6th February 2000
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Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya - his lean trot must end.
Tough challenge ahead for Lanka
By Aubrey Kuruppu
Last time out in 1995/96, the Sri Lankans, fresh from a heady series triumph in the land of the long white cloud, were able to put it over the Pakistanis in Pakistan.
The visitors lost the first Test but, in a quick reversal of fortune, struck back to take the next two Tests and the series. Those momentous triumph achieved under the leadership of Ranatunga were but the precursor to that epoch-making World Cup triumph. A triumph that turned Sri Lanka's cricketing world upside down and brought with it dollars aplenty. Sadly it also paved the way for the entry of some people whose cricketing credentials were almost non-existent or sketchy at best, and whose abiding interest seemed to be that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Coming back to our first tour in the new millennium, the chances are that Sri Lanka will find a team whose bubble of invincibility has burst, a team whose recent losses would have made them doubly hungry for success and, importantly, a side that will be striving to climb back into popularity and favour not least among their disappointed fans.
It has been said that the Pakistanis are infuriatingly unpredictable and greatly talented. The latter certainly holds good, for Pakistan has this knack of producing top-class players (especially bowlers) almost overnight. As for the former, the supposed unpredictability was not much in evidence Down Under. If anything, the Pakistanis were consistently under-performing. Even in the World Cup Final the Pakistanis seemed to freeze on the big occasion. The Aussies certainly seem to have Pakistan's number.
Good as Vass, Zoysa and the Sri Lanka medium pacers are, facing them will be less taxing for the Pakistani batsmen than batting against the likes of McGrath and Brett Lee. Saeed Anwar, Inzamam, Youhana and Afridi, inter alia, have reputations to retrieve. The form of these batsmen could be crucial to the outcome of the series. If they are on song and put the runs on the board, the Pakistanis do have the bowling fire-power to trouble the Sri Lankans. The rapid strides that young Razak has taken make them all that more formidable, especially in the limited over game.
There could be a battle within a battle, with the two best off spinners in the world on view. Muralitharan has rendered long and outstanding service to his team as has Saqlain over a slightly shorter period of time. However, Muralitharan has had greater pressure heaped on him as he has had to bowl for the most part alongside just one match-winning bowler.
A slightly revamped Sri Lankan batting line up will be tested to the hilt. Dilshan has come to the fore as an attractive shot-maker and his progress will cetainlty evoke interest. Just about everybody in Sri Lanka must be hoping that the skipper's lean trot will be behind him.
Runs at the top of the order from Jayasuriya in his own effervescent style would reduce the pressure on the batters to come. Jayawardena, Atapattu and Kaluvitharana must add more consistency to their performance. The tremendous run enjoyed by Arnold in Zimbabwe lifted Sri Lankan spirits and his coming of age as a batsman bodes well for Sri Lanka's immediate future.
Muralitharan was not at his best in Zimbabwe and in consequence Sri Lanka struggled at times to bowl the opponents out. Were the tracks against him or was it a case of temporary burn out?
The one area where the Sri Lankans enjoy an advantage is the fielding. Some of the Pakistani efforts in the field have evoked mirth. The younger and more agile Sri Lankans certainly have the edge.
Ian Daniel 106 n.o
By Bruce Maurice
Josephian skipper Ian Daniel cracked an unbeaten 106 in their Inter-School cricket match against S. Thomas' which ended in a draw at Mt. Lavinia yesterday.
Daniel's innings comprised of a six and five fours which helped St. Joseph's to retain the Gilmour Jayasuriya trophy.
S. Perera and Daniel put on 79 for the first wicket.
Earlier S. Thomas' replying to the Josephians total of 129, declared their innings at 101 for three.
St.Joseph's - 129 (Suren Perera 23, Ian Daniel 28, D. Pathirana 27; L. Fernando 4 for 21, A.Bandaranayake 2 for 41) and 174 for 5 (S. Perera 26,Ian Daniel 106 n.o; D. Nanayakkara 3 for 55, L. Wickremasinghe 2 for 24)
S. Thomas - 101 for 3 dec. (D. Gunawardena 33 n. o, M. Peiris 35 n.o; Sanka Rupasinghe 2 for 22).
Malin cracks 107 for St. Peter's
By Ravi Nagahawatte
Peterite Malin de Silva's 107 became the hightlight in the drawn cricket encounter between St.Peter's and Royal which concluded at Reid Avenue yesterday.
De Silva top scored in this high scoring game which was called off at the end of the 15th mandatory over when Royal's were 86 for 2 in the second innings after St.Peter's declared their first innings at 267 for 8. The Royalists made a formidable 250 for 5 declared in the first innings .
De Silva had a memorable day with the willow stroking a well compiled century which contained three towering sixes and nine crisp boundaries. He found a staunch ally in C.Fernando during his 172 minutes stay at the crease and the duo put on 64 runs for the fifth wicket.
Royal - 250 for 5 dec. ( J.Mubarak 71, A.Kariyakarawana 36, A.Perera 42 n. o, K.Edirisuriya 53; G.Peiris 2 for 18, A.Gallage 2 for 61) and 86 for 2 in 18.4 overs (M.Thotuwilage 32, K.Edirisuriya 38 no).
St.Peter's - 267 for 8 dec.in 88.3 overs (K.Lokuarachchi 47, J.Jayasuriya 26, M.Perera 22, M.de Silva 107, C.Fernando 28, H.Rajakaruna 2 for 64, S.Edirimuni 2 for 38, G.Ratnayake 2 for 51).
Great team work by Wesley boys
By Saif Izzadeen
A great team effort by Wesley saw them taking first innings points over Trinity in a low scoring inter school cricket game at Campbell Park yesterday.
Trinity chasing a modest total of 155 by Wesley ran into some good spin bowling by Farveez Maharoof who took five wickets which saw the Kandy school being bundled out for 141.
Farveez Maharoof took five wickets giving away 47 runs. For Trinity Sandam Chandran (18), Anushka Imbuldeniya (45), Dilshan Rodrigo (23) and Mahesh Rajaratne (20) were the only batsmen to reach double figures.
Earlier Wesley, resuming from their overnight score of 124 for 7, added a further 31 runs before being bowled out for 155 runs. Sri Lanka youth player Kaushalaya Weeraratne took 5 for 26 for Trinity.
Meanwhile on neighbouring Campbell Place the inter school cricket match between Nalanda and Dharmaraja ended in an exciting draw with three players scoring half centuries.
At Campbell Park:
Wesley - (124 for 7 overnight) 155 (Farveez Maharoof 26, Tushara Peiris 26, Chamil Sumathipala 27 n.o, Faiz Subiyan 23; Kaushalaya Weeraratne 5 for 26, Dilshan Rodrigo 2 for 18).
Trinity - 141 (Sandam Chandran 18, Anushka Imbuldeniya 45, Dilshan Rodrigo 23, Mahesh Rajaratne 20; Pubudu Chandras–ekera 2 for 40, Farveez Maharoof 5 for 47, Sajith Colombage 2 for 16).
At Cambpell Place:
Nalanda - (206 for 5 overnight) 279 for 7 (Sukitha Peiris 77, Mevan Porage 15, Hiran Gunawardena 85, Malinga Gamarachchi 39, Amila Kiriella 13; Kanishka Weerasuriya 4 for 83, A. Jayasundara 2 for 16).
Dharmaraja - 194 for 9 (Haresh Ratnayake 37, Nuwan Ekanayake 65, Anuradha Jayasundara 11, Kanishka Weerasuriya 18 n.o; Ishara Dilshan 3 for 50, Dilhan Jayasundara 2 for 40, Buddika Ranaweera 2 for 26).
At Ananda Mawatha:
Ananda - (161 for 6 overnight) 244 for 9 dec (Thilina Kandambi 85, Nadeshan Jayakody 51, Sanjaya Bandara 36) and 82 for 1 (Lakshan Fernando 53 n.o, Yohan Wickremage 26 n.o).
St.Anthony's Katugastota - 182 (Samson Burge 35; Kasun Fernando 6 for 46, Akalanka Ganegama 2 for 24, Sanjaya Bandara 2 for 20).
Sri Rahula better placed
Sri Rahula were better placed at the end of the first day's play in their inter-school match against Gurukula MV at Peradeniya yesterday.
Gurukula MV - 119 in 54.5 overs (S. Asanka 21, M. Prasad 14, D. Nimantha 15, C. Tharanga 14, G. Chaminda 13; B. Gunasena 3 for 28, J. B. Ekanayake 3 for 16).
Sri Rahula - 84 for 4 in 42 overs (C. Ratnayake 19, P.Vishnaka 11, A.S. Kumara 20, S. Fernando 13 n.o, N. Priyadarshana 15 n.o; S. Nimantha 4 for 30) - A.K.
Lankan Juniors in 2nd round
Five of the Sri Lankan Junior Tennis players are in the second round in the ITF Asian under 14 championships played in Islamabad.
This championships will go on until February 13 with 14 countries participating, Afghanistan, Kazakastan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Mayanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore, UAE, Kuwait and Uzbekistan.
The Sri Lanka players had three days of match practice against foreign players and two days of training sessions, under the supervision of the IRF Development Officer.
The players who won through to the second round are: Nawchali de Silva, Erangi Dias, Sasith Wickremesinghe and Nishandran, with Mahesha Seneviratne too reaching the second round in straight wins.
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