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

'Hard decision to omit Jayasuriya, Vaas' - De Silva

 Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors, has said the exclusion of veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas from the final squad was taken after looking at all options to select the best possible 15 for the World Cup.

"We were not going to waver from that and looking at individuals as such because we wanted the best team to ultimately go out there and represent the 20 million people in Sri Lanka," De Silva said yesterday. "That was the only reason why they were left out. Unfortunately not only them but it was a very hard decision and emotional thing for the four selectors also to leave out two great cricketers like that as they would have been looking forward to saying goodbye after a World Cup. But that's how life is. To be fair by everyone, those two cricketers have done so much for Sri Lanka cricket and we can never forget that."

De Silva said that it was entirely up to the two players to decide whether they wanted to continue playing. "I guess they have got a great future ahead to contribute towards Sri Lanka cricket and I hope they will do so. Through their experiences I am sure they will come back and help Sri Lanka cricket in the future. But if they want to continue playing they are most welcome to do so. I am not the one to decide when they are going to finish their careers."

"At the same time, Suraj Randiv has not done anything wrong to be out of the squad but it was unfortunate because he didn't fit into the combinations which we needed in the 15. Those are the three guys whom I really feel for at this moment."

Vaas however has a thin chance of playing in the World Cup if there happens to be an injury to Nuwan Kulasekera. "We consider Vaas as a new ball bowler but with Lasith Malinga and Kulasekera there he can only come as first change. When he does that he doesn't have the same effect as when he bowls with the new ball. Vaas had direct competition with Kulasekera. If Kulasekera gets injured we will have to consider someone like Vaas because he is the next best new-ball bowler in Sri Lanka. If we are playing Vaas we must have the maximum advantage of using him as a new ball bowler. The way Kulasekera has performed in the past one to one-and-a-half years, it is difficult to keep him out."

Dilhara Fernando was selected as a back-up bowler for Lasith Malinga, De Silva said. "What we have to understand is why we pick certain players and what we expect of them. Dilhara is a guy whom everyone might feel goes for runs on most occasions and sometimes bowls no-balls when he loses rhythm. But ultimately what we expect of him is to be a strike bowler and to replace someone like Lasith. In case of an emergency we need someone in the squad if Lasith doesn't play. Dilhara has got that extra bit of pace to hurry a batsman and with a bit of life and bounce on a wicket we would opt for him in the final XI."

On left-arm spinner Rangana Herath's inclusion, De Silva said, "We got two offspinners (Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis) and with Randiv we would have had three. The combination we were looking at was three spinners and we wanted some variation in the spin attack. We thought the best left-arm spinner in the country is Rangana so we had to opt for him. He's played only nine ODIs but we felt he is the best left-armer we got so we had to go with a bowler whom we can depend on."

Mahela Jayawardene, who has fared well as an opener whenever he has been given the opportunity, would be the third opener in the side after the regular pair of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga.

"We decided to go with Mahela in case we required a third opener because we are playing only eight games and we don't want to bring in an extra player and upset the combination of the squad," said De Silva. "If it comes to a real push we will have to look at someone like Mahela at that stage or maybe someone else who is batting way down the order as an experiment."

De Silva said that they picked the squad very early (the ICC deadline is January 19) in order to give the selected players the opportunity of playing in the inter-provincial limited-overs tournament which starts on January 11. "That's a tournament which I want the players to be relaxed and enjoy playing some cricket with free minds."

De Silva also stated that he hopes to give maximum exposure to the selected World Cup squad of 15 during the upcoming three-match one-day series against West Indies. The matches are due to be played on January 31, February 4 and 6 at venues yet to be finalized. 

Source - Cricinfo

End of the World for Master Blaster

President assures he’ll not tolerate interference in World Cup selections

President Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed yesterday that his government would not interfere with any selection process for next month’s cricket World Cup and would not support any move to influence the selection of players who are unsuitable for the 14-nation showpiece which starts on February 19.

The President’s remarks effectively shuts the door on Sanath Jayasuriya whose refusal to retire at the age 41 has caused headaches for the selectors who picked him in a preliminary 30-member squad from which the final 15 members will be selected.

President Rajapaksa made his remarks when he met Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee officials last morning at his official residence in Colombo and told them that the wish of every Sri Lankan was to win the World Cup while highlighting the importance of the mentality of players for the big occasion according to a communiqué from his office.

“You must pick the best 15 players and not be worried about the whims and fancies of individuals”, President Rajapaksa told Sri Lanka Cricket officials which was an indirect reference to Jayasuriya who was discarded after a pathetic show at the T-20 World Cup last April.

Analysts believe that the President’s remarks would make the selectors comfortable to pick the right balance without Jayasuriya, a government Member of Parliament who is nowhere near the form of the 15 players likely to get the nod.

At yesterday’s meeting Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee chairman D. S. de Silva in turn gave the President an assurance that question marks over the completion of the three venues to host the World Cup in Sri Lanka would be laid to rest on January 15 when the grounds will be handed over to the International Cricket Council.

The three venues are the Premadasa stadium in Colombo, the Pallekele stadium in Kandy and the Suriyawewa stadium in Hambantota.

On the same day the President made an observation tour of the Premadasa Stadium to inspect the construction work.

From- Daily Mirror

Jayasuriya lasts three balls, but Bloomfield win

Veteran Sanath Jayasuriya failed to score but his club Bloomfield managed to beat Ragama CC by 15 runs in the Premier Limited Over tournament Tier A match played at Bloomfield Grounds in Colombo today.

The 41 year old cricket star turned politician who is now a government member of parliament did not do much good for his widely publicized cause to secure a place in Sri Lanka’s squad for next year’s World Cup when he lasted just three balls before being adjudged lbw to medium pacer Kaushalya Weeraratne in the fifth ball of the first over of the Bloomfield innings.

However Sri Lanka player Chamara Silva smashed an unbeaten 81 in 98 balls with one six and five boundaries to guide the home side to victory on Duckworth Lewis method, ably aided by Sri Lanka team discard Chinthaka Jayasinghe who blasted seven sixes and three fours in making a hurricane 94 off 86 balls. Silva and Jayasinghe added 148 for the sixth wicket before Jayasinghe was dismissed, but Silva and Sanjaya Gangodawila ensured Bloomfield victory when they reached 267 for 6 in 46.1 overs in reply to 285 for nine made by Ragama.

Opener Ian Daniel who clobbered 99 in 106 balls with three sixes and six boundaries put on 140 for the second wicket with Lahiru Thirimanne who made 78 in 105 balls with six fours to lay the foundation for Ragama’s challenging total.

Jayasuriya captured 1 for 37 in nine overs with his left arm spin.

Ragama CC 285 for 9 (Michael Vandort 20, Ian Daniel 99, Lahiru Thirimanne 78, Indika de Saram 10, Malinga Bandara 28, Suraj Randiv 3 for 68)

Bloomfield 267 for 6 in 46.1 overs (Dilshan Munaweera 30, Saman Jayantha 10, Chamara Silva 81 n.o., Chinthaka Jayasinghe 94, Sanjaya Gangodawila 24 n.o., Kaushalya Weeraratne 3 for 43, Madura Lakmal 2 for 48)

Source - Daily Mirror

Sanath, Murali among greatest

Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd has named two Sri Lankan veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan as candidates to form the greatest One Day International team of all time.

Dashing left hander Jayasuriya and legendary off spinner Muralitharan both members of the 30 members World Cup squad are slotted in the opening and spin category respectively to form the greatest One Day International team of all time.

The other Sri Lankan players who are included in the list of players are Aravinda de Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Chaminda Vaas.


The International Cricket Council's official website is asking supporters from across the globe to select their choice of the greatest One Day International match and team of all-time to mark the 40th anniversary of ODI cricket.

In his Greatest ODI Team of All Time, Lloyd believed quite a few West Indies players would make the cut. "Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall, would be some of the contenders for sure."

Lloyd named some of the candidates for the team: Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralidaran, Daniel Vettori, Sanath Jayasuriya, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, Javed Miandad, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist and Wasim Akram. "I would love to lead a side like this. It will be dream come true. If I cannot lead, then there is no one better than Imran Khan for the job,"

As ODI cricket celebrates its 40th anniversary in January 2011, Lloyd went down memory lane about his side which is rated the best ever in cricket history.

"I think the approach we had, showed the way. We played quite a few shots and enjoyed our cricket. I am sure some of the teams picked it up from there. Sri Lanka certainly did with Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana in 1996.

'It was our thinking that shots must be played and the paying public must be entertained. That is the reason the crowds enjoy watching one-day cricket," said Lloyd.

Lloyd acknowledged that one-day cricket has changed quite a lot since his time at least in terms of batting.

"At least now they are playing a lot more shots. Now they innovate a lot. You have the Dilscooop, the reverse sweep, slog sweep and a lot more. That's what crowds want, entertainment. All this makes one-day cricket exciting," added Lloyd.

Lloyd calls one-day cricket the greatest innovation for the sport.

He was part of the early years of the format in the 1960s in England when it was played on Sunday afternoons between a select side called International Cavaliers and retired and current county cricketers.

"Whoever thought this format up deserves credit. As the craze grew everybody realised it was a bonanza. It started off as a 40-over game, went to 60 overs and we even played 55 overs a side in county cricket. It (ODIs) has improved the standards of fielding, raised tactical awareness and also brought in innovation."

Lloyd was also part of the other key moment in history when World Series Cricket (WSC) brought in new things like day-night cricket, white ball and coloured clothing in the late 1970s. "We have to thank Kerry Packer for these things.

He was instrumental for that. We owe him a great debt of gratitude," said Lloyd.

So dominant was Lloyd's side in that era that it made the final of the first three ICC Cricket World Cups with absolute ease and even won two of those editions (1975, 1979).

Source - Daily News