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| CR take league plum by demolishing Kandy SC by Ravi Nagahawatte The mathematical calculations which were figured out in the minds of many, suddenly appeared meaningless as CR broke loose from all bounds with two tries which gave them more than a drawn fixture which was needed yesterday. The six point victory margin which the visiting team were looking at remained a dream eventhough hopes were high in the Kandy camp when they took a surprise 5-3 lead at the breather. However that dash of individual brilliance which was added in to a back line move by centre Paul Benette proved fatal for Kandy as the "Red Shirts" surged ahead 16-8 after being just a point (9-8) ahead of their opponents till the thirty third minute of play. And then yet another by speedy Musafer made things look impossible for Kandy eventhough the team earned a try in the dying minutes of the game. Full back Nalaka Weerakkody displayed the glow of his ‘golden’ boots for yet another occasion as he showed great skill in kicking the ball through the two uprights. The national player really came in to the limelight with a brilliant drop goal after the turn around ,but all importantly gave his team the lead with a penalty in the first half. Kandy took the lead on the stroke of half time when Scrum half Nilufer Ibrahim went over the line after the ball was made possible for him by team mate, Buksh, who smothered Paul Benette’s clearance kick inside the CR ten. Fly half Micheal Collins missed the conversion. The house full gathering erupted in joy as hosts CR took the lead for the first time with drop goal by Weerakkody eleven minutes in to the game .But New Zealender Collins made things rosy for his team once again with well taken penalty from forty eight metres out to put Kandy 8-6 in the lead . Weerakkody put the pressure back on Kandy with his second penalty and seventeen minutes later added two more points to his personal tally by goaling Benettes try which came off a scintilating burst of speed. Six minutes later Winger Musafer crossed the line off a sweeping back line move with lock forward William Lio having had a hand in it. Kandy crossed the CR line just before the end when Imthisham Marikar went over effortlessly when the team opted for a short tap when awarded with a penalty in the opposition five. Referee-Steave Savage |
| Manoj Mendis and Malinda
Waranapura shine Sri Lanka ‘A’ reach 181/8 from
Dhammika Ratnaweera in Kurunegala South African bowlers dominated the days play when Allan Dawson the paceman and leg spinner Nick Boje dictating terms to the Sri Lanka ‘A’ batting line up. They shared seven wickets among them. Sajith Fernando the Sri Lanka ‘A’ skipper won the toss and elected to bat. Openers Avishka Gunawardena and Upeka Fernando failed to capitalise on the situation as the South African bowlers were accurate on line and length. Both openers plodded for a while with Gunawardene falling to a return catch when the score reached 9 runs all contributed by him. Allan Dawson delivered a slower ball and Gunawardena played straight in to the hands on his follow through. The other opener Upeka Fernando also made 10 runs when Sri Lanka ‘A’ lost their second wicket when the score reached 20 when Fernando was caught by Pothas off the bowling of Gilder for 10. Skipper Sajith Fernando (10) and Sanjeewa Ranatunga also failed miserably as the score reached 45 for the loss of 4 wickets. Then, Malinda Warnapura and Manoj Mendis batted sensibly to repair the innings adding a valuable 58 runs for the fifth wicket. Warnapura who made his international debut was unfortunately dismissed four runs short of his half century. Warnapura was caught in the covers by Ashwell Prince off Nick Boje when well set. He struck three fours batting brilliantly for a youngster facing 184 balls in 154 minutes. Manoj Mendis who also batted well at the other end made a painstaking 46 including six boundaries. Mendis was caught by Ackerman off the bowling of Nick Boje when the score reached 103. Chaminda Vaas making a comeback to international cricket after knee surgery struck two beautifully timed boundaries but was dismissed caught by Benkenstein off the bowling of leg spinner Boje. At the close when bad light stopped play Sri Lanka ‘A’ had reached 181 for 8 wickets. Allen Dawson 4 for 31 and Nick Boje 3 for 36 troubled the Sri Lanka ‘A’ batsmen in a pace-spin combination. Tilan Samaraweera batted cautiously to be unbeaten on 21. Scoreboard Sri Lanka ‘A’ AVISHKA GUNAWARDENE ct
and b Dawson 09 Total (for eight wickets at close in 89 overs in 327 mins) 181 Fall of Wickets: 1-9 (Gunawardena, 2-20 (Upeka), 3-34 (Sajith), 4-45 (Ranatunga), 5-103 (Mendis), 6-148 (Dilshan), 7-148 (Warnapura), 8-110 (Vaas). Did not Bat: Malinga Bandara. Bowling (to date): Garry Gilder 13-1-41-1, Allen Dawson 19-9-39-4, Dale Benkenstein 1-0-1-0, Nick Boje 31-10-46-3, Derrick Crookes 25-8-53-0. |
| Press Box a flop Poor organizing by the Kurunegala District Cricket Association for the Press during the first day of the Second Unofficial test match between Sri Lanka ‘A’ and South Africa ‘A’ put the pressmen into great difficulties. There was no official scorer available at the Press Box and the Scoreboard also was not operated properly. This made the Pressmen both local and foreign to do their own scoring in order to record the match. South African pressmen also occupied the press box and were disappointed the way it had been organised. No facilities for the Pressmen were available and when querried from an official he tried to argue with the Pressmen and did not rectify matters. (DR) |
| Sri Lanka 75 for 1 at lunch against Middlesex from Sujeewa Nivunhella in
London Acting captain Sanath Jayasuriya opening the batting showed his old form and hit 3 fours and all run four for his 24. Jayasuriya flashing hard to a ball out side the off stump from C. J. Batt flicked the ball, to a gully fielder Kettleborough who dropped it put the ball up and second gully K.P. Dutch was their to catch the ball before it touched the ground. Marvan Atapattu the other opener also showed his fluency in batting and was 30 not out. He hit 5 fours. Russel Arnold 8 not out is still there with Atapattu at lunch. A large number of Sri Lankans living in London were present at the grounds cheering the Sri Lanka team. Since all the tickets for one day internationals and the test match have been sold out a large crowd will be expected. SCOREBOARD MIDDLESEX 1st Innings D. J. GOODCHILD run out
105 Total: (117.4 overs) 313 Fall of Wickets: 1-32, 2-40, 3-129, 4-202,5-250, 6-261, 7-261, 8-277, 9-309. Bowling: Perera 21-6-46-1, Pushpakumara 23-1-93-3, Hathurusinghe 17-4-54-0, Villavarayan 18.4-7-36-4, Dharmasena 30-8-74-1, Jayasuriya 4-1-3-0. SRI LANKA First Innings - Second day at lunch S. T. JAYASURIYA ct
Dutch b Batt 24 Total: (for 1 wicket in 18 overs) 75 Fall of Wickets: 1-56 Bowling: T. F. Bloomfield 5-0-26-0, C. J. Batt 7-0-30-1,R. L. Johnson 5-1-12-0, P. C. R. Tufnell 1-1-0-1. |
| REFLECTIONS BCCSL playing down the issue by Sriyan
Obeyesekere It is understood that even prior to the England tour, the same two juniors had been reprimanded by the team manager over poor discipline, but that this had proved to no avail. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) has been quick to issue a denial of any breach of discipline by players on tour. However, the Sri Lanka cricket team manager had been quoted as saying a particular bowler was to be sent back home due to lack of form and would be replaced by paceman Chaminda Vaas whereas the player referred to had played in only one match on tour so far. Now it is understood that the tour management had rescinded its decision to send back the player concerned with the authorities playing down the matter. |
| Says he erred in England -
S. Africa Test Umpire Kitchen who slammed cricketers for 'unfair appealing' to quit From Sujeeva Nivunhella Our
London Corr. This followed a highly dubious LBW decision he gave against South African batsman Jonty Rhodes in the first innings and caught behind in the second innings which were disproved by television replays when he stood in the England-South Africa third test. Later Kitchen was quoted as saying in 'The Daily Telegraph' of July 30 under the headline, 'Heat proving too much for Kitchen,' can't say I enjoyed that Test match. I think it will be my last, I'm afraid! When the reporter questioned him as to why he made such a statement, umpire Kitchen replied, "I don't think I feel up to the job anymore. I could have sworn there was a noise when Kallis and Rhodes played their shots, then I looked at the replays later and realised I'd made a mistake. It's terribly depressing and I've had some awful mail-offers of special prescription glasses, hearing aids — which just makes it worse." What lent a new spark to the long dragging controversy involving umpires and cricketers was that New Zealand's Steve Dunne the other officiating umpire with Kitchen in the Test match who also vociferously joined his British colleague in their stand against 'unfair' appealing at last week's National Grid Umpire's Conference in England, also being at the centre of controversy for questionable decisions. The main offender was Steve Dunne. Sri Lanka suffered heavily due to similar decisions given by umpire Dunne during the Sri Lanka versus South Africa match in South Africa early this year. This time round it was South Africa that suffered. Atherton who scored 98 not out in the England second innings and cemented the win for England had gloved a ball from Alan Donald to wicket keeper Mark Boucher but umpire Dunne ignored the appeals. He also gave Gary Kirsten out LBW when Fraser was bowling round the wicket and the ball hitting the top of the pad. Mark Butcher also was given out LBW by umpire Dunne when Donald was bowling round the wicket. Nasser Hussain was given LBW by umpire Dunne to a Steve Elworthy ball which might have been passing outside off stump. |
| Bristol league soccer
tourney Saunders reach final By Althaf Nawaz It took 75-minutes to shatter the dead lock for Saunders when their striker T. Rafik netted the ball beautifully after a clean pass from his co-striker G. P. C. Karunaratne. Both teams played a sloppy game from the start missing several chances. Air Force in particular a physically fit side had no game plan and their forwards failed to prove themselves. They had a poor show and failed to uitilise the good passes fed to them from their defenders. Air Force defence led by National skipper Sampath Perera stood first preventing the opponents sneaking through. They started playing same attacking football in the dying stages of the match but their efforts went a begging as A. G. C. Desapriya's whistle blew full time. After Rafik's opener for Saunders, their play maker G. P. C. Karunaratne increased their lead in the 87th minute through his boots with a well timed kick which completely out measured the Air Force goalie Rafik who charged ahead rather than collecting a simple kick. One minute later Stainwall booted the solitary goal for Airmen after a neat pass from the right flank. |
| Roshan strikes as Ratnam enter final Two classic goals in the first half by Ratnam striker Roshan Perera ousted last years’ runner-up Renown with a close two goals to one victory in the second semi-final of the Bristol League Soccer Tournament played under lights at Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday. Some entertaining soccer by both teams gave the spectators their monies worth as Ratnam's wonder boy Roshan Perera assured them a place in the final against Saunders with two classic goals in quick succession. Even though Renown netted the first goal through their right extreme N. C. Abeysekere in the 23rd minute of the match, Ratnam lads fought back gallantly to match up a comprehensive win with a barren second half. Roshan Perera's first goal came in the 34th minute when he obliged a pass from right extreme to boot it beautifully. Next goal came just one minute later as it was a sole individual effort when he went solo to fire a 20 metre kick from a difficult angle covering 30 metres ground. Meanwhile, Anton Wambeck of Ratnam and Ananda Kumar of Renown received the marching rights for dangerous play. — Referee - M. A. Yapa (AN) |
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