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Jayasuriya likely to be sidelined for
two months after retiring hurt with broken bone PERTH, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Ricky Ponting made a remarkable comeback from disgrace when he won the man of the match award as Australia beat Sri Lanka by 45 runs in their tri-series match at the WACA ground on Sunday. The result guaranteed the best-of-three finals will be between Australia and England, starting on February 10. Replying to Australia’s 274 for seven, Sri Lanka were all out for 229 off 46.3 overs. Ponting, in his first match back from a three-match suspension incurred for his part in a drunken brawl in a Sydney nightclub, was the hero for Australia. After making a polished 39, he effected a brilliant run-out, took a classic catch at mid-wicket and claimed one for 41 from his 10 overs. Ponting was justifiably satisfied with his game, although surprised at being asked by Warne to bowl his full complement of overs. "I didn’t even expect to bowl at all and to get 10 (overs) was a little bit of a shock," Ponting said. "They came out all right though and I got a few in the right area, so I’m pretty pleased." Warne said the recent events surrounding Ponting had been a contributing factor in his decision to give the young Tasmanian so many overs. "I’d thought I’d go to Ricky to get him back in the game," Warne said. "We had all missed him." Sri Lanka’s victory bid received a major setback in the 13th over when opener Sanath Jayasuriya had to retire hurt after scoring 50 from 49 balls when he was hit a sickening blow on the right arm by Brendon Julian. Sri Lankan officials confirmed afterwards that Jayasuriya had broken a bone in his arm and could be sidelined for up to two months. His premature departure was a blow for Sri Lanka after he had flayed eight fours and one massive six in characteristic style. Earlier, a brilliant unbeaten 72 (65 balls) by Michael Bevan and brisk innings by Damien Martyn (48) and Adam Gilchrist (47) helped Australia post a formidable total. Bevan struck only four boundaries, but his placement and running between wickets was full of precision. However, he spent only a few overs in the field after suffering slight hip injury. Stewart may be rested for next tri-series match SYDNEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - England captain Alec Stewart may be rested for Wednesday’s tri-series limited-overs match against Sri Lanka, a team official said on Sunday. "It’s a possibility we’ll give Alec a rest, but there’s been no discussion about team selection yet," England spokesman Brian Murgatroyd said on Sunday. SCOREBOARD Scoreboard in the tri-series limited-overs match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the WACA on Sunday: Australia A. Gilchrist b Vaas 47 Extras (b-1 w-6 nb-5) 12 Did not bat: A.Dale, G.McGrath Bowling: Vaas 10-0-51-2, R.Perera 10-0-71-0 (nb-3 w-3), Wickremasinghe 10-0-48-3 (nb-1), Muralitharan 10-0-46-1 (nb-1 w 2), Jayasuriya 10-0-57-0 (w-1) Sri Lanka S. Jayasuriya retired hurt 50 Extras (b-1 lb-4 w-2 nb-8) 15 Fall of wickets: 1-22 2-126 3-153 4-159 5-201 6-213 7-219 8-229 9-229 Bowling: McGrath 8.3-3-19-2 (nb-7), Dale 6-0-51-1, Lee 5-0-32-0, Julian 7-0-28-1 (nb-1 w-2), Ponting 10-0-41-1, Warne 10-0-53-3 Result: Australia won by 45 runs Man-of-the-match: R.Ponting (Australia) Tri-Series standings Standings in the tri-series limited overs competition following Australia’s 45-run win over Sri Lanka at the WACA on Sunday:
England and Australia qualify for the best of three-match final. Mendis
leads Seniors Sri Lankan Senior Cricketers led by former Lankan skipper Duleep Mendis left the island yesterday for India to participate in a triangular series involving India and West Indies. India will be skippered by Sandeep Patil while Windies is captained by Joel Garner. Sri Lanka meet India tomorrow in the opening game in Mohali. Sri Lanka: Duleep Mendis, Lalith Kaluperuma, Asantha de Mel, Asoka de Silva, Brendon Kuruppu, Don Arunasiri, Hemantha Devapriya, Ranjith Madurasinghe, J. C. Gamage, Roger Wijesooriya, Lantra Fernando, Ashley de Silva. Hathurusinghe nudges selectors Sri Lanka discard Chandika Hathurusinghe served notice to the National selectors by completing an unbeaten century in the last match for Moors in a Premier League Cricket Championship match against Bloomfield at Reid Avenue yesterday. Moors made a bold attempt at reaching the victory target of 246 runs in 39 overs with skipper Hathurusinghe leading the way with a belligerent 100 off just 98 balls, but ended the day on 186 for three. Hathurusinghe, who slammed a brilliant 150 just a fortnight back, reached his century in style with a six off the last ball of the match. He hoisted five sixes and 10 fours. He was associated in an unfinished 98-run alliance with Ashan Ranaweera. Police win Police SC were dismissed for 280 in their second inning, but collected first inning points over Antonians SC at Police Park. Resuming from the overnight score of 23 for one wicket, Ravindra Wimalasiri top scored with an unbeaten 90. P. Priyantha chipped in with 50. Antonians scored 258 in their first essay earlier. NCC hang on NCC hung on to force a draw against Colts at Maitland Place. Chasing a victory target of 170 runs in 23 overs, NCC were struggling at 119 for seven wickets when stumps were drawn. Sajith Fernando who accounted four wickets in the first inning bowled another mesmerising spell to claim four wickets with his off-spinners. Earlier, Colts were restricted for 230 runs in their second essay helped by half centuries from Jeewantha Kulatunga (77) and Sajith Fernando (63). Kulatunga was severe against NCC bowlers slamming four towering sixes and six boundaries while Fernando had nine boundaries. Boteju slams ton Hemantha Boteju stroked his maiden first class century for CCC in their huge second inning score of 340 all out against SSC at Maitland Place yesterday. All-rounder Boteju, who enjoyed success as a seamer, proved he is capable of scoring runs by making a superb 117. Jeganathan 5-36 A superb spell of bowling by Tamil Union’s Brigesh Jeganathan who returned fine figures of 5 for 36 enabled them to register a facile 143-run outright win over BRC in their Premier League Cricket Championship match at Sara Stadium. Chief Scores At Reid Avenue: Bloomfield 236 and (4 for for no loss overnight) 158 for 5 wkts. Dec. (K. Dharmasena 49 n.o., P. Wickremasinghe 31 n.o., R. Herath 2-35) Moors 148 and186 for 3 at close. (Chandika Haturusinghe 100 n.o., A. Jayasinghe 24, P. Salgado 24, A. Ranaweera 21 n.o., P. Wickremasinghe 2-62) At Police Park: Police 285 and (23 for one wkt. overnight) 280 all out (P. Priyantha 50, R. Wimalasiri 90 n.o., N. Soysa 33, R. Meegolla 25, U. Hettiarachchi 6-89, N. Saranasekere 2-39) Antonians 258 and 255 for 7 wkts. at close. (D. Sanjaya 70, U. Jayalath 69, P. Susan 3-92, L. Gunawardena 2-62) At Maitland Place: NCC (248 for 8 wkts. overnight) 275 all out and 119 for 7 wkts. in 23 overs at close (R. Arnold 23, A. Ridegammanagedara 21, P. Hewage 19, I. Amarasinghe 2-52, S. Fernando 4-36) Colts 230 (I. de Saram 44, S. Fernando 63, J. Kulatunga 77, L. Hanibal 3-29, C. Jayasinghe 2-37, M. Bandara 4-75) At Maitland Place: CCC 204 and (77 for 4 wkts. Overnight) 340 all out (H. Boteju 117, I. Gallage 54, S. Ranatunga 4-74) SSC 240 At Moratuwa: Sebastianites 418 and 87 for 4 wkts. dec. (T.M. Dilshan 44, C. Fernando 2-16) Galle CC (87 for 3 wkts. overnight) 283 all out (R. Peiris 29, D. Sudarshana 25, V. Varagoda 59, D. Wijesinghe 53, J.C. Gamage 31, D. Samarasinghe 2-81, M. Peiris 4-20, C. Liyanage 3-45) and 11 for one wkt. at close. At P Sara Stadium: Tamil Union 199 & 215 for 5 wkts dec. BRC 94 & 177 all out (Deepal Madurapperuma 30, M. Hettiarachchi 30, Brigesh Jeganathan 5/36, Niroshan Bandarathilake 2/10). At the school nets Ananda College, Colombo which is one of the premier cricketing schools in the country, packs a very formidable and experienced first eleven team for the 98-99 inter-school cricket season. The pioneer Buddhist school from Maradana has produced Sri Lanka's most successful Test cricket captain ever and '96 Wills World Cup winner in 'Captain Cool' Arjuna Ranatunga as well as Sri Lanka's first ever Test centurion in Sidath Wettimuni. They are among a host of trail-blazing and illustrious band of cricketers who had done immense service to put the country's name on the international cricket map. Ananda College, like in previous years, has more turned out to be the school team to watch out this season too with no less than five wins to their credit. Led by third year coloursman and one-drop bat, Jithendra Perera, Ananda could boast of no fewer than seven coloursmen for the current season. Besides, Captain Perera, the rest of the coloursmen are third year and Vice Captain Thilina Kandambi, fourth year and last year's skipper Lahiru Chathuranga, another third year player Maduranga Mallawarachchi, and second year coloursmen Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Lakshan Fernando, and Akalanka Ganegama. Skipper Jithendra Perera, who by nature is a free-scoring batsman, has thus far emerged as one of Ananda's leading run getters for the season with an aggregate of over 350 runs. He has a highest score of 85 notched-up against Maliyadeva College. Perera, despite his prowess with the willow, has come good with the cherry as well, picking up 15 wickets with his crafty right arm leg breaks. Perera's deputy is dashing lanky left hand bat Thilina Kandambi who was the sole Ananda cricketer chosen to tour South Africa with the Sri Lanka under-19 team in January last year. Kandambi who is a hard hitting batsman and has also compiled the same aggregate like his skipper with a top score of 118 against Kingswood College being his best. He has also proved to be a utility all rounder with his wily right arm legbreaks capturing 25 wickets so far. Apart from these two top-notch players. Ananda's batting muscle revolves around wicket-keeper right hand opening bat Lahiru Chathuranga who incidentally became the most prolific run getter for them last season with close to 500 runs to his name. But in the on-going season, he has so far had only moderate success with the bat, though excelling behind the sticks accounting for over 20 dismissals. Chathuranga's co-opener left hander Lakshan Fernando also has thumped 200 runs for the season, and much is expected from him too. Ananda's middle order is in the ever so safe hands of two equally good talented batsmen in Maduranga Mallawarachchi and Muthmudalige Pushpakumara. Mallwarachchi, who bats right hand, has rattled up over 250 runs as a reliable middle order bat while Pushpakumara who bats left hand, has also exceeded the 300 run mark making a top score of an unbeaten 122 against St. Sebastian's College. Muthumudalige has proved to be a regular wicket taker for his school snaring over 30 scalps with his probing right arm off breaks. Ananda's pace attack is spearheaded by right arm speedster Akalanka Ganegama who has picked up 10 wickets up to now. Sharing the red cherry with Ganegama will be Mohammed Ramzi who has grabbed 15 scalps while scoring around 150 runs thus coming handy as a useful all rounder for the Maradana school. Among the first year players in the Ananda XI young Sanjaya Bandara stands out as a genuine left arm orthdox leg spinner with an impressive tally of 25 wickets. Eshan Abeysinghe has also proved his credentials as a solid top order left handed bat with close to 200 runs with a top score of 86 against Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa. Kasun Fernando is another player who has turned out to be invaluable for the Anandians having recorded a tally of 20 wickets with his left arm leg breaks. Dinuka Madapatha, Rukshan Fernando, Gaya Samaraweera and Lahiru Senarathne are all freshers who are expected to carry forward the maroon coloured flag. Anandians are coached for yet another season by that versatile former All-Ceylon cricketer and chief curator of the R. Premadasa International Stadium, Anuruddha Polonnowita. Polonnowita who has been giding the destinies of his alma-mater for the past two decades or so has left no stone unturned as could be seen by his deeds which have been simply outstanding. However, this season in the continued absence of Polonnowita who is in Australia as one of BCCSL's Vice-President's looking into matters of importance with the national team, Ananda has been put through its paces by one of their former stalwarts in Vipula Sittamage. Sittamage was of the view that his charges have contributed more than their fare share for the season. He explained that the secret for their success has been team work and disciplines, two vital ingredients for the success of any cricket team be it local or international. Ananda, with the experienced set of players they possess, could with almost certainly hope to put an end to that long running 'hoodoo' of failures to overcome their traditional rival Nalanda during the upcoming 'Big Match' in late March. Pen-sketches of the Ananda Cricket Pool for
98-99 THILINA KANDAMBI (Vice-Captain) - Third year coloursman and a terrific top order left hand bat. A gifted stroke maker with an aggregate over 300 runs to his credit. Bowls right arm leg spinners with a tally of 25 wickets. Has improved tremendously after the tour of South Africa with the Sri Lanka Under-19 team last season. A certain future national product. LAHIRU CHATHURANGA - Fourth year coloursman and last year's skipper. Right hand opening bat and wicket-keeper of the team. Was the leading run getter in the '98-99 season. In the on going season has collected over 200 runs. Has mainly excelled for the team as the stumper accounting for over 25 dismissals upto now. Has always given a good start for his side with his attacking batsmanship with co-opener Lakshan Fernando. MADURANGA MALLAWARACHCHI - Third year coloursman. A very dependable right hand middle order bat. Has notched up over 250 runs while picking up over 15 wickets with his left arm leg breaks. Counted on to rescue the side whenever in crisis situations. MUTHUMUDALIGE PUSHPAKUMARA - Second year coloursman and reliable free scoring left hand batsman. Has gathered over 350 runs while turning out to be the highest wicket-taker with a haul of 35 wickets. Bowls right arm off break. Expected by his followers to deliver the goods in the annual 'Big Match'. AKALANKA GANEGAMA - Second year coloursman and right arm spearhead of the pace attack. Thrives on sheer pace to dismiss the batsmen. Has captured 15 wickets. Was the leading wicket-taker with 35 scalps in his first year in the '97'-98 season. Bats right hand. MOHAMMED RAMZI - Shares the new ball with Ganegama. Right arm fast medium bowler, but has excelled as a useful all rounder with his steady late order batsmanship. Has scored over 175 runs while picking up 10 wickets in the process. Capable of striking early blows in the opposition batting. Bats right hand. LAKSHAN FERNANDO - Second year coloursman and left hand opening bat. A sedate batsman who is capable of making a big score in the longer version of the game. Has over 200 runs to his name. Ideal counterpart to explosive Chathuranga at the other end. SANJAYA BANDARA - First year player and left arm leggie. Has a bag of 20 wickets to date. Left hand batsman. ESHAN ABEYSINGHE - First year player and budding front line, left hand bat. Has scored over 175 runs and a promising product for the next season. KASUN FERNANDO - First year player. Another fine future prospect as a economical right arm off spinner. Has scalped over 25 wickets with a sensational haul of 4 wickets for no runs against Richmond College, Galle. Should be a thorn in the flesh of opposing teams in the years to come. DINUKA MADAPATHA - First year player and right hand bat. GAYA SAMARAWEERA - Fresher and right hand batsman. LAHIRU SENARATHNE - Fresher right arm off spinner. Master-In-Charge W. Wettasinghe. Coach - Anu Polonnowita. Asst. Coach - Vipula Sittamage. HAVE
YOUR SAY The odds of our winning one-day encounters, after batting first, are low. Worse these odds are rapidly dwindling. The venom in our bowling attack has now diminished to the extent that we have only one strike bowler, Murali, who is capable of picking wickets up reasonably frequently. At this point in time the others appear to be capable only of attempting containment. It is not easy to say whether this is as a result of injuries being carried into matches or whether some bowlers are content just to go through the motions. Either way, the cause is not helped. What is wrong with using the shoulder or following through with purpose? There is no substitute for keeping scoring rates in check than to pick up wickets. As a general rule, curators, when preparing one-day pitches, tend to use more water than they need to. The assistance our medium pace bowlers can obtain in those early overs, may make up for any weakness inherent in our bowling attack. In addition, in an opening innings opposition batsmen are likely to be more conservative in their approach. With the sideways movement and the extra pace of a new wicket, were we to pick up an early wicket or two, the bowling will appear more than adequate. The only reasons to be bowling second is if we are put in by the opposition or in the unlikely event of a pitch being in real danger of breaking up badly. What made us reach the dizzy heights of a world championship? The hunger to win, a spring in the step, brilliant fielding self confidence and a touch of arrogance as well as in the main, batting last. The hunger to win has been substituted by an expectation that all we have to do is to turn up and the game will be won. The spring in the step is now a tired dawdle. When did we last have a serious fielding session? If it did happen, it wasn't in Melbourne. Self confidence has clicked over to over-confidence while the touch of arrogance has perhaps gone marginally over the top, exemplified by the running between wickets where we don't now need to steal a single or run the first run hard. The rest of the world have seen us at our best and know that they have to aim a rung or two higher to have any chance of taking the cup off us. We therefore have also got to aim to move up a couple of cogs to stay in the hunt. Senior members of the team appear complacent, perhaps because they have not been made to work hard enough by the actions of the selectors. |
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