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Three young cricketers from Sri Lanka’s war-affected regions have been named in the squads scheduled to participate in a one-day tri-series, which aims to prepare Sri Lanka’s national side for the Champions Trophy

Andrew Fidel Fernando07-May-2013Three young cricketers from Sri Lanka’s war-affected regions have been named in the squads scheduled to participate in a one-day tri-series, which aims to prepare Sri Lanka’s national side for the Champions Trophy. Fast bowler S Silojen and wicketkeeper Rishan Tudor, both 19, have been named in the Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Combined sides respectively, while top order batsman S Sanjeewan, 21, has been picked for Sri Lanka A.Tudor, who played for St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna, had impressed Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara last year, after he was chosen for the Unity Team that traveled to Singapore in October last year. Sanjeewan, who played for St. Michael’s College in Batticaloa, had also been part of that side.”They are really talented cricketers and I’m very happy that they’ve got this chance,” Northern region coach Ravindra Pushpakumara, who had worked with all three players, said. “Last year when we went to Singapore, Murali got to bowl a few overs at Rishan Tudor, who was wicketkeeping, and Murali and Sanga were amazed at his ability to pick the doosra so quickly. Sanjeewan also hit a couple of very fast fifties on that tour.”Silojen meanwhile, had been spotted by chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya on a recent trip to Jaffna, and has since been enrolled in Sri Lanka’s pace bowling academy. He had played for Kokuvil Hindu College.”Everyone who has worked for this is extremely happy,” Pushpakumara said. “It’s been a dream to see cricketers from the north and east playing in high level teams, and our first objective has been realised.”The tri-series begins on May 12, and all seven matches will be played in Pallekele. The Sri Lanka team for the tournament features only six cricketers who have been picked for the Champions Trophy squad, as the remaining players are currently in India for the IPL.

AB de Villiers gave the big crowd at Hambantota as much entertainment as he could as South Africa won a seven-over-a-side shootout against the hosts

The Preview by Firdose Moonda22-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details AB de Villiers made the most of his limited opportunities in Hambantota•Associated Press

AB de Villiers gave the big crowd at Hambantota as much entertainment as he could as South Africa won a seven-over-a-side shootout against the hosts. The fixture was the most anticipated in Group C but a two-hour 45-minute rain delay meant the contest was curtailed and the result, another one-sided mis-match in a tournament crying out for proper competition.De Villiers’ 30 off 13 balls and baseball style run out of Tillakaratne Dilshan set the tone for a match dominated by South Africa. Together with Dale Steyn’s controlled use of pace and movement, he ensured Sri Lanka were never able to get into the match, despite the two early wickets they claimed.With a licence to go boom or bust, Richard Levi ended up doing the latter when he was deceived by a Nuwan Kulasekera’s slower ball. Levi chipped an attempted swipe through the leg-side to mid-on where Dilshan Munaweera had run backwards and made ground to take what will be one of the catches of the tournament.Hashim Amla showed early intent and sent two of Lasith Malinga’s full deliveries over extra cover for boundaries. But a rush of blood to the end ended his time at the crease. He swung wildly at a ball angled in to him from Rangana Herath and was stumped by quick work from Kumar Sangakkara down the leg-side.Faf du Plessis was promoted up the order to No. 3 to find form but he did not discover much. Instead, de Villiers stole the show. He reverse-swept Herath and heaved him down the ground for six before smashing a Malinga’s short ball over midwicket. JP Duminy ended the South African innings strongly, with 10 runs off the last two balls.Sri Lanka were pegged back in the first over when Dilshan was run out without facing a ball. Mahela Jayawardene called Dilshan through for a run after hitting the ball to extra cover but Dilshan was too slow. Albie Morkel’s throw was flat and de Villiers took it on the run and dived into the stumps. The South Africa captain took a whack to the left arm and received some treatment but far greater damage was done to Sri Lanka’s chances of winning the match.Jayawardene fell trying to force runs off Dale Steyn and was caught at deep-square leg and Sri Lanka had all but lost the match in two overs. South Africa dropped three catches but were still offered chances. Kumar Sangakkara, Thisara Perera and Munaweera were all dismissed attempting big shots, something that could not be avoided in the context of the match.Given the playing conditions – a two-over Powerplay and two bowlers allowed a maximum of two overs each – neither side will read too much into the result. Both teams have qualified for the Super Eights and this result has no bearing on their groupings in the next round.

Pakistan has been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their 11-run win against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2011Shahid Afridi has been fined 20% of his match fee and the rest of the Pakistan team 10% of theirs for a slow over-rate during their 11-run win against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday. They were adjudged to be one over short of their target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration. They were no major delays in Sri Lanka’s innings, with Pakistan asking for their two allotted reviews.In accordance with the ICC code of conduct, players are fined 10% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount. The penalty was accepted by Pakistan without contest so there was no need for a hearing.Pakistan successfully defended 277 at the R Premadasa Stadium, giving them their second victory of the tournament. Their fast bowlers went through 24 overs of the 50, with Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul, who both have long run-ups, combining for 19. Also, the game was headed for a close finish with Nuwan Kulasekara playing a cameo in the end for Sri Lanka, prompting several discussions over field settings.

South Australia were given a huge fright by Western Australia before they escaped with a two-wicket victory at the WACA

Cricinfo staff11-Feb-2010
ScorecardBrad Knowles scared South Australia with 4 for 32, but South Australia sneaked to victory•Getty Images

South Australia were given a huge fright by Western Australia before they escaped with a two-wicket victory at the WACA. Needing only 94 and starting the final day at 1 for 6, the Redbacks relied on two tail-enders to get them home in a nail-biting chase that regularly threatened to go wrong.Western Australia began the morning seemingly without hope, but Brad Knowles’ 4 for 32 kept them excited as the visitors slipped to 5 for 53 and kept losing wickets before Tim Ludeman (12) helped decide the contest with Jake Haberfield. Ludeman and Gary Putland were together at 7 for 76 and Ludeman briefly decided attack was the best option. He hooked a six and slashed a four in consecutive Knowles deliveries to cut the target, but there was still a twist when Putland edged Steve Magoffin behind with three to win.Haberfield ran a bye and then pushed a two over the bowler Michael Hogan’s head to secure the result. The victory lifted South Australia to outright third on the Shield table with 16 points while the Warriors are fourth on 12.After James Smith went late on the third evening, the Redbacks lost Michael Klinger shortly after the resumption as he became Hogan’s seventh victim of the game. Knowles then stepped in to be on a hat-trick after picking up Cameron Borgas (7) and Daniel Harris (17) as the visitors slipped to 4 for 39.Fourteen runs later Knowles struck again to remove Tom Cooper and half the side was gone with 41 still needed. Aaron O’Brien and Dan Christian, the last of the capable batsmen, put on 15 before O’Brien was caught behind off Magoffin and the Warriors roared hopefully again in the next over when Christian became Knowles’ fourth victim.

South Africa’s captain refuses to blame slippery conditions for their fielding errors

Andrew McGlashan03-Nov-2022Temba Bavuma has admitted the “wheels probably came off” for South Africa in the field at the SCG as they suffered their first defeat of the T20 World Cup but did not see it as a major cause for alarm with progression still firmly in their hands.Pakistan had been reduced to 43 for 4 in the seventh over but managed to post 185 for 9 with 117 coming off the second ten overs which featured a significant deterioration in South Africa’s fielding, although the latter part of the innings took place under drizzle.Related

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Bavuma did not believe his attack had been agile enough to adjust to conditions as they changed, but with the final group game against Netherlands, they should still reach the semi-finals although will concede the top spot to India if they beat Zimbabwe.”I wouldn’t say it’s a concern,” Bavuma said. “Probably is a bit of a wake-up call. I thought the first ten overs, we were superb. We were able to get them under pressure. Then after that, the wheels probably came off.”Conditions changed a little bit with the ball going to skid [on]. I think in terms of our awareness, in terms of adapting to that, we were very slow. We allowed them to get momentum into their innings, and they were able to get a formidable score on the board.”We’re going to use our pace. We’re going to use our bounce. Unfortunately for us today, it probably wasn’t the right plan considering the conditions out there.”Like I said, I don’t think it’s a big concern. Yes, there are talking points for us, areas that we can learn from. Maybe it’s a performance that we needed to kind of bring us down back to earth.”Bavuma did not want to use a damp ball and slippery underfoot conditions as an excuse for an uncharacteristic number of fielding errors.”Maybe the intensity lowered a bit for the guys. Individually, the guys know, but it’s definitely not the standard of fielding that we pride ourselves on,” he said. “I guess we had a bit of a lifeline probably because of the way we played up until this point, but I think from now on it’s about us playing our best cricket. If we come unstuck, we come unstuck. Today we didn’t play our best cricket.”South Africa went into the match without the in-form David Miller who suffered back spasms although Bavuma indicated it should not be a major concern for the games to come. And the captain himself was able to make his highest T20I score since the previous World Cup with 36 off 19 balls which briefly put South Africa ahead of the DLS target.”It’s been a while since I hit the ball in the middle,” he said. “I felt a lot better today…I guess I just tried to enjoy it, to be honest.”

Fast bowler concedes five runs in Super Over after picking up three wickets; Nissanka’s 73 goes in vain

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Feb-2022

Australia win the Super Over
There’s no way Sri Lanka had a shot in this, right? With four overs left, they were five down needing 50. With three overs left, they were six down needing 46. Pathum Nissanka was playing the best innings of his T20 international career, but that career was only 14 matches old.But with the help of Wanindu Hasaranga, Nissanka lurched Sri Lanka forward in the 18th over, bowled by Pat Cummins. Hasaranga hit two fours – one an intentional uppercut behind square, the other a thick outside edge. Nissanka then walloped Cummins over deep midwicket for six, and by the end of the over, Sri Lanka had brought the requirement to 29 off 12 balls.But Josh Hazlewood kept the runs in check in the 19th over, giving away only 10, and he would thwart Sri Lanka again, later.

SL and Nissanka get ICC reprimands

Following an in-game penalty for slow over-rate, Sri Lanka’s players were also fined 20% of their match fees for not completing their bowling innings on time.

In addition, the team’s top-scorer on Sunday, Pathum Nissanka, was handed a demerit point for using inappropriate language which was caught by the stump mic.

When a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points. Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first

The final over, bowled by Marcus Stoinis, seemed to be going Australia’s way, when Nissanka was caught at deep backward square, and Sri Lanka still needed 12 off the last three balls, with only tailenders on strike.Perhaps buoyed by the news of their big IPL contracts, though, Maheesh Theekshana and Dushmantha Chameera hit the boundaries that levelled the scores and force a Super Over. Theekshana bashed his first ball over deep midwicket, where Steven Smith almost pulled off a stunning save, but didn’t quite manage to prevent a six. Last ball of conventional play, Dushmantha Chameera smoked one down the ground for four to tie the scores. If the ball in between, a fullish ball way outside off stump, had been called a wide as it should have been, Sri Lanka might have won the game there.The visitors did well to force the match into overtime, but that is where their fight ran out. Australia won it easy, in the end.The Super Over
Although Nissanka had played perhaps the innings of the game, captain Dasun Shanaka, who had also struck the ball cleanly in his 34 off 23, chose to open in the company of Dinesh Chandimal. It didn’t go well. Shanaka tried to scoop Hazlewood over his shoulder first up but didn’t make contact. Then he played and missed a wide yorker outside off stump. Third ball, he missed again, and when they tried to run on the overthrow, Chandimal was run out at the non-striker’s end. Nissanka hit a two and a single in the two balls he got to face, but a Super Over score of 5 was never going to be enough.With Hasaranga bowling, Stoinis hit two fours off balls two and three to finish the match.Hazlewood’s match-winning turn
Aside from the excellent Super Over, Hazlewood was outstanding all through Sri Lanka’s innings. He removed Danushka Gunathilaka in the first over, the batter smoking one straight to cover. He then had Avishka Fernando caught at cover as well – his figures read 2 for 9 from his two Powerplay overs. He only gave away three runs in his third over – the 12th of the innings – and kept his last to 10. All up (including the Super Over), he sent down five overs and conceded only 27.Nissanka’s slow-burn knock
Josh Inglis produced an excellent 48 off 32 to set Australia’s total up, but Nissanka produced the innings of the evening, progressing steadily while Sri Lanka lost wickets in the early overs (they were 25 for 3, then 67 for 4), before moving up the gears alongside Shanaka, with whom he shared a partnership worth 48 off 31. In the death overs, Nissanka cleared the boundary twice, to bring Sri Lanka close when they had seemed out of contention for much of the chase’s duration. He will be annoyed at the ball he got out to – a knee-high full toss from Stoinis, which he slapped straight to deep backward square in the final over. Nevertheless, his 73 off 53 encapsulated much of Sri Lanka’s fight.

Following a match in which he suggested he was once again death-bowling force to be reckoned with, Lasith Malinga delivered the rhetoric fans have come to expect

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dambulla13-Oct-2018Following a match in which he suggested he was once again death-bowling force to be reckoned with, Lasith Malinga delivered the rhetoric fans have come to expect from him. He was disappointed his 5 for 44 did not result in a Sri Lanka win. He made snide comments about having been left out for a year, only to take 10 wickets in four games upon his return. He also seemed to suggest Sri Lanka’s selectors could drop him again at any time.But in between the regular Malinga gripes and cliches, there were also hints about his playing future. He wants to play the 2019 World Cup. He has made peace with the likelihood it will be his last.”I feel that if I get the chance to play the World Cup, I will,” he said. “It will be my last World Cup. I’m not expecting to get the chance, given the kinds of things that have happened to me over the recent past. But I will take it if it is given.”Malinga’s road back into the ODI team was an unusual one. He missed the domestic provincial one-day tournament earlier this year, choosing instead to work as a bowling consultant with Mumbai Indians. If the selectors had stuck by their own policy, this should probably have ruled him out of the 50-over format. But they were willing to accept that he had played well enough in the Canada Global T20 tournament, and in SLC’s own T20 provincial competition, to earn a place in the ODI squad.Lasith Malinga celebrates his fifth wicket•Getty Images

Four games in, it feels as if Malinga has never been away. Vitally, he is also packing some decent pace. He breached 140kph several times during his spell on Saturday, as he had also done at the Asia Cup last month.”The selectors are entitled to make those decisions,” Malinga said. “I’m just a player. My only job is to play when I get the chance. When I was out of the team, I went and played in Canada. I also played the district competition and got the highest wickets. Thanks to those performances I got another chance at this level. Because I’m nearing the end of my career I’m motivated to get wickets.”

Batting coach Thilan Samaraweera conceded that Sri Lanka’s top order is nowhere near finalised, as they look ahead to the World Cup

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Aug-2018In the first ODI, it had been Sri Lanka’s top-order batting that failed most dramatically, with five wickets falling before the ninth over. In the second ODI, Sri Lanka’s poor catching had helped decide the match, with captain Angelo Mathews later describing his team’s fielding as a “joke” and stating that they had been like “schoolkids” in the field.On Sunday, Sri Lanka lost their 11th straight ODI to South Africa, as well as the ongoing series. This time, it was the bowlers who let the team down. They leaked 114 runs in the last 10 overs, having also conceded 64 in the first 10. These were the defining passages of the game, for batting coach Thilan Samaraweera.”We are very disappointed about the 3-0 series loss. Everyone is quite disappointed. We didn’t bowl as well as we wanted. Our expectation was to get two wickets in the first 10 overs. We got one wicket, but we gave them a lot of boundary balls in that first 10, just as we did in the last 10 overs. That hurt us.”We thought that this pitch would settle down after 2pm. But unfortunately we gave away 363, and that’s a lot. There were about three or four overs in the last 10 overs, in which they scored 18 or 20 runs. And when a team gets to 360, you have to play your shots in the chase. Unfortunately, a few of the shots our top order played went straight to fielders.”Although Samaraweera did not blame the batsmen for this loss, he did concede that Sri Lanka’s top order is nowhere near finalised, as they look ahead to the World Cup. In this match, they had promoted Thisara Perera to No. 5, because he was “batting well” according to Samaraweera, and could have “energised the innings a bit by hitting 70 or 80 quickly”. In terms of a long-term top order, though, Dhananjaya de Silva suggested he could be an option, hitting 84 off 66 balls at No. 7 to give Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope after they had been reduced to 155 for 6. This was de Silva’s first match of the series, and if he continues to perform, he could become an option in the top three, as he opens the innings for his domestic team. It does not hurt his chances that he bowls offspin as well.”There are a little more than 20 matches until the World Cup, and so far we don’t know what positions our top order batsmen will take up,” Samaraweera said. “We don’t even know who the top three are yet. But Dhananjaya did bat very well, and we saw that he made the best of the opportunity that he got. You need someone in the top six to bowl, other than Thisara Perera. Dhananjaya is a better bowler than a part-timer, I believe. He batted in a new position and he did really well. I think that’s a positive for Sri Lankan cricket.”

The New South Wales Coroners Court will hold a public inquest into the circumstances surrounding the blow that killed Phillip Hughes in a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG in November 2014

Daniel Brettig07-Oct-2016Australian cricket is bracing for a grim week as the New South Wales Coroners Court holds a public inquest into the circumstances surrounding the blow that killed Phillip Hughes in a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG in November 2014.Players on the field at the time of the incident, including the likes of Brad Haddin and bowler Sean Abbott, are expected to be among witnesses called to speak. The Hughes family is also expected to be present at the inquest.Hughes’ death has already been the subject of a Cricket Australia-commissioned review, which found that no amount of increased head protection could have changed the course of events. However that review steered clear of issues surrounding the bowling of bouncers and the laws of the game, lines of enquiry expected to be pursued this week.”The State Coroner will examine the manner and cause of death,” a spokesperson for NSW Coroners Court said. “He also has jurisdiction under section 82 of the Coroners Act 2009 (NSW) to make recommendations, particularly in the interest of public health and safety.”Some of the issues that will be examined include how the fatal injury occurred, the nature of play and whether it exacerbated the risk of injury and whether or not a protective helmet would have minimised the risk of Phillip Hughes dying. It will also examine emergency planning and response, as well as training.”At this stage, the State Coroner has not decided whether findings will be handed down at the end of next week.”When the CA review, conducted by David Curtain QC, was handed down, CA chief executive James Sutherland explained how his terms of reference had been limited in order to preserve the fabric of the game.”You’ll see in the brief terms of reference we gave David Curtain that we needed to draw a line about the laws of the game and to have some perspective around that,” Sutherland said. “You can make the game of cricket a lot safer by playing with a tennis ball, but that’s not how Test cricket has been played and it would obviously be a very different game.”We’re not wanting to go there, but we do need to find the right balance in the circumstances to not compromise the way the game’s played and not compromise the way in which the players are best equipped to show their skills.”

Gloucestershire joined Surrey in qualifying for the Royal London Cup quarter-finals with a four-wicket win against Worcestershire Rapids at New Road – but teenager Joe Clarke pushed them close with a brilliant hundred

PA/ECB05-Aug-2015
ScorecardJoe Clarke’s excellent maiden hundred was not enough to claim victory•Getty Images

Gloucestershire joined Surrey in qualifying for the Royal London One-Day Cup quarter-finals with a four-wicket win against Worcestershire Rapids at New Road.In maintaining a 100 per cent record from five completed games, they overcame a brilliant unbeaten 131 from 109 balls by Worcestershire teenager Joe Clarke and successfully handled the absence of their injured captain Michael Klinger.Clarke hit 10 fours and three sixes in seeing Worcestershire to 264 for eight in a 46-over match and any doubts over Gloucestershire’s ability to cope without the prolific Klinger were dispelled by an opening stand of 106 in 16.5 overs by Will Tavare (61) and Chris Dent (43).The recalled Tavare faced 56 deliveries, hitting eight fours and a six from the ball before he was bowled by Ed Barnard and Dent went in the next over, leg-before as soon as Brett D’Oliveira joined the attack.The setback was quickly corrected by a partnership of 100. Gareth Roderick made 56 from 51 balls until he was bowled by Barnard, and Geraint Jones went on 58 from 57 when he was leg-before to Joe Leach.Worcestershire battled to the end, Leach and Ross Whiteley taking wickets before the visitors got home with seven balls to spare.Worcestershire’s record in competition is now the exact opposite of Gloucestershire’s – they have lost all five completed games – and it was a big disappointment that the innings of the day by Clarke failed to break the losing run.The 19-year-old was born in Shrewsbury, went to school in Powys, developed his cricket with Shropshire and in the academy at New Road, and came through to the first-team after playing as wicketkeeper-batsman for England Under-19s last summer.The latest milestone in his career would not have been a surprise to a quartet of Gloucestershire bowlers. Late in May, James Fuller, Benny Howell, Tom Smith and Jack Taylor were among those on the receiving end when Clarke made an unbeaten 201 in a second-team fixture at Cheltenham College.This was the innings which got him into the LV= County Championship and last weekend brought a new experience with promotion to the 50-over side.Again he was a quick learner, recovering from a duck on debut before registering a first 50 against Surrey and now a first hundred in successive days.There was a mixture of everything in his batting, authority, confidence, style and at the end a glimpse of power in a 6-6-4 assault on Howell in the final over, giving him 10 fours and three sixes from 109 balls.
It was not that Gloucestershire bowled badly. With Worcestershire missing their captain, Daryl Mitchell, with a hamstring injury, David Payne dismissed the new opening pair, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Richard Oliver, before a light shower reduced the overs.Howell was next to strike, bowling Tom Fell for 21, and Smith’s left-arm spin brought two wickets as D’Oliveira (22) and Whitley (33) attempted to pick up the pace.Whiteley shared in a fifth-wicket stand of 87 and from then on it was all about Clarke as he kicked on from a hundred in 97 balls.Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, said: “I thought it was a tremendous effort from Joe Clarke to get his highest score in List A cricket. For a first century it was brilliant. For a young kid he shows a lot of promise for the future. I’m excited by his qualities.”