      |
|
|
Sri Lanka crushed as Ealham takes five wickets
PERTH, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Paceman Mark Ealham grabbed five wickets, including three in four balls, as England crushed Sri Lanka by 128 runs in their tri-series limited-overs match on Friday.
Sri Lanka were shot out for a paltry 99 in 33.3 overs after England, who lost the toss, had made 227 for seven in their 50 overs at the WACA ground.
It virtually assured England of a berth in the triangular tournament's best-of-three finals series and at the same time all but ended Sri Lanka's chances.
They would have to win their last three matches, starting on Sunday against Australia, to stand any chance of qualifying.
England captain Alec Stewart was delighted with the ease of the win and lavish in his praise of Ealham.
"It was basically a flogging," Stewart said. "Any time you win a one-day international by 128 runs, I think that's a fair call.
"He (Ealham) bowled beautifully, did everything right and deserved what he got."
Sri Lanka had looked to be cruising comfortably at 65 for one in the 18th over. But then Ealham, who had conceded 14 runs in his first two overs, snapped up Sanath Jayasuriya (40) and Marvan Atapattu (17) with the fourth and fifth balls of his third over.
Although his hat-trick bid was denied, he had Aravinda De Silva (1) caught behind by Stewart with the first delivery of his fourth over.
Ealham also dismissed Roshan Mahanama (6) and Arjuna Ranatunga (11) to finish with five for 32 off 10 overs, eclipsing his previous best haul of three for 44 against South Africa at Leeds last year.
England kept to their pre-match plan to bowl short at the Sri Lankans, who failed to handle the lifting ball on the WACA strip. The last nine wickets fell for 34 runs.
The match was played in good spirit, unlike last weekend's controversial game between the same two sides in Adelaide, although Sri Lankan captain Ranatunga was roundly booed from the start.
When Ranatunga went out to bat, he and opposite number Stewart shook hands.
Ranatunga did not appear at the post-match press conference, leaving team manager Ranjith Fernando to face a barrage of questions following his captain's six-match suspended ban for leading a walk-off protest in last Saturday's match against England.
Fernando said Ranatunga's presence at Thursday night's International Cricket Council code of conduct hearing had been a distraction.
"It wasn't easy and the team was concerned at what the outcome would be," Fernando said. "One must say it wasn't an easy time but we can't put forward any excuses. We played badly."
Fernando said Ranatunga had not been too perturbed by the reception he had received on Friday or by what he was likely to receive on Sunday. "He's a strong man, he has a lot of character," Fernando said.
An unbeaten 81 off 119 deliveries by Neil Fairbrother guided England out of deep trouble in their innings.
Fairbrother, who shared an 89-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Adam Hollioake (46), finished his innings with a runner after straining his left hamstring attempting a second run in the 47th over.
The busy left-hander will miss England's last two qualifying matches but is expected to be available for the opening game of the final at the SCG on February 10, should the tourists progress as anticipated.
Fairbrother's effort overshadowed that of Sri Lanka's left-arm fast bowler Ruchira Perera, who claimed three for 55 in his limited-overs international debut.
Perara's opening five-over spell yielded the scalps of Stewart (0), Nick Knight (13) and Nasser Hussain (0).
He also ran out Hollioake with a direct throw from deep backward square but squandered much of his good work by bowling 10 no-balls and three wides.
In all, Sri Lanka sent down 15 no-balls and eight wides in an extras total of 29.
Stewart said the WACA wicket, arguably the fastest pitch in the world, was a one-off and Sri Lanka clearly struggled to adjust.
Stewart predicted that Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath could be a handful for the Sri Lankans on Sunday.
SCOREBOARD England Innings
N. Knight c De Silva b Perera 13
A. stewart b Perera 0
G. Hick lbw Vaas 10
N. Hussain c Kaluwitharana b Perera 0
N. Fairbrother not out 81
A. Hollioake run out 46
M. Ealham c Mahanama b Muralitharan 16
R. Croft c Chandana b Vaas 32
D. Gough not out 0
Extras (lb-6, w-8, nb-15) 29
Total (for seven, 50 overs) 227Did not bat: D. Headley, A. Mullally
Fall of Wickets: 1-6, 2-30, 3-37, 4-38, 5-127, 6-166, 7-221.
Bowling: Vaas 10-2-38-2 (nb-3, w-1), Perera 10-0-55-3 (nb-10, w-3), Muralitharan 10-1-26-1, Chandana 8-0-39-0 (nb-2, w-1), Jayasuriya 9-0-47-0 (w-2), De Silva 3-0-16-0 (w-1).
Sri Lanka Innings
S. Jayasuriya c Hollioake b Ealham 40
R. Kaluwitharana c Hollioake b Gough 5
M. Atapattu c Knight b Ealham 17
a. de Silva c Stewart b Ealham 1
M. Jayawardena c Hussain b gough 3
a. Ranatunga c Knight b ealham 11
R. Mahanama c Hussain b Ealham 6
U. Chandana c gough b Headley 9
C. Vaas not out 0
M. Muralitharan b Mullally 1
R. Perera c Hick b Mullally 0
Exras (lb-2, w-1, nb-3) 6
Total (all out, 33.3 overs) 99Fall of Wickets: 1-15, 2-65, 3-65, 4-67, 5-71, 6-85, 7-98, 8-98, 9-99, 10-99.
Bowling: Gough 8-2-15-2 (nb-1, w-1), Mullally 6.3-0-17-2 (nb-1), Headley 8-0-33-1 (nb-1), Ealham 10-2-32-5, Croft 1-1-0-0.
Ranatunga 'following orders' over walk-off
PERTH, Australia, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga says he was only following orders when he led a walk-off protest against Australian umpire Ross Emerson in last Saturday's one-day match against England.
Ranatunga, who on Thursday received a six-match suspended ban from the International Cricket Council (ICC) disciplinary panel after a misconduct hearing, has apologised for his bad behaviour.
However, he defended his actions with the release of a statement on Friday saying he was only following orders from the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) when he led his team to the boundary after Emerson no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing.
'My actions in approaching the boundary line were simply consistent with the instructions I had received from the BCCSL to consult with them should Murali be no-balled,' Ranatunga said.
'The implications of the decision of umpire Emerson were potentially far reaching and beyond my authority as captain of the Sri Lankan team, where my responsibilities are limited to the team's on-field performance.
'As captain, however, I wish to publicly state that I do acknowledge that my responsibilities extend to upholding the spirit of the beautiful game I play, as well as its laws.
'It is my absolute commitment that I will be seen as upholding those principles for so long as I have the privilege to play the game of cricket at any level.'
Ranatunga, who also had a heated, finger-pointing exchange with Emerson, said he was sorry for the embarrassment he had caused but said he felt it was his duty to defend Muralitharan.
'My actions following the no-balling of Sri Lanka's great bowler Murali during the match were motivated by my responsibility to demonstrate support for Murali in this difficult situation,' Ranatunga said.
'I believe Murali is a player who possesses talent which should be the source of celebration for cricket lovers the world over.
'I was not motivated to cause embarrassment to anyone. However, I recognise that my actions during the game did cause embarrassment to the opposition team, to members of the public and to officials.'
Ranatunga added: 'As captain of the Sri Lankan team, I acknowledge and understand my responsibility to uphold the spirit as well as the laws of the game.
'Cricket is an emotional game which is of immense importance to the people of many different nations.
'It is a game that tests the character of those who play it, particularly at international level where the happiness of millions can be affected by the outcome of a particular match or the batting or bowling performance of an individual player.
'The spirit of cricket invokes not only the wonderful characteristic of sportsmanship, but also the virtues of team work and loyalty to one's team mates and superiors.
'Sometimes these qualities can find themselves in competition.'
Premier league cricket Championships
Dharmasena returns to formBy Althaf Nawaz
Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Kumara Dharmasena hit an unbeaten half century to steer Bloomfield to a respectable 202 for six wickets against Moors in a Premier League Cricket Championship match at Reid Avenue yesterday.Dharmasena was given a life on 13 when wicket keeper Sampath Perera missed a stumping chance off Rangana Herath. But Dharmasena rode his luck and played the sheet anchor role to remain unbeaten on 91 with 11 fours.
Sajeeka Abeynayake (39) was associated in a 54-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Dharmasena.
Colts 215 - 9
A 141-runs fourth wicket partnership between Dulip Samaraweera (90) and Sujith Janaka (70) helped Colts to score 215 for nine wickets at close against NCC at Maitland Place.
Samaraweera and Janaka played some elegant shots to steady their innings. Samaraweera struck 11 fours while Janaka hit seven boundaries. Right arm off-spinner Ruwan Kalpage claimed four wickets for 47 runs.
CCC 204
At Maitland Place, CCC were dismissed for 204 against SSC yesterday.
Batting first CCC lost wickets at regular intervals. Anushka Polonnovita top scored with 34. D. Fernando returned best figures of three for 54 runs.
SSC were 39 for one wicket at close.
Wijekoon 75 n.o.
Tamil Union were restricted to 199 all out despite a superb unbeaten half century by Gayan Wijekoon (75) against BRC at the P. Sara Stadium. In reply BRC had made 48 for the loss of two wickets.
Batting first Tamil Union lost early wickets amid some deceptive spin bowling. Only Gayan Wijekoon batted with confidence. His knock contained 10 boundaries. Right arm off-spinner Chamikara Mudalige and right arm leg-spinner Amal Wanigasekera, claimed three wickets apiece.
Chief Scores
Sara Stadium:Tamil Union 199 all out in 66 overs.
(G. Wijekoon 75 n.O, N. Bandaratilake 35, A. Wanigasekera 3/13, R. Farook 2/37, C. Madalige 3/58).
BRC 48 for 2 wkts at close (M. Hettiarachchi 22, S. Weerakoon 2/6)
* At Reid Avenue:
Bloomfield 202 for 6 at close 100 overs.
(K. Dharmasena 91 n.o., S. Abeynayake 39, K. Jayasinghe 2/27, R. Herath 2/19) vs Moors.
* At Maitland Place
Colts 215 for 9 wkts at close.
(D. Samaraweera 90, S. Janaka 70, C. Jayasinghe 2/35, R. Kalpage 4/47) vs NCC
* At Maitland Place:
CCC 204 all out
(D. Hunukumbura 26, A. Polonnovita 34, L. de Silva 20, Y. Tillekeratne 31, T. Sanjayan 30, D. Fernando 3/54, D. Gamage 2/54, S. Ranatunga 2/34) SSC 39 for one wkt at close.
Three well compiled half centuries enabled St. Peter's College, Bambalapitiya to post a mammoth first innings total of 331 for seven wickets declared against Prince of Wales in their inter-school cricket encounter which began at Bambalapitiya yesterday.
Taking first lease of the wicket the Peterite batsmen made valuable knocks. But half centuries from A. Fonseka (58), S. Pinto (62) and D. Rupasinghe (50) highlighted their innings which also helped them to pile up this massive first innings score.
Cambrians in reply had a poor start and lost four top order batsmen with the score just 47 runs on the board at stumps.
SCORES
ST. PETER'S 331 for 7 wkts. dec. (J. Fernando 36, A. Fonseka 58, M. Perera 27, S. Gunasekera 37, S. Pinto 62, D. Rupasinghe 50, D. Ranaweera 4/100).P.O.W 47 for 4 wkts. at close (S. Wijeratne 17 n.o., A. Samsudeen 2/14). - (AN)
Sri Jayawardanapura MV skipper Varuna Silva made a fluent knock of 86 in their drawn inter school cricket fixture against Carey College which ended at Health Grounds yesterday.
SJMV scored 210 all out with skipper Varuna Silva leading the way. He struck ten boundaries and three sixes. Carey College made 194 with Jayawardane top scoring with 64, Manoj Kumara 4 for 32 and Wasantha Silva 3 for 23 bowled well for SJMV.
SJMV made 164 for eight wickets at close in their second innings.
Scores:
SJMV 210 (Varuna Silva 66, Chanushka Hewawitarana 22, Manoj Kumara 22, D. Perera 3/46, D. Suhail 3/48, S. de silva 2/36, V. Bandara 2/42) and 164 for eight wickets at close. (S. A. D. India 46, Chanushka Hewawitarana 29, duminda Jayeweera 24, D. Suhail 5/30). - (DR)
9th Asian Junior Squash Championship
Sri Lankans win and loseHirantha Goonasena and Navin Samarasinghe the two Sri Lankans with superb display helped beat South Korea 2-1 in the team event at the 9th Asian Junior Squash Championship at the National Squash Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday.
The two youngsters Hirantha and Navin fought back strongly after the defeat of Kavinda Cooray in the first game.
Navin beat P. Jeang 9-1, 9-7, 9-1 while experienced Hirantha defeated Lee Seong 9-1, 9-1, 9-2. Later Sri Lankan boys had a disappointing performance and went down to India 2-1. In the first game Kavinda Cooray lost to Path Dosha 9-5, 9-0, 9-0. The next game Navin Samarasinghe, after a hectic tussle lost to A. Manchanda 9-4, 10-8, 9-7.
However Hirantha Goonasena was at his best and went on to beat Abjith Kuknji the Indians number two player. He won the first set 9-6 and second set with 9-5. But the Indian came back winning the third set at 9-6 and in the deciding game Hirantha 10-8 to clinch the game. - (DR)
