Is it the end of the inning for Sumathipala at SLC?
Cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala may go for an early election to hand administration over to a ‘capable’ leader but a court ruling last week suggests he has no legal right to hold office even now. During cross-examination in his defamation case against former World Cup winning skipper turned politician Arjuna Ranatunga, Mr Sumathipala admitted to [...]
Underperformers face challenge of whitewash
With Sri Lanka’s direct qualification to the 2019 Cricket World Cup high at stake, the beleaguered team will look to avoid the ignominy of a whitewash when the fifth and final ODI gets underway this afternoon at the R Premadasa Stadium. Low in confidence and weakened by injuries, Sri Lanka may need an extraordinary effort [...]
Gallant Sri Lanka take Plate honours
A lionhearted display by the young Sri Lankan side saw them script an inspiring 32 points (1 goal and 5 tries) to 19 (2 goals and a try) win over Philippines. The result gave Sri Lanka Plate honours (5th position) in the Asian Sevens Series 2017 – round 1 tournament concluded here at the Kings [...]
Thirty six teams in fray for League title from next week
Royal and Anuradhapura Central relegated to Division II The U19 inter-schools cricket league tournament 2017/2018 conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) and sponsored by Singer Sri Lanka Ltd will get underway from early September with 36 teams divided into four groups of nine in each in the fray. From the 36 teams [...]
Wijesekera and Rathnakumari emerge Best Athletes
Olympic athlete Manjula Kumara Wijesekera and E. W. U. Rathnakumari won the Men’s and Women’s Best Athlete Award respectively at the 95th National Athletics Championships which concluded at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex in Diyagama yesterday. Wijesekera, representing Sri Lanka Air Force clinched the men’s high jump title while producing a fine performance of 2.21 [...]
Royal to tour New Zealand from September 8
Royal College Rugby authorities have awarded its triumphant First XV side of 2017 with a educational tour which will also include a couple of matches and some coaching stints with top All Blacks coaches In New Zealand. The tour will begin on September 8 and will go on for 10 days with the support of [...]
Rajaguru hits 106
A well-compiled 106 by Sylvestrian opener Chamara Rajaguru guided Kandy Outer to a commanding 284-9 in their Prima Trophy Under-15 Cricket match at Pallekele. However, luck was not on their side as the rains came down before Nuwara Eliya could face the mandatory 20 overs needed for a result. The visiting team was badly placed [...]
Rugby Coaches’ tour of New Zealand in jeopardy
The intended programme of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), to send eight hand-picked Rugby coaches to New Zealand for a two-week Level II Coaching Programme is in jeopardy the Sunday Times learns. The project, funded by the Ministry of Sports, is in the balance after many involved in the sport, raised questions of the transparency and [...]
It was a lost opportunity with Ford reversal
Sri Lanka lost a great opportunity to ensure a smooth transition of the national cricket team when Graham Ford left, former skipper Kumar Sangakkara says. Ford’s tenure came to a premature end under controversial circumstances in June. He told the Sunday Times he was “devastated” by the circumstances that forced his early exit. “We need [...]
Rev. Fr. Peter A. Pillai Trophy Football encounter tomorrow
A good game of football is on the cards when St. Joseph’s College meet St. Benedict’s College in the annual encounter for the Rev. Fr. Peter A. Pillai Trophy tomorrow at the Sugathadasa Stadium, kick-off at 4.00pm. Incidentally this is the opening match of the 2017 All Island Under-19 Football Tournament organised by Sri Lanka [...]
Not rocket science a proper structure could save the game of cricket
Former SLC’s head of cricket operations Carlton Bernadus sees Sri Lanka’s present cricket debacle is owing to the mishandling of cricket situations. Ominous among all is the complete mishandling of the domestic cricket structure in Sri Lanka. Bernadus – former NCC and Colts cricketer was one of the best fielders during his playing days. Later [...]
Talking of domestic cricket
Since February 2017 the Clubs have had no Cricket and it would appear that efforts are being made to kill Club Cricket! We keep hearing of an Emerging Tournament but no dates have been given or how the Tournament will be conducted. The Premier Tournament is again scheduled to begin in November 2017 when there [...]
Gesture of gratitude from World Cup champs
The 1996 World Cup Champion Team, who brought glory to the nation, donated four million rupees to launch the Past Cricketers Benevolent Fund (PCBF) and the fund continues to benefit cricketers who over the years have contributed to Sri Lanka’s cricket. Recently two past cricketers, A.C.M Lafir and Daya Sahabandu, received cash donations for medical [...]
Lankan-born Canadian Badminton guru Fernando brands own Racquet
While the Sri Lanka Badminton fraternity struggle and blame or fight one another for what they allege ‘for the love of the sport’, with no clear headway, Coach Darshana Fernando, based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, continues to reach milestones along the way. Famously known as Coach Fernando, for nurturing young Shuttlers in Canada, through his [...]
Coaching coaches and how they fit the bill
Do coaches face the same merry-go-round selection process that players do? They are subject to the same scrutiny of form and talent to reach the top. Once there, do they get to peck at the national order? When a coach transits to the national scene, having been mostly in a domestic capacity, he sees a [...]
Football betrayal in Sri Lanka!
I was amazed (or should I have been) by the feature in the Sunday Times of the 13 August by Trevor Reckerman and report by Naushad Amit on 27th August, tracing the aftermath of the election and the perpetrated fraud that has taken place in the Football House. Strangely, no one in authority appears to [...]
Bodybuilding C’ship in honour of late Robert Rupasinghe
The Southern Province Bodybuilding Championship for the late Robert Rupasinghe Challenge Trophy will be held under the supervision of Sri Lanka bodybuilding and Fitness Federation for the seventh occasion at the Matara Cooperative House on October 4. The late Robert Rupasinghe is one of the finest bodybuilders Sri Lanka has ever produced. A four-time National [...]
Fair First topple defending champs Com.Credit on debut
Fair First Insurance who made their debut, dethroned the defending Champions, Commercial Credit and Finance in the final to lift the prestigious MSBA League Men’s ‘A’ division Basketball title 2017 at the 27th edition, concluded at Sir Edward Henry Pedris Stadium, under lights. Fair first Insurance, who narrowly lost to Commercial Credit (56/53) in the [...]
Final furlong of 2017 and US-Open
Trial and tribulations The ‘US-Open series’ created a strong backdrop and attracted the Northern American audience effectively. It set the stage well for the final Grand Slam of the year but issues popped up from the top ranked players. The final furlong of the 2017 global Tennis season has a illustrious injury and fatigue list [...]
Old Peterites make a clean sweep
Old Peterites were the proud winners of the Ranjith Samarasekera Memorial Challenge Trophy, offered for the first time, as Overall Winners of the Golden Jubilee Saints Quadrangular 2017, hosted by the Old Antonians, concluded at St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota (SACK), last Sunday. The Old Petes won both cricket tournaments, the Under (U)-40 (50 overs) and [...]
The worst crisis to befall Sri Lanka’s cricket history
With the British army overrunning the last Sinhala Kingdom in 1815, it did not take long for the white sahibs to try their hands in coffee plantations. At the same time their came another birth of a different indulgence. It is said by 1823 some of the British planters had also tired their hands at [...]