Tuesday 20th January, 2009 15 Honours even at Asgiriya What ails Sri Lanka cricket? by Rukshan Razak A total of 24 wickets fell on day one ri Lanka cricket is ailing. The ented players like Mahela Udawatte But the team selectors didn’t give be found fault with, but in One Day of the inter-school cricket encounter last game that we played and Tharanga Paranavitane are him a single match during the internationals, it is difficult to fath- between Trinity College, Kandy and Sagainst minnows Bangladesh on there. Remember, the Bangladesh tour. om why the selection committee Isipatana College, Colombo at the January 16, proved this. selection panel went !Letter Kandamby has proved keeps him as the captain and also as Asgiriya International Cricket Stadium Five top order wickets down for 6 ahead with Upul his talents in both a batsman. Mahela managed to win in Kandy yesterday. The game is evenly runs. That’s a world record! Tharanga in the World Cup, ignoring forms of games by scoring heavily some matches, not because of his poised with Isipatana enjoying a slender It was a pathetic situation by any his continuous failures and omitted during the South Africa tour last innovative captaincy, but due to the 81 run lead with just six wickets in standards. Marvan Attapatu, one of the best year. It is sad to see the number of heroics of Murali and Ajantha hand. It is true that we won the match. players that Sri Lanka has ever pro- opportunities given to Jehan Mendis. When the going gets tough, Captain Rushan Jaleel paired up But it was due to Murali’s batting duced. It is high time for the Sports Mubarak but not to Kandamby. Mahela has now started to panic and with spinning partner Akila heroics. What has happened to Sri Minister to think about a new chief Last but not least, skipper Mahela it was really evident in the last Jayasundara as Trinity bowled out the Lanka’s cricket? One month back we for the selection panel. Jayawadena. Mahela’s form in One match against Bangladesh. With the opposition for just 127 runs in 45 overs. struggled to beat a nation like experience he has, the cricket The duo claimed nine wickets between Zimbabwe. This month loving public expect more them. Bangladesh outplayed us in a from the captain and he con- Trinity failed to seize the initiative match and almost beat us in tinuously failed to live up to when they replied as they too were the final. that expectation. Also, bowled out for 151 with Jaleel top scor- First of all, the selection Mahela’s attitude about play- ing with an unbeaten 41. committee headed by ing for the country has been The visitors came up with a better Ashantha De Mel should take debated a lot and the writer effort in their second essay as they half of the blame. does not want to elaborate on reached 105 for four at stumps. The squad selected by that. But Sri Lanka has pro- Isipatana 127 all out in 45 overs them did not include some tal- duced some gentleman crick- (Nilusha Sasanka 38, Pranama ented players who performed eters such as Anura Srivimukthi 19, Sasanka Premaratne 12, exceptionally well in domes- Tennekoon, Roy Dias, Roshan Rushan Jaleel 5 for 44, Akila tic tournaments. It is puzzling Mahanama, Aravinda De Jayasundara 4 for 30) and 105 for 4 in 29 to see the continuous inclu- Silva and Marvan Atapattu overs (Nilusha Sasanka 39, Pranama sion of Upul Tharanga in the in the recent past and Srivimukthi 11, Dimuth Warapitiya 16, team. Upul Tharanga’s last 16 whether Mahela will be Rushan Jaleel 1 for 29, Akila One Day international scores included in that list in the Jayasundara 1 for 28) are 14, 40, 8, 15, 4,10, 10, 40, 0, future will be interesting to Trinity 151 all out in 26 overs 26, 29, 17, 6, 43, 0 and 2. A bit see. With all the controversy (Rushan Jaleel 41 n.o; Sameera better than a telephone direc- sorrounding him, World Cup Wijesuriya 26, Mohamed Sajid 22, tory! By including Upul in the winning captain Arjuna Kavinda Jayasooriya 17, Akila team, the selection committee Ranatunge can proudly say Jayasundara 16, Anushka Deemantha 6 has omitted a talented player that his first priority was the for 70, Samitha Sulochana 2 for 39, in Mahela Udawatte. country. Chamara Waduge 2 for 17) Udawatte has performed As another writer has well in his nine One Day Ashantha De Mel Mahela Jayawadena mentioned in a Sunday paper, Edirisinghe slams ton for Maliyadeva internationals by scoring 0, from the day Sri Lanka crick- A blazing century by opener 14, 73, 67, 43, 38, 7, 1 and 14. He scored And then, the continuous omis- Day Internationals in the recent past et led by Ashantha De Mel and Chamikara Edirisinghe placed heavily against strong teams like sion of Thilina Kandamby from the has been pathetic. Mahela Jayawardena treated Marvan Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala on a India and West Indies, unlike Upul team. Kandamby has been hailed as His last 12 innings scores are 16, Atapattu with indifference, the Sri strong footing after they were put in by Tharanga. Udawatte has been rated one of the best batsmen and he has 12, 15, DNB, 4, 0, 0, 0, 2, 8, 0. Looks Lanka team has been going down Vidyartha College, Kandy in their inter- by critics as a possible replacement been in terrific form in the recent like a telephone directory. hill. We could not find a suitable school cricket encounter that com- for Sanath Jayasuriya. The selection past. He has been given only five One He is the first Sri Lankan capitan replacement for him and also the val- menced in Kurunegala yesterday. panel dropped Udawatte from the Day Internationals from 2004 and to lose a home series to India, ues and pride of playing for the coun- Edirisinghe’s century included nine squad after a failure in Zimbabwe. It scored a fighting 40 against England and also the first captain to try have been overcome by playing boundaries while Vimanga Perera is difficult to understand the special Zimbabwe, when the other highly be beaten by minnows Bangladesh for money. chipped in with 55 runs to help treatment meted out by de Mel and rated players failed and guided Sri not only once, but twice. His captain- Jehan Perera, Maliyadeva post a formidable 308 for 6 company to Upul Tharanga when tal- Lanka to victory. cy and form in Test matches cannot Kolonnawa. declared. Vidyartha in reply were 21 for two at stumps. Maliyadeva 308 for 6 in 73 overs 26th ITF Junior International Championship (Chamikara Edirisinghe 103, Vimanga Roddick lauds Lance Armstrong Perera 55, Nimna Karunaratne 33, Dasun Madumal 23, Dharshana Year’s first international Mahawatta 20, K. Wijekoon 2 for 60, Y. Dissanayake 2 for 28) tennis event from Vidyartha 21 for 2 in 6.3 overs Feb. 23-28 SL women to play by Revata S. Silva Jithmie Jayawickrema, who tri-nation series The first international ten- has a present ITF junior world nis competition held this year rank of 381, is expected to par- in Bangladesh in Sri Lanka, the 26th ticipate in this Championship International Tennis which will be conducted in Federation (ITF) Junior both girls’ and boys’ singles Championship will be held at and doubles. A sizeable num- the Singhalese Sports Club ber of Indian players are clay courts from February 23- expected to participate in both 28, the Sri Lanka Tennis girls’ and boys’ segments. Association (SLTA) said on The Singles Main Draw Monday (19). will comprise of a 32-player The entries for the event size and the Doubles will have will be closed on Feb. 2 at the a 16-pair size in its Main SLTA, No.45, Sir Marcus Draw. The entry fees will be Fernando Mawatha, Colombo- US$50. Trans Asia Hotel and Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, center, of the U.S. gives a cancer patient Dot Dempsey 7. The Tournament Directress Hotel Renuka, Colombo, will his autograph at the Royal Adelaide Hospital before the Tour Down Under cycling event in Adelaide, Australia will be Shalini de Silva and be the official SLTA hotels Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Aman Sharma) the Referee will be Ishara during this tournament. The Seneviratne, an ITF White Qualifying Rounds of both MELBOURNE, Australia from Lance in Austin (Texas),” as well. Badge official. girls and boys are scheduled (AP) - Andy Roddick isn’t sur- Roddick said. “I’m not really “In the States, he’s gotten According to the SLTA, to begin on Feb. 21. prised by all the hype sur- surprised, I mean, he’s an icon into the political side of can- rounding his near-neighbor pretty much wherever he cer research and fundrais- Lance Armstrong’s return to goes.” ing,” Roddick said. “He wears competitive cycling. Armstrong, who survived so many hats that I’m not Royal in Command While Roddick won his testicular cancer, has made really too surprised by it. first-round match at the awareness of the disease a big This is his first comeback by Roshen Steelman tors for 141 in 40 overs, Royal Australian Open on Monday, part of his message during race, so I think that probably Left-hand batsman Banuka cruised to 236 for five in 57 Armstrong was preparing to his return to the sport after adds a little drama to it.” Rajapaksha scored 95 runs overs. ride in the start of the Tour three years in retirement.