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Lankan CC make 311 vs Old Dharmapalians
Lankan CC made a bold 311 in their Sara Trophy cricket match against Old Dharmapalians which began at Pannipitiya yesterday. The feature of the innings was the 100 scored by C. Jayasinghe.

Lankan CC 311 (C. Jayasinghe 100, S. Perera 89, C. Galappaththi 26, S. Sahhed 35, C. Nirosh 25; R. Senaratne 6 for 34) vs Old Dharmpalians-MSA

Old Cambrians 170
In the Sara Trophy cricket encounter between Old Cambrians SC and Nugegoda SWC which began at the Premadasa Stadium yesterday. Old Cambrians taking first lease of the wicket scored 170 and NSWC were 66 for 1 at close.

Old Cambrians 170 (S. Hettiaracchchi 79, N. Fernando 45; S. Farook 5 for 24, E. Perera 4 for 38) NSWC 66 for 1 at close (N. Liyanage 30 n.o., S. Jayawickrama 26 n.o.)-MSA

Badureliya 227
On the first days play of the Sara Trophy cricket match between Police SC and Badureliya SC being played at the Police Park. Badureliya SC batting made 227 and Police SC were 40 for no loss.

Badureliya SC - 227 (S. Wijeratne 40, S. Witharna 62, S. Suriyaarachchi 39, R. Samarasinghe 28; R. Jinen 3 for 41, M. Jayawardena 3 for 56)
Police SC - 40 for no loss.-MSA

Sri Lanka meet India in U-17 final
By Aubrey Kuruppu
Sri Lanka's under 17 cricketers squeezed out a two wicket win over Bangladesh to enter the tri- nations tournaments final against India which will be on Wednesday at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium.

Earlier a spirited Bangladesh team had totalled 216 with openers Pavel and Islam batting superbly to add 116 for the first wicket. Five run outs put paid to any hopes the visitors had of setting Sri Lanka a bigger target.

Bangladesh 216 in 49.4 overs (Naleem Islam 28, G.S.Pavel 76, Golam Rahman 40, Nadif Choudhury 25, Dhiman Gosh 16, Kanchana Gunawardane 2-33, Shanaka Wickramasekera 2-17 , M.F.Maharoof 1-25.)

Sri Lanka 217-8 in 48 overs (Upul Tharanga 13, Kanchana Gunawardane 38, Shanaka Wickramasekera 20, H.Vithanage 37, Gihan De Silva 35, F.Maharoof 25, Sandun Dias 19, N .Chaudhury 2-24, Z.Rahman 2-26, A.Newaz 2-65)

Weather gods win the battle
Try as Sri Lanka and India did, the weather Gods decided that neither team should bask in the glory of being the winner of the ICC trophy. It was also termed the Mini World Cup and it did give an indication as to what teams would be in contention for claims to win the World Cup in March next year.

As events turned out, when play was halted on both days it looked as though India were the favourites. Yet, Sri Lanka had posted scores of 231 and 222, on a pitch where batsmen had to work hard to earn their runs, particularly off the slower bowlers. The ball had to be struck, as it was not coming on enough to be timed and caressed.

It was Haribajan and Shewag who halted Sri Lanka from collecting 30 or 40 more on day one. On day two skipper Ganguly called on six bowlers and they all obliged. Zaheer Khan, the left arm pacie who is constantly improving, picked-up Jayasuriya, Jayawardene and Vaas and was the pick of the lot.

First the Sri Lankan middle order perished in attempting to rush and could not capitalize on the rich start. On day two the hitherto reliable top order ran into trouble to reduce the team to 71 for 4.

It gave Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold the opportunity to build a partnership. Due to one reason or another both had not compiled big scores. Cometh the hour the two players held the batting together, against an onslaught of pace and spin.

Jayawardene was delightful as he always is when in full cry. Arnold laboured in the beginning but then blossomed out and Sri Lanka reached a very respectable score.

The presence of Shewag and Tendulkar is what put the game in India's favour. Both players are capable of decimating any attack on any surface. Shewag was in spanking form throughout the tournament. Tendulkar was not so, but the sleeping giant would have arisen for the occasion.

Overall Australia seemed the most potent outfit. They were beaten, battered and bruised by the home team. A convincing win and a supreme confidence booster for Sanath Jayasuriya's men.

The blistering start they got, made them greedy to reach a score of possibly 300. They looked to the end, rather than the way to get there. Hayden and Gilchrist lost their heads and threw it away. Lehman and Martyn got themselves run out. Ponting went lbw to a beauty from Vaas. They got themselves into a mire which they could never get out of.

In addition, not having an additional front line spinner made it impossible to defend their meagre total.

A lesson to be learnt for all countries touring this part of the world. The capacity crowd was deadly silent whenever Australia succeeded. When Sri Lanka succeeded or the Aussies failed the roar was like thunder from the skies, which is a frightening experience. External pressures have a telling effect on even the best and strong willed players - particularly when the chips are down.

Sri Lanka, India, South Africa and Australia reached the semi-final stage. At present they are the sides playing the best one day cricket. There is more work to be done between now and the World Cup. My money is on one of these four teams to triumph. Time will tell!

Little swimmer with big promise
Thanuja Dayananda Sooriyarachchi of Ananda College, Colombo has proved himself as a future swimming prospect for Sri Lanka.

Thanuja who is in Year Nine, came first in 50, 100 and 200 metres in the under 14 back stroke event at the National Schools Swimming Championships 2002. He also stole the limelight at the recently concluded National Age Group Swimming Championships held at the Sugathadasa Swimming pool by winning all his pet events.

Thanuja's father Dhammika was the captain of the Sri Lanka swimming team in 1979. Presently Dhammika is the officer-in-charge of the Negombo Police.

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