The BBC’s Charles Haviland examines the controversies in Sri Lankan cricket. Cricket is Sri Lanka’s universal game and almost nothing gets in the way of it, whether it is played in the street or at the Kettarama Stadium. In 2007 the Tamil Tigers even declared a ceasefire throughout the World Cup. But the national team’s recent loss of form, combined with endless tribulations off the pitch, has plunged many fans into gloom. … Speaking to the BBC this week, Mr Aluthgamage denied interfering. “If there is politics in cricket, in…
Written on December 10, 2011 | Posted in
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Sri Lanka’s dramatic slip in form since the World Cup can be attributed to several factors, many of which aren’t in the control of the players, such as payments long overdue from the board. The board’s financial crisis isn’t helping either, writes Saadi Thawfeeq in the Nation. Cricket is the only sport today that Sri Lanka can compete with other nations and win. But unless it is rid free of politics and politicians it is in great danger of going into decline. Politics has been the bane of sport and…
Written on November 27, 2011 | Posted in
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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’’s former skipper Mahela Jayawardene is reportedly considering suing a state-run television network for hinting he may have helped fix a World Cup match against Pakistan. Jayawardene, who lost his middle stump for just two runs in a game that Sri Lanka lost by 11 runs, was mulling legal action against the station for implying he was guilty of corruption, the BBC said. Jayawardene’’s manager told a news agency on Tuesday that they were not commenting because “a formal process has been initiated.” The state television commentary said a local businessman had placed a $18,000 bet on Sri Lanka losing the game. The TV channel speculated over whether Jayawardene and Thilan amaraweera, dismissed for one, had “changed the game” by getting out cheaply and said the outcome would have been different had the pair scored more runs. Despite high hopes coming into the match, 1996 champions Sri Lanka fell short of Pakistan’’s total of 277-7, leaving thousands at a packed R. Premadasa stadium in Colombo devastated. Governing body Sri Lanka Cricket said they had not received a formal complaint from the two players. “We are not aware of the issue,” Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive officer Ajith Jayasekera said. Three Pakistan Test players — Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer — were last month banned on charges of corruption relating to last year’’s Lord’’s Test against England. Many Sri Lankan players have been investigated by the International Cricket Council over match-fixing in the past.
Written on March 1, 2011 | Posted in
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HAMBANTOTA: Pakistan’’s cricketing isolation could end in October if Sri Lanka, who were targeted in a deadly terror attack in Lahore two years ago, agree to tour the troubled country. Sri Lankan officials said Wednesday they were in talks with the International Cricket Council’’s Pakistan Task Team (PTT) to explore the possibilities. “We are still discussing the option with the ICC and with all the other board members,” said Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Somachandra de Silva. “There are still some security concerns in Pakistan but if things improve, and Pakistan is a brotherly nation, we can consider it – all depends on the ICC’’s clearance,” De Silva said. Sri Lanka are scheduled to tour Pakistan in October this year under the Future Tests Programme. According to reports in the Pakistani media, the governments of both countries are already in talks to hold the series in Pakistan. The attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus on March 9, 2009, killed eight people and injured seven Sri Lankan players as well as their assistant coach, leading to the suspension of all international cricket in Pakistan. Barely a month later, the ICC stripped Pakistan of its share of World Cup matches, forcing the team to play all their Group A matches in Sri Lanka, co-hosts with India and Bangladesh. The suspension also meant Pakistan have been forced to play their home series in the United Arab Emirates, England and New Zealand for the last two years. The ICC formed the Pakistan Task Team (PTT) with England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke to find ways of reviving international cricket in Pakistan and to help improve the disciplinary situation. Even before the Lahore attacks, Pakistan was a no-go area for international teams because of security fears sparked in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States which sparked a “war against terror” in and around the country. Australia have not toured Pakistan since 1998, forcing Pakistan to play their home series in Sri Lanka and Sharjah in 2002 and in England last year. Pakistan was also stripped of the right to host the 2008 Champions Trophy after Australia, South Africa and England refused to tour, forcing the ICC to move the tournament to South Africa, held in 2009. Meanwhile, De Silva said he hoped Hambantota will become a major cricket venue in Sri Lanka. “It was only Colombo for the last two decades, but with Hambantota coming up for the World Cup matches we have brought cricket to the poor people and we will develop this,” said the 68-year-old former Sri Lanka international. De Silva said the stadium – which became one-day cricket’’s 177th venue when Sri Lanka played Canada on Sunday – will also host a Test against Australia. “We have decided to stage a Test in Hambantota against Australia when they tour in July this year and also one or two one-dayers in the same series. There is an option of staging World Twenty20 matches next year,” said De Silva. Sri Lanka will host the fourth edition of World Twenty20 next year. (AFP)
Written on February 23, 2011 | Posted in
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HAMBANTOTA: Hambantota, where 3,000 people died in the 2004 tsunami, welcomed the World Cup on Sunday, the latest morale-boosting step for the ambitious Sri Lankan coastal city. The stadium where Sri Lanka were due to tackle Canada is named after president Mahinda Rajapakse, who hopes the facility will go a long way in changing the face of his hometown and help its dream of hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games. “Hambantota was hit by the tsunami in 2004. So, with the World Cup coming, the people have a chance to celebrate and World Cup matches are a historic moment for them,” Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said. Ranatunga, younger brother of 1996 World Cup winning team captain Arjuna, said the stadium will be crucial for the future. “The Hambantota stadium is not only about World Cup matches, it will be one of the top facilities for the youth of Hambantota and the adjoining towns and I am sure it will produce a number of talented players in future.” The ground development project is part of a makeover of the province which involves a new international airport, seaport and Sri Lanka’’s first expressway from Hambantota to Colombo – a distance of around 220km – by the end of 2012. “The Sri Lankan army worked around the clock to make the stadium ready,” Shanaka Ratnayake, who has been overlooking the venue’’s development ever since the land was identified in June 2008, told AFP. Building started in May 2009 but incessant rains slowed progress and there were fears that the venue might not be ready for the World Cup. A Chinese construction company then got involved and, along with the army, sped up the work. The hallmark of the new ground is a pearl-shaped grandstand roof. Among the many admirers of the stadium is Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara. “We whole-heartedly support the state-of-the-art stadium in Hambantota. As a nation we have done wonders. The Commonwealth Games in 2018 will be a yet another milestone and I support that bid from Sri Lanka,” said Sangakkara. Despite Sunday’’s match tipped to be a one-sided affair, it is a complete sell-out and will be packed to its 35,000 capacity. With huge “Let the celebrations begin” and “Welcome to Hambantota” banners already in place, the town is abuzz with the World Cup, with hundreds of fans filling the small number of hotels in the town. The stadium will also host Pakistan-Kenya match on Wednesday. (AFP)
Written on February 20, 2011 | Posted in
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COLOMBO: A new cricket stadium being built for next year’’s World Cup will be named after the world’’s most successful bowler Muttiah Muralitharan, a report said on Friday. The 22,000-capacity stadium, being constructed in Pallekele in Muralitharan’’s home district of Kandy, is due to host three matches of the World Cup in South Asia in February-March. The Central Provincial Council in Kandy decided to name the venue as the Muttiah Muralitharan International Cricket Stadium to honour the recently retired spinner, the Daily Mirror said. The move had the backing of the provincial governor, Tikiri Kobbekaduwa, and will be put to Sri Lanka Cricket shortly, the newspaper said. Muralitharan, 38, quit Test cricket last week after reaching the unprecedented 800-wicket mark during the first Test against India in Galle. He is also the leading wicket-taker in one-day cricket with 515 scalps and said he will be available for the World Cup if needed. The matches in Pallekele are Pakistan v New Zealand on March 8, Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe on March 10 and Pakistan v Zimbabwe on March 14. Sri Lanka, which co-hosts the showpiece tournament with India and Bangladesh, is due to organise 12 matches at three venues. The other venues are the under-renovation Premadasa stadium in Colombo and a new cricket facility being built in Hambantota in the island’’s south.
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In a country that was cut up along ethnic lines, Muttiah Muralitharan was the poster-boy of Sinhalese-Tamil unity, writes Sutirtho Patranobis in the Hindustan Times. Post-war,Tamil-dominated Jaffna, is beginning to see signs of a revival in cricket. In the middle ’70s and ’80s as violence spread like forest fire in the north and east of Sri Lanka – where Lankan Tamils are in majority – cricket took the sad but inevitable backseat. Post-war, a cricket revival has begun in Tamil-dominated Jaffna. I’m sure Murali would find a willing hand there…
“In assessing Murali one cannot avoid the issue of his action,” writes Mike Brearley in the Guardian. “Australian umpires called him for throwing in 1995 and 1998, and he has been defended by some who have seen this as a racist prejudice. At the same time, Bishen Bedi, the great Indian slow left‑arm spinner, has described him as a “shot putter” (he also described Shoaib Akhtar as a “javelin thrower”). My own response is more accepting. One thing I am convinced of: Murali’s bowling has enhanced cricket. The range of…
Nuwan Pradeep can hit speeds of 150kmh
Writing for Yahoo, Venkat Ananth lauds the most endearing aspect of Muttiah Muralitharan’s brilliance – his charming smile that epitomised his sportsmanship. Above all, what defined Murali is his smile – whether it came when employing the typical agricultural hoick over midwicket, or that extraordinarily blind pull shot that often used to get him out, or even while bowling: he would be smashed for six, and what you noticed was the wide smile, the enjoyment he took in every contest, even when he was being bested [among contemporary greats, Murali…
