Lanka's
batting a big headache
Marlon Fernandopulle reporting from Sharjah
Despite finishing on top of the points table at the end of the
first round, Sri Lanka are faced with more questions than answers
in their quest to reach the final on Wednesday (April 17).
The biggest
worry for the Lankans was the failure of their top order batsmen
and the brittleness in their middle order. The new opening
pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara did not come
off as expected, although the pair put on 50 runs in the first
game against Pakistan.
Compounding
the problem is the form of Romesh Kaluwitharana who's batting
at number six proved to be a disaster. Not only was Kalu unable
to hold the middle order together but his all too familiar
quick exits exposes the Lankan tail pre-maturely. This has
prompted the Lankan team management to re-draw their strategies
and think in terms of reverting back to the Kalu-Jayasuriya
opening alliance. Kaluwitharana who has a passion for the
new ball and for fast bowlers will certainly welcome the move,
but will have to use his head as much as his bat if he is
to succeed at the top.
If Kalu
moves to the top, Sangakkara will bat at number five and Arnold
at six, which should strengthen the Lankan middle order to
some extent. Another option would be the inclusion of the
only other batsmen in the squad T. M Dilshan. However this
would be very unlikely as Dilshan is not comfortable batting
in the middle order.
The inclusion
of Kumar Dharmasena was also something the team management
was contemplating in a bid to add more muscle to the batting.
Dharmasena if included will be at the expense of medium pacer
Charitha Buddhika. Dharmasena who has the ability to bowl
with the new ball and when the field restrictions are on,
could prove to be more than useful batting lower down the
order by playing a supportive role.
Mahela
Jayawardene who was in terrific form recently has not lived
up to expectations. It is believed that the stylish right
hander will strike it big when Sri Lanka needs it most. The
teams will need a big contribution from the former vice captain
especially if their skipper fails to fire at the top.
As always
the toss in Sharjah plays a vital role for two reasons.The
slowness of the wicket as the game progresses which makes
run making difficult prompts teams to bat first, while the
dew factor in the night(which is not there always)prompts
teams to bowl first.In the current tournament all captains
winning the toss have batted first (ignoring the dew factor)
and won the games.
However
in the case of Sri Lanka who's strength will rest on their
spinners especially Muralitharan winning the toss and bowling
first will not be ruled out. In the game against New Zealand
where Sri Lanka bowled first Muralitharan finished with an
impeccable spell of 5 for 9 while against Pakistan where Sri
Lanka bowled second Murali finished with 3 for 27.If the Lankans
are playing Dharmasena which means four spinners in total
the idea of bowling first with a dew free ball will be crucial.Thus
the toss will be very crucial for Sri Lanka.
The net
run rates of the three teams which finished on four points
each after the first round are Sri Lanka(+0.25),Pakistan(+0.14),
and New Zealand(-0.4)
England
fans wait on "sup and soccer" decision
LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - English fans' hopes of enjoying
an early-morning pint of beer with their football during the
World Cup finals in May and June hung on the decision of Britain's
High Court on Friday.
The London
court was due to rule on a case of a landlord from the south-west
city of Bristol who is appealing against a decision by local
magistrates who refused his application to open early during
games.
Because
of the time difference to joint hosts Japan and South Korea,
many World Cup games will be played during the morning in
Britain, the first time the tournament's matches have been
shown live on television at that time of day.
Many fans
in Britain like to watch big games in pubs (bars) and clubs
with a pint in their hands rather than stay at home.
But in
1978 the High Court ruled that pubs should only open at unusual
hours if their clients were participating in a special event
justifying the extension.
Watching
soccer on television has so far not qualified as "active
soccer participation".
Martin Gough, manager of Bristol's White Hart pub, owned by
court challengers Scottish & Newcastle Retail, is effectively
challenging that ruling.
Magistrates
courts, which individually decide on opening hours' extensions,
have sometimes granted permission for Cup pub breakfasts but
most courts have denied them due to the 1978 ruling.
The British
Beer and Pub Association is hoping that more courts will grant
licenses if the Bristol case is won. The World Cup finals
take place on May 31-June 30.
Citroen/Suzuki
Race Team , Ready to take on the hills
Brown & Co. Ltd. will be active participants at the motor
racing in the hill country during the April season.
Citroen's
Xantia and Xsara will be driven by Mr. Sheran Fernando, Director
Motor, Brown and Company Ltd., Mr.Sadath Niszar, Works Manager
Citroen and Suzuki will drive Suzuki's Baleno at the two races.
The Mahagastota
race is not only the oldest hill-climb in Asia but also the
most challenging. The races have been organized for the past
60 years in Sri Lanka and the race track - an area of 675
yards with 4 major corners, have to be covered within 40 seconds.
This race will be held on 14th and 15th of this month.
The Radella
race track is longer steeper and tests the absolute power
of the car. The races are scheduled to be held on April 17th.
Around
80 competitors will take part in each of the hill climbs.
All the top racing drivers will compete in this event. The
Citroen's Xantia will be competing against the Team Mobil
Nissan March driven by formula driver Rohan de Silva and his
daughter Shehara. This car is prepared with a special close
ratio gearbox, so it will be very interesting to see how the
Xantia, which is totally standard, will compare.
Crack-shot
Inoka yearns for super calibre race guns
Corporal Inoka Weerasinghe who took to practical pistol shooting
in 1996 has improved tremendously. Her improvement was so
swift that she was able to win the Ladies' Championship at
the National Meet in 1997. She followed it up by winning the
women's championship every year thereafter, and being within
the first five in the overall aggregate.
She has
been in the Sri Lanka team since 1997 and has participated
in five tours. At the last World Shoot in 1999 she was 23rd
from among 50 women. Practical Pistol shooting as a sport
was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1978 in order to improve the
pistol shooting skills among the Police and Armed Forces.
Annual
meets were held from 1979 to 1989 open only to personnel of
the Police and Armed Services.
The National
Rifle Association included Practical Shooting in its programme
and gained affiliation to the International Practical Shooting
Confederation (IPSC) in 1990.
From its inception, women participation in this sport has
fared very well when compared with the men.
In recent
years, the girls from the Air Force have been consistently
good, winning the Ladies' Team event at the last four National
Meets.
At the
National Meet 2000, Inoka shot well in every stage and was
second overall to Sgt. Sunil Prematilake, also of the Air
Force. Many thought this was the highest she could aspire
to, but she confounded the skeptics at the 2001 National Meet
which was held at the STF Range, Katukurunda in February this
year. She consistently outshot the men in every event - Standard
Exercises, Speed Shoots and Long Shoots to become the National
Champion!
One person
who was highly impressed with her prowess was Vince Pinto,
the Secretary of the International Practical Shooting Confederation
who was here to conduct a Seminar for International Range
Officers, and officiated at this Meet as the Range Master.
He said
that Sri Lanka was unique in that the ratio of women to men
shooters was higher than in any of the Asia Pacific countries
including Australia and New Zealand. He also pointed out that
the best woman shooter in any of these countries would be
placed no higher than about 25th in the overall ranking. Here,
at this Meet, there were no fewer than four women in the top
16! These girls have the talent, but are handicapped by having
to use outdated calibres. They still use weapons chambered
for the .45 ACP cartridge. The popular calibre used in IPSC
International Open Division shooting is the .38 Super cartridge
hand loaded to major calibre scoring. The main difference
between these two calibres is that the recoil of the .38 Super
is very much less than that of the .45 and the weapon hardly
moves during firing. With the .45 the muzzle rises quite a
lot with recoil of firing and it takes longer to re-align
the weapon for the next shot.
Talking
of her success, Inoka Weerasinghe was quick to point out that
this was only possible because of the encouragement and assistance
of her colleagues at the SLAF Shooting Range, and officers
such as Gp Capt. Robin Jilla and Flt. Lt. Nalin Galappaththi
to whom she was greatly indebted.
She was
confident that given the same type of weapons and training
that the top shooters in the sport have, the Sri Lankans,
both men and women, could be among the world's best.
The first
step in this direction would be the acquisition of at least
four high quality Race Guns in .38 Super calibre with new
optical sights, sufficient remanufactured ammunition for training,
and perhaps a qualified coach, and being among the best in
the World will no longer be a dream.
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