The Lankan World Cup opener 2011 came under a dark cloud last afternoon as a result of a drizzle that fell over the Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium. The covers that came over were kept on till late evening, as it was reported that there were rather heavy showers in the Embilipitiya area.
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| Kumar Sangakkara |
Meanwhile the Sri Lankan cricketers in preparation for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in general and in particular for their match against Canada this afternoon had a net session at the facility in the morning prior to the drizzle.
After the session the Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara addressing the media about the game at hand said that they were not going to take the game lightly and will play their best brand of cricket even against minnows in world Cricket – Canada.The Sri Lanka skipper was awed by the huge southern complex and said that he was very impressed with this new facility, but, people responsible should make sure that there would be continuity in activity at this stadium in the future.
This is the second occasion that Sri Lanka is meeting Canada in a World Cup match. The first occasion that Sri Lanka played Canada in Paarl, South Africa, the North American cricketers were all out for a paltry 36 runs in their innings and the game concluded in just one session at 1.30 p.m.
For today’s match Sri Lanka will not have the services of their middle order batsman Chamara Silva who has taken leave to attend a family bereavement. However the Lankans have not called for a replacement.
Ashish Bagai |
Now that the custodians of the game – the ICC is intent on confining the 2015 World Cup to the ten full member teams, it is not very likely that Canada would be part of this spectacle next time around. The Canadian skipper Ashish Bagai commenting on the matter said that they do not hope to be a part of the next World Cup, but, would strive to make an impact at this year’s tournament to the best of their abilities.
There was a turf kept opened for the Canadian cricketers to conduct their practice session, but, it was also closed after the session was over.
He was also very thankful to their Sri Lankan coaches – Pubudu Dassanayake and Chandika Haturusinghe who have groomed them to be battle worthy at this World Cup.
Sri Lanka (from) Kumar Sangakkara (c/wk), Mahela Jayawardene (vice captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Rangana Herath, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thisara Perera, Thilan Samaraweera and Upul Tharanga.
Canada (from) Ashish Bagai (c/wk), Rizwan Cheema (vice captain), Harvir Baidwan, Balaji Rao, John Davison, Parth Desai, Tyson Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Jimmy Hansra, Khurram Chohan, Nitish Kumar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Zubin Surkari, Karl Whatham and Hamza Tariq. |
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