Lokuge: 'I'm following everything'
Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said yesterday he had complete faith in the national cricket selectors and would not endorse anything that the Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket does without the approval of its executive committee.
"I have no problem with the present selection committee and I am happy with what they are doing", said Minister Lokuge who has also extended the life of the national selection committee by a further three months to expire by the end of August.
Early this week Sri Lanka Cricket advertised for new selectors but Minister Lokuge said he did not approve of the move which was reported to have been done without the consent of the cricket board's executive committee.
"They can advertise (for selectors) but I am not in favour of it", said Minister Lokuge. "I will not approve anything that does not have the approval of the executive committee (of Sri Lanka Cricket)".
The current selection committee is made up of Ashantha de Mel (chairman), Don Anurasiri, Ranjith Madurasinghe and Jayantha Seneviratne whose term of office was to end last month.
Minister Lokuge said one of the reasons why he extended the term of the current selection panel was because of a much looked forward to home Test and one-day series against India in July-August.
Asked why he overruled the decision of the selectors to leave out veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya in favour of young blood, Minister Lokuge replied: "Originally Jayasuriya was dropped because his form was on the decline. Even Jayasuriya agreed that his form had dropped. But now in fairness to him he has struck form and he should be part of the team".
The Minister said he was well versed in his subject and has a thorough insight of what is taking place.
"I am following all cricket matches involving Sri Lanka players.
"This is something I have to do. In fact as the Sports Minister I am following all Sri Lanka sports and I am well aware of what is happening", he said.
(c) Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.
Mafia lord who enjoyed his cricket
CHENNAI: When the Narcotics Control Bureau in Chennai arrested Kimbulewela Gunasekaran, a Sri Lankan, this week, many took him for just another pedlar from across the Palk Straits. As interrogations proceed, officials are uncovering a story of a dreaded druglord, whose interests span cricket to terrorism.
In a country, known to the outside world only for its bloody ethnic conflict and civil war, Guna went after other gangs, and finished off rivals to assert his supremacy as the country's drug don.
Guna's ways amaze policemen, for they say he used a rudraksha mala and an AK-47 with equal felicity. He is said to be highly religious, and an ardent cricket fan to boot.
Credited with enough power to carry out what he wanted the island nation, Guna had a well-connected network and was into drug trafficking all along Sri Lanka's coastline.
Guna controlled the coastal belt from Colombo to Galle, a stretch fancied by tourists for its picturesque beaches and idyllic resorts, drug enforcement officials say. "No drug deal was struck in this region without his knowledge. No leaders emerged without his permission," Davidson Devasirvatham, director, Narcotics Control Bureau, south zone, who was instrumental in nabbing the don in Chennai told The Times Of India.
Foreign tourists in the coast could enjoy high quality heroin sold at premium rates by Guna's men. Millions of rupees flowed into his kitty.
Guna also had a Pakistan connection. He sourced heroin from Pakistan after establishing a network there. "Till 2006, Guna has been smuggling drugs to Sri Lanka through Chennai. When we cracked down on a gang which smuggled 4 kg heroin in an LPG cylinder, he gave us the slip. However, we managed to arrest three of his Sri Lankan associates," Davidson said.
However, it was his alleged association with the LTTE and involvement in an attempt on the life of former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga at the final presidential election rally in 1999 in the Colombo Town Hall that made his life difficult in the island. The police started cracking down on criminals who had links with the LTTE.
"Guna continued his drug smuggling. However, when the police launched a crackdown on underworld gangs in Colombo and elsewhere, the top rung gangsters including Guna and Thelbala fled Sri Lanka. According to reports, both of them came to India. Guna continued his operations from Tamil Nadu and his brother Vijayarangan, also an associate of Guna in the drug trade, was shot dead by the Sri Lankan police in 2005.
When he got entangled in the NCB case in Chennai in 2006, Guna escaped to Goa, and remained there for some time, but came back to Tamil Nadu. He was said to be planning to buy a farm in Sivaganga.
Guna leads a very religious life. "He is a staunch believer of Hinduism. He does poojas and generously donates to various temples. He never looked what he really was," another official said.
Guna, like many people in the subcontinent, is an ardent cricket fan. "When we started following the trails of Guna, we have got intelligence reports that Guna was seen playing cricket in a field in Sivaganga," the official said.
"We have been told that he used to play cricket regularly. Being a religious man, he was also in the habit of frequenting temples. Apparently, he led a very peaceful life there," the official added.
(c) 2008 Times Internet Limited
Sri Lanka Cricket media manager removed
Colombo, May 1 (PTI) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has sacked its media manager Samantha Algama after an interim committee meeting here.
"I have been sacked by Arjuna Ranatunga for being friendly and too good to the media. I have worked with dedication for three years as the honourable Media manager and spokesman," a fuming Algama told PTI after being removed from his job.
He was informed of the decision by a senior official of the SLC last night.
"I have been rated as one of the longest serving media managers in the cricketing world was doing a honorary job from 2005 without taking any salary from the SLC", Algama said.
Justifying the Algama's removal, SLC chief Arjuna Ranatunga said, "It was a decision of the interim committee. I will issue a press statement soon." The former Sri Lankan Cricket captain was appointed interim committee chairman of the SLC in January by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
In his interaction with PTI earlier, Ranatunga had said he wanted to tap new cricketing talent and would be traveling to the hinterland of the country for the purpose.
He has already roped in cricket great Arvind de silva for training the junior cricketers.
Ranatunga, who had captained Sri Lanka in 38 Tests between 1988 and 1999, and played 269 one-day internationals, is currently a Member of Parliament representing the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UFPA) as the Colombo district member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. PTI
(c) Copyright PTI 2008
Is Chanderpaul really a team player?
SINCE THE West Indies' opening ODI victory over Sri Lanka a few Thursdays ago, the talk of Shivnarine Chanderpaul's last-ball six to win the match remains on many cricket fans' lips.
In the final overs, Sri Lanka appeared to have done enough but Chanderpaul, who struggled up to that point, or should I say, who seemed to be batting for himself up to that point, surprised many, including myself, with a last ball six - the exact amount of runs the West Indies needed to win.
Up to that point, he had struggled to find the boundary but did very well to drive Chaminda Vaas's penultimate delivery to the boundary for four ... that was a very good shot.
The final delivery of the match was described by a Cricinfo commentator, thus: "Vaas to Chanderpaul, six, this is the stuff of dreams! Off all times Vaas has to bowl a full toss! Chanderpaul waits for the gift, clubs that across the line and the ball just goes sailing over (Mahela) Jayawardene at deep midwicket.
Agonising wait
"He (Chanderpaul) waits and waits for the ball to clear the rope, a rather long and agonising one, he breaks out in celebration and the entire troupe from the dressing room rushes on to the field and crowd around him."
After the match, Chanderpaul said: "I'm happy, I'm very, very happy. I prayed and prayed and asked God to give me the strength to hit that ball out of the ground," he said, while not even stopping to thank Vaas for the gift.
Yes, I said it was a gift because anyone who plays cricket, or knows the game, would realise that once you get bat on to a leg-sided full toss it should only end up over the ropes.
I said that the moment Shiv hit the six, and I will say it again, that while Shiv did well to hit a six off the final ball, Vaas should be the one credited for the West Indies win.
If it wasn't for Shiv's slow batting, the West Indies would have won the game long before it came down to the final over.
To use the game's statistics to back up my earlier claim, when I said Shiv batted for himself - the West Indies started the 39th over needing 5.81 runs per over but between that stage and the final over, Shiv only had two fours, which came in the 40th and 49th overs.
Run rate drops
The required run rate dropped to 5.70 at the start of the 40th over but, entering the final over, the West Indies needed to score 13 runs. During this time, Shiv had only scored 22 runs off 36 deliveries and the bowling wasn't difficult.
You could argue that he was trying to ensure he was there for just such a performance as was required in the final over, however, even Jerome Taylor's six off the fifth ball of the 47th over could be considered the match winner.
In that over, the West Indies run rate required improved from 9.33 to 8.5. After Taylor's dismissal, Sulieman Benn faced five balls without scoring but this must be blamed on Shiv, who crossed on the last ball of the 48th over after Taylor got out.
In the end, his unbeaten 62, which came off 63 balls and included five fours and a six, was good but I implore those who might argue with me to look at previous games and pay attention to kind of pressure that Shiv's ODI batting has put the team under.
Failed to play for team
Look at how many times Shiv has almost carried, or carried, his bat through the innings without helping the Windies' cause. Shiv even, just recently, in a Carib Beer Series match for Guyana against the Windward Islands, failed to turn up for the second day's play, this after he was set to resume on 76 not out.
He opted to attend a West Indies Players' Association presentation function and leave his team behind.
(c) Copyright 1997-2008 Gleaner Company Ltd
Briefs2-Sri Lanka captain Jayawardene drops English county spell
Cricket - Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene will not be able to play for Derbyshire as planned because of changes to other playing commitments, the English county side said on their Web site.
The batsman had been scheduled to play from late April to mid-July but the move of the Asia Cup to June and changes to India's tour of Sri Lanka meant there was too little time to make a shortened contract worthwhile, the club said.
Cricket - Match referee Roshan Mahanama has disapproved of the pitch provided by India for the third and final test against South Africa in a letter to the International Cricket Council, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told reporters.
India won by eight wickets in less than three days at Kanpur at the weekend to square the series one-all and hold on to the number two place in the test rankings.
Soccer - Israel defender Tal Ben Haim said he would never have joined Chelsea if he had known that Avram Grant would take over from Jose Mourinho as coach of the Premier League club.
"Jose Mourinho is the reason I came to Chelsea and if I knew Avram Grant was going to be the coach then I would have signed for another club," Ben Haim, who has played only twice in the league this year, was quoted as telling British daily The Sun.
Soccer - Chelsea will play in a pre-season tournament in Russia on Aug. 1-3, the Premier League club said on their Web site.
The tournament, hosted by Lokomotiv Moscow, is in its second year and will also feature 2007 European champions AC Milan and Sevilla, UEFA Cup winners in 2006 and 2007.
Tennis - British Davis Cup captain John Lloyd has agreed to stay in the post until 2011, the Lawn Tennis Association said.
"John has been a tremendous captain over the last two years and has transformed the team so it is great news that he will continue for another three years," LTA chief executive Roger Draper told the association's Web site .
Rallying - Double world rally champion Marcus Gronholm, who retired last year after leading Ford to back-to-back manufacturers' titles, is to compete in the European rallycross championship.
Ford of Sweden said the 40-year-old Finn will take part in up to six rounds of the circuit-based series, from next month.
(c)Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
Kapugedera and Silva save Sri Lanka
PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - Chamara Kapugedera (95) and Chamara Silva (67) put on a sixth wicket partnership of 159 to turn around Sri Lanka's innings in their one-day game against West Indies on Thursday and set the hosts a target of 236.
Sri Lanka had been reeling at 49 for five after Dwayne Bravo claimed three early wickets for West Indies before the pair resurrected their team's chances at the Queen's Park Oval.
Bravo, who bowled with great intelligence in his opening spell, ended with figures of four for 32.
Kapugedera's impressive knock lasted until the penultimate ball of the innings when, searching for his century, he was trapped lbw by Fidel Edwards. Sri Lanka finished on 235 for seven.
The match is the first of a three-match one day series. The second game is at the same venue on Saturday and then the final match in St Lucia on Tuesday.
West Indies won last week's test match with a day to spare, squaring the two-test series 1-1 and they went into the game in confident mood.
That mood was enhanced by a blistering start to the day for the West Indies bowling attack.
Pace bowler Fidel Edwards ensured that Mahela Udawatte's international debut was a brief affair, a super yorker removing his off stump for nought and then Jerome Taylor claimed the precious wicket of Kumar Sangakkara for 23.
It was Bravo who did the main damage, claiming Upul Tharanga's wicket in the 11th over for 10 when the batsman played on. He added skipper Mahela Jayawardene, caught by Shivnarine Chanderpaul at point for one, leaving the tourists reeling at 41 for four.
Tillakaratne Dilshan was the next to go, Bravo getting the ball to move away off the seam for a catch behind. He scored two.
At 49 for five, Sri Lanka desperately needed a solid partnership if they were to salvage something from their innings and they got that -- and plenty more -- from the stand between Silva and Kapugedera.
Kapugedera brought up the 200 with a six over mid-wicket off Sulieman Benn and followed it, in the same over, with an even bigger one over mid-on.
The partnership finally ended when Silva holed out to West Indies captain Chris Gayle giving Bravo his fourth wicket. The pair had occupied the wicket for 31.3 overs and scored at a rate of 5.04 per over.
(c) Reuters 2008 All rights reserved.
Sri Lanka eye record-setting win
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad - Sri Lanka can kill the proverbial two birds with one stone when they face West Indies in the second and final Test, starting tomorrow at Queen's Park Oval.
When Sri Lanka flew into the region a fortnight ago, they had a single objective on their mind - to win a Test series on Caribbean soil for the first time.
They gained a welcomed boost to their chances when they clinched the opening Test at the Guyana National Stadium by 121 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the brief series.
But there is an extra special reason that Sri Lanka will pursue victory vigorously in the second Test - and that is to become the first side visiting the Caribbean to sweep a Test series of any length.
"It is important that we go for a win in the second Test," Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said.
"This is the way we play cricket. We want to win every match in which we play. This is the attitude with which we play whether we are playing at home or away.
"This is the attitude that has helped us in the last few years, and this is why we have been winning Test matches away from home, and we will not move away from this attitude.
"We want to get accustomed to the conditions in Trinidad. We'll make sure we do all the hard work and challenge West Indies, and see if we can win this Test series 2-0."
In the 80 years that West Indies have been a Test-playing nation, no side has ever come into their backyard and embarrassed them with a series sweep, although West Indies have achieved this several times on foreign soil.
Australia came close five years ago, when they won the first three Tests in a series of four before the West Indies embarked successfully on a World record 418 to win the final Test at St. John's.
Jayawardene acknowledged that his side outplayed West Indies in every department in the opening Test, but he does not intend to ease up on his opponents.
"We are going to pay attention to all areas of our game, and see where we can tighten-up," he said.
"This is how we work. The first Test is finished, and the next venue is totally different, and conditions will be totally different.
West Indies captain Chris Gayle is well aware that his side faces an enormous challenge to win and level the series - but he would settle for a draw at this stage to spare the flak from another failed mission.
"I believe that if we can remain positive and focus, we can win the Test," Gayle said. It's a must win situation for us to square the series.
"We'll try and see what Sri Lanka has to offer a second time around both in the batting and bowling, so it is just for us to return to the drawing board, and come up with a plan, and come prepared to play a tough Test."
Gayle would love to make a couple of changes to fortify the West Indies line-up, but the selectors have tied his hands, since they have retained the same squad from the first Test, except for left-hander Ryan Hinds, who will miss the Test because of a hamstring strain which should rule him out of cricket for about two or three weeks.
One of the places up for grabs is the opening slot alongside Gayle - although the West Indies captain dropped down the order in the second innings of the opening Test, he said he would return to the top for the second Test.
With scores of 14 and 10 in the opening Test, Devon Smith failed to cement his place in the side, and left-handed opener Sewnarine Chattergoon should make his Test debut, after illness prevented him from receiving this distinction in his native Guyana.
The only other selection dilemma facing West Indies would be the composition of their attack - Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell should reclaim their places, but the selectors are mulling over whether to boost the attack with another fast bowler, or add a second spin bowler.
Beanpole left-arm spin bowler Sulieman Benn did reasonably well on his Test debut and both Gayle and Head Coach John Dyson favour his retention, but hometown boy Amit Jaggernauth has made strong claims for his first Test cap, following a 10-wicket match haul in a West Indies domestic first-class match against Barbados over the weekend.
Squads:
West Indies: Chris Gayle (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan (vice captain), Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Fidel Edwards, Amit Jaggernauth, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor.
Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jaywardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara (vice captain), Ishara Amerasinghe, Tillakeratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Prasanna Jaywardene, Nuwan Kulasekera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Thilan Thushara, Chaminda Vaas, Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Chanaka Welegedera.
All material copyright The Times. (c) Avusa Limited.
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