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Silva hopes for a lightning strike
In his fifth and last World Cup, the 37-year-old de Silva has only taken guard once in South Africa. He made 12 against New Zealand, even then only getting into the action just before the start of the slog overs, Sanath Jayasuriya (120) and Marvan Atapattu (81 not out) having set up a winning total. His batting services were not required in the 10-wicket and nine-wicket victories over Bangladesh and Canada. For the rest of the time, de Silva, arguably the slowest mover in world cricket, huffed and puffed about the field as Sri Lanka's bowlers made hay. If captain Jayasuriya does decide to shuffle his batting order in Nairobi in an attempt to share around the runs, he could not choose a better man than de Silva to come in at first down. In 1996, de Silva hit a career-best 145 off 115 balls against the Kenyans in Kandy, including 14 fours and five sixes. Sri Lanka made 398 for five that day, the highest total ever made in a World Cup. That performance gave him one of his four man-of-the-match awards in the 1996 event. He completed the set in the final, with a century in Sri Lanka's defeat of the Australians. Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore, however, suggested there would be no batting experimentation. "It is a game we have to win. We have played pretty well in the last three games, we need to keep the good bits up," he said. Kenya will remember that day in 1996 in Kandy with some satisfaction themselves, having replied with a respectable 254 for seven, 96 of those runs coming from Steve Tikolo. The teams also met in 1999, when Sri Lanka won by 45 runs. Again, Kenya batted impressively, making 230 for six against an attack containing both Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan. Maurice Odumbe made 82 that day. Sri Lanka have
won their opening three games to lead Group B with 12 points. Colts
spin trio rout Panadura
Mohan takes over the reins from outgoing president Harsha Mayadunne. After taking office, Balasuriya thanked the membership for electing him to the post at a time when the game has hit a new low. "I am not going for a popular vote. I mean business", said Mohan 'Bala' was interviewed by The Sunday Times. He said constructive criticism was vital in a democratic society. "This will enable my committee to overcome shortcomings. Let's work as a team. Put other petty issues under the carpet. All must rally around for the future betterment of this popular sport", said Bala. "Being an ex-serviceman one has to be disciplined and should be totally committed to the sport. There should be self -belief. There was tremendous support for the game in the past, but it has drifted away. All clubs must strive to improve their own image and make the game more competitive. There will be sponsors provided the game is administered and the players improve their skills. Let's forget the past. My predecessor Harsha Mayadunne said that the IRB will improve their grant. Good! more hard work at district level. The Development Committee has done a good job under Arjun Dharmadasa," pointed out Mohan Balasuriya. Dr. Maiya Gunasekera served as the pro-tem chairman before the elections. Maiya said both Mohan Balasuriya and the young vice president Priyantha Ekanayake has played the game at the highest level. The duo has made a tremendous sacrifice for the game and possess the guts to fight back even when the chips are down. Priyantha was a gutsy player and led the country by example. Bala played under Y.C. Chang in the 1972 Asiad and the team was coached by the late Nimal Maralande. "I was a member of that team. It was amazing the way Chang displayed his courage and fighting spirit against countries like Japan", said Maiya. Harsha Mayadunne, the outgoing president said that a tremendous amount of work has been done at provincial level. The Development Squad has been an instant success to harness players at grassroots level. The developing activities has improved, said Mayadunne. The Union has secured an IRB Trust Grant of Sterling Pounds 55,000 for rugby. Caltex has signed a new sponsorship package for a further three years with an enhanced payment. All this augurs well for the future of the sport. The new committee should also do well to make further inroads for its development. There were
nine contenders for the seven posts in the Council - Nimal Lewke
(30) votes, Arjun Djharmadasa (30), Rizvie Illyas (24), Izwan Omar
(22), Lasitha Gunaratne (22), Michael Jayasekera (20), Fazal Mahmud
(20), Iqbal Hassan (18), Tuan Dole (14). Gus
Logie to train women Former Sri Lanka opening bat Nihal Kodituwakku is in charge of the training of the West Indies bound women's team. He has vowed to win the Women's World Cup and put Sri Lanka on the cricketing map like Arjuna Ranatunge's team did by winning the World Cup in 1996. The Sri Lanka women's team is led by Sivanathan and whilst in the Caribbean the Sri Lanka team will be coached by former WestIndies cricketer Gus Logie.
The preliminary rounds are far too many to comment on so I will deal with the semi-finals and finals. Sumal Perera found access to the finals after several titanic struggles one of which nearly pushed him over the brink and having got there he patiently waited for his opponent and in the meantime took a few lessons to curb his impetuousness. In the other half a new arrival on the scene from the sub-continent has been identified as an UL flyer who has been shooting great scores impressively. Skipper Srinivas Rao of UL had a long journey to the semi-finals when he met a strong contestant in Julian Dias. The match was a ding-dong struggle until Dias got untidy and loose to slip away and succumb to a 2 down defeat. Rao was jubilant after a rewarding and well deserved victory. -Tita Nathanielsz S.
Thomas’- Trinity ends in tame draw S. Thomas' -147 and 197 for 5 declared (Arjuna Rajawasam 71, Damith Warsuwithana 47, Pramuditha Rodrigo 48 n.o.; A. Peiris 2 for 20) Trinity- (138/5 overnight) 162 (Clifford Fernando 39, Ishan Ratnayake 26, Sameera Punchihewa 25; Shehan Shanthikumar 4 for 46, Pramuditha Rodrigo 2 for 27) and 135 for 6 (Hasantha Mendis 60, Clifford Fernando 51; Sanjeewa Mendis 2 for 14) -MSA Deaf
Schools netball tournament today |
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