The Sri Lankan Cricketers’ Association (SLCA) has contacted the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) seeking assistance over the delay in the cricketers’ salaries for series following the World Cup this year.
Sri Lanka have played three series since the end of the World Cup in April and the players are still awaiting payment, including match fees and contract payments. Tim May, the FICA chief executive, stated in a release that the association had been contacted to ensure the payments were made as soon as possible.
“We are aware that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is undergoing some cash flow difficulties at present as it awaits its final payment from the ICC for World Cup hosting fees,” May said. “But SLCA and FICA will be looking at possible ways of ensuring the monies owed by the ICC, which are due to be paid in late December 2011 or January 2012, are released with urgency, and on condition it is used to pay the players forthwith.”
SLC is expecting to receive payments from the ICC to the tune of US$4.3million for co-hosting the World Cup.
May also expressed concern that the long wait for payments could lure players towards lucrative options such as playing in global Twenty20 tournaments, at the expense of playing for the country. “With the IPL and other Twenty20 competitions emerging as a realistic alternative to international cricket for players, the SLC urgently needs to address this situation with its players,” May said.
“The players have been incredibly patient to date and continued to play in the interests of their country, but this is now reaching a critical point.”
The ICC is expected to disburse payments only after they complete the World Cup audit. “This is a matter for SLC, not for the ICC. In terms of standard policy, the final payments due from the World Cup is only paid on completion of the audits, which is expected to be signed off at the next ICC Board meeting,” an ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo.
An SLC official said the board is aware of these concerns and that steps are being taken to ensure the situation is under control. “The sports ministry is making arrangements to resolve this issue,” the source told ESPNcricinfo. “The players will be paid very soon. They need not worry.”
SLC has been in a financial crisis in recent months following the construction of new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and the renovation of the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo for the World Cup.
Upali Dharmadasa, the chairman of SLC’s interim committee, was critical of the previous administration for spending expansively on those stadiums. All three were handed over to the military earlier this month because the board was struggling to maintain them. The World Cup had left SLC in debt to the tune of $23 million and the board had to ask for a grant from the Sri Lanka government.
(ESPN)
December 1, 2011 at 2:34 pm
United States duo Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland hit six birdies in a closing 67 to win the World Cup by two shots. The Americans eroded the overnight two-stroke lead held by Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell in China, with birdies on the first two holes.
Four more birdies lifted them to 24 under as Ireland faded with four bogeys in a level-par 72 to stay 21 under.
England’s Ian Poulter and Justin Rose carded a nine-under-par 63 to finish second alongside Germany on 22 under.
“We were a little subdued [after the third round] and neither of us were much company,” admitted Poulter.
“We stayed in our own rooms, and kind of rightly so as four under par in fourball was very disappointing.
“But to go and shoot nine under par in foursomes is crazy.”
Poulter and Rose sank four birdies on the front nine and finished with two birdies and an eagle in their last four holes as they recorded the lowest score of the final round at the Mission Hills course on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.
But although they caught and passed McIlroy and McDowell, who had held an eight-shot advantage over the Englishmen going into the final round, they were unable to match the Americans.
(BBC)
November 27, 2011 at 6:52 pm
There was no respite for Sri Lanka. In one of the more closely-fought encounters on this tour, it was Pakistan who prevailed by five wickets after their opponents promised to deliver better, only to falter and give it away. First, with their batting, when they began aggressively and scored at around nine an over in the first ten overs before slowing down considerably and eventually capitulating in the second half. And then it happened with the ball, their spinners putting them in control through tight spells and wickets, not knowing Dilhara Fernando and some fielders would fail to hold their nerve at the death.
Misbah-ul-Haq stood tall for Pakistan, doing what Dinesh Chandimal, who made an enterprising half-century, failed to achieve after guiding the innings – seeing his team through to the end and finishing on a high. Pakistan’s seamers did what their counterparts failed to do – Aizaz Cheema and Umar Gul cleaned up the innings, taking five wickets in the last two overs, to restrict the visitors to a chaseable score; on the other hand, Fernando doled out length deliveries that brought down the required-rate considerably.
Ajantha Mendis, returning from injury, and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan restrained Pakistan in their pursuit of 142 after Imran Farhat began brightly. He inaugurated the innings with three crisp boundaries off the first over of the innings but brought on to bowl in the sixth over, inside the Powerplay, Mendis struck, removing Farhat, who holed out. Umar Akmal’s first-ball duck was crucial in reducing the tempo of the innings further when he adventurously made room to Dilshan and was bowled playing inside the line.
The next four overs yielded just 19, but at one end was Misbah, building up for a flourish at a later stage. He warmed up by slogging a six off Dilruwan Perera over midwicket and triggered the turn in the tide when 43 were needed off four overs, Afridi just having joined him at the other end.
Fernando dropped slightly short to be pulled to the square boundary, and then overcompensated by bowling too full; Misbah unleashed a cracking drive through cover and whipped a full toss behind square to make it 14 in the over. Mendis still had an over left, but Dilshan gave Fernando another go, much to, presumably, his regret. Two length balls followed in the penultimate over – Cheema picked up three wickets at the same stage in the Sri Lankan innings while aiming at the blockhole – and Afridi dispatched them over long-on and deep midwicket. Though he fell off the final delivery, he’d brought down the equation to nine off the last over.
The win was hastened by a botched-up fielding attempt. The first ball of the final over, Misbah drove Malinga to long-off. What should have been a single became two as the fielder took time to get to the ball, and if that wasn’t enough, his wayward throw, missed first by Kumar Sangakkara and then by the short fine leg backing up awkwardly, resulted in six runs in total. With two needed off four, Shoaib Malik edged one wide of third man to seal victory with Sri Lanka still appealing desperately, thinking it was a deflection off the pad.
Pakistan 142 for 5 (Misbah 48*, Shafiq 33) beat Sri Lanka 141 (Chandimal 56, Cheema 4-30) by five wickets
(ESPN)
November 26, 2011 at 8:16 am
A four-wicket haul from Sohail Tanvir and a fluent stand between captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal were the stand-out features of Pakistan’s convincing win – they took the series 4-1 – in the dead rubber played on a slow pitch. The pair didn’t get bogged down at the fall of two wickets off successive deliveries and their positive approach kept their team on track, but the platform for a win was set up by a superior bowling attack that restricted Sri Lanka, whose batting let them down again, to a gettable total.
Plenty of talent and depth in their bowling reserves served Pakistan well again. In conditions that were aiding swing and movement initially, and not discounting the advantage of using new balls at each end, Pakistan’s seamers stepped up, and were supported by their spinners later on. Tanvir didn’t have the pace of the man he replaced, Aizaz Cheema, but made up with his prodigious swing – by Middle East standards – and wily, selective variations. He fooled opener Upul Tharanga with an away swinger after feeding him three deliveries on the trot that moved in through the air. He was more threatening when he pitched the ball short of a driving length, something he realised quickly after being driven down the ground by Dinesh Chandimal. He worked at him with a spate of away-going deliveries and held one back a little more, prompting an attempt at a steer from Chandimal that was snapped up by slip.
In the interim, Umar Gul forced a loose shot from Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was caught behind. Thirty two for 3 soon became 46 for 4 when Chamara Silva, replacing an injured Mahela Jayawardene, was sucked in by a length ball that he nicked straight to slip, giving Junaid Khan a wicket in his first over.
The only batsman unflustered by the travails around him was Kumar Sangakkara, once again charged with the responsibility of rebuilding his team’s innings. Despite the early assistance for the seamers, he didn’t hesitate lurching forward to execute his favourite drives past extra cover on one knee, and took Tanvir for three fours in an over. The spinners, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, erred on occasion, and Sangakkara was quick to latch on. He found an able partner at No.6 in Angelo Mathews, who counterattacked by launching Gul for two straight sixes when that early support from the conditions had withered away, and ran superbly between wickets.
Sangakkara and Mathews did an admirable job, rotating the strike and not getting bogged down in a stand of 118. The field was spread out but a significant proportion of their runs were singles earned by just tapping the ball around the in-field, often in front of cover and point, and sprinting across. The boundaries, however, had dried up and when Sangakkara tried to break the 14-over drought with a drive over extra cover against Mohammad Hafeez, he was caught. Not long after, Jeevan Mendis was stumped off Afridi and Mathews, who’d survived a couple of close shaves while walking across to Ajmal, was eventually bowled round his legs. Sri Lanka only managed two fours and a six in the second half of their innings, struggling to push on as the track got increasingly slow and Tanvir returned to nip out a couple more.
Pakistan began their pursuit cautiously, going through a 24-ball runless phase at one stage, but Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq, in particular, were beginning to get set before losing their wickets. The experienced hands of Younis Khan and Misbah, however, guided them in typical, workmanlike fashion. Misbah was given a life at backward point by Jeevan Mendis, but consolidated well amid periodic bursts of aggression. Younis pulled Fernando past square leg and drove Prasanna inside-out over extra cover. Misbah warmed up by launching a length ball over Mathews’ head, blazed Perera through the covers and reverse-swept a couple of boundaries past short third man.
In a little over ten overs together, the pair added a half-century stand and strengthened Pakistan’s position. That was undermined when Younis and Shoaib Malik were trapped in front by Mendis off consecutive deliveries in the 26th over. The hat-trick ball was an early indication of the Pakistani response – Umar stepped out to a flighted delivery and drove it confidently to mid-off, seemingly unaffected by the pressure created by those two wickets. The final ball of the over was a long hop that was promptly dispatched, and the tone of his innings changed little after that.
Umar often left his crease to get to the pitch of the ball and comfortably kept the runs flowing. Misbah, on the other hand, opted to play from the crease, sweeping, reverse-sweeping, shuffling from one side to the other restlessly but effectively and keeping the required-rate under control throughout. The boundaries came from the other end: Umar muscled Thisara Perera through the covers, guided Malinga past third man, swatted Dilhara Fernando through midwicket and creamed Seekkuge Prasanna past mid-off. There was a slight hiccup when Misbah and Afridi fell in quick succession, but Pakistan were secure with Umar at the other end; the pressure was off with a couple of crunched boundaries off Malinga and Fernando, and the win followed shortly after.
Pakistan 219 for 7 (Misbah 66, Umar 61*, J Mendis 3-36) beat Sri Lanka 218 for 9 (Sangakkara 78, Mathews 61, Tanvir 4-34) by three wickets
(ESPN)
November 24, 2011 at 6:08 am
The fifth and final One Day International match between Sri Lankan and Pakistan will be played at Abu Dhabi today(23). The match is a dead rubber since Pakistanis have already won the series by 3-1. However, Sri Lanka will look to regain some confidence for the only twenty20 match between the two sides by winning this match.
Sri Lanka has suffered a major blow in their batting department by losing the service of Mahela Jayawardena who won’t be playing due to a knee injury. Dimuth Karunaratne or Chamra Silva will fill his place. Pakistanis might rest some players, although it is expected they will play the same side.
The match is scheduled to begin at 4.30 p.m. Sri Lankan time.
(JNW)
November 23, 2011 at 9:28 am
Sri Lanka Cricket will hold its long-overdue elections on December 27, the country’s sports ministry announced on Tuesday. Harsha Abeykoon, a ministry spokesman, said that a period of two weeks will be given for candidates to submit their nominations starting November 25.
“The Sports Minister has appointed Director-General Sports Development Ranjani Jayakody to conduct the elections which will be supervised by the Ministry of Sports,” Abeykoon further stated.
SLC has been run by government-appointed interim committees since 2004. The last interim committee, headed by Upali Dharmadasa, was dissolved on November 15 by the sports minister ahead of the elections. The board continued to suffer from financial trouble during Dharmadasa’s tenure with the contracted players and SLC employees not receiving their salaries since the World Cup in April.
(ESPN)
November 22, 2011 at 7:20 pm
Ajantha Mendis has been included in Sri Lanka’s 16-man Test squad for the tour of South Africa in December ahead of the offspinner Suraj Randiv. There was no place for the experienced batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who continues to be ignored after having been axed for the Pakistan series as well.
The squad also includes fast bowler Dilhara Fernando who last played a Test on the England tour in place of the injured Dhammika Prasad. Fernando, Chanaka Welegedara, Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal complete the Sri Lanka pace attack with Rangana Herath the second spinner.
Mendis missed the home Test series against Australia because of a back injury he sustained during the preceding ODI series and also missed the UAE tour. Randiv played the Sharjah Test against Pakistan, taking 2 for 95.
Samaraweera’s omission for the second straight tour puts a question mark over his career. Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka’s chairman of selectors, had earlier said Samaraweera would not figure in the long-term plans of the selectors who intended to give more opportunities to youngsters. Sri Lanka adjusted to his absence against Australia by batting the captain Tillakaratne Dilshan in the middle order while Lahiru Thirimanne opened with Tharanga Paranavitana. They persisted with the same combination for the first two Tests against Pakistan, before Dilshan returned to the top as Thirimanne was dropped for the Sharjah Test.
Wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva, who made his Test debut in that series, has been included in place of the injured Prasanna Jayawardene. Allrounder Kosala Kulasekara lost his spot to Thisara Perera while the batsman Dimuth Karunaratne was also included.
Sri Lanka play three Tests in South Africa followed by a five-match ODI series. The first Test starts in Centurion on December 15.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Chanaka Welegedara, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Thisara Perera, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath
(ESPN)
November 22, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Chamara Silva, a middle-order batsman, has joined Sri Lanka’s squad in the UAE as back up for Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene, who are both injured.
While the extent of Dilshan’s niggle is not known, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) already announced that Jayawardene will not be considered for selection for the Twenty20 international against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on November 25.
SLC also said that fast bowlers Nuwan Kulasekera, Dhammika Prasad and Shaminda Eranga, as well as wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene, will not be considered for the Test series in South Africa because of injuries.
(ESPN)
Sri Lanka lost the five-ODI series against Pakistan after a third defeat in Sharjah on November 20. The final one-dayer is in Abu Dhabi on November 23, followed by the T20 two days later. Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa begins with a tour match on December 9, followed by the first Test on December 15.
November 21, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Sharjah’s die-hard cricket tragics waited eight years to see their favourite team in one-day action. They went back, sated by five unforgettable vistas of Shahid Afridi’s trademark arms-aloft celebration, as he single-handedly nipped Sri Lanka in a dramatic finish. Chasing 201 to level the series, Sri Lanka were on course with Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara dictating terms with half-centuries, reducing the equation to 46 needed off 74 balls. Afridi was, however, reading from a script no one else had access to. He derailed the tail with a mix of legbreaks, googlies and fastish offspinners, as Sri Lanka floundered hopelessly to lose their last seven wickets for just 19 runs.
That Pakistan even had 200 to defend was down to Afridi again, after they had disintegrated to 97 for 6. The situation was so dire that Afridi was forced to challenge his normally aggressive approach and play within himself. Not only did Afridi manage the feat, he also managed to accelerate and finish with 75 off 65 balls.
Afridi scarcely put a foot wrong today, except when a sliding stop went awry early in the chase. His knee got stuck in the turf, wrenching out a massive divot as he landed in agony. Afridi needed treatment and was helped off the field, but it wasn’t going to keep him out of the action for long.
Pakistan 200 (Afridi 75, Fernando 3-26) beat Sri Lanka 174 (Sangakkara 58, Jayawardene 55, Afridi 5-35)
(ESPN)
November 21, 2011 at 12:55 am
Nomination date for Sri Lanka Cricket elections will be announced next week, Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage said. Elections are to be held by the end of December, he disclosed.
(JNW)
November 19, 2011 at 4:50 pm
For the second time in five days, a game was won and lost in the batting Powerplay. This time, however, Sri Lanka were at the receiving end as they fluffed the phase, picking up just 19 for the loss of two huge wickets, leaving their tail needing 72 off the last 10 overs. In conditions aiding spin, especially of Pakistan’s varied vintage, that was a bridge too far for Angelo Mathews to cross.
Batsmen from both sides survived prodigious seam bowling but came unstuck against spin. The similarities didn’t end there – Pakistan made an almighty hash of their own batting Powerplay, to subside from a dominant 150 for 0 in 29 overs to 257 for 8, which in itself was a strong recovery. In the end, it proved sufficient to sneak home by 21 runs.
Having gone past 10,000 ODI runs, Mahela Jayawardene looked set to launch a sortie similar to the one he had purveyed in the previous game, when the fielders came in with 91 needed off 15 overs. Saeed Ajmal ensured there was no reprisal, though, as he slipped a straighter one past Jayawardene’s forward press. Sarfraz Ahmed collected the ball and zipped the bails out at electric speed, with Jayawardene’s back foot hovering inches away from safety. Pakistan sensed the kill and choked Mathews – with the single unavailable, he played out ten dot balls before opening his account as the required-rate crossed seven.
Pakistan 257 for 8 (Hafeez 83, Farhat 70, Prasanna 2-39) beat Sri Lanka 236 (Dilshan 64, Ajmal 3-42, Gul 3-48) by 21 runs
(ESPN)
Mathews broke free in the 39th over against Sohail Tanvir, prompting Misbah-ul-Haq to revert to spin. Ajmal slipped another floater across the well-set Dinesh Chandimal, who scythed an outer edge to point. Lasith Malinga, who was among the runs in the Champions League T20, was promoted to No. 7, but Shahid Afridi pinned him with a quicker one. With Mathews out of sorts, Jeevan Mendis kept Sri Lanka alive, but Mohammad Hafeez ended his cameo. Mathews showed little intent to guard the tail – he took singles off the first balls of the last three overs of the game. Umar Gul needed no second invitation to finish the job.
November 19, 2011 at 6:05 am
Pakistani skipper Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss for the first time in the series, giving his team an opportunity to bat first in Dubai. Both the previous games followed similar templates in the first 25 overs of play, with Sri Lanka’s top order struggling to force the pace. They never recovered in the first game, but perked up during the batting Powerplay in the second. Misbah was wary of the early challenges posed by the pitch, and hoped his batsmen would “take the responsibility and give the bowlers a chance”.
Pakistan made one change to their line-up with the wrong-footed left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir coming in for Aizaz Cheema. Sri Lanka stuck to the side that levelled the series at 1-1 on Monday. Tillakaratne Dilshan mentioned that there were no plans to promote the in-form Mahela Jayawardene up the order.
(JNW)
November 18, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Darren Bravo‘s resolute century, which left him with statistics identical to Brian Lara’s at the end of 12 Tests, wasn’t enough to deny India an innings win. Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul made India work hard on the fourth day, and took West Indies to their highest score following on. India preferred to wait for mistakes, which said a lot about the huge lead they had and the state of the pitch: a slow turner. When West Indies did make the mistake, Rahul Dravid was superb at slip to kickstart a collapse of four for 20.
Given their recent form, not many were expecting a big fightback from West Indies, and according to unconfirmed reports Kolkata’s Jadhavpur University Complex, where Sourav Ganguly is playing a Ranji Trophy match, attracted a bigger crowd than Eden Gardens. They missed an attractive century from Bravo. Resuming on 38 he kept batting like he did yesterday. With the fields spread he kept picking the singles, and whenever MS Dhoni looked to attack he sent the fields back with calculated risks. He added 15 fours and a six to his boundary count on the fourth day.
India 631 for 7 decl. (Laxman 176*, Dhoni 144, Dravid 119) beat West Indies 153 (Ojha 4-64, Yadav 3-23) and (f/o) 463 (Bravo 136, Samuels 84, Yadav 4-80) by an innings and 15 runs
(ESPN)
November 17, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Sri Lanka Cricket Interim Committee has been dissolved, Ministry of Sports said. Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage has appointed Secretary to the Ministry Udaya Seneviratne as the competent authority of the Sri Lanka Cricket. Elections to appoint new office bearers will be held within one month.
(JNW)
November 15, 2011 at 5:10 pm
The ICC Test Championship will not be held before 2017, Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said. The tournament was initially scheduled for 2013, but it cannot be conducted before 2017 due to the ICC’s commitments to its broadcaster and sponsors.
”I am afraid that [the Test championship] is no longer going to happen in 2013,” Lorgat said in Dubai, where he was attending the second ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. “At the last board meeting we decided the first opportunity to play the Test championship is 2017. I am disappointed it is not going to take place sooner but it is a reality of the commitments we have already got through to 2015.”
The ICC’s broadcast partner is ESPN STAR Sports*, with whom they have a contract till 2015. The Champions Trophy, the ICC’s second-most significant one-day tournament, is scheduled to be played in June 2013 in England, but the ICC had hoped to convince all interested parties to switch that tournament to play-offs between the top four Test teams as per the ICC Test rankings.
However, after the ICC’s executive board meeting in October, it released a statement saying there would be significant commercial challenges in replacing the Champions Trophy without the support and consent of the ICC’s broadcast partner since the financial implications on the Members would be significant. Changing the tournament from a one-day one to Test play-offs would have required a substantial cut in the broadcast rights fee, which would have repercussions on the Members.
Lorgat, on Monday, said the switch would not be possible. “We attempted to switch the Champions Trophy to become a Test championship but that is not going to be possible.”
(ESPN)
November 15, 2011 at 10:00 am
The ICC’s latest fiddle with the rules was primarily responsible for the intrigue in Dubai, where the tale of two batting Powerplays decided the course of the second ODI; Sri Lanka stole 48 off theirs, to poke a slumbering innings to life and propel a surge that yielded 136 runs off their last 20 overs. Chasing 236, Pakistan were rocked by seam before Umar Akmal‘s dazzling strokeplay left them needing 93 off the last 15 overs, when their batting Powerplay came into force. A hat-trick of boundaries from Umar reduced the equation to 72 at under a run-a-ball, but he holed out attempting a fourth successive four. Sri Lanka roared back into the game with two more quick breaches, pegging the Powerplay damages at 26 for 3, and steadily closed the game out thereafter.
If the match was played before October 1, Pakistan might have waited for the very end to call the field in, and Umar might have continued in a cautious vein until then. As it transpired, Umar heaved Dilhara Fernando over mid-on, before backing away and scything him through point and blazing him through the covers for fours in the 38th over. He looked to muscle the next ball over mid-on as well, but Dinesh Chandimal intercepted well to give Sri Lanka an opening.
Umar’s exit ended a 62-run stand, and Pakistan were in big trouble when Lasith Malinga removed the set Sarfraz Ahmed next ball, to a questionable lbw call when the batting side was out of reviews. Thisara Perera then dismissed Umar Gul to put Sri Lanka on the brink, but Shahid Afridi kept fighting. Tillakaratne Dilshan, however sealed the deal with a direct-hit from point that ended Afridi’s cameo, and with it Pakistan’s hopes.
Sri Lanka 235 for 7 (Tharanga 77, Jayawardene 50, Ajmal 3-61) beat Pakistan 210 (Umar 91, Malinga 3-36) by 25 runs
(ESPN)
November 15, 2011 at 12:40 am
With every passing match, the stock of Pakistani captain Misbah-ul-Haq continues to rise. A dysfunctional board, the loss of world-class fast bowlers to the spot-fixing crisis, a fall-out between captain and coach earlier in the year leading to the brief retirement of the talismanic Shahid Afridi – none of that has stopped Misbah from steering Pakistan to an almost six-month unbeaten run. Some of the opposition along the way might have been the lightweights, but the thumping win in the first one-dayer came against one of the top limited-overs sides in the world. For a man whose international career seemed well and truly over a little more than a year ago, it’s been quite a ride since taking over as captain.
However, things have not been as smooth for the man who became Sri Lanka’s leader after the World Cup. There’s been some scattered Twenty20 success, but Tillakaratne Dilshan’s side has lost all their major Test and ODI assignments over the past six months. After the abysmal batting collapse in the first one-dayer, Dilshan was critical of the shot-selection, especially from a hugely experienced top order. His own one-day form hasn’t been great, and Sri Lanka have the added worry of Mahela Jayawardene struggling with a knee injury, which could put him out of Monday’s match.
Though it was the batting that was abject in their defeat in the previous game, Sri Lanka’s top six is more or less set in stone, unless if Jayawardene fails to recover from his knee problem. In that case, Dimuth Karunaratne, the 23-year-old top-order batsman from SSC, will likely take his place. Changes are likely to come lower down in the order, with Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis as possible replacements for the new boys, Kosala Kulasekara and Seekkuge Prasanna. Perera could even be brought in at the expense of Dilhara Fernando, who was erratic on Friday though he touched express speeds of 145kph.
(ESPN)
November 14, 2011 at 6:00 am
