De Mel renamed for Selection Panel

Chairman of Sri Lanka’s Selection Panel, Former Fast bowler – Asantha De Mel was reappointed for the position, by Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge.

De Mel, who was in an extension period since June, was deliberately excluded from the list named by Sri Lanka Cricket’s incumbent administration. However, Minister Lokuge was keen to retain him, together with Don Anurasiri in the new selection panel.

Amal Silva and Shabir Asgerally from the previous selection panel are to be replaced by Mahes Goonathilake and Ranjith Madurasinghe. 

Goonathilake was Wicket-keeper in Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test against England in 1982 before getting banned for joining a rebel tour of South Africa later that year. Madurasinghe, who was a former selector is a former off spinner who played three Tests making his Test debut at Lord’s in 1988.

The first job of the newly appointed selection panel will be to choose a balanced squad for the inaugural 20Twenty Championship in South Africa, this September.

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Murali Joins Elite 700 Club

Sri Lanka’s Champion off Spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan yesterday joined the elite club of 700 Test Wickets by picking up Bangladeshi batsman Syed Rasel, as Sri Lanka completed a 3-0 sweep of the Test series at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy.

On Day 3, Captain Mahela Jayawardene together with Vice Captain, Kumar Sangakkara rebuilt the Sri Lankan innings after they had lost two wickets for 65. (Vandort -23, Tharanga-12). The skipper was quick in scoring, as he had already got to his half century by lunch, whereas Sangakkara at the other end was slow and patient at the start but attacked the Bangladeshi bowlers once he got in to rhythm.

Sri Lanka’s most prolific duo in Test Cricket added a massive 318 for the third wicket, with Jayawardene recording his 18th Test century (165) and Sangakkara contributing with another consecutive Double Hundred(222*). The pair also holds the record of the highest partnership for any wicket in Test or First-class cricket after their record breaking stand of 624 in the First Test against South Africa last year.

Sri Lankans declared at 500/4 and put Bangladesh in to bat at the very start of Day 4.

Lasith Malinga struck early removing Javed Omar for 22. But, Bangladeshis were well on course to drag the match to Day 5 at 106/2, when Murali was brought in to the take the wicket of Shariar Nafees, who was on 64. Then, paceman, Sujeewa De Silva tormented the Bangladeshis further by picking up two quick wickets ( Musfiqur Rahim-1, Rajin Saleh -0) in two of his successive overs.

Thereafter, the match was all Sri Lanka’s, as Murali took a further three wickets to not only complete a 3-0 sweep of the Laqshya Test Series, but, also to get to a wonderful milestone. By picking up his 700th Test Wicket at his home town in Kandy, among his dear parents Mother, Mrs. Lakshmi, Father, Mr. Muttiah; loving wife, Mrs. Madhimalar, relatives, team-mates and hundreds of fans, Murali became only the Second Bowler in Test Cricket History to reach this landmark. He is now only 8 wickets behind a memorable milestone, which is currently held by retired Shane Warne.

Bangladesh were all out for 176, as Sri Lanka wrapped up the third and Final Test of the Laqshya Test Series with an innings and 193-run victory.

Murali was adjudjed both, the Man-of-the-Match and the Man-of-the-Series for his consistent performance with the ball.

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Murali crushes Bangladesh

Veteran Sri Lankan spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan bagged 6-28, inorder to crush Bangladesh to 131-all out in their third and final test at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy.

Resuming the innings on 72/4 on Day 2, Bangladesh looked to bat through the day offering some resistance to the Sri Lankans, even after they had already lost the series. It was not to be so, as the Sri Lankan bowlers showed no mercy to the inexperienced Bangladeshis.

Seamer Sujeewa De Silva, recalled in to the side after a lapse of 5 years, replaced veteran opening bowler Chaminda Vaas, who returned to Middlesex Country cricket after the 2nd Test. De Silva was pretty impressive in his bowling, as he picked up 2-29 in his 12 overs.

Earlier on Day 1, Lasith Malinga and Farvez Maharoof, who replaced Dilhara Fernando had taken a wicket each to reduce Bangladesh to 72/4.

Murali, not only spun Bangladesh in his home ground in Kandy, but also achieved a milestone, by taking his 100th wicket at the Asgiriya Stadium alone, in only the 15th Test Match he played at this particular venue, a rare feat in Test Cricket. This was also Murali’s 59th Five-Wicket haul. This takes his Test wicket tally to 694, only 6 short of joining the elite 700 club as the World’s second bowler to do so, and moreover just 14 short of equalling the World Record currently held by Australia’s Shane Warne.

Continuing their pattern of failure in the first innings of the first two tests, Bangladesh once again showed a sense of inexperience in Test Cricket as they lost wickets at quick intervals. The highest scorer was Shahriar Nafees, who hit 29. The centurion-captain of the last test, Mohammed Ashraful was dismissed on 26 and the impressive wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten on 11, as he lost partners.

In reply, Sri Lankan openers, who came to bat got to 30, without losing a wicket, when continuous rain interruptions stopped play early on Day 2.

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Sri Lanka Cricket expands Interim Committee

Gamini Lokuge, the Sri Lankan Sports Minister,  has expanded the interim committee of Sri Lanka Cricket from its present size of five members to seven. Sidath Wettimuny, the former Test opener, Premasara Epasinghe, a commentator, and Dion Gomes, president of the boxing association, have been added to the committee along with Lalith Wickremasinghe, a representative of the ministry.

Prakash Schaafter and Damien Fernando, a representative of Jeevan Kumaratunga, the Former Sports Minister, have been replaced. Sri Lanka Cricket sources suggested that Schaafter’s sacking was a consequence of the media fiasco that took place on the opening day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the P.  Saravanamuttu Stadium.

Local and foreign media persons complained to Sri Lanka Cricket about the poor facilties that were made available to them at the Tamil Union club where Schaafter is the secretary. The replacement of Fernando was expected following the appointment of Lokuge, who replaced Kumaratunga as sports minister during a cabinet reshuffle in March.

The top three members in the interim committee however remain unchanged, with Jayantha Dharmadasa as chairman, Kanganan Mathivanan as secretary and Sujeewa Rajapakse as treasurer. The new-look committee is due to have its first meeting on July 11. Sri Lanka cricket has been under interim administration since April 2005, after the elected body was accused of misappropriation of funds by Kumaratunga.

Source : Cric Info

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Sri Lanka complete series win

Sri Lanka completed a series win 2-0 yesterday, in their 2nd Test held at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo, defeating Bangladesh by an innings and 90 runs.

Bangladesh finishing Day 3 on 69/4, the match looked like it would end very soon. But, the Bangladeshi lower order had other ideas. After been bowled out for 62 in their first innings, Bangladesh fought back in their second  with valuable contributions from both young Captain Mohammad Ashraful and 18yr old  Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim. Ashraful, who started off slowly, was unbeaten on 129, at the end of the game when he ran out of partners. The talented Right-hander, who became the only batman in Bangladesh history to hit 4 test centuries,  made his maiden ton against Sri Lanka on his Test debut in 2001. Rahim(80), who recorded his maiden fifty in only his third Test match was caught by Muralitharan off his own balling, to give Sri Lanka the breakthrough that they desperately wanted. The duo added 191 for the sixth wicket, the highest for any wicket in Test Cricket for Bangladesh, after former skipper Habibul Bashar was clean bowled by Dilhara Fernando to reduce the side to 78/5.  

Yet, the resistance shown by the Bangladeshi batsmen could not prevent the inevitable as Chaminda Vaas picked up two wickets in successive deliveries  to further pressurize the side. Bangladesh were all-out for 299, with two run-outs towards the latter part of the game, paving the way for another Sri Lankan victory.

Sri Lanka wrap the Laqshya Test series 2-0. Despite the defeat, the manner in which the Bangladeshi batsmen handled the Sri Lankan bowling attack on the third day will definitely give them a bag full of confidence. This will  also make them realize the importance of being consistent as a Test Nation.

WicketKeeper-Batsman, Kumar Sangakkara who became only the 7th batsman in Test Cricket history to hit 5 or more Double tons, was adjudjed the Man-of-the-Match.

Test venues will move from Colombo to the up-country as the Third Test is scheduled to  commence on the 11th of July at the Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy. 

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Sri Lanka pile on 451

Sri Lankan team piled on a massive 451/6 – declared, in reply to the 62-all out of the Bangladeshis, at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo.

Sri Lankan opener Malinda Warnapura who was unbeaten on 79 the previous day, fell just 18 runs short of a maiden century. Kumar Sangakkara and Captain Mahela Jayawardene then added 98 runs for the third wicket. Jayawardene, who added a valuable 49 was removed by Shahadat Hossain, immediately after lunch. Scoreboard then read 267/3. A patient double-ton from Vice Captain, Sangakkara, the fifth such score of his career, boosted the lead to an excess of 300. His first double century came against Pakistan (232) in 2001, followed by a 270 against Zimbabwe and 232 against South Africa in 2004 and a career best of 287, also against South Africa in a record-breaking match last year. Chamara Silva put on 33 in a 92-run partnership with him. One of the maiden-centurions of the First Test, Chaminda Vaas hit an unbeaten 30, helping Sangakkara to get to his 200.

The Bangladeshis who started on their second innings had a daunting task ahead. The healthy foundation laid down by openers Javed Omar and Shahriar Nafees(48), were all in vain as they lost 4 wickets in successive overs. Vaas picked up 2-13 and Dilhara Fernando 2-28, reducing the Bangladesh team to 69/4 at the end of the Second Day.

Bangladesh now trail behind the Sri Lankans by 320 runs. While the Bangladeshis will be looking to make use of the good batting pitch for the next two days, the Sri Lankan bowlers will try to wrap it up on Day 3 itself.

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Sri Lankan bowlers flatten Bangladesh

Sri Lankan seamers Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando as well as the ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan flattened the Bangladeshi lineup as they recorded their lowest ever test score(62), since being granted Test status in 2000. The previous lowest was 86, also against Sri Lanka in 2005.

Malinga lead the attack with a superb spell very early in the game, trapping Shahriar Nafees for leg before in his very first over. Midway between the 8th over, he had opener Javed Omar caught off Wicketkeeper, Prasanna Jayawardene. Soon after, former skipper, Habibul Bashar was caught off Mahela Jayawardene at slip. Two balls later, current skipper Mohamed Ashraful was removed for a duck, when the scoreboard read 22/4.

Dilhara joined the fun, picking up the wickets of both, debutant Mehrab Hossain jnr. and Mashrafe Mortaza.

It really was all over for the Bangladeshis when Murali was introduced in to the attack. Sri Lanka’s most successful spinner, took his 100th four-wicket hall as he ended up with figures of 4-14. The renowned Murali is now only 21 short of equaling the World Record currently held by retired Australian spinner, Shane Warne.

Sri Lanka, in reply got off to a good start with their first wicket, Michael Vandort falling at 41. Then, Malinda Warnapura and Kumar Sangakkara continued piling on runs. Warnapura, who was dismissed for a golden duck in the first ball of his debut at the SSC, in the first test last week, kept up to the faith, the selectors had bestowed upon him by making his maiden fifty in only the second Test Match of his career. The elegant left hander, who went on to make an unbeaten 79 at the end of Day 1, is the nephew of Sri Lanka’s first Test Captain, Bandula Warnapura.

Sangakkara got back in to form, by hitting his 23rd half century, just a couple of minutes before the end of the day.

Bad light and rain forced an early finish to Day 1, with Sri Lanka on a healthy total of 154/1.

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