Briefly

Soccer Quarters on Oct. 4

The quarter finals of the under 19 invitation schools football tournament played for the Don Paul Henry Patrick Memorial Trophy conducted by the Old Mazenodian Football Association will be played at the De Mazenod College grounds at Kandana on Monday, October 4.

Two quarter finals will be played on this day, one at 3 p.m. and the other at 4.30 p.m.

The semi finals will be played on October 6 and 7 with the finals fixed for October 9.

In the matches played so far, St. Peter's beat D.S. Senanayake 2/1, Isipatana received a walk over from Kalutara MV, St. Joseph's beat Thurstan 5-nil, Maris Stella vs. Wesley 2-nil, Hindu College beat St. Mary's Chilaw 3-2, in a penalty shoot-out, St. Benedict's beat Prince of Wales 3-1.

Zahira will meet St. Peter's, Joseph Vaz will meet Isipatana, Sri Pada MV Hatton will take on St. Joseph's, St. Sylvester's will battle Maris Stella.

Kumara wins Quantas Cup

The Qantas Sailing Regatta Challenge Cup was won by Kumara at the helm and crewed by Bandara of the Navy Sailing Club at the Ceylon Motor Yacht Club at Bolgoda.

This 29-year-old trophy regatta saw 20 boats come under the starter's order.

Finishing in second place was Prasanga Kariyawasam/Reshan Svendsen, followed by brothers Avantha and Shehan Tennakoon, Per Svendsen/Wenche Svendsen, Rajapaksa, P. Kumara (Navy), Mike Thompson/Upawansa, Hans Svendsen/Graham Frazer, husband and wife combination Anil & Michelle Gunawardena, John Gotman/Di Gorman, Mohan Balasuriya/Arosha Jayasundera.

Andrew Sagar won the Optimist race with Graham Frazer in second place which saw 12 participate and one boat capsized with the helm and the crew quickly rescued.

Shanthini Wirasinghe of Qantas Airways was the chief guest and distributed the trophies.

Sailing classes at Bolgoda

Sailing in Sri Lanka is getting more popular day by day and the number of participants keep on increasing every week.

Sailing classes for children are conducted every Saturday morning by the sailing co-ordinator Jeremy Bolling, at Bolgoda.

All children interested to learn sailing should contact the Yachting Association of Sri Lanka or the Ceylon Motor Yacht Club at Indibedde, Moratumulla, Moratuwa.

Nine teams in the fray

The Asian Olympic qualifying round football championships will see nine teams battling for supremacy. The competition commenced on October 1.

The qualifying final round will be played on a home and away basis in three groups.

The three groups and their match dates and venues are:

Group A - October 1 - Qatar vs Saudi Arabia in Doha; October 7 - Saudi Arabia vs Kuwait in Riyadh; October 17 - Kuwait vs Qatar in Kuwait City; October 29 - Saudi Arabia vs Qatar in Riyadh; November 7 - Kuwait vs Saudi Arabia in Kuwait City; November 12 - Qatar vs Kuwait in Doha. Group B - October 3 - Korea Republic vs China in Seoul; China vs Bahrain in Shanghai; October 17 - Bahrain vs Korea Republic in Manama.

When Australia took it easy...

By Bruce Maurice

The second Test played at Lords between England and Australia in 1953, was one Test that Australia should have won hands down. At the end of the fourth day England has lost three wickets for only 20 runs and still needed another 323 for a win. So Australia had it on a platter.

This Test was to bring the curtain down on one of the greatest careers in Test cricket. Don Tallon was dropped and replaced by Gill Langley. The cricketing world of that time was shocked when they heard the news. Because as a keeper, Tallon was on a street of his own, and even where batting was concerned, there was no doubt that he was better than Langley.

Hassett won the toss for the second time, and this time he opened with Morris and took the first ball. The two of them gave Australia their best start of the series, by putting on 65 for the first wicket, before Morris was c. Evans, B. Bedser.

Hassett and Harvey then put on 125 for the second wicket and at 190, Bedser had harvey LBW for 59. But then on came Wardle to put the "skids" under Australia and at stumps they were 265 for 5, with Hassett having got his hundred and retiring with cramp.

The second day was another glorious sunny day and another full house. Ring was soon out LBW to Wardle for 18. Hassett resumed his interrupted innings.

But managed to add only 3 runs before he went Ct Bailey off Bedser. And now was to come one of the finest innings seen in a Test at Lords. It was an innings that those who saw it will treasure for the rest of their days. It was provided by young Alan Davidson who was playing his first Test at Lords. He cover drove with such maturity and assurance that even deliveries from Bedser and Statham singed the turf as they sped like lightening to the boundary. Davidson played an innings that stood out like a beacon.

But after Davidson's dismissal England did well to bowl Australia out for 346 with Bedser taking 5 for 105 and Wardle 4 for 77.

When England began her innings, the atmosphere was so tense, that everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats. England's hopes now rested on Hutton and Kenyon. But they had additional burdens. Kenyon had to justify his first Test failures and re-establish himself. While Hutton has to atone for dropping three ghastly chances when Australia were batting. It was stirring dramatic cricket and then a terrific roar went up as Kenyon was caught by Davidson off Lindwall for 3 and England has lost her first wicket with only 9 on the board.

Next in was young Tom Graveney. This youngster breathed fire and the crowd relished it.

He and Hutton took the Australian attack by the scruff of its neck and belted it to all parts of Lords. At stumps England were 177 for 1 wicket. Hutton not out 83 and Graveney not out 78.

Australian attack of Lindwall, Miller, Johnston, Davidson, Ring and Benaud was well and truly tamed by Hutton and Graveney who had put on 168 runs and England were set for a total of 600 more. And the third day was a day of destiny for English cricket.

But Lindwall saw that it was not to be. He had the use of a new ball, and with the very first ball of the day he sent Graveney's off stump flying with a peach of an in-swinging yorker. Next in was Compton who was having to carry two burdens on his shoulders. One was to consolidate England's position and the other to fight for his own redemption in the game. He and Hutton looked as if they would see England through to lunch.

But with just a few minutes to go for the break. Hutton was brilliantly caught by Hole off Johnston for 145. It was a magnificent effort and it certainly exonerated him from the ghastly catches that he had missed. In this innings Hutton really displayed true Yorkshire grit and determination.

(More nextweek)

Susanthika turns Susan for the sake of her motherland

By A Special Correspondent

'I will always be proud to represent Sri Lanka. Little by little my troubles are diminishing, keeping my mind free to bring glory and honour to my motherland', said champion sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe, who is on a short holiday from the United States where she is training for the Sydney Olympics in the Year 2000. She is now known as Susan in the United States.

Continuing she said : "I can't tell you for how long I will be in Sri Lanka nor my whereabouts. It has been done to avoid any unpleasantness.

Yes, I am, happy to be back in my mother country after a hectic nine months, where I ran in a few Grand Prix and earned a few dollars which were utlised to pay the rent for my house, where I stayed after four hours training in the mornings under that renowned athletic coach Tony Campbell.

Whilst training I was allowed to train in the 60, 100 and 120 metres with three minute intervals, which saw me improve a lot under this systematic training in USA which incidentally is not done in Sri Lanka.

The problems created by two officials in Sri Lanka steeled my determination enabling me to run the fastest 60 metres in Asia in a time of 7.09 seconds and do the 100 metres in 11.17 seconds.

With God's blessing I was signed up by NIKE and was picked for the Nike Relay team to run along with Marion Jones with the support of my Coach Tony Campbell."

Susanthika said that there were two reasons for her to skip the SAF Games. Firstly, to attend to her leg and the other to give the village youth a better chance to run in the Games.

Talking about Damayanthi Darsha, Susanthika said that she knew that Darsha could win the 200 and 400 and it was simple for her to win the 100 too.

Speaking about the change of name from Susanthika to Susan she said it was at the request of her coach that it was changed because it was too hard to pronounce it.

Susanthika was of high praise to her coach, who, she said understood all her problems and did not demand money for training her, where she was told that she could consider paying him when she gets her monies from NIKE.

She said that during her off training period she watches TV, and learnt English, in USA.

Antonian's clinch All Island School Games shuttle title{tc "Antonian's clinch All Island School Games shuttle title"} {tc ""}

Sri Lanka's undisputed school badminton champions St. Anthony's College Kandy kept their unbeaten record in the tournament intact by clinching this title for the third successive year.

Antonians who have won almost every boys' title in Sri Lanka's Junior Badminton for the past five years with monotonous regularity, defeated the more fancied Dharmaraja College Kandy 3-1 with another magnificent display.

They started off well against very strong opposition in every match. The Antonians proved their capability of entering the tournament in a fascinating manner beating well balanced Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda 3-1 in the quarter finals.

In the semi finals, Antonians displayed the best match of the tournament by beating Royal College, the favourites 3-1.

Fifteen-year-old Devaka Ekanayake, the hero of the semi final tie, couldn't do much in the final losing the opening game to Rajitha Abeysekera 7/15, 5/15.

Amila Wijesekara - '98 Junior National Under 15 Singles runner up, gave the much needed equalizer for the Antonians by beating the strong I.P.B. Pamunuwa by 15/5, 15/11. Gayan Sylvester obtained a morale boosting victory over G.K. Weerakoon by 15/2, 15/4.

Antonians went in to the Doubles full of confidence with their top combination Gayan Sylvester and Dhammika Gunarathne. They smashed up their opponents easily to win 15/0, 15/3 and thus sealed the tie in favour of Antonians.

Madugalle and Manuel to officiate

Ranjan Madugalle and Peter Manuel will officiate as the ICC Match Referee and neutral umpire for the India-New Zealand Tests which begins next week. New Zealand will play three Tests against India, the first begins in Mohali on October 10.

P. Manuel will officiate as neutral umpire for the first Test while D. Harper (Australia) and R. Koertzen (SA) will officiate in the second and third Tests. (MF)

How's Zat!

By Cover Point

On the pretext of 'lifting the covers' certain interested elements soon after the World Cup debacle made an attempt to whitewash the sins of a few and hoodwink the cricket loving public on a Private Television Channel during a Talk Show .The attempt proved futile.

Soon an Interim Committee was in place and heads began to roll. Administrators, Selectors, Coaches, Managers, Captains,Vice Captains and Players were changed by the Interim Committee as Sri Lanka prepared to face the World Champions. Despite the Champagne still flowing after their glorious World Cup triumph at Lords the new look Lankan side brushed a- side the stiff challenge from the World Champions to win the Triangular tournment. Adding insult to injury the new look Lankans beat the Aussies in a Test for the first time. So it was all evident that the changes spearheaded by the Interim Committee worked to perfection.

The Lankans' double triumph against the World Champions was a bitter pill to swallow for the past Administrators,Selectors and a section of the media.And so the Private TV station plans a second show, 'inside the box' with well respected T V Commentators Tony Greig, David Hooks, Jeff Thompson and Sri Lanka's Duleep Mendis the panelist.

Not only was the show a failure but it exposed the biasness of the participants especially the Presenter and Tony Greig and also clearly pointed out who was behind the scenes.The presenter starts off saying Sri Lanka has a fare share of problems. How strange, when they have beaten the world champions in both forms of the game.

Then Tony Greig insists that the Interim Committee (who mind you saved Sri Lanka Cricket and resurrected it within a few weeks) should go and the Sumathipalas and Dhrmadasas should run Sri Lanka cricket.What right has Tony Greig to say this and is this foreigner aware of the cricket politics in Sri Lanka?He has been brainwashed no doubt by the dinners ,parties that have been dished out to him and of course the tours(Dambulla for sure!) that have been organized for him.So Tony please stick to your cricket commentary and not your ideas as to who should govern the game in Sri Lanka or else you are going to lose the little respect that cricket fans have for you (of course, only if there is anything left now). As one cricket fan put it "I lost all the respect I had for Greig.He was simply a disgrace."

Then Duleep Mendis says that the removal of Arjuna Ranatunge should have been done in a more decent way where the Chairman of Selectors should have told him to step down and give way to someone else. According to Mendis this was the way he was removed. Yes, sounds decent enough. But wasn't Mendis the Chairman of Selectors for a number of years. Why on earth couldn't he have approached Arjuna and politely told him to step down. And give way to another player. We all know why that did not happen. So Duleep it's best that you keep quiet and take a bow!

As for the presenter no one will mind if he continues in the same vein as all cricket fans are aware that this bloke has a very strong affiliation towards certain personalities in the game.Even his Television station and sponsors have turned a blind eye despite his shows being absolutely one sided .So why worry about him?

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