Sports Office - Bearers

Kabaddi officials unanimous 

Finally the following Office Bearers were elected unanimously: President Hon. C.V Gooneratne Minister of Industrial Development; Vice-Presidents Jayantha Wickremaratne, Deputy Inspector General of Police; A.C Gooneratne Air Cdr.; Percy Peiris Executive Director Tri Star Apparels; D.W Prathapasinghe Senior Supdt. of Police; Tissa Malagamuwa Co-ordinating Secretary Ministry of Power & Irrigation;

Hony. Secretary M.T Fernando; Asst. Secretary A. Wijenayake; Treasurer S.P Samarasekera; Asst. Treasurer K.W.A.D Bandara.

Gampola Football League

President: Mr. A. Razak; Vice-Presidents: Mr. H. G. Premaratne, Mr. M. Jayaratne, Mr. K. M. Shaheed, Mr. Sarath Welgedara, Mr. S. Mansoor; Hony. Secretary: Mr. Sunil Senaweera; Asst. Secretary: Mr. H. M. Jayantha; Hony. Treasurer: Mr. E. Weerasinghe; Asst. Treasurer: Mr. B. J. Ariyathilake; Patrons: Mr. G.A. Piyadasa, Mr. D.P. Wilson, Mr. Faus Mohamed.

Lalith Withana heads SLTA

Withana first served the SLTA in 1984. During the period, he has served the SLTA in various posts and last year served as the Vice- President and also as Chairman, Finance and Membership.

Withana is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He also possesses a Master in Business Administration. He is a past student of Ananda College.

Withana stressed the need of having a professional administration at the SLTA, which is geared to meet the needs of the clubs and schools in the country. "We will conduct more ranking tournaments and carry out more development programmes in the outstations. Our main goal is to make tennis accessible to all irrespective of whether they live in Colombo or the outstations, but we will not relax on the pursuit of his tennis standards," he said.

The SLTA General Committee comprises: President: Lalith Withana; Vice-Presidents: Suresh Subramaniam, Tryphon Mirando, Romesh Fernando, L. H. Peiris, Brig. D.S. G Kempitiya, Arjan Perera; Hony. General Secretary: Maxwell De Silva; Assistant Secretaries: P.K. De Silva, M. Irshard, N. Othman, R. Razik, P.S Rodrigo; Hony. Treasurer: Tuan Amith; Assistant Treasurer: M. Sanjaya Wijemanne; Hony. Ground Secretary: Kumar Gunawardane; Committee Members: Ananda De Silva, Janaka Bogollagama, E.Pararajasingham, V.T. Sunderalingam, Chamara Wijesinghe, Shanthilal Perera, Mano Tittawela, Arosha Jayasundera, Anura Fernando, N.W. Hewage, Dayandra De Silva, Ajith Fernando, T. A. Wimalaratne, Shehan H. Meegama, H. K. Balapatabendi, Poorna U. Amarasinghe, Tissa Wijegoonewardane, Rohini Condegama, Zirka Welikala, U. Ratwatte.

Ceylon Motor Sports Club

Messrs. Ranjit Jinasena, Sunil De Costa, Asgi Akbarally, Shayne Choksy, Suren Cooke, Zafarullah Hathy, Bandula Weerasinghe, Rustom Jaladeen, Mahinda Jayaratne, Dilhan Gunatunga, Upali Kapilasena, Prabodha Kathriarachchi, Rohan Speldewinde, Randy Welikala.

Soccer Veterans Association

Chief Recorder: M. F. Ramlan; Technical Consultants: Nizam Hajireen, Amalraj Mirando, Desmond Joseph M.S.M. Jabir.

Sri Lanka Power Lifting Federation 

President: Mr. Ronnie Abeysinghe (Havelock Sports Club); V. Presidents: Mr. G.D. Samarasena (Adonia Barbell Club), Mr. Earl de Mel (Power World Fitness Centre), Mr. Kapila Perera (Super Eagle Club); General Secretary: Siridasa Liyanage (Anchormen Barbell Club); Asst. Secretary : Mr. I.P. Nandasena (Sakthi Sports Club); Treasurer: R. Henricus (Soysapura Physical Culture Club); Asst. Treasurer: Bernard Fernandez (Super Eagle Club); Committee: Mr. H. Nasoordeen (Kotahena Powerlifting Club), Mr. Desha Prabhoda Liyanage (Anchorman Barbell Club), Mr. Sujeewa Nishantha Kumara (Soysapura Physical Culture Club), Mr. M.D. Palitha (Peradeniya University), Mr. Vijitha Bandara Kumar (Soysapura Physical Culture Club), Mr. Marshall Fernando (Mayura Sports Club); National Coach: Mr. D.U.M. Jayathilake (Peradeniya University).

N'Eliya Avuruddhu race meet 

SriLankan Airlines sponsor coveted Governor's Cup 

By Ismail Khan

This in addition to what they have done todate to help the nation in dire times of need helping the masses in war-torn North and East, ferrying cricketers across the globe and also helping journalists to reach their destination of assignment on time and looking after their welfare. 

In his opening address at the press conference held at Twin Towers recently, Chandana de Silva, Senior Manager of SriLankan Airlines enumerated the steps taken by them to give a filip to horseracing in Sri Lanka which many thought was a dying sport after its fabulous heydays in the late 1940's and early 1950's. 

He said SriLankan Airlines are prepared to help for a start the Nuwara Eliya races from this year and they will leave no stone unturned in their endeavour to popularize the once King-of-Sport. 

Mr. Nigel Austin, the Hony. Treasurer in his short roundup stated that the Sri Lanka Turf Club has spent a colossal amount in refurbishing the Nuwara Eliya racecourse but his one worry was the dumping of dirt on the side of the course by the residents residing nearby. He hoped the government through the Ministry of Sports would step in and put an end to this waste disposal on the racecourse. 

Mr. Rajah Sinnathuray, the Hony. Secretary in his crisp speech said that the three days racing in Nuwara Eliya beginning 12th April and ending on 17th April had roped in 137 entries, the highest to-date. And added that a few first class Indian riders would be here to ride the horses especially on Governor's Cup day where the Cup entries are first class thoroughbreds. 

The Chairman, Board of Stewards of the Sri Lanka Turf Club, Mr. Sunny Rahim delved in detail about horseracing in Emirates, especially Dubai, where the Makhtoums and Sheikh Mohammed are ruling the roost. He also said the two Arabs are controlling the world Bloodstock of horses and it would be a magnanimous gesture if they could pump in some of their bloodstock at least into Sri Lankan racing. Of course this line of action could be taken over by SriLankan Airlines and something productive done through the oil Sheikhs of Dubai. 

The three days of racing scheduled for Nuwara Eliya during the festive season are - 12th April Wednesday 

(Day One), 14th April Friday (Day Two) and 17th April Monday (Day Three). 

It was made to understand that Tote betting - on the Totalisator - would be available to help the punters along. 

All in all this year promises to be exhilarating fare with much better racing than in the past few years. This year the Sri Lanka Turf Club have already completed two off-season meetings and now goes on to stage the show of the year - with the Governor's Cup sponsored by SriLankan AirLines as the main attraction on the second day. 

The latest arrival in Nuwara Eliya is Avaglow brought in by Ranjan Sellamuttu especially for the big race - the Governor's Cup. 

Sri- Lankan Airlines will be sponsoring all 8 cup races on the second day including the Governor's Cup. There will be also a splash of international colour where the SriLankan Airlines will be hosting 80 guests both foreign and local. 

On the last day, 17th April, the 3rd day of the racing festival at Nuwara Eliya, the Sri Lanka Turf Club would be introducing an Amateur Riders' event for the Union Assurance Cup to be ridden by members of the Club namely: Suranjith Premadasa, Gamini Kodituwakku, Mohan De Lanerolle Snr., Kamal Senaratne and Dr. Sinharaja Delgoda. 

This year the Poonawalla's from Pune, India will be conspicuous by their absence as they are committed in their country through horse racing during the festive days. 

But the Poonawalla's although absent will make their presence felt next year when they install the stalls, starting gates, at the Nuwara Eliya racecourse. They hope the stalls would be ready by next year. 

The horses entered for the Govenor's Cup to be run on 14 th April 2000: 

1 Emperado 
2 Anticipator 
3 Libo Queen
4 Stormy Warrior 
5 Avaglow 
6 Ancient Warrior 

The distance of the big race is 9 furlongs and it is for thoroughbred horses in class 1. It's a terms race. 

The Rowland Company will be assisting SriLankan Airlines in public relations. 

New members who will grace the racing circuit at Nuwara Eliya this term: Dr. M.S.Nooh, A Wickremanayake, G. Kodituwakku, Suranjith Premadasa, Helmut Hendricks and A. Abeyratne. They join the old guard - Mrs. Santha de Zoysa, Nigel Austin, Rajan Sellamuttu and Mohan Lanerolle who have imported several thoroughbred horses.

Courtney Walsh becomes world's highest wicket-taker 

Pakistan, chasing this total were 203/9 at the end of the 49th over. 

The last over was in progress. 14 runs to win 1 wicket in hand. The last over was to be bowled by a tall, handsome fast bowler. Abdul Qadir was the batsman on strike and Salim Jaffer was at the non-strikers end. Abdul Qadir scored 10 runs in 5 balls and the total moved on to 213 for 9 wickets. Now 4 runs were needed off the last ball. When he was about to bowl the last ball, this tall handsome bowler noticed that Jaffer was out of his crease. He could have easily run him out. A run-out at this stage would have given the victory to West Indies. But the bowler stopped and warned Jaffer. The next ball was dispatched to the boundary by Qadir and Pakistan won the match by 1 wicket. The tall handsome bowler is none other than Courtney Anthony Walsh. For this supreme gesture he was awarded a special medal at a ceremony held one week later. A Karachi clothes factory gave Walsh an expensive carpet and Pak: Rs. 5000/= (US$ 300/=). He received so many other awards for his nice gesture. 

Courtney Anthony Walsh was born on the 30th October 1962 in Kingston, Jamaica. 

He captained Jamaica and later captained West Indies in 18 Tests. He also represented Gloucestershire in county cricket. 

During the recent second Test against Zimbabwe at Sabina Park, he was able to erase Kapil Dev's Test tally of 434 wickets. A comparison between Kapil and Walsh shows that Walsh has achieved this mark in a lesser number of matches and at a better average. With Ambrose, Walsh has been the mainstay for West Indies during the last few years taking them to unexpected victories. A good example was the first Test against Zimbabwe at Port of Spain. Walsh, along with Ambrose, King and Rose demolished Zimbabwe for 63 runs, when Zimbabwe were chasing only 99 runs for a Test victory! 

Walsh is also the holder of an unwanted World record namely the highest number of ducks in Tests. Danny Morrison of New Zealand was the previous holder for this with 24 ducks. Walsh who normally bats at No.10 or 11 has 35 ducks at the moment. Also Walsh can establish another interesting record. That is the Not Out's by a Test batsman. Former England captain R.G.D. (Bob) Willis, who was not out on 55 occasions is the record holder for this category. Willis played in 90 Tests and batted in 128 innings. At the moment, Walsh has faced 156 innings and has been not out on 52 times. Another 4 would give the record to Walsh. - M.L. Fernando

Walsh's full career statistics are given below: 

             Tests     0            M        R          W         Best         5W       10W       Av

Vs E       31       1249.2     268     3219      111         5/45          3           -         29.00

Vs A      33        1227       239     3387      124         6/54          4           -         27.31

Vs SA      5        207.5       53     518          26         6/80          1           -         19.92

Vs NZ    10        375.2       79     944          43         7/37          3           1        21.95

Vs I        15        521.4     116     1316        65         6/62          4           1        20.25

Vs P       15        438.4       86     1160        49         5/78          2           -        23.67

Vs SL       3        97.1         11     278           8         4/73          -            -       34.75

Vs Z         2        80.3         29     134           9         3/21          -            -       14.89

             114        4197.3    881 10956        435         7/37        17           2       25.19

Batting: Innings 156; Not outs 52; H.S. 30 n.o.; Runs 844; Av: 8.11; ducks: 35.

M.L. Fernando 

Ten teams in U-15 Cricket Carnival 

The best Under-15 cricketers will be seen in action in Colombo spanning over a period of one week. 

This concept will give the young cricketers a taste of playing against each other in a healthy spirit of competition. 

With the Sri Lanka Under-15 team scheduled to tour Malaysia in June and England in July for the World Cup, this tournament will give them an ideal opportunity to display their skills in gaining selection to the pool. 

The tournament will be watched by the Regional and National Selectors. The Regional Selectors will pick a squad of 50, after which the final pool will be picked after trials being held. 

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) has arranged for accomodation in Colombo for the Regional teams and all matches will be played on turf wickets at the NCC, Moors, De Soysa Stadium, Royal, St. Benedicts, P. Sara Stadium, Police Park, Wesley, Ananda and Bloomfield grounds. 

The Regional teams were picked by the Regional Selectors after considering their performances at the recently concluded Under-15 tournament. 

The BCCSL intends to conduct an Under-19 carnival too in the near future. 

The teams playing and their groupings are: 

Group A - 

Colombo North, Colombo South Outer, Kandy Region, Dambulla, Combined Districts.

Group B -

Colombo South, Colombo North Outer, Galle, Badulla. 

In the matches played so far in Group A - Colombo A beat Colombo D, Colombo C beat Colombo B, Colombo B beat Colombo A, Colombo C beat Colombo D, Colombo C beat Colombo A, Colombo D beat Colombo B. 

In Group B - Gampaha beat Kalutara, Puttalam beat Ratnapura, Puttalam beat Gampaha, Kalutara beat Ratnapura and Puttalam beat Kalutara. 

In Group 3 - Kandy beat Kegalle, Kandy beat Nuwara-Eliya, Kegalle beat Nuwara-Eliya, in group 4 - Galle beat Hambantota, Matara beat Hambantota, Galle beat Matara in group 5 - Badulla beat Monaragala, Monaragala beat Ampara, Badulla beat Ampara. 

In Group 6 - Kurunegala beat Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa beat Matale, Kurunegala beat Matale, Polonnaruwa beat Anuradhapure, Kuruneala beat Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura beat Matale.

In Group 7 - Trincomalee beat Vavuniya, Batticaloa beat Vavuniya, Trincomalle beat Batticaloa.

The semi-finals will be played at Police Park and D.S. Senanayake College Grounds on Sunday April 9 with the finals to be played at the NCC grounds on Monday April 10. This will be a fine Sinhala New Year bonanza for the young cricketers.

CCC Juniors to tour Bangalore

By Bernie Wijesekera

C.C.C's. Under 16 and 14 teams will be leaving for Bangalore on April 9 to 20. 

The youngsters will also get an opportunity of seeing how pace bowlers are trained at the MRF Pace Bowlers' Foundation, thanks to T.A. Sekar of MRF who is also a national selector. 

The youngsters, who have been in training for the last few months under Chief Coach Nelson Mendis, are looking forward to a fruiftul tour in their first outing. 

Both teams have talented circketers drawn from Colombo and suburban schools. 

Under 16 team is being led by Damith Warusavithana from S.Thomas' College, who turns out for C.C.C. Division III team. He scored a debut 100. 

His deputy is another talented allrounder from Nalanda Yasas Hewavitharana, a good right hand batsman, and right-arm medium pace bowler. 

The Under 14 team is captained by Sukitha Senaratne, the Under 13 cricketer from Royal College, Colombo 7, who is a good left hand opening batsman. 

Sahan Pathirana, the stumper, a left-handed opening batsman, like his skipper, plays for Nalanda College, U-13 team. 

According to Director Coaching, Nelson Mendis, this will be CCC junior cricketers' first tour abroad. Both teams will play six matches in Bangalore and take on YMCA Cricket Academy Karnataka, State Associations, Schools, Imitiaz Ahamed Academy, B'lore Combined Schools and YMCA combined XI. 

The touring team will also play two matches in Chennai against Chandrasekar Academy run by former Test Spinner, V.B. Chandrasekhar. 

Sunil Peiris, Chairman Gymkhana Club, Thilanga Sumathipala, the Patron of the school, Shammi Silva have given tremendous support and encouragement along with the parents to make this tour a reality.

The organisers are hoping to make this an annual event. 

The Teams:

Under-16: Damith Warusavithana (Capt.), Yasas Hewawitharana (Vice Capt), Sanka Jayasuriya, Kasun Mendis, Chinthana Samarasinghe, Prasad Perera, Ishkey Irshard, Dejan De Zoysa, Jayanga Perera, Randimal de Silva, Tarindu Ekanayaka, Nejith Fernando, Isuru Kolitha, Amila Jayamanne and Dilan Nayanajith.

Under 14: Sukitha Senarathne (Capt.), Sahan Pathirana (Vice Capt.), Janath Ranasinghe, Thilina Samarasinghe, Indika Paranagama, Udara Perera, Rukshan Wijesuriya, Chamara Moonemale, Sakhya Hewawithanage, Dinesh Rajitha, Tharaka de Silva and Sandeepa Caldera. 

Officials: Nelson Mendis Manager-cum-Coach, Kumar Samarasinghe (Asst. Manager) and Mohammed Safraz (Asst. Coach and Umpire).

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