Sir.Murali named in the Greatest ODI team of all time

World record holder Muttiah Muralitharan became the only Sri Lankan among in the Greatest All time One Day International Team chosen by cricket fans around the globe in a vote conducted by the International Cricket Council to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first ever One-Day International.

Murali was chosen as the only spinner in the team ahead of Australia’s legendary leg spinner Shane Warne by cricket fans from almost 100 countries around the world who cast their votes on the ICC website for what they consider to be the all-time ODI team.

Altogether six Sri Lankans Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Chaminda Vaas and Kumar Sangakkara apart from Murali had been shortlisted by the ICC to receive votes for the final XI.

ICC announced that, in total, fans from 97 countries cast almost 600,000 votes on www.icc-cricket.com between 22 December and 2 January to make their views known as to who have been the best ODI players of the past 40 years in the key categories of opening batsmen, middle-order batsmen, wicketkeeper, spin bowlers and fast bowlers.

Three players from Australia and India, two from the West Indies and one each from South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have made the final dream 11 with another Aussie named as 12th man while the momentous "438" game between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg in 2006 has been voted the best ODI yet.

The final eleven players were chosen from a shortlist of 48 players named by the ICC.

The All-Time ODI Dream Team

Opening batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag (both Ind)

Middle order: Brian Lara, Viv Richards (both WI) and Ricky Ponting (Aus)

All-rounder: Kapil Dev (Ind)

Wicketkeeper: Adam Gilchrist (Aus)

Spinner: Muttiah Muralidaran (SL)

Fast bowlers: Wasim Akram (Pak), Glenn McGrath (Aus) and Allan Donald (SA)

12th man: Michael Bevan (Aus).

ICC offered the fans the opportunity to name the match they thought was the best ever ODI played in history from among ten matches.

The match they chose was a run-fest in Johannesburg's famous Wanderers Stadium in March 2006. Batting first, Australia made a record 434-4 in 50 overs with captain Ricky Ponting setting the day alight with 164 off just 105 balls.

The mood of the capacity crowd did not improve when SA lost a wicket with just three runs on the board. But then an innings of magic from Herschelle Gibbs (175 off 111) backed up by cameos by Graeme Smith (90 off 55), Mark Boucher (50 not out) and Johan van der Wath (35) saw the Proteas to a scarcely possible winning score of 438 with nine wickets down and one ball remaining. It was a wonderful occasion and truly an ODI never to be forgotten.

The first ever ODI was played between Australia and England on 5 January 1971 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The 40th anniversary of the ODI is being marked in the build-up to cricket's flagship event, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which begins in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 19 February.

The following is the short-list from which voters chose their favourites:

Greatest ODI team of all time

Opening batsmen (2) - Saeed Anwar, Sourav Ganguly, Gordon Greenidge, Matthew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn Turner

Middle-order batsmen (3) - Michael Bevan, Martin Crowe, Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam-ul Haq, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards

All-rounder (1) - Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Andrew Flintoff, Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock

Wicket-keeper (1) - Mark Boucher, MS Dhoni, Andy Flower Adam Gilchrist, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Moin Khan, Alec Stewart, Kumar Sangakkara,

Fast bowlers (3) - Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis

Spinner (1) - Shahid Afridi, Carl Hooper, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralidaran, Saqlain Mushtaq, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori

Shortlist of Greatest ODI match of all-time

* West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs at Lord's, 21 June 1975

* India beat West Indies by 43 runs at Lord's, 25 June 1983

* Pakistan beat India won by one-wicket at Sharjah, 18 April 1986

* England won by three wickets against Australia at Sydney, 22 January 1987

* Australia won by one-wicket against West Indies at Sydney, 12 January 1996

* Australia tied with South Africa at Edgbaston, 17 June 1999

* Pakistan tied with Sri Lanka, at Sharjah, 15 October 1999

* India beat Pakistan by five runs at Karachi, 13 March 2004

* Bangladesh beat Australia by five wickets at Cardiff, 18 June 2005

* South Africa beat Australia by one-wicket at Johannesburg, 12 March 2006

By Chanaka de Silva on - Daily Mirror.lk 

Sri Lanka ready for ICC World Cup

The entire nation will be thrilled with the ICC World Cup by next April, said ICC Tournament Director Suraj Dandeniya. All the grounds are being prepared and each and every one are working with dedication to make the event a great success.



This was revealed at a media briefing regarding the 2011 mega event.
The finale of the Mini Cricket World Cup, a six-a-side softball cricket tournament will be held at The Sports Ministry Grounds on January 8. The tourney was organized in parallel with the 2011 ICC world cup.
Teams from Hambantota, Kandy and Colombo will compete to grab the title. The winning team of the Mini Cricket World Cup will have the opportunity to play against a six a side team made of the original 1996 World Cup Winning Sri Lankan Dream Team.
At the end of the event on eighth Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will flag off the ICC World Cup Glory Express. The 45-day islandwide promotional tour aims at mobilizing fan support for the big event.
During the journey cricket fans will get an opportunity to sign a life size cricket ball to pledge their support to the World Cup.
A series of mega musical concerts will take place in Colombo, Kandy and Hambantota to make the atmosphere more lively starting the first at the Galle Face Green next eighth.
The musical extravaganza will feature a host of musical stars. The other two are scheduled in Kandy on January 29 and the last at Hambantota on February 19. Suraj Dandeniya stated that Sri Lanka is preparing to re-live every moment of the 1996 World Cup and requested every individual to support the event.
Cricket Board Chairman D S De Silva said that the Sri Lankan team was in good form and hoped the players would continue the same until they win the title. A large number of well known artistes were also present at the occasion as a sign of support given by artists in the event.

- From Daily News

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