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South Africa triumph in spin battle KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Nicky Boje and Alan Dawson starred in a nail-biting battle of spin and grit as South Africa ousted world champions Sri Lanka on Wednesday to march into the inaugural cricket final at the Commonwealth Games. The Springbok hero with both bat and ball was Boje, who took four wickets as Sri Lanka tumbled to 130 all out in 44 overs, then steered South Africa to an unlikely victory with an unbeaten ninth wicket partnership of 35 with Dawson. Sri Lanka, who brought to Kuala Lumpur only one of their established stars, captain Hashan Tillekeratne, looked to have the match well in hand with the South Africans reduced to 96 for nine on a viciously turning wicket. But then Boje and Dawson came together and decided not to do what most of the other batsmen had done -- attack spinners who were turning the ball by as much as 75 degrees. It worked. "Pinch me!" said South African captain Shaun Pollock, not believing his team had made it to the final. Batsmen on both sides went sweeping, pulling and driving the spinners without ever getting to the pitch of the ball properly. "We were not going to play any risky shots. We ran the twos and picked up the ones," said Dawson. There were not many twos, but with plenty of time left the pair defended watchfully, picking up occasional singles until Sri Lanka's quartet of spinners -- introduced in the second over of the innings -- had used up their allocation of 10 overs each. The pace quickened a little as the second-line bowlers came on, but Boje (20 not out) and Dawson (15 not out) still took no risks, nudging and glancing the Springboks into the final against Australia or New Zealand, who play on Thursday. After struggling to 130, the Sri Lankans could not afford to give much away and their spinners were well nigh impossible to play and their fielding was outstanding. "We can't get behind the fact that we did not bat well," Sri Lankan manager Ranjith Fernando told Reuters. For South Africa, left-hander Mike Rindel hit five fours to make 25 off 28 balls, and along with Jacques Kallis was one of his side's very few batsmen who looked at least half comfortable at the crease until Boje and Dawson got together. Both Springboks went out in stunning run outs by Malinda Warnapura, who backed his fielding up with two wickets for only 14 runs in 10 overs. Rindel was out to a direct throw from Warnapura at cover, then to dismiss Kallis, the Sri Lankan chased down the ball at mid on, then managed to toss it towards the bowler's end as he fell in the opposite direction. His throw was right on top of the stumps and Kallis was gone for 10. Offspinner Tilan Samaraweera (two for 13) and legspinner Upul Chandana (two for 19) excelled as most of the other South African batsmen went out attacking. But in the end it was patience, not normally a critical virtue in the one-day game, which won the match. The Sri Lankan batsmen went in much the same fashion as Boje and Derek Crookes proved early on how much the pitch would turn. Left-arm spinner Boje took four for 16 in nine overs, while Crookes took two wickets and conceded only 17 runs in 10 overs. SCOREBOARD SRI LANKA A. Gunawardene st Boucher b Crookes
53 Extras (lb-8, w-3, nb-7) 18 Fall of wickets: 1-11 2-18 3-61 4-99 5-117 6-119 7-121 8-122 9-127 Bowling: Pollock 6-1-15-1 (nb-1),
Elworthy 5-0-31-0 (w-1,nb-5),
SOUTH AFRICA A.Hudson b Samaraweera 7 Extras (b-1,lb-4,w-8,nb-2) 15 Fall of wickets: 1-26 2-38 3-41 4-50 5-61 6-70 7-76 8-93 9-96 Bowling: Villavarayan 5-0-31-0 (w-5),
Samaraweera 10-4-13-2, Sugath, Damayanthi to run 400 m semi-finals On the opening day of the Athletic events of the 16th Commonwealth Games here in Kuala Lumpur Sri Lanka's two athletes Sugath Tillekeratne and Damayanthi Dharsha qualified for semifinals of the 400m event. Tillekerat2ne running in the preliminary round in lane 3 clocked 45.97 secs to win the Heat No. 5. His timing was the best recorded for the preliminary round. In the second round he improved on his earlier timing when he finished the race with a time of 45.55 secs to win the event pushing Jamaica's Robert Martin to second place (45.75 secs) Tillekeratne's improvemented being .42 secs. Out of the sixteen qualifiers for the semifinal Tillekeratne's timing has put him to the third position on ratings. The athletes above him are Ivan Thomas (Wales), 45.26 secs and Kennedy Ochieng (Kenya) 45.53 secs. The record for this event stands at 44.60 secs which was set up at the Auckland Games New Zealand by Darren Clark (Canada). Sugath Tillekeratne clocking the same time (44.60 secs) erased the Asian record at the Asian championships held in Fakuoka Japan. In the women's category Damayanthi Dharsha registering the best time 52.04 secs in the preliminary round for the 400 m flat race made her way to the semi final which is scheduled for today. Dharsha's achievement yesterday saw her reach the top slot on rankings. She is followed by Jamaika's Sandy Richards (53.61 secs) and Canada's Ladona Antoime (52.61 secs). The record for the event 50.38 was set up in 1994 at Victoria Games by Australia's Catherine Freeman. Netball Sri Lanka lost its netball fixture against Cooks Islands 85-50 points. CR
win curtain raiser Last year's Singer Cup runners-up CR and FC shrugged off a tremendous onslaught from arch rivals CH and FC to record a cliff hanger 38 points (4 goals, 2 tries) to 29 (3 goals, 1 try, 1 penalty) victory in their curtain raiser Singer Cup match for 1998 at Longden Place yesterday. At lemons CR led at 24-15. CR who went into this game with the expectation of streamlining their rivals, came up with a most stunning display of power packed rugby churned out by the CH, with their old warhorse, winger Chandrishan Perera being the cynosure of all eyes scoring two fabulous tries at the age of 40. However still it was the red shirts, who ultimately prevailed over their opponents thanks to the superb forward play of flanker Savantha De Saram and lock Mohammed Majid who both planted two tries a piece. Besides these two players, fly half Sumith Premantha, and substitute centre Dilshad Anzari too joined in the try bandwagon by touching down once each. For the winners place kicker Shanitha Fernando, converted four of the tries, successfully out of the total of six which they ran down in the match. For CH apart from the fireworks of Evergreen Shan Perera, another veteran player of yesteryear Bharatha Hegoda too scored a pushover try. Their fly half Ravin Jayamanthri landed the final try for the Maitland Crescent lub with full back K. D. Nanayakkara kicking three conversions and putting over a penalty as well, to see CH and FC going down fighting to CR in this exciting match. International Marathon in Sri Lanka Lanka Sportsreizen together with a leading sports promoter from Germany will organise the first ever International Marathon in Sri Lanka. This event will take place on the 29th November 1998 starting at 5.00 a.m. from the historic city of Galle which is a world heritage site. The Amateur Athletic Association has given its blessings to the organisers and has assured its fullest co-operation and assistance to conduct the event. Over 200 foreigners including a host of Japanese are down for competition. The Ceylon Tourist Board has agreed to provide all the assistance for overseas promotion together with Air Lanka which will function as the official carrier providing the organisers with excellent support by providing a special package to the competitors from all parts of the world, providing complimentary air transportation facilities to a large number of media personnel who are expected to be in Sri Lanka to cover the event and also transporting all the brochures to their overseas destinations at no cost to the organisers. The Southern Provincial Council and the Southern Development Authority will co-operate with Lanka Sportsreizen to make this event a success as it is expected to boost the image of Sri Lanka and specially the Southern Province. Hotel Reef Comber which is the official Hotel together with the Hikkaduwa Hoteliers’ Association will provide accommodation to the participants and the others who are expected in Hikkaduwa during this period. Nestle Lanka Limited, who are well experienced in organising Marathons in Sri Lanka have very generously offered their sponsorship to Lanka Sportsreizen. Cotta United Old Joes to provide vintage soccer The third annual over 40 soccer encounter between Cotta United Kotte and Old Joes FC will be staged on September 19 at the Angampitiya Municipal Grounds. At a press briefing held in this regard in Colombo, the president of Cotta United, Rohan Perera said the match is of tremendous importance as it coincides with the 55th anniversary of our club, which despite even World War II would not cease functioning and has been growing in strength and popularity. We have a very good side too.". He also said that a souvenir had been prepared and the profits from it would go to the purchase of sports equipment for the youth team. Former national players such as R. M. U. Mahindapala and Raja Wijesuriya (Captain) will power the over 40 team, he said. Secretary of the Old Joes FC Desmond Joseph said that youngsters should watch this encounter to get a feel of soccer, as played in the days of old. "The birth of this over-40 encounter was the result of an evening’s discussion with Mahindapala. R. Yoganathan was elected president to the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) (playing section) at the Annual General Meeting held recently. President elect of the SLTA (Playing Section) R. Yoganathan said that the three priority areas of his committee would be to develop the physical infrastructure and playing facilities of the club, promote fellowship and inter generational mixing among members, and to work in close co-operation with the SLTA, led by John Rajapakse, in promoting tennis in Sri Lanka. Officials J R Jayewardene — the sportsman Sri Lankans and the world at large know J. R. Jayewardene as a crafty politician. But only a few know what a fine sportsman he was at Royal College, the school he loved so much. He lived upto the well known saying "when the great scorer comes True to these words, J R played the game well and in the spirit in which all great sportsmen perform. J R's nursery in sports was Royal College. J R played Cricket, Tennis, Rugby and Football and even Boxed. He was such a versatile sportsman that he represented the school in five disciplines. J R was an equally disciplined student. Not only did he participate in so many games at Royal but he also devoted much time for studies. Soon after leaving college, he passed out as a lawyer and began practising in the courts of Hulftsdorp. No doubt, sports played a dominant role in moulding his character for the years to come. J R Jayewardene first stepped onto the playing fields of Royal College as a soccer player. He was only sixteen years old then. The College magazine referring to the 1922 team of which J R Jayewardene was a member said ''the team lost all matches due to lack of experience''. The team comprised of L M Anthonis, V. E. Jayasundera, L J O Wijesekera, M D Dias, L D S Gunasekera, J R Jayewardene, G L S Austin, D Peterson, G Senaratne (Capt), D W L Lieversz, S K S Gunasekera. The football team of Royal College did not fair any better in the years to come. The college magazine again wrote ''the 1924 football team again lost matches. The backs L D S Gunasekera and J R Jayewardene were dependable''. The 1924 team was N S Joseph, J R Jayewardene, L D S Gunasekera, A C Abeywardene, V R Jayasundera, C D R Bastian, H E S De Silva, T M A Wijesekera, D W L Lieversz, P C W Peiris and V S Bartholomeusz. The lack of success as a soccer player may have been the reason J R hardly spoke of his prowess at football in the many speeches he used to make to occasions connected with the affairs of his old school. J R Jayewardene also played Rugger for Royal College in 1923, 1924 and 1925, before the Bradby Shield Series between Royal and Trinity commenced. Only two schools, Royal and Trinity, played rugger at the time. Trinity was as good as any club side. Trinitians were a class by themselves and crossing their goal line was something Royal looked forward to them. J R played under W R L Abeyratne in 1923 and the Trinitians were not at their brilliant best on the 28th of July 1923 playing at Reid Avenue. Royal nevertheless lost 17 points to nil. J R captained the Royal Rugger team in 1924. Trinity was captained by Philip Buultjens. J R's side lost to Trinity badly - 37 points to 3. Trinity crossed the Royal goal line on 11 occasions and two of the tries were converted. However, Royal crossed the Trinity goal line for the first time since the two schools began playing Rugby in 1920. D W L Lieversz (Snr) scored the try and J R never forgot that moment of glory. I have heard him say on several occasions, how Lieversz scored that famous try. In several articles contributed by J R Jayewardene to Royal College, he never failed to mention the fact that Lieversz scored a try against Trinity. The next time Royal crossed the Trinity goal line was on the 04 August 1928 at Reid Avenue under H S Roberts and never did so thereafter, until 1936. This may be why J R never forgot the try Lieversz scored. J R played under D W L Lieversz in 1925 and had the unfortunate experience of being once again on the losing side. Trinity, under the captaincy of A N Myanga, an East African, thrashed Royal to the tune of 46 points to nil, Trinity crossing the Royal goal line on no less than 12 occasions. J R as a Boxer was categorized as a heavy weight (over 120 pounds) in the Inter House Boxing meet in 1924. J R was beaten by C D R Bastian who was a member of his 1924 football team. J R used to often recall how he used to punch Colvin R de Silva in the ring I was once told by Dr. Colvin R de Silva how he knocked out J R at an Inter House Boxing meet. These two remained great friends though in different camps and no one was the winner in the parry and thrust of debate in the Chambers of Parliament. J R boxed for Harward and once lost to W L Siebel (Marsh House). The College magazine referring to this bout said ''J R though lacking in practise, not having boxed for two years, gave Siebel a tough fight. A fourth round of one minute was ordered and Siebel only just won''. In July 1960, J R was the Chief Guest at the Stubbs Shield Boxing Meet held at the Saraswathie Hall, Bambalapitiya. The fine sportsman he was, J R kept the audience spell bound with his speech at the Prize Giving. 'Ceylon Daily News' reporting the event quoted J R as having said ''we are engaged in a Boxing match at the moment — politics. There is a lot of hard hitting in the match and a lot of it is below the belt. In normal boxing, we would be disqualified for hitting below the belt. But, in politics those who hit below the belt normally turn out to be the victors''. J R had this great ability to laugh at himself and joke about others without hurting them. J R's first love was cricket. He first began by playing Inter House Cricket during the last term of 1924. The House he belonged — Harward, beat Marsh House by nine wickets. J R scored seventeen runs and the winning hit for a boundary was scored by him. In the finals against Hartley House, J R did not have it easy. He scored a duck and took only one wicket for twenty eight runs in eight overs. Harward lost to Hartley by an innings and twenty runs. J R went onto represent Royal College and played the Royal—Thomian in 1924 and 1925. The greatest ambition of any school boy cricketer of his time was to play for either Royal or St. Thomas' and play in the big match. J R used to recall with much delight how he belted the ball for a six into St. Bridget' Convent where a young and beautiful one Sirimavo Bandaranaike studied. He laughed out the duck he scored being bowled by C S Ratwatte, in the Royal—Thomian of 1925. But strangely he never said what a great fielder he was. J R was awarded the best fielder's prize that year. Royal College Magazine in 1924 referring to the College Cricket team said ''J R Jayewardene is an excellent fielder and he stands head and shoulders above the rest of them''. J R Jayewardene started the season well in 1925 in the first match where Royal beat St. Benedicts' College within the day. 'Ceylon Daily News' correspondent describing the days play said ''The best cricket of the afternoon was seen when F L Gunawardana (20) and J R Jayewardene (20) were in partnership. The former is a stylish left-hander with all the strokes round the wicket. He was easily the best batsman in the Royal College Team. Jayewardene's innings was a lesson in the use of a straight bat. The way he went out to the pitched-up ball on the off, marks him as a batsman of the future''. Apparently, J R was pursued by ill-health during the rest of the season. He had scored 0 against St. Anthony's 2 not-out against St. Joseph's where L D S Gunasekera scored 194 out of the massive Royal total of 323 runs, 3 against Wesley, 0 and 8 not-out against Trinity and 23 against the old Royalists Club of Panadura. Royal College Magazine in 1925 said ''J R Jayewardene is a splendid fielder in any position and a dependable batsman. He was very successful in the first match of the season. He has not been in good health since then. May prove a useful change bowler''. Nothing much was heard of his bowling, but the usual pen sketches of players printed before the Big match of 1925 described J R Jayewardene as ''A batsman who wields the straight bat, is sound and reliable. As a fielder, he is hard working and a sound change bowler''. J R Jayewardene kept up his abiding interest in cricket after leaving school. He played Rugger and Cricket for the University College and Law College after leaving school. He was always seen witnessing International Cricket matches despite having a busy schedule as a political leader. He would never miss a Royal—Thomian and a couple of hours in the Mustangs Tent. He surprised everybody declaring a public holiday after Sri Lanka beat India for the first time in Colombo, when he was the President of Sri Lanka. Such was his interest in Cricket. He also played a leading role in the administration of cricket in the country. J R served the Ceylon Cricket Association as its President in 1951 and thereafter the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka from 1952 to 1955. J R joined the SSC to continue playing cricket but, his legal profession and politics did not give him much time to continue the game at the top. But he retained his membership to the fullest and participated in the activities of this premier Cricket playing club until he passed away on the 01 November 1996. J R Jayewardene was elected the President of the SSC in 1981 after the demise of Sir John Kotalawela and retained Presidency of SSC uncontested even after retiring from politics in 1989. While being the President of the country. J R Jayewardene chaired Executive Committee meetings of the SSC quite frequently. After relinquishing Presidential Office, he attended almost every Executive Committee meeting until his health began to fail him in early 1996. As the Secretary of SSC, I had to brief him on the agenda the day before each meeting and with regard to what was going on in the club. His enthusiasm to improve the SSC was tremendous. Members of the club recall with gratitude the day he summoned a meeting of all the Bankers in 1980 and said ''Gentlemen, I have opened the economy and allowed Banks to make money. Now its your turn to help me. The master plan for the improvement of SSC is in front of you and I trust you will help the club of which I am the President''. I was the Assistant Secretary then and I recall noting down the pledges made by several Chief Executives of local and foreign Banks totalling upto Rs. 3m, for the improvement of the pavilion in the master plan prepared by the Architects of the State Engineering Corporation. J R Jayewardene was a true and full blooded Royalist as well as an enthusiastic sportsman. He maintained such close links with Royal that he held the post of Hony. Secretary of the Royal College Old Boys' Union from 1933 to 1938 during which time Royal College celebrated its centenary. President J R Jayewardene was the Chief Guest at the banquet held in connection with the Centenary of the Old Boys' Union in 1991. While proposing the toast to the RCU on 24 July 1992, J R said ''we old boys learned the way where our fathers too learned the way before us, emulating those great traditions and those who created them and proved that Royal too should follow the motto ''Esto Perpetual Royal, May Royal go on for ever''. Royal College OBU paid the debt they owed to a great son of Royal by reconstructing the old Cricket pavilion declared open by Sri Ponnambalam Ramanathan in February 1930, and naming it ''J R Jayewardene Pavilion''. This was only a part of the proposed J R Jayewardene sports pavilion complex. President J R Jayewardene was disliked by some, feared by others and marvelled by many for his resilience as a politician. He left his mark for ever on the political culture of this country and history will judge him for it and the leadership he gave Sri Lanka's economy in 1977. But no one equalled his character, where lessons learned as a sportsman was applied to a life in politics. Just as much as J R and Royal was inseparable, J R and sports was inseparable. Truly, the games he played in school and his continuing interest in sports after leaving it, enabled him to look at life and the well being of Sri Lanka, from a wider perspective. R J De Silva |
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