There was a sense of déjà vu as the action unfolded on the second day at Newlands, before Graeme Smith ended Sri Lanka’s agony with an aggressive declaration that came 30 minutes before tea. Jacques Kallis was balletic in the morning, and AB de Villiers ballistic after lunch to leave Sri Lanka facing for a nightmarish day, reminiscent of the one India had endured a few hours earlier in a different continent. However, Smith’s move provided respite, as he gambled for more time at the cost of some cheap runs. Sri Lanka then produced fireworks of their own, in equal parts vindicating and undermining the declaration.
Until then, it was a day for relentless pursuit of batting milestones. Like Michael Clarke in Sydney, Kallis strolled inevitably to a double-century in front of his home crowd. Like in Centurion in 2010, he had de Villiers for company when he got to the landmark. Back then, de Villiers had smashed the fastest century by a South African. This time he was more sedate in reaching 100, but unleashed mayhem thereafter, scoring his last 60 runs off only 29 balls. South Africa plundered 87 off the last 10 overs of their innings, with Jacques Rudolph also chiming in with a half-century before Smith signalled the ceasefire.
Stumps Sri Lanka 149 for 2 (Sangakkara 35*, Jayawardene 7*) trail South Africa 580 for 4 (Kallis 224, de Villiers 160*, Petersen 109) by 431 runs
(ESPN)
January 4, 2012 at 9:30 pm
A former Chairman of the United National Party N. Panditharathne has passed away. He was an accountant by profession and functioned as the Director General of the Mahaweli Authority as well. General secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake said that the late Mr.Panditharatne rendered a yeoman service for the progress of the party.
(JNW)
January 4, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Age limit of 35 years for the Law entrance examination has been removed from this year, Principal of Law College said.
(JNW)
January 4, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Number of students applying for re-scrutinizing of Advanced Level answer scripts has increased by 50 to 60% compared to last year, Deputy Post Master General K.A.S. Senadheera stated.
(JNW)
January 4, 2012 at 3:35 pm
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has approached the BCCI about the possibility of hosting IPL matches, the new SLC president, Upali Dharmadasa, has said. The idea has been proposed as a way for SLC to raise additional revenue because the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) failed to get off the ground last year, after the BCCI’s refusal to allow Indian players to take part in the tournament.
It is for the same reason – an increase in revenue – that India’s tour of Sri Lanka in July 2012 will comprise three one-dayers and three Twenty20 games, and no Tests as had been earlier planned. SLC is presently facing a severe shortage of funds following the construction of new stadiums in Pallekele and Hambantota and the renovation of the Premadasa Stadium for the 2011 World Cup.
“I feel it [a T20 league] is a needed thing,” Dharmadasa told ESPNcricinfo. “But I don’t think it is the right time with India having the IPL. With most of our players going and playing there and the countries being so close, I would request the Indian board, and we have already started talking, why not play a couple of matches in Sri Lanka?”
Dharmadasa pointed out that the flight from Bangalore to Colombo was only an hour long and the flight from Mumbai was only slightly longer than a Mumbai to Chennai flight. “Make it a venture,” he said. “On the whole, they [the BCCI] will help Sri Lanka as a tourist attraction and see that Sri Lanka Cricket comes up.”
India were supposed to play a full tour – three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 game – in Sri Lanka but it was cut down to just three Tests in the new Futures Tour Programme. Dharmadasa then met with BCCI president N Srinivasan, after being appointed interim SLC president earlier this year, and convinced him that holding limited-overs games would be more beneficial financially to Sri Lanka.
“I am talking to the TV rights owners, Ten Sports,” Dharmadasa said. “I am hopeful of raising almost US$12.5 million.” He also said he was trying to arrange a fourth ODI as well. “From a revenue point of view, I would love India to tour Sri Lanka three times a year,” Dharmadasa said. “Unfortunately, it is not possible. But whenever possible [we would like them to tour].”
(ESPN)
January 4, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Alviro Petersen made a memorable return to Test cricket, and Jacques Kallis enjoyed his new-found batting freedom as South Africa made a merry mockery of Sri Lanka’s decision to bowl at Newlands. Kallis had a sense of occasion, converting his 114-ball century into a 150-plus score in his 150th Test. His first ton against Sri Lanka, and his first in a year, was all the more significant since it silenced murmurs of failing form following the first pair of his glittering career, in Durban.
Kallis’ century reaffirmed his love affair with Cape Town, a venue where he now has nine Test hundreds and over 2000 runs. But one man who might be happier with his day’s work is Petersen, whose fluency during his second Test ton glossed over the fact that he was returning to the side after a year. The pair’s dominance yielded 205 runs in under 50 overs, and negated any advantage Sri Lanka had gained from Dhammika Prasad’s early breaches.
Stumps South Africa 347 for 3 (Kallis 159*, Petersen 109, de Villiers 45*) v Sri Lanka
(ESPN)
January 3, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Nuwan Kulasekara, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, will join the squad for the ODI series in South Africa after four months on the sidelines. Lasith Malinga, Upul Tharanga and Kosala Kulasekara will also be part of the one-day leg of the tour, while Chanaka Welegedara, Kaushal Silva, Thilan Samaraweera, Tharanga Paranavitana, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kanishka Alvitigala will not be involved after the Test series concludes.
Sri Lanka picked a different spin attack to the one they played against Pakistan in the UAE, their previous one-day series. Suraj Randiv, Jeevan Mendis and Seekkuge Prasanna, who were in the squad against Pakistan, were left out, with the selectors sticking with Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis, who are already in South Africa.
(ESPN)
January 3, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Upali Dharmadasa has been elected unopposed as president of Sri Lanka Cricket, along with the rest of his team, in the board’s first election in seven years. The election, overseen by the sports ministry, was marked by the late withdrawal of all opposition candidates.
Nishantha Ranatunga was voted in uncontested as secretary and Nuski Mohamed was elected treasurer. The only election to be contested was for the post of assistant treasurer, with Ajitha Pasqual defeating Susantha Fernando. All those elected will serve a one-year term.
Mohan de Silva, one of the candidates for vice-president, told ESPNcricinfo that the entire opposition had decided not to contest the elections as a “symbolic gesture of protest” against what they saw as political interference in the election process. “Most of our member clubs and associations brought to our notice that there was undue pressure put on them to change the delegates [who would vote].”
According to him, they brought the matter to the notice of the Director General of Sports, Ranjani Jayakody, who was overseeing the election, but she told them she was going to accommodate all changes until the morning of the elections even though the deadline to nominate the delegates had passed.
(ESPN)
January 3, 2012 at 11:06 am
642 major crimes have been reported in December 2011, the Police said. Out of them 86 cases are rape, it added. This includes 77 cases of child rape, the Police stated.
(JNW)
January 3, 2012 at 11:00 am
Foundation stone for the ‘Lotus Tower’, tallest in the South Asia, will be laid on January 20, Director General of Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Anusha Palpita said. It will be situated between the Beire Lake and D.R.Wijewardena Mawatha, he disclosed. The construction work of the tower is scheduled to be completed within 30 months.
The construction of the Lotus Tower building will cost $100 Million and it will be funded by EXIM Bank of the Peoples Republic of China. The agreement in this regard was signed between China and Sri Lanka, at a ceremony held in Colombo today(03).
This eleven storied tower will have a revolving restaurant on the fourth floor of the Lotus Flower segment which crop up from the fifth floor of the building. The Lotus Flower segment will have seven floors.
The Tower will also have a restaurant which will be a very unique one in which about 600 persons could partake meals at a time, viewing the scenery of Colombo city. The huge Reception Hall that would occupy the third floor of the Lotus Flower segment will have the capacity to accommodate about one thousand persons. It would also provide a great opportunity to hold mega functions.
(JNW)
January 3, 2012 at 10:45 am
Sri Lanka Cricket is set to hold its first election in seven years on Tuesday, after a series of interim committees controlled by the political class, and at a time when the board is in financial disarray off the field, and its team displaying patchy form on it. The election itself is a fallout of the ICC’s ruling that requires all member boards to be free of political interference from 2012.
A total of 147 votes are up for grabs, spread among the provincial and district cricket associations and the clubs. The election will be held under the auspices of the Ministry of Sports, and supervised by the Director General of Sports, Ranjani Jayakody. Under the SLC constitution, each committee serves a one-year term.
Upali Dharmadasa, a former SLC president, is the front-runner in the election following the withdrawal of another former president, Thilanga Sumathipala. Some reports suggested Sumathipala pulled put under political pressure but he said he’d changed his mind because his other life as an MP did not give him the necessary time for cricket. Sumathipala’s board was forced to stand down in the wake of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities in 2001. In 2004, he had to pull out of the elections as he was in jail at the time for passport fraud.
Sumith Perera, the head of the Badureliya Sports Club, is the other contender for president, but is not expected to pose much of a challenge for Dhamadasa, who is confident of winning in a landslide. “I think we have about 90% [of the votes],”Dharmadasa told ESPNcricinfo. “Not only for me. But for my team as well.”
Nishantha Ranatunga, who had originally decided to run for secretary as an independent candidate, has received the backing of Dharmadasa. Ranatunga was the SLC secretary when the board spent heavily on the three stadia for the World Cup. His opponent is Michael De Zoysa, but Dharmadasa’s support makes Ranatunga the favourite.
Whoever wins the election has the enormous challenge of rebuilding the SLC’s finances, which are reportedly US $32.5 million in debt.
(ESPN)
January 3, 2012 at 8:44 am
Police is to upgrade the existing CCTV cameras installed in Colombo City, Police Spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said. This will be carried out in order to identify the individuals and number plates of the vehicles, he added.
(JNW)
January 2, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Ceylon Transport Board will launch a luxury bus service on the Southern Expressway tomorrow(03). The first bus will begin its journey from Maharagama at 7.30 a.m. tomorrow(03), the CTB said.
(JNW)
January 2, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Thissa Hewawitharana has been appointed as the new Commissioner General of Education Publications, the Ministry of Education has announced. The pot was vacant after the former Commissioner General W.M.N.J. Pushpakumara was appointed as the new Commissioner General of Examinations.
(JNW)
January 2, 2012 at 5:02 pm
A crime data analysis is to be established at the Police Headquarters tomorrow(03), Police Spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said.
(JNW)
January 2, 2012 at 4:35 pm
Wife and two children of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna’s rebel leader Kumara mahattaya have been detained for questioning at the Katunayake airport, the Police said. They were about to leave for Bangkok, it added.
(JNW)
January 2, 2012 at 11:45 am
First term of government schools and goverment approved private schools in New Year will begin today(2). However, academic activities of the schools used for G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination paper evaluations will commence on January 9. 93 schools throughout the country will be used for this purpose, the Ministry of Education announced.
(JNW)
January 2, 2012 at 7:00 am
