Players sign performance based World Cup contract, after initial resistance
A new World Cup payment structure introduced by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) initially met with some resistance from senior players but, with little bargaining power given their dwindling performance in the ODI format, they signed the contracts this week. The new payment structure includes a participation fee of US$ 300,000–a huge cut compared to the [...]
Dimuth likely to get the ODI captaincy
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne has emerged as front-runner to take up the limited over captaincy as the selectors prepare to announce Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad on April 18. Karunaratne, who has not played ODI cricket since the last Cricket World Cup in 2015, scored 165 at an average of 55 in the concluded Super Fours [...]
The Court of Appeal upholds the decision taken by tennis selectors
The Court of Appeal dismissed a case filed by Asanga Seneviratne –the father of tennis player Alana–challenging the “flawed” selection process which denied his daughter Alana a place in the Junior Fed Cup team. This means, the team comprising Anjalika Kurera , Nehera Weerawansa and Onelli Perera was given the green light to participate in [...]
Final results on April 28
As all our readers are well aware, all 26 coupons of the Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2019 contest have been published by April 10, Wednesday. The final coupon, Coupon No.26 came out last week and was published last on April 10. However contestants, supporters and schools will have [...]
Wellalage stars as Josephians outwit Thomians
The Thomian run of success in this year’s tournaments was brought to an unexpected end when the Josephians came up with an stunning performance to defeat them by 53 runs on first innings at the Royal College grounds. Josephians all-rounder Dunith Wellalage produced a brilliant performance with bat and ball to crush Thomians hopes. To [...]
SLC denies Pakistan tour
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Shammi Silva denied any talks of playing Test cricket in Paksitan. Responding to the Sunday Times on a possible Sri Lanka Test tour to Pakistan, later in July, he stated ‘no such talks’ had taken place between the cricket boards of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as reported by international media. [...]
Islandwide shut down on shotgun ranges
Shotgun Ranges throughout Sri Lanka have been forced to shut down by a surprising, ‘Very Urgent’ circular issued by the Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, hampering preparations of Shooters bound for international events, as well as domestic competitions run by the National Shooting Sport Federation of Sri Lanka (NSSF). The NSSF, affiliated to the International Shooting [...]
Can Alcazaba complete a rare hat-trick?
Alcazaba, the 9-year-old, seasoned mare owned by Deepthika Jayakody and Purni Edwards, will be eying a rare hat-trick at the Royal Turf Club (RTC) Governor’s Cup 2019, on Monday (15), at the Nuwara Eliya Racecourse. Alcazaba was rested for the RTC Spring & Summer Raceday Cup on March 31, on medical advice, but has been [...]
35 Individual and Relay records established
The 4-day National Short Course Swimming Championship 2019 concluded at the Isipathana College Swimming Pool complex last Tuesday with 35 new individual and relay records being established. Hiruki De Silva of Gateway College, Dehiwala, shattered 5 records in the Girls’ Under-15 category. Hiruki started the the meet with a bang by setting up 2 records [...]
Unbeaten Joes the standout team after Round I
The Round II match schedule of the Singer Schools Under-19 League Rugby Championship was released by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) with the kickoff date set for April 20. A total of 16 teams have been slotted under 2 segments, where the top 8 of the Division ‘A’1 segment will compete for [...]
Asian Football retains the Sheikh at its helm; Sri Lanka must make its passes count!
As destined, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa was re-elected President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in absentia. Striding into a new 4-year term, which will take him as far as 2023, thus completing 10 years in charge of the 47-member Asian body. Sheikh Salman contested the FIFA Presidency unsuccessfully in 2016, against Gianni [...]
Dhuwarshan and Danushan pull-off stunning wins and emerge junior golf champs
On an overcast morning, excitement was created and the atmosphere was electric when the Junior Golf Match-Play Championship Finals in five different age group categories Teed-off. In the premier age category of 15-18+, Gold Division for Boys, number 2 seed S. Dhuwarshan from Nuwara Eliya Golf Club defeated Haroon Aslam(VGC) a shade comfortably 3 and [...]
Schoolboy Cricket- An overview
The Sri Lankans caved in abjectly in the Limited-over leg of the recent tour of South Africa. The inability of our batsmen to last the 50 overs has been put forward as the main reason. Have Sri Lanka’s Under-19 schoolboys got what it takes to bat forever and a day? It would appear so, going [...]
When Australia won the Cricket World Cup for the first time
The 4th edition of the Cricket World Cup (WC) tournament, known as the Reliance Cup, was unique for two reasons. Firstly, it was the first occasion this tournament was held outside England and secondly, the games were restricted from the earlier format of 60 overs a side to 50 overs. The tournament was held in [...]
Fitness in focus as Sri Lanka ‘dream’ of winning World Cup
Fitness is a key aspect of cricket. A lot of international cricket is being played throughout the year, hence it’s important to manage every player’s workload and level of fitness monitored regularly. It is frustrating to see a lot of players getting injured and often out of international cricket for long periods, and sometimes having [...]