Zaheer in Serious Doubt for Trent Bridge
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Thursday 28th July, 2011 Combined Provinces finally break the duck as Contract furore causes chaos Basnahira top the charts BY CHATHURA PINNAWALA Basnahira cruised to a 34 run victory over Ruhuna at R. Consolation Win for Combined Premadasa Stadium yesterday to Provinces within Australian cricket team grab the first place in the Inter Combined Provinces aided by Provincial T20 points table. They some sensible power hitting from will meet Wayamba in the early their middle order finally regis- BY MALCOLM CONN Australia’s best performed player earning collectively about $3 mil- tion process.” Saturday kick off, while Ruhuna tered a 7 wicket win over over the past three years, was lion were overlooked for a variety Which begs the question, why battles Kandurata in the other Wayamba to bow down with their ustralian cricket has unceremoniously dumped from of reasons. have a contract list at all if the semi final. pride intact. descended into chaos after the Cricket Australia contract list Hilditch on Tuesday admitted selectors are going to ignore it? During the final day’s proceed- Ashan Priyanjana alongside Aplayers sucking up millions last month, many who were the contract system was “far from Cash-strapped CA should save ings of the 1st round, Jeewantha Jeevan Mendis played some of dollars were overlooked for retained have been ignored. ideal” because players were millions by following the example Kulatunga-although his chances authentic shots to achieve the 156 bolters Nathan Lyon and Trent Just last month the four-man ranked on their value in Test, of regular Ashes winners, of creeping into the national side run target. Combined Provinces’ Copeland. selection panel chaired by one-day and Twenty20 cricket. England and cut its contract list nowadays are slim- walloped a 69 lacked the verve to prevail in Uncontracted spinners Michael Andrew Hilditch named 25 play- “When we picked the Test in half, dumping peripheral and not out to put Basnahira on top at crunch situations earlier in the Beer and Lyon and NSW seamer ers for contracts ranging from squad for Sri Lanka, I always under-performing players. the innings break. His pyrotech- tournament. Copeland are part of a 15-man Doug Bollinger at $160,000 to cap- knew there would be players from The worrying state of nics included 6 fours and 4 gigan- Priyanjan’s 52 was laced with squad to tour Sri Lanka for three tain Michael Clarke at $2 million. outside the system picked in that Australian cricket is further high- tic sixes. Ramith Rambukwella crisp shots while Mendis bedded Tests from late next month. On Tuesday, four contracted squad,” Hilditch said. lighted by Shaun Marsh, 28, being chipped in with an enterprising into take the team home. When While Simon Katich, spinners and four fast bowlers “Its not impacting on the selec- on the verge of making his Test 28 but the early chords were sung Priyanjan departed to a wonder- debut despite scoring just six cen- by Tillekaratne Dilshan(20 off 11 ful running catch from Thisara turies in 60 first class matches. balls). Perera, still Wayamba would As a member of the Twenty20 Ruhuna is known to be capable have fancied their chances, but and one-day squads, Marsh leaves of anything especially in the T20 Sachith Pathirana(21 off 13 balls) for Sri Lanka next week and, if he version, so a target of 167 wasn’t bounded in with the enthusiasm plays well, will have the front run- out of reach. Sanath Jayasuriya of a Japanese Terrier to finish ning ahead of Usman Khawaja. and Mahela Udawatte again sent the contest with 9 legal deliveries While Khawaja debuted in shockwaves through the sparse left. Sydney last summer, he struggled gathering of Basnahira support- Earlier Chamara Silva with injury at the end of last sea- ers, but their dismissals put an stonewalled his way to 41, but the son and had a poor A tour of emphatic end to their quest as the spin of Ajantha Mendis and Zimbabwe. innings lost its way. Sachith Pathirana kept a tight A groundsman in Canberra a Chathura Pieris extracted line to keep the rate in check all year ago, Lyon, 23, has played just trampoline bounce to induce the time. Madura Lakmal four first-class matches for South some short ball fears and it crashed a four and a six to spoil Australia, claiming 12 wickets at worked to a tee while Dilshan ate Chaminda Vidanapathirana’s fig- 43. up the tail to complete another ures, but in the final analysis it There are serious questions resounding victory. didn’t help Wayamba’s plight. over whether he is physically Brief Scores Brief Scores- ready for Test cricket. Basnahira- 166/3 in 20 overs ( Wayamba- 155/7 in 20 overs ( At least the steady Copeland, Jeewantha Kulatunga 69* Chamara Silva 41 Thilina 25, who was part of the Australia Dilshan Munaweera 30 Ramith Kandamby 28 Sachith Pathirana A tour of Zimbabwe, has played Rambukwella 28 Tillekaratne 25/2 Chaminda Vidanapathirana 17 first-class matches claiming 87 Dilshan 20) beat Ruhuna-132 all 27/2 Ajantha Mendis 27/2) lost to wickets at 22. out in 18.3 overs ( Mahela Combined Provinces- 156/3 in The surprise axing of all- Udawatte 28 Chinthaka Perera 21 18.3 overs ( Ashan Priyanjana 52 rounder Steve Smith has left Lyon Yashoda Lanka 20 Milinda Jeevan Mendis 33* Dhanushka and Michael Beer, 27, as a very Siriwardena 20 Tillekaratne Gunathilake 33 Sachith raw spinning duo. Dilshan 16/3 Chathura Pieris Pathirana 21*) by 7 wickets. 19/3) by 34 runs BOLTER: NSW paceman Trent Copeland was one of four surprise inclusions in Australia’s 14-man Test (Herald Sun) squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka ‘A’ Flower to ban Panesar from giving net practice to Sachin collapse again BY DEREK PRINGLE somehow excuse his actions, “a wonderful batsman and person”. Sri Lanka ‘A’ batsmen again England may have trounced an under- As it transpired, Panesar’s ingratiating did- failed to make an impression in cooked India in the opening Test but Andy n’t appear to help Tendulkar, who made 34 and their tour of United Kingdom after Flower, England’s team director, is taking no 12 in the Test, but it might have done. being bowled out for 203 in their chances before Friday’s rematch at Trent Annoying and unwise as Panesar’s con- four day first class match against Bridge. nivance was, far more worrying for Flower, Durham at Chester-le-Street yester- Expecting a backlash from the visitors, with three more matches remaining in the day. Flower has banned Monty Panesar from bowl- series, were the plumb lbws that Tendulkar After electing to bat first, Sri ing to Sachin Tendulkar in the nets, after con- and Suresh Raina survived off Stuart Broad, Lanka ‘A’ crawled to 105 for six at firming that the England spinner had helped due to the absence of the Hawkeye element of lunch and were 128 for eight soon the Little Master practice before the opening the Decision Review System. after that. But an unbeaten half-cen- salvo at Lord’s. Both decisions, given not out by Billy tury by Shaminda Eranga helped “He did bowl to him in the nets before Bowden, would have tested the tempers of far them to get past 200. Lord’s and I think that it is quite a naïve thing more phlegmatic men than Broad, whose dis- Eranga’s 50 came off 61 balls to do,” Flower said on, following his team’s belief was such that his face became a cliché with six fours and a six. He was 196-run victory over India the previous of cartoon expressions. Fortunately,neither involved in a 46 run stand with evening. error proved costly for England though Nilanka Premaratne for the last “I haven’t spoken to him yet but one would Flower, whose four main bowlers rap the pads wicket. hope he understands that it won’t happen often, reckons it is only a matter of time Of the top order batsmen, only again.” before the lack of Hawkeye has a bearing on Sachithra Serasinghe batting at Panesar, who was in the Ashes squad last the result. number six, impressed making 44. winter, has played 39 Tests for England but has “Yes, I am actually fearful that it will cost Barbadian born fast bowler Reul been on the fringes of the side since the emer- us,” said Flower. “We almost saw it happen in Brathwaite picked up three for 35. gence of Graeme Swann. this Test match. It would have been wrong if Sri Lanka ‘A’ 203 all out The conflict of interest alarms was obvious the outcome of the game had been seriously (B. Rajapaksa 20, S. Serasinghe but Panesar appears to have been immune to affected by a couple of those decisions. 44, S. Eranga 50*, R. Brathwaite it. Tendulkar was his first Test wicket and he Luckily,we did continue to create chances.” 3/35) plainly,along with a billion Indians, hero wor- India’s objection is that they feel the predic- tive element of Hawkeye, the bit that shows ships the man. But should he allow that admi- Monty Panesar ration to compromise his loyalty to team and the likely line the ball will travel after it has country,something Flower clearly feels should struck the pad, is inaccurate. per cent, but we also know you get more right have to be on the top of our game to win. But be a priority? Given that it is the same for both sides and decisions using it.