthaka Jayasinghe 46; Sujeewa de Silva 4-32)

Ruhuna 57 for 3 wkts in 6 ovs (Chaminda Vidanapathirana 2-22).

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Sri Lanka captain Jayawardene drops English county spell

LONDON, April 16 (Reuters: Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene will not be able to play for Derbyshire as planned because of changes to other playing commitments, the English county side said on their Web site (www.derbyshireccc.com).

The batsman had been scheduled to play from late April to mid-July but the move of the Asia Cup to June and changes to India's tour of Sri Lanka meant there was too little time to make a shortened contract worthwhile, the club said.

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Murali, the team-man, to the fore | IPL

The Sunday Island (LK): In a gesture that captured the essence of Muttiah Muralitharan’s spirit, the legendary spinner sprinted to the ground with bottles of mineral water for his teammates.

Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker he might be, but Muralitharan did not mind being the 12th man, at least for the moment. Muralitharan, the team-man, came to the fore on a hot, sweltering Monday at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

The occasion was the practice game for the Chennai Super Kings, the squad being split into two groups. And Muralitharan was the cynosure.

Soon, the Sri Lankan off-spin wizard began his stretching routine. Not much later, he was into the ground again, bringing with him more sunshine and extraordinary skills.

"He adds so much to the side. He is probably the best spinner in the world," said Australian batsman Michael Hussey.

Muralitharan said, "It is a good side. I feel at home here. Let’s wait for the matches to begin."

Former India captain and brand ambassador of the Chennai Super Kings, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, said, "Despite his achievements, Muralitharan is such a humble person. He is simple and very approachable."

Good cricketing brain

Srikkanth was seen having a lengthy conversation with Muralitharan in the pavilion. "We were discussing the various combinations in the IPL, their strengths and weaknesses. He has an excellent cricketing brain. His inputs off the field, in terms of strategy, will be very valuable too. I am happy that the son-in-law of Chennai is playing for Chennai," he said.

The practice match produced some entertaining cricket. The big and strong Jacob Oram sent the ball soaring over the stands. Parthiv Patel played some cracking strokes at the top of the order. Young paceman Manpreet Singh Goni generated some speed and extracted bounce. Of course, there was Muralitharan.
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[Video] The Mystery Spinner | Ajantha Mendis 4/50 Vs Basnahira N. | 2008

Basnahira North v Wayamba

Murali mark II?

AFP

April 11, 2008

Tougher days surely lie ahead, but Ajantha Mendis appears to be a spin bowler with a bright future based on the evidence of his one-day international debut for Sri Lanka against West Indies in Trinidad. He bowled impressively to collect 3 for 39 as Sri Lanka narrowly failed to win the opening match of the series.

It brought to mind Muttiah Muralitharan when he first stepped onto the international scene with his freakish bowling action. Mendis trapped Gayle lbw with a delivery that went straight on, bamboozled Darren Sammy with a flipper that totally squared him up and skidded through to hit the top of off-stump, before holding his nerve after Jerome Taylor clubbed him for six, tossing the next ball up having caught on the long-on boundary.

Even Ramnaresh Sarwan appeared clueless at times to what Mendis was delivering, and at one stage, after being deceived by the flight and the turn of a delivery, the West Indies vice-captain looked quizzically at the young spinner with an expression that seemed to suggest he didn't have a clue.

Dwayne Bravo, who won the Man-of-the-Match ward, agreed that it was difficult to pick Mendis.

"To be honest, when we saw his stats - after 19 first-class matches, he had 111 wickets at an average of 14.54 - we knew he had to be bowling something good," he said.

"Sarwan had problems picking him, and from the time we saw this, most of the batters retreated to the dressing room, and had a close look at his hand on the TV monitor.

"I actually went and had a look at his hand on the computer, and it was still really difficult to pick him, but I found that once you are prepared to watch the ball closely, it is half the job done.

He is a very good bowler, and we will have to go back to drawing board to try to come up with a way to score off his bowling freely."

The Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss felt it was an promising effort from Mendis, and he too, believes he could have a long career in the game. "I could tell you about his variations if I knew what they were, and even a lot of our guys struggle to know what he is doing with the ball," Bayliss said.

"The poise that he had in the first ODI - not just what he was bowling - to be able to keep a lid on things under pressure in one-day cricket is a very good sign. This has been the exceptional thing from my point of view. To be able to maintain his composure and do what he normally does was brilliant."

Bayliss agreed that ODIs were not the best place to experiment, and many coaches may have dissuaded Mendis from doing things his own way, but he said he was prepared to Mendis continue with his natural game.

"We just told him to go out there and do whatever he has done in the past," he said. "But it's how young players handle the pressure of international cricket that's critical, and he handled it very well.

"From my point of view, the higher up the ladder you go in this game, it's more of a mental thing. It's how you cope with pressure, and if something is working for him at one level, it's no reason why it cannot work at the next."

Bayliss says the comparisons with Muralitharan will be inevitable, but for now he is just pleased to have young slow bowlers of the quality of Mendis and legspinner Malinga Bandara at his disposal.

"Who knows, one day on one of those typical pitches in south Asia, we will pick all three," he said. For the purists, this would be a delicious prospect.

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[Video] Thilan Thushara Mirando 47(27) Vs Ruhuna | 8 January 2008

Thilan Thushara displays his skill as a hard hitting batsman.


Sri Lanka Cricket Inter-Provincial Limited Over Tournament, Kandurata v Ruhuna.

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[Video] Chamara Kapugedera 63(65) Vs Ruhuna 8 January 2008

Scorecard

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[Video] Mahela Udawatte 55(66) Vs Basnahira South | Sri Lanka Domestic Cricket

Udawatte takes a bowling attack comprising Nuwan Zoysa & Ruchira Perera to the cleaners.



Wayamba v Basnahira South at Colombo (RPS) - Dec 29, 2007
Wayamba won by 127 runs
Wayamba 253/9 (50 ov); Basnahira South 126 (28.1 ov)
Scorecard

Courtesy Cricinfo

A prolific run-getter for Ananda College, Mahela Udawatte's talents as a top-order batsman were not immediately recognised when he was overlooked for the Sri Lankan Under-19 team in 2003 despite scoring more than 1000 runs for his school that season. He got his break after he joined Chilaw Marians SC straight after school. Promoted to open the batting - he had batted at No. 3 at school - he reeled off three hundreds in five matches in the 2004-05 U-23 tournament, and was rewarded with a place in the Development Squad. He soon made it into the A team for the tour to England in 2007 after top-scoring for his club in the Premier final against SSC in 2005-06, making 60 out of a total of 202 against an attack which included Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Zoysa. A powerful and attacking batsman who likes to take on the quick bowlers, Udawatte is seen as a future prospect for the Sri Lanka one-day side, perhaps as a replacement for Sanath Jayasuriya. Rated highly by experts in Sri Lanka, including Mahela Jayawardene, Udawatte earned a call-up to the national squad for the tour of West Indies in 2008. Writes
Sa'adi Thawfeeq for cricinfo.

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All Sri Lankan team at ICL

Sunday Times LK: There are moves to field an all Sri Lankan team for the next round of ICL series which is scheduled to be held in November. According to reliable sources four local outstanding fringe players (all are allrounders) have already signed on.

Besides the four players the ICL scouts are on the lookout for a further four to five players which will make up the final thirteen. There is yet room for a wicket-keeper, two batsmen, a left arm spinner and an off spinner.Former Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu will be the team’s coach cum captain while Saman Jayantha, Russell Arnold and Upul Chandana are already there.

The other countries who will have all national teams are -- India, Pakistan and South Africa

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Out of form top order kicks back into gear

Sri Lanka's top-order batsmen, blamed for the team's dismal showing in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Bank Series, showed outstanding form ahead of their tour of the Caribbean in the Premier League competition matches played over the weekend. Writes Sa'adi Thawfeeq for Cricinfo.

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Coca Cola launches Cricket talent search in Sri Lanka

In my opinions this is long overdue. Cricket in the Island has always been restricted to the elite club cricketers or nephews and relatives of former players.

Feb 6, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's Coca Cola unit has teamed up with former cricket star Aravinda de Silva to launch ‘Cricket pathway’, a project to search for cricketing talent in rural areas in the country.

"Coca Cola wants to see youngsters blossoming from school champions to world champions with guidance and support from Coca Cola,” the firm's Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Manish Chaturvedi, said.

“What I have found is that there is immense talent available in Sri Lanka,” de Silva, the programme’s administrator said. “We lack something important and that is proper guidance.

“We also want to educate them as to what is really required at the highest level to compete against top countries like Australia.”

The project is set to kick off on March 28, 2008 in the form of regional cricket clinics.

Students in the age group of 15 – 17 are eligible to apply and a total of 72 will be selected from each province.

Sri Lanka Cricket, the game's administrative body, says the initiative will also target junior cricket and the under 19 Cricket World Cup held every two years.

“Development of school cricket is my priority,” said former cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga, now chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket.

“The standard of school cricket has slightly dropped. We cannot see the same standard it had over 15 years ago,” he said.

“We have identified that the problem lies in the lack of sponsors and good coaches.”

Selected students from each district will get the opportunity to participate in a three-day clinic attended by national coaches and physiotherapists.

Nine such camps are scheduled to take place in Colombo as well as the outlying towns of Dambulla, Kandy and Galle which have cricket stadiums.

The camps will be conducted in association with the Aravinda de Silva Cricket Foundation which is set to bring in international expertise and guidance

“High performance and consistency will be the criteria for selecting the students through the schools,” said de Silva.

District records held by students will also help the selection process.


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School matches cancelled due to security situation

All school matches, including First XI two-day matches and the Inter School Under-13 final stage matches have been postponed indefinitely, following an Education Ministry circular which advised school officials to stop students from going out of the schools due to the prevailing security situation.

Inter-House Sports Meets of several Colombo schools have also been postponed.

The Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association has decided to postpone their matches complying with the Education Ministry circular.

"We have decided to postpone all school matches indefinitely, as the Education Ministry has advised all schools to curtail the movement of students out of school," said Dilshan Silva, secretary, SLSCA.

The final stage matches of the Inter School Under-13 tournament were scheduled for the weekend when the SLSCA announced the cancellation.

"The Under-13 tournament matches and all First XI Inter School matches are postponed," Dilshan said.

The league matches of the Premier Inter School Limited Overs tournament was scheduled to commence on February 25 and the schools struggling to complete their ten Two-day matches to qualify for the tournament will receive a severe blow to their preparations due to the cancellation. But the SLSCA official said that the matter will be taken into consideration when the situation improves.

The Ministry of Education issued a circular advising school officials to stop the movement of students out of schools after the LTTE suicide bomb attack at the Fort Railway station killed several students, including the coach and seven baseball players of D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo.

by Reemus Fernando for The Sunday Island (Subscription) Click to expand...

Chanaka Wijesinghe cracks double ton

Chanaka Wijesinghe of NCC cracked the first double ton of the Rupavahini Premier League cricket tournament, he slammed a 307 ball 250 with included 32 boundaries and three sixes against Tamil Union at P. Sara Stadium.

It is not often that you find a batsman making a double-century in the opening round of a tournament, but that's exactly what Chanaka Wijesinghe achieved for Nondescripts. In their first innings of 194, he top-scored with 61 not out and, after Nondescripts had conceded a first-innings lead of 31, he gave them an outside chance of victory by compiling 250 off 307 balls in the second innings. That NCC failed to achieve victory (falling short by one wicket) could not be blamed on him. Wijesinghe, 25 who hails from Kandy has been around for some time representing Kandy Youth CC, Ragama CC and Moors SC before coming to NCC.

"What is so striking about Chanaka's batting is that he has tightened his defence and is prepared to wait for the loose balls to make runs," Ranjith Fernando, the former Sri Lanka batsman, said. "If Chanaka can show a degree of consistency during the season with his batting and make some really big innings it will be rather difficult for the selectors not to have a closer look at him." Wijesinghe's previous highest score in 39 first-class matches was 146. - Cricinfo

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SLC is broke - Arjuna

Arjuna Ranatunga, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) chairman, has revealed his board has no money left and is banking on financial support from India to stay afloat.

Read more on Cricinfo



Ranatunga, who was appointed head of SLC by the country's President Mahinda Rajapakse earlier this month, said the board was surviving on bank borrowings.

"We are now surviving on a six-million dollar bank overdraft," Ranatunga told AFP in an interview this week. "We also plan to ask for a short-term loan from the Indian cricket board to be set off against some of our future tour revenues."

Allegations of kickbacks have dogged Sri Lanka's cricket administration for years and Ranatunga has asked a team of auditors to investigate the board's finances. SLC wasn't short of sponsors after they won the World Cup under Ranatunga's captaincy in 1996, but the kitty has been running dry in recent times.

Most of the money that the SLC earns these days is through prize money won by the national team. Ranatunga, however, was confident he will meet his target to streamline the administration and nurture new talent.

Ranatunga said he looked forward to India's Test and one-day tour of Sri Lanka in July and August to help boost his organisation's finances. "India visits us this year and we are looking towards the Indian tour to earn some money," he said. India has financial muscle due to the massive captive [domestic] television audience. They have also helped us financially.

"While we work closely with other countries, India plays a strong role in keeping our finances afloat."

Ranatunga, a strong campaigner for a radical shake up in domestic cricket, fears that there may not be enough money to spend on developing younger players. The previous administration, headed by businessman Jayantha Dharmadasa, had said it could raise 30 million dollars in worldwide sponsorships within the next five years by way of commercial rights for television.

But Ranatunga was dismissive of the claim. "I don't know where those figures came from," he said, adding he was also reviewing the current deal with Dubai-based satellite broadcaster, Ten Sports, for home internationals.

Ten Sports' US$50million deal ends in 2009 and there were allegations that the previous administration had extended it till 2012 without a proper bidding process.

© Cricinfo

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A reminder to SLC | The Nation

The Nation: It is over a month since Nisal Senaratne passed away following a brief illness. In the field of cricket Senaratne was a stalwart in his own way having played the game at school and representative level and more so having served the game for over a decade.

Senaratne as we all know held the post of secretary of the then Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) for as many as six years in two-year spells on three occasions. He was also a vice-president of BCCSL and manager on many tours including the 1987 World Cup and the 1981 tour of England when Sri Lanka were granted full membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and served the Cricket Board in various other capacities too numerous to mention from the time of Robert Senanayake in the late sixties till Gamini Dissanayake in the late eighties.

It is indeed sad to note that people such as Senaratne who had served the game for long years have simply gone unnoticed. Others who have served in this category for long years include, apart from Senanayake and Dissanayake, – Neil Perera, Abu Fuard, Nuski Mohamed, S. Skandakumar, Ranjith Fernando, WAN Silva, Anuruddha Polonowita, Leo Wijesinghe, Anura Tennekoon, M. Rajasingham and SS (Chandra) Perera.

All these individuals have served Sri Lanka Cricket (as it is now named) for a period of well over a decade in HONORARY capacities holding high office in various positions. They have carried the Cricket Board virtually on their shoulders at a time when the controlling body did not have the luxury of funds that it has today.

With the passing away not very long ago of Tryphon Mirando who served as secretary under the Dharmadasas there were huge newspaper advertisements placed by Sri Lanka Cricket. SLC to be frank played a big role in his funeral and other arrangements also participating in the funeral procession. This gesture is laudable in not forgetting the service rendered to the game by such individuals. We do not mean any disrespect to the late Mirando who was a very fine gentleman.

However, one wonders whether it is double standards or total ignorance by Sri Lanka Cricket when it comes to giving due recognition to people who have served for much longer periods and sacrificed part of their lives for the game. The fact that Sri Lanka Cricket completely ignored the demise of a veteran such as Senaratne even by way of an acknowledgement is unpardonable.

We hope that in future this will not be repeated and that Sri Lanka Cricket will give due recognition to those who have done yeoman service to the game and that they are at least acknowledged even in death. Not only past players and captains but also managers, coaches and officials, all should be respected and treated alike because they all contribute towards the upliftment of the game. Without their efforts Sri Lanka cricket wouldn’t be where it is today. As much as players contribute on the field there are also others who contribute equally off it. That much Sri Lanka Cricket should take very special note of.

Raising junior cricket standards
We have another ICC junior cricket World Cup around the corner and all eyes will be focused on these young cricketers in Malaysia for a fortnight from February 17, to see who the emerging stars will be. This sort of tournament, although not having the same draw card as some of the major ones, is important in the ICC calendar because it brings into focus the latent talent among the juniors and pushes them into the spotlight of a worldwide audience.

Winning the tournament is great but the most crucial factor in the junior World Cup is how many future cricketers one’s country can produce. In this aspect it is sad to note that Sri Lanka has fallen far behind. Their standard of school cricket is not what it was maybe a decade or so ago.

No one has actually put a finger on what has gone wrong with our school cricket standards and come up with a remedy to rectify it. World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga coming into the scene as chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee has given some hope of a revival. One of his top priorities in taking over the reins of Sri Lanka Cricket is to ensure that school cricket standards are raised to the point where it was at one time. When Ranatunga made his Test debut for Sri Lanka 26 years ago, he was still a schoolboy at Ananda College. After him several other cricketers have walked into the national side straight from school. But sadly it is no longer the case today. What the former captain needs is some guidance on the lines of how it needs to be tackled. He has only to look around him for there are enough and more past cricket officials and players who would gladly lend him a helping hand. After all school cricket is our nursery towards nurturing top quality players for the future. If there is something wrong there it needs to be rectified immediately or the results could be rather detrimental to the future of Sri Lanka cricket.

By Sa'adi Thawfeeq


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The future is provincial | Kumar Sangakkara

"Sri Lankan domestic cricket is not fully professional yet, but the quasi-professional set-up has started to set the first foundations for professional first-class cricket." writes Kumar Sangakkara on Cricinfo Magazine. Click to expand...

Wayamba to meet Kandurata in the final

Cricinfo: The final of Sri Lanka's Inter-Provincial Limited-Overs Tournament will be a repeat of the last qualifying match between Kandurata and Wayamba after the final day of the qualifying stage was affected by bad weather.

At the Welagedera Stadium, in a match reduced to 31 overs, table-leaders Kandurata, captained by Kumar Sangakkara, beat Wayamba by eight wickets to finish with a 100% record in the qualifying round.

However, despite the defeat, Wayamba, who were captained by Mahela Jayawardene, were tied on 10 points with Basnahira North and went through to the final on superior net run rate.

For Kandurate, only Jehan Mubarak, the tall Sri Lanka left-handed middle-order batsman, got into double figures after they were asked to bat first in seamers-friendly condition and were eventually bowled out for for 79 in only 21 overs. Mubarak, pushing for a place in the Sri Lanka side for the ODI series in Australia, top-scored with 36 with extras taking the second spot (10). The damage to the Wayamba batting was done by the fast bowlers; Akalanka Ganegama, Kaushal Weeraratne, Thilan Thushara and Chintaka Jayasinghe who captured all ten wickets to fall.

Faced with the target of only 80 in 31 overs, Kandurata knocked the runs off in 19 overs to move into the final on Sunday with a great deal of confidence.

The bottom of the table clash between Basnahira South and Ruhuna at the Galle International Stadium ended without a ball bowled due to rain.

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