Sri Lanka A battled their way back into the five-match series against England Lions with a six-wicket win in Kurunegala. Despite Jos Buttler’s second century in three matches for the Lions, Sri Lanka completed their run chase with 15 balls to spare thanks in large part to a composed innings of 94 from No. 3 Dimuth Karunaratne.
Karunaratne, who made his ODI debut during Sri Lanka’s tour of England last year, was involved in a century stand with Bhanuka Rajapaksa after the hosts had lost their first two wickets for just 22. The two youngsters combined to put on 132 in 23 overs, with Rajapaksa recording an almost run-a-ball 72. Karunaratne was denied a century when he was dismissed by Danny Briggs but by then Sri Lanka were comfortably placed to finish the job, with Thilina Kandamby sealing victory – and reaching his own half-century – with a six.
The Lions’ innings had been based around another significant contribution from Buttler, whose first limited-overs hundred brought England victory in Dambulla last week. The Somerset man was on the losing side this time, however, as the rest of England’s batsmen failed to make the most of their starts. Jonny Bairstow’s 31 was the next-best score as England’s momentum, particularly in the closing overs, was repeatedly checked by the tumble of wickets.
Sri Lanka A 263 for 4 (Karunaratne 94, Rajapaksa 72) beat England Lions 258 for 9 (Buttler 119, Prasanna 3-32) by six wickets
(ESPN)
January 31, 2012 at 9:46 pm
England Lions, led by Craig Kieswetter’s century, registered their second successive win in the one-day series in Dambulla. Kieswetter made an unbeaten 112 off 99 balls to help the Lions to 293, and Sri Lanka A fell short by 67 runs.
The Lions didn’t have the best of starts, losing three wickets for 57 after choosing to bat. The lower middle-order pair of Jos Buttler and Samit Patel hit 40s to rally around Kieswetter. Buttler added 48 during his stand with Kieswetter before he was dismissed by Seekkuge Prasanna. Patel and Kieswetter then scored a quick 100 off 12.4 overs to put the Lions on course for a substantial score. Kieswetter smashed six fours and as many sixes in his innings.
Sri Lanka A’s chase began quickly, with the openers Mahela Udawatte and Dimuth Karunaratne adding 64 in just over ten overs. However, quick strikes by Danny Briggs and Nathan Buck dismissed the pair and the middle order failed to compile significant partnerships to keep Sri Lanka A in the game. The sixth-wicket pair of Kushal Perera and Kosala Kulasekara added 65, but with five wickets down and the required rate increasing, the Lions held the edge. Patel and Briggs took three wickets apiece to bowl out Sri Lanka A for 226.
England Lions 293 for 9 (Kieswetter 112*, Patel 43) beat Sri Lanka A 226 (Perera 59, Briggs 3-31, Patel 3-55) by 67 runs
(ESPN)
January 29, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Before the Sydney Test, Glenn McGrath gave his typical prediction that Australia would win the series 4-0. Few people truly expected it to happen. But such has been the gulf between the two sides that four weeks later, Australia wrapped up a whitewash within 59 minutes on the last day at Adelaide Oval, the only Test in the series that India managed to take to a fifth day.
Australia’s 298-run victory was finalised when Nathan Lyon found the edge of Umesh Yadav’s bat and Brad Haddin gloved the ball cleanly, which led to celebrations from the Australians. Not wild celebrations, though. The restrained type of self-congratulation that follows a long period of work, with the knowledge that even more toil remains ahead.
That the 4-0 series win was not enough to lift Australia out of fourth position on the ICC rankings is an indication of how far the side had fallen, and how much work remains for Michael Clarke and his men. But they are the on the way up. Their next Test tour is to the West Indies in April, and there they can move up the rankings list, closer to their goal of regaining the No.1 spot.
Australia 7 for 604 dec and 5 for 167 dec beat India 272 and 201 (Sehwag 62, Lyon 4-63, Harris 3-41) by 298 runs
(ESPN)
January 28, 2012 at 8:02 am
Somerset’s young wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler confirmed some of his potential as one of the most promising of England’s one-day prospects, with the first limited-overs century of his career against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla. Buttler hammered a 56-ball hundred to build on the good work from another tyro, Alex Hales, and his Somerset team-mate Craig Kieswetter as England Lions racked up 335 for 5 on their way to a 68-run win in the first unofficial ODI.
Another fresh face, that of Nathan Buck, did the damage with the ball, outshining the more experienced opening pair of Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes to take 4 for 39 as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 267. Samit Patel also chipped in with three wickets to remind the selectors of his ample abilities ahead of England’s forthcoming one-day commitments in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka A, whose line-up included full internationals of the calibre of Surav Randiv, Thilina Kandamby and Seekkuge Prasanna, got their reply off to a brisk start but lost wickets at regular intervals. Despite contributions right down the order, they were bowled out with 27 balls of their innings remaining, with Kandamby’s 54 the top score.
England Lions 335 for 5 (Buttler 102, Hales 94) beat Sri Lanka A 267 (Kandamby 54, Buck 4-39) by 68 runs
(ESPN)
January 27, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Sri Lanka’s new Cricket Captain Mahela Jayawardena says he decided to take up the captaincy after considering the present situation of the national team. He also emphasized the decision was not taken because of an outside pressure. Mahela made this statement addressing a media briefing held at the Sri Lanka Cricket in Colombo today(26).
Former skipper T.M. Dilshan who also joined the press briefing said that, the decision to step down from the captaincy was an independent one. Dilshan pointed out he was appointed as the skipper till the end of South African tour.
“Media reported number of things about the captaincy during the final leg of the South African tour. But I decided to step down from it, to give the new selection committee a chance to take a decision on their own”, Dilshan said.
Responding to a query made by a journalist he added it was pleasing to see youngsters bloom.
“I gave them a lot of opportunity. Now they are becoming match winners for the team, which is pleasant to see”, Dilshan said.
(JNW)
January 26, 2012 at 8:05 pm
Graham Ford has been appointed Sri Lanka coach, replacing Geoff Marsh. Ford, the former South Africa coach, will begin his assignment with the triangular ODI series in Australia next month. His appointment is the latest decision by Sri Lanka Cricket to revamp the setup around the national team – the captaincy was changed on Monday and, last week, the selection panel was replaced before its term expired – following a string of disappointing results.
A statement by the board thanked Marsh for his services; it also thanked Anura Tennekoon, who has been replaced as team manager by Charith Senanayaka.
Sri Lanka’s performances have come in for much criticism since reaching the World Cup final – they have lost every Test and ODI series they have played since then and a new board that came to power in the elections earlier this month have rung in the changes.
Ford last week resigned as head coach of the Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise, saying he wanted to “follow my dreams of involvement at an international level”.
He will be the third coach appointed by Sri Lanka since Trevor Bayliss stepped down after leading them to the 2011 World Cup final. Marsh was appointed for two years in September 2011 and was in charge for the tours against Pakistan and South Africa. His appointment appeared to end a period of upheaval following Bayliss’ exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss’ assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake then took over for the home series against Australia, before Marsh’s appointment.
(ESPN)
January 25, 2012 at 8:27 pm
Hours after Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka captain, the country’s new selection panel appointed former captain Mahela Jayawardene in his place to lead the ODI squad to Australia for the tri-series in February involving the hosts and India. Angelo Mathews was named vice-captain of the 15-member squad which also included Dilshan.
Farveez Maharoof, the bowling allrounder, andChanaka Welegedara, the fast bowler, were recalled after having last played an ODI for Sri Lanka back in June 2010. The duo were the only changes from the squad for the recent ODI series in South Africa, in place of Kosala Kulasekara and Dilhara Fernando. Thilan Samaraweera, who was ignored for the South Africa ODIs, was put on stand-by.
Sri Lanka squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chanaka Welegedara, Dhammika Prasad
Stand by: Thilan Samaraweera
January 23, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Tillakaratne Dilshan has stepped down as Sri Lanka captain in all three formats, a day after the ODI series against South Africa concluded.
“Dilshan has resigned as Captain in all three formats of the game,” a Sri Lanka Cricket release stated. “Members of the Executive committee take this opportunity to thank Dilshan for his commitment and dedication during his tenure as the National Captain. We also wish him well as he continues to represent Sri Lanka as a National Player.”
Dilshan took over as captain from Kumar Sangakkara after the 2011 World Cup, led his team on tours to England, the UAE [against Pakistan] and South Africa and at home against Australia. His captaincy came under severe criticism as Sri Lanka lost both the Test and ODI series against all the four countries.
Dilshan’s form with the bat dipped during his captaincy as well and despite a historic Test win in Durban, Sri Lanka’s first in South Africa, the loss in the Test series as well as the five-match ODI series put him under added pressure.
(ESPN)
January 23, 2012 at 5:41 pm
For once, the choke was almost on the opposition in a game involving South Africa. Sri Lanka almost messed up what had been the perfect big ODI chase. Their openers had blazed away and their middle order had kept up with the asking rate. Kumar Sangakkara was batting on a silken century with Sri Lanka on 274 for 3 in 44 overs chasing 313. And then came the collapse. Sangakkara holed out. It became 308 for 8 before Sachithra Senanayake, playing his second ODI, slog-swept the penultimate delivery for six to ensure the visitors left South Africa with a respectable 2-3 scoreline.
Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne had looked on course to lead Sri Lanka to their second consecutive successful chase of a 300-plus target after centuries from AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith had boosted South Africa to 312. In only his fifth ODI, Lahiru Thirimanne matched Sangakkara in an ultimately match-winning fourth-wicket partnership of 100, built on the solid start given by the openers. Following a rain delay after seven overs, the bowlers found it difficult to grip the ball.
But having reached his hundred off 96 deliveries, Sangakkara lofted JP Duminy straight to long-off. Fortune seemed to favour Sri Lanka in the next over when Thirimanne inside-edged Morne Morkel past his stumps for a four and off the next ball, Wayne Parnell fumbled at third man in the glare of the floodlights.
With 19 needed off 24, Sri Lanka were still on top. Angelo Mathews, though, chipped a Parnell high full toss to short extra cover to bring the hero of the fourth ODI, Thisara Perera, in. Duminy sneaked in a tight penultimate over to Perera which ended with the batsman smashing another high full toss to deep midwicket.
It came down to six off the final over with Sri Lanka still ahead. de Villiers gambled with Robin Peterson but even he would not have bargained for the left-arm spinner taking two wickets in three deliveries. Nuwan Kulasekara missed an attempted loft over extra cover to be bowled first ball. Rangana Herath sensibly gave the strike to Thirimanne next ball but the latter charged out and sliced the third delivery to short third man. The Wanderers roared with anticipation as Senanayake stepped out to defend the fourth one but was silenced when he slammed the fifth ball for a flat six over deep midwicket. It was also his first scoring shot in one-day internationals.
Sri Lanka 314 for 8 (Sangakkara 102, Thirimanne 69) beat South Africa 312 for 4 (de Villiers 125*, Smith 125) by two wickets
(ESPN)
January 23, 2012 at 6:47 am
Ashantha de Mel, the former Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been named the chairman of the country’s new selection panel, which replaced the one headed by Duleep Mendis. The appointment, made by the sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, could be the first in a series of changes in Sri Lankan cricket, which could include the axeing of the coach Geoff Marsh and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan after the poor performance in South Africa.
Don Anurasiri, Amal Silva and Hemantha Wickramaratne are the other members of the new selection committee, which has a one-year term. Although the tenure of Mendis’ panel was going to end in February, the appointment of the new panel will come into effect on January 20.
Anurasiri is the only member from the old committee, but de Mel and Silva have served as selectors before. Wickramaratne, a left-hand batsman who played in three ODIs in the early nineties, is new to the role.
Mahela Jayawardene is also likely to be asked to take over the captaincy from Dilshan after the South Africa tour. When asked in Kimberley, on the eve of the fourth ODI, whether he would accept the offer, Jayawardene said, “I will have to think about it. I will need some time.”
(ESPN)
January 19, 2012 at 8:00 pm
South Africa took an unassailable 3-0 lead after the most closely fought game of the five-match series thus far, with the result settled in anticlimactic fashion by the Duckworth-Lewis method. Thundershowers interrupted play at the end of 34 overs of South Africa’s chase, at which time the teams were on even terms but the hosts just four runs ahead mathematically. In that context, captain AB de Villiers’ counterattacking, unbeaten 39 and his brief partnership with Albie Morkel, which included a retrospectively decisive 26 runs in the last three overs, settled the game for South Africa.
Batting down the order, at No.6, and promoting Faf du Plessis to No.4 proved a masterstroke from de Villiers, who showed excellent adaptability to a tricky situation posed by the weather. A light drizzle infused a sense of urgency in his approach, and by the time it had developed into pouring rain, he had taken his team past the required target. His efforts, together with du Plessis’ fluent half-century earlier in the innings, undermined a spirited performance from Sri Lanka in the field and a much-improved show with the bat.
Three fours in an over against Kosala Kulasekara signalled the acceleration South Africa needed to get their noses ahead. de Villiers, in the 32nd over, smashed two deliveries through extra cover and walked across to clip one through square leg. The next over fetched five and what turned out to be the final over of the match yielded eight, including a wide and at least a run scored off every other ball. de Villiers and Albie Morkel had got together when their opponents held the advantage, following the run-outs of du Plessis and JP Duminy.
South Africa 179 for 5 (du Plessis 72, de Villiers 39*) beat Sri Lanka 266 for 9 (Tharanga 58, Nuwan Kulasekara 40) by four runs according to D-L method
(ESPN)
January 18, 2012 at 6:24 am
Sri Lanka’s batting turned up on a slow East London pitch after the no-show in Paarl but a scratchy performance was not enough to push South Africa, though the hosts managed to give themselves some nervy moments during the chase. Sri Lanka’s three big batsmen failed once again and it was only due to the rapidly maturing Dinesh Chandimal and Upul Tharanga that they avoided another poor score.
Hashim Amla’s wizardry then threatened to shut out the visitors before South Africa lost crucial wickets at the wrong times to make sure the rest of their chase wouldn’t be as breezy as Amla’s innings was. JP Duminy, though, kept his cool to guide his side home in the penultimate over.
AB de Villiers had earlier been lured into putting Sri Lanka in by overcast skies, but the visitors were able to survive and slowly build their innings, partly due to the lack of bite in the pitch and partly due to Chandimal and Tharanga. That South Africa got as much as 237 to chase was down largely to Chandimal. He batted till the end of Sri Lanka’s innings, displaying grit – a quality that has been largely absent among Sri Lanka’s batsmen recently.
Chandimal outside-edged heaves over point, he even lap-swept a ball off his helmet a four. Timing eluded him for most of his innings, but fortune did not. He repeatedly tried to smash the spinners out of the ground only for the ball to roll towards midwicket. He could have been run out several times as he went for tight singles. He had earlier been hit on the arm and the side of the helmet by Albie Morkel as he played a pull too early. But he just smiled and rode out the tough period. He hit his first four off the 16th delivery he faced, the next one came off the 85th as he carried Sri Lanka from 164 for 5 in the 40th over to 236 for 6 in the company of Angelo Mathews.
The visitors had initially found themselves in familiar territory at 21 for 2 after 10 overs despite the Buffalo Park pitch affording neither the pace nor the bounce that Paarl had. Tillakaratne Dilshan still managed to get dismissed off the fourth ball he faced for his second duck in as many games, a slight hesitation while attempting a tight single against the arm of Faf du Plessis finding him short of the crease. He now averages 15.50 with the bat in 18 ODIs since taking over the Sri Lanka captaincy.
South Africa 237 for 5 (Duminy 66*, Amla 55, Prasad 3-46) beat Sri Lanka 236 for 6 (Chandimal 92*, Tharanga 66, M Morkel 2-39, Tsotsobe 2-43) by five wickets
(ESPN)
January 15, 2012 at 6:36 am
South Africa’s season of outlandish results produced another jaw-dropper as Sri Lanka subsided to 43 all out, their lowest total in one-dayers. The shorter format was widely expected to make the one-day series a more even contest than the Tests, but Sri Lanka’s 258-run defeat in Paarl was the third largest in ODI history, giving AB de Villiers the perfect start to his captaincy.
South Africa’s batsmen had earlier enjoyed themselves despite the scorching heat as they ran up 301 after winning the toss. Hashim Amla highlighted why he’s the world’s top-ranked ODI batsman with his ninth century, and was supported by the two other big guns of the batting – Jacques Kallis provided the early impetus before de Villiers produced the most fluent innings of the match to power South Africa on a pitch where both seam and spin proved elusive in the afternoon.
Lasith Malinga underscored his value to Sri Lanka, with a five-for that reined in South Africa towards the end of the innings, but his sterling efforts proved moot as Sri Lanka lost five wickets in five overs to effectively end the contest.
South Africa 301 for 8 (Amla 112, Kallis 72, de Villiers 52, Malinga 5-54) beat Sri Lanka 43 (Morkel 4-10) by 258 runs
(ESPN)
January 12, 2012 at 6:09 am
The Sri Lankan first-class season will begin on January 20, a Sri Lanka Cricket official has said. The first-class Premier Tier A and B league matches had been postponed indefinitely last month, in part because of a lack of funds to run the tournament. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) then had to wait until a new committee was in place, following the elections on January 3, to resolve the situation.
“Most of the tournaments had been stopped because the elections were on and the committee was changing,” K Mathivanan, the newly elected vice-president, told ESPNcricinfo. “From January 20 we are starting the Premier League tournament. Funding is there. That assurance we will give the clubs.”
Mathivanan said that getting the first-class season off the ground was the first priority for the new president, Upali Dharmadasa. The decision is expected to be ratified by the executive committee today.
One casualty of the delay is the provincial four-day tournament – an irregularly scheduled tournament to begin with, it will not be held this season. However, the one-day and Twenty20 tournaments will go ahead in light of Sri Lanka hosting the ICC World Twenty20 in September 2012, Mathivanan said.
(ESPN)
January 10, 2012 at 7:50 am
Allrounder Albie Morkel has been called up to South Africa’s one-day squad for the five-match series against Sri Lanka because of an injury to batsman Dean Elgar.
Fast bowler Wayne Parnell also suffered a pinched nerve during a SuperSport Series match but he has been cleared for the ODIs. The series begins in Paarl on January 11.
Elgar suffered a knee injury while playing for the Knights against the Cape Cobras during the SuperSport Series matches over the weekend. “It is feared that he may have suffered ligament injury, which could necessitate surgery,” Cricket South Africa said in a media release.
Morkel has not played for South Africa since November 2010. He suffered an abdominal muscle tear while playing for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League T20 and then had surgery at the beginning of the South African summer.
(ESPN)
January 8, 2012 at 8:21 pm
South Africa won their first home series since 2008, a period in which they had been denied on five occasions, prevailing over Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to take the rubber 2-1. An innings defeat seemed the most likely result at the start of the day, but a wicketless pre-lunch session and another century from the resurgent Thilan Samaraweera helped Sri Lanka barely avoid that ignominy.
Needing two runs to win in the fourth innings, South Africa got home without facing a legal delivery, with Dhammika Prasad over-stepping and Alviro Petersen punching down the ground to trigger relief and smiles in the home camp. Graeme Smith has now captained his side to 41 Test wins – joint second with Steve Waugh in the all-time list. Only Ricky Ponting, with 48, lies ahead.
Once again, Vernon Philander made the breakthroughs for South Africa in a passage when they were beginning to look listless. Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews had extended their overnight association to 142 runs, and were looking at ease against the second new ball, when Philander ended the fun with a double-strike. The tail slogged along merrily, while Samaraweera chiselled his way to three-figures. Jacques Kallis and Imran Tahir side-stepped his defiance, and ended the innings at the stroke of tea.
South Africa 580 for 4 decl. (Kallis 224, de Villiers 160*, Petersen 109) and 2 for 0 beat Sri Lanka 239 (Dilshan 78, Philander 3-46, Steyn 3-56) and 342 (Samaraweera 115*, Kallis 3-35) by 10 wickets
(ESPN)
January 6, 2012 at 9:32 pm
South Africa produced an exhibition of blistering seam and swing in the first innings, followed by nagging persistence in the second, to nip out 12 of the 18 wickets they needed for victory at the start of the third day. Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander delivered spells of unmitigated menace to demolish Sri Lanka’s last eight first-innings wickets for 90 runs, allowing South Africa to enforce the follow-on around 30 minutes after lunch.
The pair’s combined first-innings effort on the third morning yielded 6 for 28 in 17 overs, and provided a cruel twist to Sri Lanka’s plans of batting through the day. Wickets weren’t that easy to come by in the second innings, following Tillakaratne Dilshan’s customary brainfade, but South Africa chipped away to skim the top order by stumps.
The wicket-fest left Sri Lanka staring at defeat with two days of good weather expected in Cape Town. Their euphoria after winning the Boxing Day Test has steadily dissipated since the toss at Newlands, and the tone for another day of disappointment was set early in the piece.
Sri Lanka 138 for 4 (Mathews 28*, Samaraweera 19*) and 239 (Dilshan 78, Steyn 3-56, Philander 3-46) trail South Africa 580 for 4 dec by 203 runs
(ESPN)
January 5, 2012 at 9:43 pm
