Top local cricketers ‘honey trapped’ and ‘blackmailed’ into match fixing
Sri Lanka’s top cricketers are allegedly being honey trapped and blackmailed into match-fixing, the Sunday Times reliably learns, amidst unprecedented International Cricket Council intervention to, at the very least, reduce corruption in the sport here. The ICC is now investigating what they term “serious allegations of corruption” in Sri Lanka. Three players have been charged, [...]
Navod topples Manoj; claims All-Island lead
With a staggering addition of 5448 votes Navod Paranavithana of Mahinda College claimed the top position of the All-Island Schools segment, pushing down Sukhitha Manoj of St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa at the end of the 13th week of the Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2019 contest. This was the [...]
Desperate Sri Lanka wants to fast-track Akila’s return
In a desperate bid to strengthen the national team’s bowling attack, suspended spinner Akila Dananjaya was put to the test under match conditions in a domestic game yesterday, for the first time since he remodeled his controversial bowling action. Appearing for Colts CC, the right arm-spinner bowled with cameras capturing his action to see whether [...]
Team effort guides dramatic win for hosts
Sri Lanka registered a dramatic three wicket win with two balls to spare in the three day Youth Test between Sri Lanka Under 19 and Australia Under 19 at the SSC grounds yesterday. Chasing a target of 112 in 20 overs, Sri Lanka youth players reached the target with ease erupting wild celebrations among the [...]
Priyamal slams second unbeaten double ton
Colts CC skipper and middle order batsman Priyamal Perera slammed his second unbeaten double ton of the ongoing Premier League cricket tournament against BRC at the BRC grounds yesterday. Priyamal who made an unbeaten 206 against Badureliya CC two weeks ago hit 200 n.o. as Colts CC made a huge score of 391 for their [...]
Airmen earn first win of season, beating gallant Cops
Air Force Sports Club earned their first win of the ongoing Dialog Rugby League after convincingly beating the high-riding Police Sports Club 16-7 in a second round game played at Ratmalana yesterday. The Airmen held on to a slender one-point lead, by 8-7 at halftime, and did well to spoil any chances of being beaten [...]
Army gun down Kandy in their own den
It was a turn up for the books, an upset of huge proportions as inconsistent Army played their hearts out to beat Kandy by 23 points (a goal, 2 tries, 2 penalties) to 22 (a goal and 3 tries) at Nittawela. The magnitude of this win will take a little time to sink in. as [...]
FINA ban on Sri Lanka – was it a deliberate mistake?
While the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC) qualms on some of its affiliated associations being banned in time to come, Sri Lanka has already missed out fielding a strong team at the upcoming South Asian Swimming and Aquatic Championships, for the same reason. The swimming event was scheduled to be held in Bangalore, [...]
St. Joseph’s and Royal clash for Renown President’s Trophy
Defending champions St. Joseph’s College, Colombo will take on Royal College, Colombo in the All-Island Schools Under-18 Division I Football final for the prestigious Renown President’s Trophy at the Sugathadasa Stadium today, with the kick-off set at 3.30pm. St. Joseph’s finished second in their group beating De Mazenod College, Kandana 4-2, Kingswood College, Kandy 8-1, [...]
CH obviously superior
Beaten by Police by 3 points last week, CR’s horror run continued when they were hopelessly outclassed by a fiery CH side that applied unrelenting pressure. The scoreline (33-10) tells the tale of near – complete dominance. The CH won with a bonus point. They scored their points through two second half goals, two tries [...]
Theekshana spins St. Benedict’s to victory
Sri Lanka youth player and right-arm spinner Maheesh Theeskshana ended with a match figures of 11 for 87 runs to lead St. Benedict’s to a comfortable innings and 43-run win over Maliyadeva in the Under 19 inter-school cricket encounter concluded at Kurunegala yesterday. The second day’s play saw Maliyadeva, in reply to St. Benedict’s score [...]
Fourth win for Antonians
The Katugastota Antonians seem to be carrying too many guns for their Division II opponents. Yesterday they thrashed the Matale Thomians by an innings and 20 runs. That spinning sensation, left-armer Nimnaka Jayatilleka, who took 7 for 17 second time around, had a match bag of 10 for 64. Hardly a match goes by without [...]
Nadal ready to let rip remodelled serve at Australian Open
Rafael Nadal revealed Saturday he was back to full fitness and has a brand new serve to unleash at the Australian Open. The world number two limped away from Melbourne Park a year ago, forced to retire in pain from his quarter-final with Marin Cilic. The 17-time Grand Slam champion missed most of the next [...]
Olympic Committee going gaga
Last week we were amazed to read in the newspapers the President of our Olympic Committee saying that Sri Lanka will compete at the Winter Olympics and that for this purpose the Olympic committee is looking at constructing an Ice Ring ! We don’t have a winter in this country and there is no snow [...]
Netball aiming for more international accolades
The Sri Lanka Netball Federation (SLNF) considers the year 2019 as one of the toughest ever anticipated in its history, with two all important international competitions lined up. With just six months away from the two competitions — the World Netball Championship and the Asian Youth Netball Championship — the local netball officials have already [...]
Poor boy Harin; he has a problem at hand
In the Indian subcontinent, there may not be anyone who does not know the Kisa Gotami story. When her child died she thought that the little one was only sick and wanted someone to treat him. She approached the Buddha and said, “My name is Kisa. I have been looking everywhere for medicine for my [...]
The dedicated Cambrian spinner with a grit
A cricketer, regardless of age, who steps on to the cricket field has aims. With dedication and application his task is made look simple. Kaumal Nanayakkara, the broad-shouldered Prince of Wales College’s left-arm orthodox spinner is such a character. Having reaching the target of 80 wickets last season, this ace Cambrian spinner is aiming to [...]
MCA Division ‘C’ League kicks off this week
The 8th Prestige Automobile (Pvt) Ltd. sponsored MCA ‘C’ Division 50-over League Cricket Tournament for the BMW/Hyundai’ Trophy will get underway this weekend with the participation of ten teams divided into two groups. In the previous year’s tournament, Kanrich Finance emerged champions defeating Citizens Development Business Finance by 23 runs in D/L method and walked [...]
A ‘net’ bowler storms the cricket world
Royal College right-arm leg-spinner Gamini Goonesena (1931 – 2011) first made a dramatic appearance in the 1947 ‘big match’ against S.Thomas’s – and thereby hangs a tale. A bare two weeks earlier, Goonesena had celebrated his 16th birthday and was merely considered a ‘net’ bowler for the first team, and was hard at practice in [...]
‘Oda’, the humble coach who helped shape up the Green Machine
The name ‘Omanthage Wisudda Rohan Perera’ may not strike as lightening but in the local field of rugby ‘OWR’ Perera is quite well known among the seniors. ‘OWR’ was conferred with the nickname ‘Oda’ by renowned coach Kamal Jayawardena, but still it may fail to strike many, particularly the younger generation. For the record ‘Oda’ [...]
Corruption in Sport is nothing new; does Sri Lanka Football take the cake!
The new Minister of Sports (MOS) is reported to have said that he would like to defer the SLC AGM in order to put the house in order. He even trekked to Dubai in order to have an Anti- Corruption Team located here, since it was disclosed that Sri Lanka topped the list of the [...]
Simple reasons why the expected never happens
In ‘Heads You Win’, Jeffrey Archer at one point says; “I was standing on a street corner trying to get a taxi, I couldn’t help noticing there were BMWs, Mercedes and Jaguars but there was no sight of a Ford Fiesta or VW Polo”. He goes onto say that what is most needed is a [...]
Mechanics of events control and Players
The biggest prize money event which ended in the first week of 2019 was in Brisbane. In women’s Czech Republic’s Karolina and in men’s Japan’s Kei Nishikori won the event. It was one of the seven events that was worked out during that week. These events were in seven countries at the same time. It [...]
Havelocks-Navy: A rugby game that whets the appetite
If rugby fans have tears to shed, they should do so for the Navy. Consider their predicament. Today’s opponents, Havelocks beat them 22-18 in the first round. In the clash of Titans, they were leading Kandy 20-17, only for a Thilina Wijesinghe penalty to make it 22-20 and save Kandy’s bacon. They did it once [...]
School Section felicitates four shooting legends
Sri Lanka Schools Shooting Sports Association (SLSSSA) felicitated four of their former shooters, who reached the national level while still schooling, at their Colours Awarding Ceremony for the years of 2017 and 2018, held at the BMICH. The four shooters — Rohana Nanayakkara, a present Vice President of National Shooting Sports Federation of Sri Lanka [...]