Australia flattens lucklustre Sri Lanka at the Oval
The Australians flattened the lacklustre Sri Lankan team with an excellent performance in the field to record an overwhelming 87-run victory in their World Cup fixture here at the Oval grounds yesterday. A truly remarkable batting display by Aaron Finch and Steve Smith was backed by a brilliant effort with the ball by the Australia [...]
Sri Lanka must get back to basics
The famously fickle British weather has dominated the past week of the Cricket World Cup, rain and cold winds interrupting the summer and ruining several games, halting the momentum of a tournament that had started so positively. Everyone hopes that the sunshine will return from this weekend, but the wet summer has clearly impacted the [...]
Trinity win hearts and game, but lose Bradby
A totally unexpected, and uninhibited performance by a 15-man Trinity team saw them get cold comfort by winning the second leg of the Bradby Shield at the Royal Complex last evening. Yet, the Shield eluded them as Royal, by virtue of their lead in the first game, clung on to win the Bradby Shield by [...]
Brilliant Petes rally to beat Green Machine
With a lot riding on the line for St. Peter’s College, they were able to hold their act together and triumph 27-21 over Isipathana College at their home ground in Bambalapitiya yesterday. The win kept St. Peter’s alive for the title race along with Royal College and St. Joseph’s College. St. Peter’s scored three goals [...]
Legendary Vaas urges batsmen to come out of fear factor
Chaminda Vaas, one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers that the cricketing world has ever seen, played a crucial role in Sri Lanka’s victorious World Cup campaign in 1996. Presently he is in charge of nurturing the younger generation, after being appointed as Head Coach of the Sri Lanka Emerging team. His first tour to [...]
Dickwella blitz helps SL ‘A’ draw ODI series
Opener Niroshan Dickwella hit a sparkling century as the touring Sri Lanka ‘A’ Team came from behind to beat India ‘A’ Team by 7 wickets in the fifth and final Unofficial ODI worked off at the Nehru Stadium in Hubli, India yesterday. The aggressive wicket-keeper batsman who was axed from the Sri Lanka World Cup [...]
Dinesh Chandimal- 2018 ODI Captain to 2019 World Cup ‘spectator’
In 2018, Dinesh Chandimal scored 298 runs at 42.52 in One-Day Internationals (ODI). Only Angelo Mathews, at 52.50, had a better average in the same period. However, the 29-year-old wicket-keeper batsman is compelled to watch the proceedings in Britain on TV, as the Selectors felt the former skipper wasn’t even good enough to be a [...]
Is this the frustrating ICC World Cup thus far?
Four matches have been washed out so far in this World Cup—three of them without a ball being bowled—the highest in the history of a tournament dating back to 1975. And if the forecast for the rest of the month is to be trusted, more games will be interrupted by rain before the end of [...]
Shuttler Sachin (23), Swimmer Akalanka (19) Alliance Finance’s National treasures
Sachin Dias, who was a member of the National Badminton team that won Sri Lanka’s first medal at the Sudirman Cup held in Malaysia, is a future medal prospect for the country. At the Sudirman Cup, Sri Lanka were Group 3 champions, beating Slovakia, Lithuania and Switzerland. Dias, Brand Ambassador for Alliance Finance Co. (AFC), [...]
72nd TT Nationals on June 29, 30
The 72nd National Table Tennis Championship 2019 is scheduled to be held at the Panagoda Indoor Stadium on June 29 and 30.The tournament is organised by the Technical Committee of the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka Interim Committee. Application forms can be obtained from registered clubs of the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka [...]
Homeless Carrom Federation driven from pillar to post
Just a few more days left before the Carrom Federation of Sri Lanka (CFSL) has to vacate its present premises housing its headquarters in Kohuwala, as the Lease agreement expires at the end of this month. For the last so many years, the CFSL has made representations to the Ministry of Sports (MoS) to find [...]
Rafael Nadal and Ashleigh Barty
Clay courts, especially the European red clay is the toughest and most complicated surface to employ tactics. Players have to move more to reach the ball, play more shots in a rally, more rallies for a game and more Sets to finish the match. All these mean more hours on court against strong opponents. Clay [...]
The killing fields of Sri Lanka Rugby
Children should not work on the fields but on dreams. The theme of World Day Against Child Labour 2019: Twisting the theme around Rugby in Sri Lanka I wonder: whether players should work on professionalism as in the brutal demands of some in the world of commerce or should players be enjoying playing while getting [...]
Rain ‘declares’ Fairfirst Insurance, HNB Joint Champs
Last year’s winner, Fairfirst Insurance (Fairfirst) and runners-up, Hatton National Bank (HNB) were declared joint winners of the MCA-Maliban Masters Cricket ’6s’ 2019 concluded at the MCA Grounds last Sunday. Rain played a bigger part in the tournament with the final too, abandoned due to rain and bad light. This year’s tournament had 18 teams [...]
Rowing season begins amidst heavy rain
Heavy rain last Sunday in Colombo was never a threat to the Annual Opening Regatta on Beira Lake, organised by the Colombo Rowing Club (CRC), which was the curtain raiser of the 2019 Rowing programme. The participation of Schools and the University of Colombo (UoC), along with the CRC crews made the event a success, [...]
Fred Perera decries paid coaches
In Sri Lanka, at the moment, is a former rugby stalwart of Royal College, Neuro Surgeon, Dr. Fred Perera. His annual visit to Sri Lanka is timed to take in the Bradby games. He claims that he has not missed a Bradby, save for the time he was doing his post-graduate studies, initially in England, [...]
Matale District conspicuous by its absence
Matale District Hockey Association (MDHA) was a notable absentee at the inaugural Women’s Under (U)-21 National Hockey Championship 2019, organised and conducted by the Hockey Federation of Sri Lanka at the Astro Turf, Colombo 7 last week. The Sunday Times spoke to the MDHA Secretary on their absence. He said that Hockey in Sri Lanka [...]
Chamika Gunasekera (Fairfirst Insurance) 5/9 in 3 overs is weekend star
A devastating spell of bowling by right arm medium pace bowler, Chamika Gunasekera (3-0-9-5) and a quickfire 62 not out in 33 balls, with 5 sixes and 4 fours by Asel Sigera, helped Fairfirst Insurance (Fairfirst) to register an impressive 7-wickets win over Asia Capital, in the ongoing 2nd Fairfirst Insurance Trophy –MCA ‘F’ Division [...]