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Sanath:
The agony behind the ecstasy Yes, the Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya was fighting against cramps, dehydration , fatigue and above all a sore shoulder as he completed his 13th One day century and carried Sri Lanka to a morale boosting resounding victory. It was only three weeks ago Sanath Jayasuriya dislocated his right shoulder in the Morocco Cup final. Despite the injury being a shattering experience the captain was determined to make a comeback to the side and play in the opening game of the ICC Champions Trophy. Although a few of his team mates were uncertain about his recovery in time for the opening game, Jayasuriya himself and the man who mattered most Physio Alex Kontouri were confident the Captain will make it against all odds. With exactly three weeks to recover,Kontouri drew up the operation recovery plan for the Lankan skipper. How long will he be in the sling? When will he start moving his arm? When will he start batting against the spinners? When will he bat against the pacies? All this and much more was carefully thought about and specific dates set as Kontouri began working round the clock with the skipper in a bid to have him take guard against Pakistan. Everything worked to plan and the captain was there to face the Pakistanis despite not having the desired levels of fitness. It may not have been a typical Jayasuriya century as the 119 ball knock had just 10 boundaries and was minus some of his trademark shots.However his determination to play even with some limitations paid off for him as well as for Sri Lanka. Speaking to the Sunday Times Kontouri admitted that it was not easy for Jayasuriya as he experienced pain and cramps during his innings.îHe had some pain in the early part of his innings while later the guy was suffering from dehydration and cramps.This was expected as Sanath batted for over three hours after being on the field for three and a half hours. The Physio attributed the dehydration and cramps to the captains fitness.Sanath was not in a position to do his routine fitness schedule since he was on a sling for some time and was also restricted in doing the usual excercises because of the shoulder injury.Hence his preparations for the game as far as his fitness was concerned was effected. It was evident that Jayasuriya was in pain during his innings as he was seen bending and leaning on his bat between overs and needed assistance from the dressing room quite frequently. According to the Physio, Sanath was on pain killers,salt and ice during Thursdays' day night game . He needed ice very frequently during the game to minimize the swelling on his shoulder. Despite bowling only a few balls after his injury Jayasuriya sent down two overs during the game which surprised his team mates.The plan was for him not to bowl unless it was really needed. However you may have noted that Sanath modified his action somewhat during the two overs he bowled, said Kontouri who was also surprised at Sanaths' attempt to bowl. Jayasuriya is likely to take a rest from tomorrows' game against Holland. After the workout on Thursday Sanath has a very sore shoulder, however a decision on his inclusion in the game for tomorrow has not been taken as yet,said Kontouri. Black
Caps, will give the Kangaroos a game The Aussies, are the defending World Cup Champions, and are front runners in the ongoing ICC Trophy Championship being held here under the leadership of Ricky Ponting. The Aussies take on New Zealand, in their opener ( today Sept.15) at the SSC grounds starting at 10 a.m. which should turn out to be a keen contest. They could be tagged as the one-day glamour team with several stars, who have a great appetite in the shorter version of the game - namely Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, latest addition Matt Hayden, who will be the opening partner in the absence of Mark Waugh to Gilchrist. The pair could tear an attack from the word 'go'. Twenty eight-year-old Ponting, who took over from Steve Waugh has led them to greater heights since then. Gilchrist - the 'Thumper Stumper', today is a box-office draw, with some indelible figures in the first 15-overs. Adam even has an edge over our own 'Master Blaster' Sanath Jayasuriya with his consistency. in recent times. Sanath has slowed down somewhat but is capable of making a come back and the present competition could be the stage for that. Gilchrist's promotion to open the innings proved a master stroke. The jeers turned to cheers when he propelled the Aussie run-chase. He has to his credit 153 against Sri Lanka in a one-day game at the Adelaide in a Carlton series. Ponting is always ready to take a gamble. He is another player to watch in the ICC Trophy. The Aussies have a quite a number of bowling allrounders in the team - a vital ingredient for the success of any team in the shorter game. Michael Bevan - an ideal batsman to close an innings or chase a target. Lefthander Darren Lahemann, Damian Martyn, an useful allrounder and an agile fielder, too. Andrew Bichel - yet another bowling allrounder, who could prop the lower order batting. Newcomers N. Hauritz, Jimmy Maher and Shane Watson, will be on show. They possess an awesome pace attack which only could be matched by Pakistan in players like Bret Lee, Glen McGrath and Jason Gillespie. The trio will be helped by Bichel, Martyn, 'leggie' Shane Warne (a vital link) and young Haurtiz (off-spin). Less Glamorous Opener Mark Richardson, and Craig McMillain (the middle order batsman is injured) may look a new-look side, but they have the skills and determination to match the Aussies sans big names. Nathan Astle, a hard-hitting batsman, who has the flair to go for big scores with his stroke play, Chris Harris a crafty one-day bowling allrounder, Daryl Tuffy and the return of fast bowler Shane Bond to share the cherry with Tuffy. Bond could take some prized scalps in his team's favour. Orthodox left-arm spinner, Daniel Vettori, could keep the batsman in check with his viles. Late entry to international cricket Scott Styris, could help the team's cause with his allround ability. He had a test 100 on debut and 69 against the West Indies. The Kiwis are a good fielding side and gives nothing away. They had a side game against S. Africa on Wednesday at the NCC grounds. The bowlers bowl tight and gives nothing away, backed by agile fielding could give the Aussies a good run for their money. One-day cricket, the game for the people. A popular sport has helped the traditional game (test), too. The desire to score maximum runs in 50 overs. The Kiwis beat Australia 3-1 in Australia and lost to S.Africa 3-1 in S.Africa. The teams (from). - Australia - R. Ponting (Capt.), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Andrew Bichel, J. Gillespie, Nathan Hauritz, Matt Hayden, D. Lehmann, J. Maher, D. Martyn, G. McGrath, Shane Warne, Shane Watson. New Zealand (from), S. Fleming (Capt.), N. Astle, Shane Bond, C. Harris, Paul Hitchcook, Kyle Mills, Chris Nevin, Jacob Oram, M. Sinclair, Scott Styris, Glen Sulzberger, D. Tuffey, D. Vettori, Lou Vincent. Montgomery
breaks Greene's 100m world record Montgomery not only wiped the smile from Greene's face he also did to Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj, who only half an hour earlier had been celebrating his overall Grand Prix title. But having finished level on 116 points apiece the American got it as he had broken a world record this season. Montgomery said he had no idea that he would be in the form to break Greene's record - Greene, the Olympic champion and triple world champion, sat out the race and was watching from the stands. "I just came here to beat Dwain," said Montgomery, who had had to sit out the Berlin Golden League meeting over a row about appearance money. |
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