Mathews earns Test call-up

Veteran fast bowler Chaminda Vaas may most likely have to rethink his future with the Sri Lanka team after he was dropped from the Sri Lanka squad to take on Pakistan in the first Test in Galle starting on Saturday.

Vaas, who has been one of the most hardworking servants of Sri Lanka cricket with more than 350 wickets in a marathon 15-year stint, has given way to a new face in the squad Suranga Lakmal.

Slinger Lasith Malinga will also have to sit out the three-match Test series while his fitness and rhythm will come under scrutiny during the five-match one-day series following the Tests.

Angelo Mathews © Getty Images

It is most likely that Sri Lanka will look to christen batting allrounder Angelo Matthews who produced a fine showing in the recent Twenty-20 World Cup in England.

With his ability to bowl fast Matthews stands a brighter chance than many others who are competing for berths in the playing eleven.

Kaushal Silva has also been included in the squad following an injury to regular test match wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene.

Sri Lanka squad:

Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Muttiah Muralitheran, Malinda Warnapura, Tharanga Paranavithana, Mahela Jayawardena, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Angelo Matthews, Chamara Kapugedera, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dhammika Prasad, Kaushal Silva, Suranga Lakmal.

Courtesy: Daily Mirror

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Grand welcome awaits Sri Lankan team

Sri Lanka new skipper Kumar Sangakkara and his team will receive a grand welcome at Colombo’s Bandarnaike International Airport irrespective of ICC World Twenty20 final result. This was revealed by Charith Senanayake, the Head of Marketing and Media, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

“It has been decided to accord them the red carpet welcome for their brilliant performance”, he said from Colombo. “Most of the SLC officials (chairman D. S. De Silva, Nishantha Ranatunga and Duleed Mendis) are in England now but there are quite a few dignitaries and ministers in the country who would be at the airport to receive the team”, he added. “We are awaiting the final flight details of the team and hope to receive the players with the winning trophy but however, the boys can certainly hope for a warm welcome even if the team stands as a runner-up”.

The SLC had arranged a grand welcome ceremony for the Sri Lankan team on their arrival from the Caribbean after their highly successful World Cup campaign. This arrangement had been made irrespective of the outcome of the final in Barbados on April 28 where Sri Lanka lost to Australia. Members of the entire team with their family gathered at SLC head quarter.

It will be a double joy for the captain Kumar Sangakkara as his wife Yehali is expected to give a birth to twins (boy and girl) later this month. “In Sri Lanka, the sex determination tests are not illegal as is the case in India”, confirms Mahendra Mapagunaratne, the Toronto-based Sri Lankan lawyer.

If the twins are delivered on that due date, it will coincide with the 40th birthday of Sri Lanka’s master blaster Sanath Jayasuriya, who is easily the oldest cricketer playing international cricket today.

However, Kumar Sangakkara is not the first Sri Lankan cricketer becoming father of twins. Hashan Tilkaratne and Charith Senanayake stand also in this list.

© Cricdb

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Sangakkara rises above loss

-Alex Brown

Kumar Sangakkara’s tenure as Sri Lanka captain is just seven Twenty20 matches old, but has already contained a lifetime’s worth of heartache and drama.

Since arriving in England three weeks ago, Sangakkara has taken it upon himself to serve as the team’s unofficial Lahore spokesperson, sparing team-mates the angst-ridden task of regaling the media with recollections of the March terror attack, all the while risking reopening his own barely-healed emotional wounds. It has been a job that required the tact of a politician, the valour of a general, the sensitivity of a counsellor and the patience of a saint. On all counts, Sangakkara passed with distinction.

Sunday’s World Twenty20 final presented him with another stage to display leadership qualities and carry team-mates. Summoned to the crease with Sri Lanka in freefall at 2 for 2 in the second over, Sangakkara was called upon to save the innings and bring smiles to a nation still recovering from the ravages of civil war. This was not so much pressure, as batting with the bends.

A difficult task proved even more so after Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene fell to Abdul Razzaq inside six overs, and the tournament’s best one-two punch, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, accounted for Chamara Silva and Isuru Udana with the Sri Lankan total at a modest 70. A dispiritingly one-sided contest loomed. Only inspired intervention would do.

Sangakkara has produced more dominant and aesthetically pleasing innings, but perhaps few so completely in-sync

© Getty Images

with the biorhythms of a match and the needs of a team. A pair of early boundaries off the excedingly impressive Mohammad Aamer served as a warning to Pakistan that he would not be dictated to, and his attritional attitude over the ensuing eight overs – scoring steadily, but without crossing the ropes – screamed defiance and obstinance.

The storm weathered, Sangakkara resumed his assault square of the wicket. His half-century was raised (from 44 deliveries) with a crisp clip passed the mid-wicket boundary and, fortified by the redoubtable presence of Angelo Mathews (35 not out from 24 balls) at the other end, Sangakkara accelerated through the death overs.

By the innings’ conclusion, Sangakkara stood unbeaten on 64 and satisfied in the knowledge he had steered his side from the potential ignominy of a double-digit total to a competitive 138. It was, given the capitulation of the top order, an innings destined to be more William Wallace than Alexander the Great, but one that spoke volumes for his powers of resolve and leadership.

“We tried our best with the total we had, but if you don’t get wickets in the first six overs it’s always an uphill task,” he said after the match. “We’ve had a great tournament. I’m very proud with the way the team has responded, the way they’ve played and the attitude they’ve shown. There are a lot of things to take from here but it’s heartbreaking when you lose a final.”

After the winning runs ricocheted off Afridi’s pads, Sangakkara summoned his players to the centre and embraced them all. Few outside the Sri Lankan dressing room can appreciate the emotion, resilience and spells of trepidation experienced by the team throughout this first international assignment post-Lahore, and Sangakkara’s paternal pride was evident for all to see.

Ever the patriot, Sangakkara swelled the chests of a war-weary nation when, as part of the internationally telecast presentation ceremony, he thanked the Sri Lankan people in a speech delivered in Sinhalese. To hundreds of millions around the world, the oration was indecipherable. To 20 million Sri Lankans, it was inspirational – a private message delivered on cricket’s grandest stage for their ears only.

And, so, Sangakkara – warrior, statesman – left the stage to be received by a galvanised team, an appreciative nation and a reverent cricketing world. Leaders might spend entire careers in pursuit of such universal appeal, and yet Sangakkara has managed it just three weeks as Sri Lankan captain. His team, one feels, are in good hands.

“I think we’ve done brilliantly,” Sangakkara said. “Even if Lahore had never happened I think this is a brilliant achievement. Lahore was the furthest thing from our mind coming here preparing for the game today and playing in the final. The team has done a really great job mentally getting over all of those things.

“I just wanted them to make sure they understood what a great effort they’d put in during this tournament, what a great achievement it is to get into a World Cup final and to learn from the disappointment that we’ve faced in 2007 and now, being bridesmaids twice. You’ve got to be proud, no matter how disappointed, but proud of what they achieved.

“We felt love as a touring side, and back home I know everyone was on edge once we got into the final. Sri Lankans love their cricket and they love the fact we’ve come so far. Thank you for your support and we hope we have made you proud.”

Courtesy: Cricinfo

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Dilshan- Player of the Series, as SL finishes as World Twenty20 Runners-Up

© Associated Press

After a good game of cricket, yesterday Sri Lanka finished as the Runners-up in the 2009 World Twenty20 tournament held in England. Incidentally, their rival was Pakistan, whom they played with last March, in Lahore, until a group of gunmen opened fire at the tour bus carrying the Sri Lankan team. Three months after that incident, both teams managed to put it behind to compete against each other in the final of a major cricket tournament. That alone was a remarkable achievement.

Placed in the Group-of-death alongside Australia and West Indies, Sri Lanka played at their best to reach the Semi Finals and thereby the Final round of the competition. In the final, the Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat first, hoping to put up a competitive total that their bowlers could defend. However, things did not go for Sri Lanka as planned. Their best batsman in the series, Tillekeratne Dilshan was caught off the bowling of Mohammed Aamer in the very first over, when he attempted his innovative ‘Dilscoop.’  Out-of-form Mubarak who was sent in next, followed suit. Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Chamara Silva all fell to the Pakistani bowlers who took their team to a commanding position. Captain Kumar Sangakkara stood strong on one side, as wickets continued to tumble at the other end. He played a captains innings of 64, ably assisted by an emerging all-rounder Angelo Mathews (35) to guide Sri Lanka to some decency  with a score of 138. Chasing 139, Pakistan openers gave them a solid start and when Kamran Akmal was stumped off Jayasuriya’s bowling, Shahid Afridi came to the crease. He played a cool but intelligent innings to take Pakistan towards an eight wicket victory.

As a Sri Lankan fan, obviously it was a huge disappointment for me. Even though, SL scored a par-below 138, I am certain that almost all SL fans were not only confident but also sincerely hoped that our bowling firepower could defend that total, as we had done throughout the tournament. Even when Afridi was taking the 1s, and 2s so well, we hoped that the SL team could keep it tight and may be emerge as victors in the final over, until the crucial 17th over bowled by the inexperienced youngster, Isuru Udana. In the first four balls of that over, he gave away 7 and in the next a monstrous six and the to-be final ball of the over, a four + a no-ball. As much as that over was costly for SL, it took Pakistan very near towards victory. At the end of that over, the equation was much simpler than it had been in the previous one =>Pakistan was in need of 7 from 12 balls. It was crystal clear by then, that Sri Lanka  (c)would not win the game, and thereby the World Twenty20. Well played Pakistan, our South Asian neighbour! I know you need it more than we do!

Although, our team was defeated yesterday, it was heartening to watch the way the team played in the entire tournament. As much as Dilshan was prolific with the bat, Malinga, Murali and Mendis as well as the newbies Mathews and Udana were fantastic with the ball at different points of the series. Senior pros Jayasuriya, Sangakkara and Mahela made significant contributions in Sri Lanka’s unbeaten run throughout the series. The only dark spots for SL were Chamara Silva and Jehan Mubarak who continously failed, but was still relented with by the team management.

Just three months after a horrific incident that could have cost their lives, they were back on the field, energetic and enthusiastic than ever, representing their country in the global stage. The  courage and determination shown by the players was just wonderful. Given that, this was the first international assignment as captain and the first international match post-Lahore, the leadership shown by Sanga was exemplary. There is no doubt that, in the months and years to come, he would mold the team in to a winning unit. And, finally, when Sanga spoke in his mother tongue to thank all the fans of the Sri Lankan team both in the country as well as abroad for their continuing support, it made me double proud of both, being a Sri Lankan as well as a Sri Lankan cricket fan…

SL and Pakistan will meet again next month, for a 3-test, 5-ODI and 1 T20 series to be played in Sri Lanka.

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