A letter to Indian cricket fan from Sri Lankan cricket fan

Dear Indian fan:

It had hurt us three years back when we saw those videos from Marine Drive and Connaught Place and Park Street from three years back. We, however, did not vow revenge or anything like that (if the team had, they had not let us know). If you had seen our players tonight, they were never arrogant in their celebrations.

The team did not have time to plot revenge: there was a time in 2011 when they did not get paid for eight months(yes, they had come runners-up in the World Cup despite that). They were offered proper contracts only in July 2012. The next year Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had removed the stipulated players’ share from the International Cricket Council (ICC) events (25%), and it was only after Sanath Jayasuriya had stepped in that the players had agreed. They were not given the profit: they were only promised they would be given the same.

Can you imagine your men playing under such circumstances? No, I guess.

It did not end there. Jayasuriya did keep his word; when the players demanded 20% of the profit, he had put their proposal forward to SLC. When SLC had announced the fresh set of contracts, the ICC events share was not a part of it.

Take a moment to realise this. Put your men in their shoes. The men have been representing their country in the most high-profile event (and have been turning them into successes; they may not have been winning, but they have not exactly failed either), only to be told by SLC that they would not get a part of the profit from that tournament.

This reminded me of international cricket in the pre-Kerry Packer days when players were often told that if they did not want to play for the side there were plenty who would. Your own CK Nayudu, your first Test captain, had done the same to Vinoo Mankad, you may remember.

Anyway, four days before the tournament, SLC raised the topic to the Executive Committee. The players were announced incentives, but there were no ICC events shares announced for them. When the players insisted on the shares, SLC issued a threat that they would send a second-string side to the tournament. This happened on the day the players left for Bangladesh. Our heroes had left for the tournament without contracts.

You see why we don’t stone their houses the way you did Yuvraj Singh’s today? The reason is simple: they have been stabbed by their own board; we are the only ones backing them. With no assured contract, almost no Indian Premier League (IPL) contract against their names, with our own version of the IPL getting cancelled, the pride and fans are all they have while taking on the best of the world in a country away from home.

That is precisely why we never back out when it comes to supporting them: they have lost one final after the other, but we have never lost hope. Can you believe what you would have done to your men if they had lost four world tournament finals in five years? We had not gone after our players’ blood: instead, we had joked that it was our President’s turning up at the venue midway that had tilted the match West Indies’ way in the 2012 World T20 final.

Do you know something? We have grown up in conditions you have seen in newsreels and have read in newspapers, but have never really (I really hope you do not) had real-life brushes. We have grown up in a country where many of us were not sure of our safe return when we left home in the morning.

“Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse,” Keith Miller had said once. He had seen death from close quarters. So had we. Which is why defeats do not mean the end of the world for us. In those dark days of internal turmoil,Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva had kept Sri Lankan cricket alive. The 1996 World Cup had a role more significant in our history than you can imagine.

We fell from that zenith, and rose again; and fell again; in Muttiah Muralitharan we found our greatest cricket hero, in Jayasuriya a murderous marauder, in Lasith Malinga a rebellious freak; and then, in the two men who have quit this version of the sport today, the two icons we were left with.

They have given us a lot, and have got hardly anything back in return. The best we could do for them was to turn up in huge numbers and turn the band on, day in and day out. If they won, we were happy; if they did not, we had to accept it. It was like that in the 1980s. It has been like that in the 2010s as well. Three decades ago we used to lose in the league stages; now we lose the finals.

The fact remained that we had not won anything of note barring the 1996 World Cup. Eighteen years have elapsed since that. This win was long due. They have never given up hope in between: they tried, failed, tried, failed, tried, failed, tried, till they succeeded.

It has been our story all along.

It has been the story of the average Sri Lankan.

It has been the story of the Sri Lankan cricketer.

We may not have the best support, but we dream; and we do not give up when our dreams meet a dead end. We have a team where every man is a Robert the Bruce with no spider to show them the way.

We have not forgotten you, though. You [and Pakistan] had visited us before the 1996 World Cup when Australia and West Indies had refused to. We still owe you that.

Sri Lanka is a beautiful [and of late, rather peaceful] place. Come over for a trip some day. We will discuss all kinds of ICC event finals and have a laugh at how we manage to show up in them every now and then. Till then,

A Sri Lankan fan

Author : Abhishek Mukherjee  on Cricketcountry.com

Kumar Sangakkara on this week's ICC Cricket World Radio Show

On this week's ICC Cricket World Radio Show, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara talks exclusively ahead of the start of tomorrow's second Test match between Sri Lanka and England and also discusses his partnership with the International Cricket Council's Think Wise campaign while Dr. Peter Harcourt, the chair of the ICC Medical Committee, explains to listeners the role and importance of the committee.

Sangakkara, who has played in 95 Test matches to date for Sri Lanka says about the Cardiff loss and looking ahead to Lord's tomorrow: "Disappointing is an understatement about Cardiff in regards to our batting. We were horrendous. We know it and have accepted that. No one tries to have a performance like that. We have to take responsibility for that, I think Cardiff was a tough lesson for us and an important one for us as a team.

"We have a different bowling attack than England, we don't have the same height. It is a bit of guile, swing, seam and we bowl to our plans. We have a lot of ability and a lot of variation. How best to use that is something we will try to answer in the next five days."

The 33-year-old also talks about his work with ICC Think Wise partnership and why cricketers should be involved in the initiative to remove the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS.

"Its very important because cricketers are held in high esteem, highly visible public figures. With majority of AIDS affected people living in cricket playing countries, our roles become that much more important. Also the fact that we support people with HIV and AIDS, so that they can lead a fruitful life so that they can access good life. More and more cricketers should be associated with it. Not just one or two cricketers but having teams take on this responsibility, that is going to be the best way forward that will strengthen the role played by ICC," says Sangakkara. 
Read More at ICC-CRICKET.YAHOO.NET

Afridi and Vettori to captain Sri Lanka’s “North-East” teams

Six national captains, including four from Sri Lanka, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardane, Kumar Sangakkara and T. M. Dilshan, will lead seven Provincial teams in the forthcoming Sri Lanka T20-Premier League (SL-T20-PL) Tournament.

The seventh captain will be former Sri Lanka vice-captain, Chaminda Vaas. The Sri Lanka T20 Premier League will feature almost 35 international cricketing stars and will be the first of its kind in Sri Lanka.
The event organisrs, Somerert Entertainment Ventures (SEV) have found a window for the tournament which is sandwiched between Sri Lanka's tour of England and Australia's tour of Sri Lanka.

The event will kick off on July 15th and will go on for 18 days. Twenty four hotly contested matches, including the two semi-finals and the final, will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium. There will be two matches on certain days.


Dashing opener T. M. Dilshan will lead Basnahira while Kumar Sangakkara (Kandurata), Mahela Jayawardane (Wayamba), Sanath Jayasuriya (Ruhuna) and Chaminda Vaas (Uva) will be the other captains.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi (Nagenahira) and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori (Uthura) have been chosen to lead two provinces that were isolated from the game for ages due to the civil war.

Five overseas players could be registered to a provincial team but only four will be allowed to play in a match. Sri Lankan national selectors and cricket authorities have agreed to blood as many youngsters and almost 70 Sri Lankan cricketers will be registered in the seven team tournament.

Almost all Pakistani national cricketers will be invited to play in the SLPL. Factually, Sri Lanka was Pakistan's adopted home in the 2011 Cricket World Cup concluded last month as they played all their first round matches in Sri Lanka.

In addition to that, Chris Gayle and the Bravo cousins (Dwayne and Darren) from West Indies, Pathan brothers (Irfan and Yousuf) from India, Herschelle Gibbs, David Warner and Shaun Tait will be seen in action on Sri Lankan soil.

The availability of retired great Muttiah Muralitharan is not yet confirmed but some unconfirmed sources revealed that he is eager to play in the series.

Milind Rege, the tournament manager of the 2011 cricket World Cup will be in charge of all cricketing matters of the tournament. Rege is a former Ranji Trophy captain for Mumbai and recently retired from TATA corporation as a managing committee member.

Source : Daily Mirror

Duleep Mendis to lead the New Selection Committee

Former Sri Lanka Skipper Duleep Mendis has been appointed by Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage as a new Selection Committee head for the Sri Lanka Cricket, the sources said.

The Committee also comprising former Sri Lanka off spinner Don Arunasiri, Wicket Keeper batsman Brendon Kuruppu, and Spinner R. Madurusinghe the sources further revealed.

Sri Lanka Cricket sources also said that the new Selection Committee will meet shortly to select a suitable successor to the Kumara Sangakkara as the team is scheduled to tour England in May.
Veteran opener Tilekarathne Dilshan is a possible successor to the Kumara Sangakkara, Sri Lanka Cricket Sources further said.

The Sources have confirmed also that the Sri Lanka cricket authorities are willing to appoint him as a captain for next two years and later on transfer it to 23 year all rounder Angelo Mathews.

As per year 2015, Cricket World Cup Leadership Preparation, authorities are also considering appointing Angelo Mathews as a Vice Captain.

Sri Lanka Cricket recently promoted assistant coach and former Australian batsman Stuart Law to guide the national team ahead of next month's tour of England.

Source : Asian Tribune


P.S. : SLC Selection Committee not appointed yet - Sports Minister http://bit.ly/gxnU3T

De Silva urges Sri Lanka to copy Australia

Sri Lanka's outgoing chief selector and former batsman Aravinda de Silva on Thursday urged players to develop the never-say-die spirit shown by Australia.

"We are superior in talent to Australia, but it is the character and the fighting spirit which we must inculcate in our players," de Silva, vice-captain of the 1996 World Cup-winning Sri Lankan team, told reporters.

A three-member Sri Lankan selection committee led by de Silva quit on Wednesday, less than a week after the team's defeat against India in the World Cup final inMumbai.

De Silva, who scored 6,361 runs in Tests and 9,284 in one-day internationals, said he felt players became "emotional" during the final as the match tilted in India's favour.

"Maybe they were thinking about lost opportunities and became emotional," he said. "This is the difference between an Australian side and ours. They don't give up the match until the last ball is bowled.

"They (Sri Lanka) should know how to fight until the last ball and not to give up the game. These are the things that we don't have in our culture."

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara and vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene have stepped down following the World Cup defeat, while Australia-born coach Trevor Bayliss' four-year stint with the team also ended after the tournament.




Source : THE TIMES OF INDIA

Sangakkara rues lack of practice at World Cup venues

Sanga has said Sri Lanka's lack of practice at the country's World Cup venues, which are yet to be completed, will rob them of some home advantage during the tournament. Construction delays have prevented Sri Lanka from training at the new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele.

"We would love to train at all the grounds [in Sri Lanka], but we need to have the proper facilities to train," Sangakkara told AFP after beating West Indies on Sunday, in Sri Lanka's last international fixture before the World Cup. "We need to have side [practice] wickets and gyms at the venues, otherwise it is difficult.

"We've accepted the fact that we'll have to play World Cup matches on those grounds without knowing the conditions too well." Sri Lanka have, however, played a rain-marred Test against West Indies recently at Pallekele.   Read More on ESPN

All eyes on the big one

They didn't have many opportunities in Test cricket but in 2010 Sri Lanka shaped up nicely for the World Cup 

For a year that included three tri-series titles, a first-ever one-day series victory in Australia, and a respectable showing in the World Twenty20, there was a strangely flat feeling about Sri Lanka's performances in 2010. The main reason is the lopsided FTP, which hasn't provided enough Test cricket - there were no away Tests this year for Kumar Sangakkara's men. Of their two home series, one was a result of the BCCI's new-found love of the long form, and the other was the rain-ravaged contest against West Indies, during which more time was spent watching the weather forecast than the cricket. 

In the Test cricket that was on offer, they were patchy. Their first five-day game came as late as July and was dominated by the retirement of their talisman, Muttiah Muralitharan. Fittingly Sri Lanka's greatest match-winner won them one last game before bowing out. It turned out to be their only Test victory of the year. That series against India ended in a draw as Sri Lanka lost the P Sara Test despite Thilan Samaraweera's best efforts. The matches against West Indies could have been a good indicator of how Sri Lanka will fare in the absence of Murali, but torrential rain through the series frustrated fans. 

The supporters won't be complaining about Sri Lanka's one-day form, though. Winning every series they played in 2010, barring the Asia Cup, where they dominated the league stage before faltering in the final, Sri Lanka enter the World Cup year as a formidable outfit. Their tri-series triumphs may be quickly forgotten but what will remain in the memory is the back-from-the-dead victory against Australia in Melbourne, where Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga produced a world-record 132-run ninth-wicket stand to deliver an improbable win. 

What has made Sri Lanka so dangerous is that they aren't over-reliant on one or two stars; match-winning performances have come from a number of players. Few people will be able to guess who their highest wicket-taker of the year is - 21-year-old allrounder Thisara Perera. Another young allrounder, Mathews, continued to show he has the talent and temperament for a long international career at the top, while offspinner Suraj Randiv has also made a bright start. 

The new talent supports the big names who were part of Sri Lanka's run to the 2007 World Cup final. Tillakaratne Dilshan didn't quite hit the heights of 2009 but made match-winning centuries in the finals of two tri-series, Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara remain prolific, Malinga continues to befuddle batsmen, and Murali is still around for a final tilt. 

In the only global tournament of the year, the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, Sri Lanka again made it to the knockout stages before losing to the eventual champions. This time Sangakkara's side ran into England, who turned in a supremely composed performance to knock Sri Lanka out in the semi-finals.

Fading star

Perhaps the most pathetic sight of the World Twenty20 was that of 40-year-old Sanath Jayasuriya, once an unstoppable marauder, scratching around for 15 runs in six innings. He hasn't played international cricket since, but remains hopeful of making next year's World Cup after finding a place in the 30-man provisional squad. 

New kid on the block

With Murali's career nearly over, and Mendis' star still struggling to reclaim the lustre of 2008, Sri Lanka slow-bowling options were looking thin. Suraj Randiv stepped up. He lacks extravagant turn but his extra bounce and discipline soon made him the first-choice spinner across all formats. In an eventful year, he was at the forefront of Sri Lanka's push for a series win over India at the P Sara Oval, involved in a controversy over a deliberate no-ball, and was electric throughout in the field. 

High point

There was a maiden one-day series win in Australia, but the uplifting farewell to Murali in Galle was a heart-warmer in a year in which the game was awash with dispiriting headlines. It was sweetened by the win set up by Murali's eight wickets, the last of which carried him to the milestone of 800. 

Low point

Surrendering to a weakened India in a deciding Test will hurt, though losing to the world's top side isn't as disappointing as having virtually the entire series against West Indies washed out - in a year when Sri Lanka were starved of Test cricket. Sangakkara called it the "worst series of his life". 

What 2011 holds

Sri Lanka have two big-ticket events in the first half of the year: first, the World Cup at home, for which they among the favourites, and then the challenge of a full tour of England, which will test how far Sri Lanka have progressed as a Test side. 

Source - Cricinfo

Sri Lanka ready for any opposition - Law

Sri Lanka Assistant Coach Stuart Law says that despite the postponement of the five-match ODI series against the West Indies last month due to adverse weather conditions, Kumar Sangakkara’s team is on course to make a serious statement at next year’s World Cup. In an interview with Jatila Karawita, Queenslander, Law, 42, who still has a year to go on his two-year contract with the SLC, said that the current Sri Lanka team was equipped to face any strong opposition. He opined that taking over the post of assistant coach of Sri Lanka in November 2009 was a turning point in his professional career, and was optimistic of his charges making their presence felt being one of the co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup.

Excerpts:
 
You were a member of the 1996 Australian World Cup losing team to Sri Lanka in the final. Now, you have assumed the post of assistant coach of Sri Lanka. How do you look at this transformation in your career?
 

Actually this was something that I really knew nothing about until it was thrust upon me. I was still playing county cricket a year-and-a-half ago and it was cut short unexpectedly and basically I was hovering around not really doing too much trying to find out what I wanted to do. All that time I was concentrating on trying to play, and when this opportunity arose my management team rang me and told that there was a vacancy in Sri Lanka and what I thought. And I also had enjoyed watching Sri Lanka playing over the years and saw this as an opportunity to explore a career in coaching and when it was laid out on the table it was too tempting to resist.

How do you compare the class of 1996 with the class of 2010?

You could compare eras all you like. And that is the way it is done. To me one day cricket has changed since 96, it is all about fitness and power game now. The all around ability of most players in the current squad is something which Sri Lanka did not have back in 96, but then that team had a batting line up that was a class act. You can’t say anything about that team because they lifted the World Cup. Let’s just see how these guys perform. Let’s not always look back. What happened in 96 was brilliant. But, since then we’ve made a final, but we haven’t quite got across the line through one reason or another. But, this next tournament, we are backing our players to go out there, perform on the big stage, not fear any opposition and make sure we come out of it with some silverware. Don’t always want to be looking back and saying yes they were the great team of 96. That’s brilliant what they achieved back then and hats off to them. But, let’s look at these young kids, let’s make them the next great warriors of Sri Lankan cricket to go out there and win the World Cup. And then you could probably compare the eras and whatever.

What sort of an effect would the postponement of the five-match ODI series against the West Indies last November would have on Sri Lanka’s chances at the World Cup?

It would have been nice to play and it would have given the selectors more clarity in choosing their combinations. If you talk to Trevor Bayliss or me we are pretty settled, in which we could pick a team of 15 that we think could win the World Cup, if not come close to it. The final 15 that is going to be picked, there are going to be some players who will be unfortunate to miss out, but because it is played at home we are picking the combinations that we think will do the job against the best teams in the world. It wasn’t great when the series got disrupted, but, they are due to come back in end of January and early February for a revised short series and that should enhance our preparations. Furthermore the players also have some domestic club and provincial limited overs cricket lined up and cricket wise I don’t think boys will have anything to complain about between now and the start of the World Cup.

What is your take on the new venues for the 2011 World Cup in Sri Lanka?

When these stadiums are built they will actually be magnificent stadiums for international cricket.
Pallekele Stadium in Kandy looks like a quite a picturesque venue... having being there for the third Test-match against the West Indies early this month.
So are the Kettarama Stadium in Colombo and the Sooriyaweva Stadium in Hambantota. Yes we are still unsure how the floodlights or the dew will affect those batting second in day night games. But, we are hoping that between now and the start of the World Cup by playing some domestic cricket we should be able to get some kind of indication as to how those pitches will behave and prepare accordingly. So fingers crossed we hope for the best.

In other words you are confident Sri Lanka will be equipped to face up to any eventuality at the three venues come the World Cup?

It is not so much the surface it is more the atmospheric conditions. The three venues are situated at some of the most humid and arid zones of Sri Lanka. And those coming from places like England and South Africa will find it difficult to cope with the conditions. But, wickets in general in the sub continent are ideal for one day internationals especially for batting and I guess the grounds in Sri Lanka will not be an exception.

Who would be the favourites for the 2011 World Cup in your estimation?

India has become a true powerhouse in world cricket and as one of the major co-hosts will be there or thereabouts and Bangladesh cannot to be written off either as underdogs anymore, considering their giant-killing performances in the last World Cup in the West Indies. And you can’t underestimate Pakistan also because if you do that it will be at your peril. But, I believe that Sri Lanka is on course to make a serious impact at the upcoming World Cup. If we get through the initial rounds, we’ve got the quarter finals and semi finals here and if we get into the final it will be Wankade Stadium in Mumbai which will be another home away from home for us. It really turns there from my experience of having played in Mumbai a bit. I think any of the four sub-continent teams are quite capable of going all the way. Among the rest we need to watch out for South Africa and England as both have decent records in this part of the world.

What is really the reason for cotton wooling Lasith Malinga from Test cricket?

You could say that he has been put in cotton wool, but I think it is more injury management as far as Malinga is concerned. He did suffer a career-threatening injury a couple of years ago and every time he gets pain in that area he shows the tendency to break down during games. He wants to play for Sri Lanka there is no doubt about that as I know it for a fact, being the assistant coach. Whether Test cricket is the ideal format is for a bowler like him is the question considering because of the intensity and the wickets here are virtual graveyards for faster bowlers. To put his body through that much stress day in and day out and to then combine that with 50-over cricket and T-20 cricket it would be probably ridiculous for him to put himself through such a grindstone. He is one of our strike weapons and a national treasure and one of the most potent weapons very unorthodox and if we don’t look after him well we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves in the long term.

How do you look at the captaincy of Kumar Sangakkara?

He is a very intelligent man and he has his own thoughts and his own ideas as a captain has to. He seeks the advice of the coaches more often than not as any skipper would do but you’ve got to have your own ideas and go with your gut feeling. It is also a tough job especially here in Sri Lanka where you have to contend with the views of not only the cricket fraternity but the public fraternity as well. He is a great fellow he works extremely hard and is a true leader of men with his work ethic which is second to none.

Source - Click Here

Cricket unites for people living with HIV and AIDS

International cricket will show its support for people living with HIV and AIDS this week with leading players wearing red ribbons on their playing shirts in international matches to help celebrate World Aids Day as part of the Think Wise partnership.

Players and match officials will wear red ribbons in the ODI matches being played on 1 December (Wednesday) between Bangladesh-Zimbabwe, India-New Zealand and Sri Lanka-West Indies, as well as on the opening day of the Ashes Test match between Australia and England on 3 December (Friday). Further activities are also being held in South Africa.

In addition, Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralidaran will travel to Papua New Guinea this week to help take part in a variety of education and fundraising activities promoting World Aids Day.

Sri Lanka captain and Think Wise champion Kumar Sangakkara believes it is vital that cricketers show their support for the Think Wise initiative, a joint partnership between the ICC, UNAIDS, UNICEF and the Global Media AIDS Initiative that has been running since 2003.

The initiative aims to raise awareness around HIV prevention and eliminate discrimination against people living HIV and AIDS.


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CRICKETER OF THE YEAR - KUMAR SANGAKKARA

Skipper of Sri Lanka cricket team Kumar Sangakkara won the CEAT Cricketer of the Year award at a gala ceremony held at Water’s Edge last night. .

Sri Lankan Skipper Kumar Sangakkara was elected as Cricketer of the Year and also the Most Famous Cricketer of the Year award at the Ceat Annual Cricket Award Ceremony was held yesterday at Water's Edge in Colobaration with Sri Lanka Cricket. 

The other awards ....

Best Batsman (Test) - Thilan Samaraweera

Best Bowler (Test) - Rangana Herath

Best Batsman (ODI) - T.M.Dilshan

Best Bowler (ODI)  - Lasith Malinga

Best Allrounder (ODI)  - Angelo Mathews

Best Young Cricketer - Dinesh Chandimal

U19 Best Batsman - Bhanuka Rajapaksa

U19 Best Bowler - Charith Jayampathi

U19 Best Allrounder - Chathura Peris

U19 Best Young Cricketer - Sanitha de Mal

Women Best Batter - Sashikala Siriwardane

Women Best Bowler - Sachini de Alwis

Women Best Allrounder - Eshani Lokuwooriya