SL cricket Chat

Cricket's GREATEST FIGHT- RARE FULL FOOTAGE- Javed Miandad vs Dennis Lillee

2012-06-07T10:31:00.002-07:00

No clear favourites in Sri Lanka-Pakistan series: Hafeez

2012-05-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Newly appointed Pakistan T20 and ODI captain Mohammed Hafeez feels that the series against Sri Lanka will be a close contest.

Speaking at the launch of the two-match T20, five-match ODI and three-match Test series, Hafeez said Sri Lanka would be a formidable side at home.

"No one can really predict the outcome. It will be a good tough series," Hafeez said.

"We have had success against them in the recent times but it will be really tough competition third time."

In the last series played in UAE, Pakistan won the Test series 1-O while the ODI series was won by them with a 4-1 margin. Pakistan won the sole T20 international too.

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore who was twice Lanka's coach including when Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996 said his task would be to win the series and nothing less.

"My goal is to take Pakistan as high as possible in the rankings in all three forms of the game."

Mahela Jayawardene the home captain said he would focus in trying out new combination of players with the T20 World Cup coming up in Sri Lanka mid September in mind.

"We have only four T20 games, 2 against Pakistan and 2 against India before the world cup. So we need to try different combinations."

The Sri Lanka-Pakistan series gets underway at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in the southern port district of Hambantota on June 1.

Is IPL a 'crony league'?

2012-05-29T19:56:00.002-07:00

The Indian Premier League's (IPL) ongoing fifth season has turned out to be the most closely fought one so far. But, off the field, it has also been the most controversial.A bunch of young IPL cricketers were suspended after they were stung by a news channel talking about alleged under-the-table transactions and spot fixing taking place in the league.An allegedly inebriated Bollywood superstar, who owns a league team had a dust-up with security officials at a Mumbai stadium when they stopped him from marching into the field with a group of children after his team won a match.Two cricketers were detained at a rave party in Mumbai, where many were suspected to be taking drugs. As if this was not enough, an Australian cricketer playing in the league was accused of molesting a woman and assaulting her male companion, prompting some uncharitable tweeting by the son of the owner of the team to which the cricketer belongs. (The woman has since withdrawn the complaint.)Has all this prompted historian Ramachandra Guha to launch a scathing critique of the league, one of the most thriving sporting events in the world today?Author of a magisterial book on the history of Indian cricket, Mr Guha is a devout follower of the great game. But in a piece in Friday's The Hindu newspaper, he skewers the league, saying it is bad for capitalism, democracy and cricket, in no particular order.Supporters of the league - and they, I suspect, are the majority - argue that how players conduct themselves off the field has little to do with the league.So what is wrong with the IPL, according to Mr Guha?Many things, clearly. Mr Guha has never been a fan of the Twenty20 format of the game and its crude aesthetic, and has written about it in the past. This time he goes beyond the format and "boorish celebrities", arguing why the league is bad news for India.'Bad name'He writes that player prices don't reflect their worth accurately, foreign players are paid a fraction of their Indian counterparts of comparable quality.He talks about the brazen cronyism: the chief of India's powerful and rich cricket board is the owner of a league team - imagine Alex Ferguson was the manager of Manchester United and the chief of the English Football Association - and the league commissioner is seen openly hobnobbing with some team owners.Many of India's top former cricketers have been hired on as consultants and commentators, who have nothing critical to say or offer any suggestions to make the league more transparent. Mr Guha believes IPL has actually given "capitalism and entrepreneurship a bad name".A lot of cricket lovers would agree with Mr Guha. IPL, they believe, is Indian cronyism at its shining and vulgar best, where cricket and Bollywood combine in a heady and, as many say, a toxic cocktail.
More interestingly, Mr Guha makes the case that the IPL is bad for Indian democracy as well. He says it underlines the divide between rich and poor India. The names of the teams - "kings, royals, knights" - reveal a lack of imagination and a sloven admiration for colonial and aristocratic titles.He says the country's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, also a nursery of Indian cricket, has not even been awarded a franchise. Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, which are among India's largest states, have also been left out. To call such an exclusionary league Indian is a folly, he suggests.Mr Guha is not the only cricket fan who appears to be fed up with the excesses and opacity of the league. Mukul Kesavan, historian and writer of a fine book on cricket, says IPL is "republican India's first public celebration of decadence".Argues Mr Kesavan sharply: "One characteristic feature of decadence is a contempt for convention and procedural scruple. Indians are familiar with this in everyday life, but the IPL is a departure in that the people involved with it legitimise and defend conflicts of interest explicitly and in full public view."It is difficult to disagree. Some of India's finest commentators are attached to the IPL, and no one says a thing about the conflict of interests, the open involvement of cricket board officials with the franchises and the complete lack of transparency.As long as the tamasha (spectacle in Hindi) of cricket as entertainment is pulling in the crowds, everything else is forgotten? Does it mean that an expensively-mounted cricket spectacle makes Indians forget all that is wrong with their country?http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18202261

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Hafeez ready for tough series

2012-05-29T10:36:00.002-07:00

Pakistan's new Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeezhas said he expects a tough contest in all three formats against Sri Lanka.

"We all know that Sri Lanka is always good on their own soil and we are looking forward to a very tough series," Hafeez said at a media conference held a few hours after the team's arrival on Monday for a seven-week tour.

"We have experience playing them in the recent past and had good success against them," he said, referring to the Test and ODI series victories when the sides met in the UAE late last year. "I personally feel the boys have worked really hard in the last one and a half months. Although we were not playing any international cricket (recently) some of the guys were doing their own training and the PCB arranged some matches for us to get match practice."

The Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore was happy with the team's preparation for the series. "Although Pakistan is unable to play any international matches at home due to the security concerns in their country, they managed to practice together before coming to Sri Lanka," he said. "We had a pretty decent two weeks camp before we came here finishing up with some practices that were attended by conservatively 15,000 people who were starved of cricket and they just loved them.

"The advantage a country like Sri Lanka has, apart from IPL of course, is they are all centralised in one spot. In our case a lot of the boys are spread out. There are a lot of weeks of build-up before we come together for a camp. From that point of view you can't be in all the places at once taken in good faith that they are working and the boys have. But the two weeks was very good at the other end."

Whatmore served as head coach of the Sri Lanka team on two occasions and is best remembered for guiding them to win the World Cup in 1996 in his first attempt. "That was a long time ago when I finished with Sri Lanka and a lot of water has passed under the bridge. I maintain some friendships which are always good but the task here is to win. It will be nothing less than working 100% to achieve that. The longer goal is to take Pakistan high up in the rankings in all three formats. It's a simple statement but it requires a lot of work."

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said that it was a good challenge for his team to play Pakistan at home. "If you take their performances in the last six months they have performed well in all three formats. To play them in our conditions is a good challenge," Jayawardene said. "We must move forward from the series against England. One-day cricket is important to us and also the T20 because in another 3-4 months we have the World T20 so the T20 matches against Pakistan and the two we will play against India in July are extremely important to us."

Pakistan being their tour of Sri Lanka with two T20 Internationals at Hambantota on June 1 and 3 before moving into the five-match ODI series and the Tests.

IS THIS END OF SL CRICKET DUE TO SPOT FIXING BY SL ALLROUNDER?

2012-05-28T09:51:00.003-07:00

According to an online website Lankaleaks.com, the SL player involved is an allrounder playing in IPL and his name has been notified to SLC by India but SLC is trying to hide the name of the supposed culprit.
Cat is out of the bag. Come on SLC which is controlled by Nishantha (with all his corruption in previous committe )and Upali and Mahindanada - 3 nincompoops with no cricketing knowledge. Either 3 of you resign or DIVULGE to the public the name of SL player (an allrounder who puts the sign of the cross when bowling)involved in spot fixing at IPL.India has informed the SLC and it is being hidden due to influence of the Church to which this culprit belongs and a powerful lady who attends this church ..And if there is match or spot fixing only fools will watch SL cricket in future.

I had predicted slow death of our cricket due to political interference . When the Hambantota stadium was being built i spotlighted online from far away Austarlia that this will be a white elephant as no one will travel that far to watch cricket. Nishantha made 35 overseas trips last time and all that is ignored. D S de Silva exchairman,knew sweet bugerral of administration and he appointed his clueless nephews to the all important WC committee and swindled with rampage and COPE has made observations. Now Marsh has filed a case for wrongful dismissal and this is known the world over. Like Australia, why doesnt SL appoint an independent committee to recommend transparency and widen the control of the game aas it is now run by this triumvirate.

What colossal waste of funds which could have been of benefit to the poor upcoming talented cricketers .

It is high time, the present senior cricketers highlight the injustices occurring in SLC unless they have skeletons in their cupboad. Also why have P unchihewa, Tissera and WEtimuny dissociated from
SLC. Finally the AGM was an election only by name.

Ranjan Rodrigo Sydney

ලසිත් මාලිංග අවසන් තීරණය ගනියි - ක්‍රිකට් කොන්ත්‍රාත්තුව ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරයි

2012-05-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායමේ සුපිරි වේග පන්දු යවන්නා වන ලසිත් මාලිංග ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනයත් සමග වාර්ෂිකව අත්සන් කරනු ලබන ප්‍රධාන ක්‍රිකට් කොන්ත්‍රාත්තුව අත්සන් කිරීම ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කර ඇති බව අප මෙයට පෙරහෙළි කළා.

පසුව මේ පිළිබඳව මාධ්‍යයට අදහස් දැක්වූ ලසිත් මාලිංග කියා තිබුනේ තමා තමාව ඒ පිළිබඳව තීරණයක් ගෙන නොමැති බවත් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනයත් සමග ඒ පිලිබඳ සාකච්ජා කරන බවත්ය.

මේවනවිට ගොසිප්9 වෙත වාර්තා වනුයේ ලසිත් මාලිංග සිය අවසාන තීරණය ගෙන ඇති බවය.
ඒ අනුව ඉදිරි වර්ෂය සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනයේ කොන්ත්‍රාත්තුව අත්සන් කිරීම ලසිත් මාලිංග ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කොට ඇත.

SLC aiming at another huge spending spree

2012-05-28T03:56:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka Cricket, which is reportedly still over US$ 70 million (Rs.9.1 billion) in debt, is about to venture into another Rs. 76 million expenditure on infrastructure development for the R. Premadasa Stadium, the Pallekele Stadium and the Hambantota Stadium.

The Pallekele Stadium is billed for two new player dressing rooms with proper access to these dressing rooms.

After ICC officials had made inspections of the three facilities from 1st to 5th November 2011, they had pointed out some requirements to the SLC and now they are in the process of calling tenders for the revamp.

However what some insiders say is that it was only a year ago that the ICC Cricket World Cup – a bigger event than the T-20 World Championship- was held at these venues and only a very few matches have been played since.

The Pallekele Stadium is billed for two new player dressing rooms with proper access to these dressing rooms, ICC stores facilities and a host of other repairs costing Rs.12,718,315.00. At the Hambantota Stadium, a sum of Rs. 2,178,000.00 will be spent on a PVC coated mesh around the stadium, while a guard room at the VIP entrance will cost Rs. 1,100,000. The total cost of work there will come to Rs. 6,361,300.00.

The improvements to the R. Premadasa Stadium will include the installation of elevators to Block ‘A’ and ‘B’, costing Rs. 11 million rupees, and Rs. 10,340,000 on ground improvement. The total expenditure for the Premadasa Stadium will be Rs. 56,997,343.39.

The ICC-stipulated upgrading will cost the rupee hungry cricket board a total sum of Rs. 76,076,958.39.The once cash-rich cricket organisation hit rock bottom in the aftermath of the 2011 Cricket World Cup and at one stage could not even honour the contract agreements of its national cricketers. The ICC intervened and paid a portion of the players’ payments while the SLC completed its obligations only a few weeks ago.

Initially the three stadiums overshot their projected budget of Rs. 3.3 billion and ended up at the huge figure of Rs. 7.18 billion where the major contractor was the Ports Authority. Thereafter even to complete the players’ payments SLC obtained loans from local banks.

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) was very critical on the construction affairs of the three stadiums and directed the officials of the SLC to submit a detailed report on the price escalation and all other relevant information concerning these three venues.

Pakistan's spinners pose threat - De Mel

2012-05-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors Ashantha de Melhas said the Sri Lanka batsmen should to be wary of the two Pakistan spinners, Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, during the upcoming Twenty20, ODI and Test series.

"It is the Pakistani spinners we need to be careful of. Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman are of a different class compared to our spinners. Only Rangana Herath comes anywhere close to them," De Mel said.

Offspinner Ajmal and left-arm spinner Rehman have been at the forefront of Pakistan's recent successes. The pair took 43 wickets in Pakistan's 3-0 win over No. 1 ranked England in their last Test series played in the UAE early this year. Ajmal was also the leading wicket-taker with 18 wickets during Sri Lanka's three-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE last year.

"The advantage the Pakistan team has is that it also has batsmen who can be useful bowlers, for instance opener Mohammad Hafeez, who can bowl offbreaks," he said. "This adds a lot of variety to their attack and balances their team nicely.

"Their fast bowlers are quite effective with the reverse swing. That's another area our batsmen have got to be wary of. Pakistan have mastered the art of reverse swing from the era of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Umar Gul and left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan are very good at using the old ball."

A former fast bowler himself, De Mel said Sri Lanka's fast bowlers need to develop their skills to master reverse swing, an art that needs a lot of practice to be perfected.

Recollecting Sri Lanka's last Test series against England at home which ended in a 1-1 draw, De Mel said the batsmen needed to put up 400-plus totals in the first innings if Sri Lanka are to have any chance of winning. Sri Lanka's highest total in that series was 318 in the Galle Test and they failed to go past the 300-run mark in the Colombo Test.

Sri Lanka-Pakistan meet in Hambantota

2012-05-28T01:44:00.002-07:00

Sri Lanka’s two-match Twenty20 series against the visiting Pakistan side will get underway under lights at Hambantota on Friday.
Last week Sri Lanka recalled left-arm seamer Isuru Udana who bowls a clever mixture of cutters that ideally suit the shortest version of the game. Udana last played for the national team in the 2009 World Twenty20. Also included in the squad is legspin-bowling hard-hitting batsman Kaushal Lokuarachchi, who has not played for the national team since 2007.
For the five-match ODI series pacemen Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Pradeep have been included along with allrounder Jeevan Mendis.
ODI squad
Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Upul Tharanga, Nuwan Pradeep, Dilhara Fernando
T20 squad
Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushalya Lokuarachchi, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Chamara Kapugedera, Upul Tharanga, Isuru Udana
Schedule:
1st T20 - Jun 1 Fri @ Hambantota - 7pm
2nd T20 - Jun 3 Sun @ Hambantota - 7pm
1st ODI - Jun 7 Thu @ Pallekele - 2:30pm
2nd ODI - Jun 9 Sat @ Pallekele - 2:30pm
3rd ODI - Jun 13 Wed @ R Premadasa - 2:30pm
4th ODI - Jun 16 Sat @ R Premadasa - 2:30pm
5th ODI - Jun 18 Mon @ R Premadasa - 2:30pm

slinga malinga

2012-05-28T00:43:00.003-07:00

worlds best bowler slinga malinga

ICC World Twenty20 2012

2012-05-28T00:16:00.001-07:00

ICC World Twenty20 2012

18 September – 7 October 2012

The ICC World Twenty20 2012 will be the fourth edition of the international cricket tournament, with Sri Lanka playing host to the 12 men’s teams made up of the 10 Test nations and two additional qualifiers.

England are the defending champions in the men’s event whilst the women’s competition, introduced in 2009, will see eight teams including 2010 winners Australia and runners-up New Zealand contest the overall title.

MAIN EVENT FIXTURES

ICC World Twenty20 2012 Groups

GROUP A	GROUP B	GROUP C	GROUP D
England (A1)	Australia (B1)	Sri Lanka (C1)	Pakistan (D1)
India (A2)	West Indies (B2)	South Africa (C2)	New Zealand (D2)
Afghanistan	Ireland	Zimbabwe	Bangladesh

*If a team ranked third in the starting groups qualifies for the Super Eight, it will adopt the seeding code of the team they have replaced, e.g. if Q2 qualify at England?s expense in second place after the group stage, they would be A1 and India still A2.

Super Eight (S8) Groups

Group 1 - A1, B2, C1, D2
Group 2 - A2, B1, C2, D1

ICC World Twenty20 2012 Groups - Women's

GROUP A	GROUP B
Australia	New Zealand
India	West Indies
England	Sri Lanka
Pakistan	South Africa

ICC World Twenty20 2012

DATE & TIME (GMT)	FIXTURE
Tue, Sep 18, 2012 2:00 PM		Sri Lanka	vs	Zimbabwe
	Venue: Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota
Wed, Sep 19, 2012 10:00 AM		Australia	vs	Ireland
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Wed, Sep 19, 2012 2:00 PM		India	vs	Afghanistan
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 2:00 PM		South Africa	vs	Zimbabwe
	Venue: Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 10:00 AM		New Zealand	vs	Bangladesh
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 2:00 PM		England	vs	Afghanistan
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Sat, Sep 22, 2012 10:00 AM		Sri Lanka	vs	South Africa
	Venue: Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota
Sat, Sep 22, 2012 2:00 PM		Australia	vs	West Indies
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 10:00 AM		Pakistan	vs	New Zealand
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 2:00 PM		England	vs	India
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Mon, Sep 24, 2012 2:00 PM		West Indies	vs	Ireland
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Tue, Sep 25, 2012 2:00 PM		Pakistan	vs	Bangladesh
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Thu, Sep 27, 2012 10:00 AM		C1	vs	D2
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Thu, Sep 27, 2012 2:00 PM		A1	vs	B2
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Fri, Sep 28, 2012 10:00 AM		D1	vs	C2
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Fri, Sep 28, 2012 2:00 PM		B1	vs	A2
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Sat, Sep 29, 2012 10:00 AM		A1	vs	D2
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Sat, Sep 29, 2012 2:00 PM		C1	vs	B2
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Sun, Sep 30, 2012 10:00 AM		B1	vs	C2
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Sun, Sep 30, 2012 2:00 PM		D1	vs	A2
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Mon, Oct 1, 2012 10:00 AM		B2	vs	D2
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Mon, Oct 1, 2012 2:00 PM		A1	vs	C1
	Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Tue, Oct 2, 2012 10:00 AM		B1	vs	D1
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Tue, Oct 2, 2012 2:00 PM		A2	vs	C2
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Thu, Oct 4, 2012 1:30 PM		Super 8 Group-1 1	vs	Super 8 Group-2 2
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Fri, Oct 5, 2012 1:30 PM		Super 8 Group-2 1	vs	Super 8 Group-1 2
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Sun, Oct 7, 2012 1:30 PM		FINAL : - SF 1 Winner	vs	SF 2 Winner
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium

ICC World Twenty20 Women's 2012

DATE & TIME (GMT)	FIXTURE
Wed, Sep 26, 2012 4:00 AM		Sri Lanka	vs	South Africa
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Wed, Sep 26, 2012 8:00 AM		New Zealand	vs	West Indies
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Thu, Sep 27, 2012 4:00 AM		England	vs	Pakistan
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Thu, Sep 27, 2012 8:00 AM		Australia	vs	India
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Fri, Sep 28, 2012 4:00 AM		New Zealand	vs	South Africa
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Fri, Sep 28, 2012 8:00 AM		Sri Lanka	vs	West Indies
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Sat, Sep 29, 2012 4:00 AM		Australia	vs	Pakistan
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Sat, Sep 29, 2012 8:00 AM		India	vs	England
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Sun, Sep 30, 2012 4:00 AM		West Indies	vs	South Africa
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Sun, Sep 30, 2012 8:00 AM		Sri Lanka	vs	New Zealand
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Mon, Oct 1, 2012 4:00 AM		India	vs	Pakistan
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Mon, Oct 1, 2012 8:00 AM		Australia	vs	England
	Venue: Galle International Stadium
Thu, Oct 4, 2012 9:00 AM		A1	vs	B2
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Fri, Oct 5, 2012 9:00 AM		A2	vs	B1
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium
Sun, Oct 7, 2012 9:00 AM		FINAL : - SF 1 Winner	vs	SF 2 Winner
	Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium

RARE BRETT LEE DESTROYS INDIA - 1999 TOUR MATCH. Champion fast bowling.

2012-05-27T23:06:00.001-07:00

Well a young Brett Lee rocks up for this match having not yet played international cricket, and proceeds to obliterate the mighty Indian lineup mercilessly, including Laxman and Tendulkar who are both utterly clueless against him. ENJOY THE CARNAGE!!!!!!

ECB wants DRS in India series

2012-05-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

ECB wants DRS in India series

London, Wed, May 23 2012

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ECB wants DRS in the India-England 4 Test series beginning in November, but is not very optimistic a

England and Wales Cricket Board has written to the BCCI, asking for the implementation of Decision Review System (DRS) during England's four-match Test series later this year, though it was not optimistic of the Indian Board agreeing to it, a media report said on Wednesday.

India have strongly resisted the use of the DRS because of their senior players' doubts over its accuracy and it was not used when the two teams met in England last summer.

Umpire Daryll Harper, who called for a DRS referral report in the Daily Telegraph, said that "The ECB has written to the Indian Board, asking for the implementation of the DRS during the Test series (beginning November 15)."

"But insiders at the ECB privately concede that attempts to persuade their Indian counterparts to employ it will be futile ahead of the Test series, which starts in Ahmedabad on November 15," the report said.

"England believe the Decision Review System benefits their attack, particularly Graeme Swann," it said.

According to the report, England regard the tour of India as important as an Ashes series, a view underlined with the inclusion of three warm-up matches in the itinerary mirroring their last trip to Australia.

"(Coach) Andy Flower acknowledged his team's long break after the English summer last year could have contributed to their poor performances in the Emirates (against Pakistan). The itinerary for the India trip shows he is attempting to avoid a repeat of that mistake," the report said.

England will spend three days at a training camp at the ICC's Global Cricket Academy in Dubai before flying to India for their first warm-up match in Mumbai on October 30.

Controversy over cricket contracts

2012-05-27T22:53:00.002-07:00

Financially ailing Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is facing a race against the clock to sign the new contracts with players before the Pakistan tour begins in a few days time as they haven’t been able to complete the payments of players for the previous year’s contract.

Ken de Alwis, representative from the Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association which is negotiating the contracts with SLC said yesterday that players can refuse to sign the new contract if the SLC fails to honour the due payments.

“We have informed the board (SLC) that there is no point signing new contracts if the previous contracts have not been sorted out” said de Alwis but added that SLC has promised to settle the outstanding amounts shortly. “They have promised to sort everything out by end of May. That’s in a few days time because they are expecting money from the ACC for the Asia Cup matches. Those funds haven’t come in as yet. Once they come, they are going to settle the boys. This is the reason why they wanted to wait till the end of the month to sign the contract if at all” said de Alwis.

The previous player contract ended on February 28 this year but SLC has only paid the players up to January 31 leaving a month’s payment outstanding, according to de Alwis who reiterated that no contracts will be signed till the salaries are settled.

“We have told them clearly that the previous year’s contracts have to be honoured before signing a new contract” he said. “I am not too sure on the total outstanding figure. But they have to pay for February, for the Asia Cup and for England’s tour of Sri Lanka” he explained. De Alwis said that the contracts are being processed rapidly at the moment in order to facilitate the signing before the Pakistan tour which begins on June 1. He said the Association will have a final discussion with Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene today morning before he attends the Pakistan tour inaugural press conference. “We are looking at the contracts at the moment. The lawyers are discussing it. We are going to meet Mahela tomorrow morning and discuss what he wants and he doesn’t. After that meeting we will have something positive” said de Alwis.

De Alwis also revealed that there is no clause in the contract which prevents the players from exercising their democratic freedom to talk to the media. “There is no such clause in the contract at the moment to say that the players have to seek SLC permission for a media interview. But they always had the clause to say that when they talk to the press they cannot be critical of the employer. That has been there all the time. There is nothing new” he said.

“We have gone through the contracts and the clauses regarding players talking to the media have not changed this year” he said. “But there are two changes to some other clauses in the contracts. We’ll sort it out. Apart from that, there are no additional clauses. No new things have been added on as at now” he said.

“I don’t think cricket board is going to block media from talking to the players. What they say is you can have interviews, but it is not correct for the players to talk against the employer – against the cricket board”.

De Alwis felt that the players cannot tell media even if they feel there are frauds taking place at SLC.

“In my opinion they should have the freedom to talk to the press. But you can’t let an employee of a company to accuse the company. Even if there are fraudulent things taking place and whether they are good or bad” felt de Alwis.

He felt that it is the responsibility of the player to decide what he speaks to media and said that placing a blanket ban blocking players from media is not the ideal situation. “It is up to the player to see whether he can comment or not. When you look at the contract there is no clause like that (banning players speaking to media)” explained de Alwis.

“This is only the draft that we have seen. Subsequently, we have to go and talk to them and get certain things ironed out. I am not too sure whether they are going to insert certain other things in between. A lot of things can happen from the cup to the lip” said de Alwis.

Players will be additionally paid US $ 5000 per test match, US $ 3500 per ODI and US $ 3000 per T20. 1. National players will be paid 50 percent of the match fee for local tournaments. 2. Provision for fifteen additional contracts will be kept vacant, in case any deserving player emerges. 3. If a player is selected for a national tour while playing professionally overseas, he will have to return for training 14 days before tour starts. 4. If a players refuses an offered contract he will not be permitted to use SLC facilities or given medical facilities by SLC.

නිශාන්ත රණතුංග - කි‍්‍රකට් කී‍්‍රඩකයන් ගිවිසුම් ගත කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන්

2012-05-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

''දේශීය කි‍්‍රකට් කී‍්‍රඩකයන් වෙනුවෙන් අප දස්කම් පදනම් කරගත් කොන්ත‍්‍රාත් ක‍්‍රමයක් හඳුන්වා දෙනවා. ඒ විතරක් නොවෙයි අප ගිවිසුම් ප‍්‍රමාණය අඩු කරන්නත් බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා. කි‍්‍රකට් ආයතනය සමග ගිවිසුමක් දිනාගන්න නම් වඩාත් හොඳ දස්කම් දක්වන්න කී‍්‍රඩකයන් දිරිගන්වන්නයි අප බලාපොරොත්තු වන්නේ”

නිශාන්ත රණතුංග - කි‍්‍රකට් කී‍්‍රඩකයන් ගිවිසුම් ගත කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන්

ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනයේ තහංචි ගැන ක්‍රීඩකයන්ගේ බලවත් අප්‍රසාදය

2012-05-27T21:42:00.003-07:00

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනය සමග කොන්ත්‍රාත්ගතව සිටින ජාතික තලයේ ක්‍රීඩකයන්ට දිගින් දිගටම නීති පැනවීමට ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනය කටයුතු කිරීම සම්බන්ධව එම ක්‍රීඩකයෝ දැඩි අප්‍රසාදය පළ කර සිටිති.

වාර්ෂිකව අත්සන් තැබෙන ක්‍රීඩක කොන්ත්‍රාත්තුවේදී ක්‍රමානුකූලව වැඩි විය යුතු සියයට 10 ක කොන්ත්‍රාත් මුදල මෙන්ම ක්‍රීඩකයන්ට ලැබිය යුතු මුදල් නිසි ලෙස ලබා නොදීත් මෙආකාරයෙන් කටයුතු කිරීම දැඩි අසාධාරණ ක්‍රියාවක්‌ බවද ඔවුහු "දිවයින" හමුවේ අදහස්‌ දක්‌වා සිටියහ.

එමෙන්ම ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනය සමග කොන්ත්‍රාත්ගතව සිටින ක්‍රිඩකයන් හට අවසරයිකින් තොරව මාධ්‍ය හමුවේ අදහස්‌ ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමේ අයිතියටද මුඛවාඩම් දැමීමටද එම බලධාරීන් කටයුතු කර තිබීම ඒ අතර සුවිශේෂී වේ.

ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනය ප්‍රකාශ කරන ආකාරයට මින් ඉදිරියට කණ්‌ඩායම් නාකයා, පුහුණුකරුවා හෝ ක්‍රීඩකයකු මාධ්‍ය හමුවේ පෙනී සිටින්නේ නම් ඒ සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනයේ අතිරේක ප්‍රධාන විධායක නිලධාරියා වන අජිත් ජයසේකරගෙන් අවසර ලබාගත යුතු තත්ත්වයක්‌ මේ වන විට පවතින බව වාර්තා වේ.

මෙවැනි තහංචි දැමීමක්‌ ඉකුත් කාලයේ නොතිබූ අතර එයද අසාධාරණ මෙන්ම අනවශ්‍ය මුඛ වාඩම් දැමීමක්‌ බව එම ක්‍රීඩකයෝ සඳහන් කර සිටියහ.

2011 වසරේ විස්‌ඩන් ක්‍රීඩකයා ලෙස කුමාර් සංගක්‌කාර නම් කළද ඔහු සමගින් සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡාවක්‌ ලබා ගැනීම සඳහා අවසර ලබා නොදීමට ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනය මීට පෙර පියවර ගත්තේය.

ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනය සහ ක්‍රීඩකයන් අතර අත්සන් තැබීමට නියමිත කොන්ත්‍රාත්තුවෙහි විනිවිදභාවය සම්බන්ධ ගැටලූ පැන නැගීම මත එය අත්සන් කිරීමද මේ දක්‌වා ප්‍රමාද වී තිබේ. ඒ සම්බන්ධව ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට්‌ ක්‍රීඩකයන්ගේ සංගමය ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනයෙන් මේ වන විටත් ප්‍රශ්න කර තිබෙන බව දැන ගන්නට ලැබී තිබේ.

මෙම කොන්ත්‍රාත්තුව සම්බන්ධව තම අප්‍රසාදය පළ කළ වේග පන්දු යවන ලසිත් මාලිංග කොන්ත්‍රාත්තුවට අත්සන් තැබීම ඉකුත්දා ප්‍රතික්‍ෂේප කළේය. මාලිංග සමග අනුගතව යමින් තවත් ක්‍රීඩකයන් කිහිප දෙනෙකුද එය ප්‍රතික්‍ෂ්ප කිරීමේ සූදානමක සිටින බවද වාර්තා වේ.

එසේ ප්‍රතික්‍ෂේප කරන ලබන ක්‍රීඩකයන් වෙතොත් ඔවුන්ට ව්‍යායාම් කිරීම වෙනුවෙන් පාලක මණ්‌ඩලය සතු කායවර්ධනාගාරය, රක්‍ෂණාවරණය මෙන්ම භෞත චිකිත්සකවරයාගෙන් ප්‍රතිකාර ගැනීමද තහනම් කිරීමට ක්‍රිකට්‌ ආයතනය බලාපොරොත්තුවෙන් පසුවන බව වාර්තා වේ. මෙය පිටුපස ක්‍රීඩා ක්‍ෂේත්‍රයේ ඉහළම බලධාරියාත් සිටින බව සඳහන්ය.

මේ සම්බන්ධව අදහස්‌ දක්‌වා සිටි එම ක්‍රීඩකයන් පිරිස, "අපි සල්ලිවලට පෙරේතයි කියලා ගොඩක්‌ අය අපිට චෝදනා කරනවා. එහෙම නම් අපි අවුරුද්දකට වඩා වැඩි කාලයක්‌ සල්ලි නැතුව ක්‍රීඩා කළා. අපි ඒ සම්බන්ධව කිසිවක්‌ කතා කළේ නැහැ. ඒවා ගැන අපි ලෝකයාට කියන්න ගියෙත් නැහැ. එහෙම කරලත් අපිට විරුද්ධව මේ වගේ දේවල් කිරීම කිසි විටෙකින්වත් අනුමත කරන්න බැහැ" යනුවෙන් සඳහන් කර සිටියේය.

News Source: http://www.divaina.com/2012/05/28/sports01.html

Matthews inspires Lanka's 139-run win over India

2009-09-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

India's status as the number one one-day team proved shortlived after the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side slumped to a 139-run defeat against Sri Lanka in an inconsequential match of Compaq Cup tri-nation cricket series here on Saturday.

Although India were already assured of a place in Monday's final of the tri-nation series after their big win over New Zealand on Friday, Dhoni and his men needed an unbeaten run in the tournament to maintain their number one ODI team status.

However, Sanath Jayasuriya and Thilina Kandambi combined with the bat and then Angelo Mathews ignited fire with the ball to take the hosts to the convincing victory. Chasing a formidable 308 for victory India were bowled out for a paltry 168 in 37.2 overs as only six batsmen could manage to reach double figures.

Earlier, opting to bat Sri Lanka rode on Jayasuriya's blistering 98 off 79 balls and Kandambi's unbeaten 91 down the order to score 307 for six in their alloted 50 overs.

Needing 308 for win, India's makeshift opening duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik (16 off 23) started the innings on a positive note adding 32 runs in the first six overs before Sri Lanka pulled back with the wicket of Karthik.

Trying to glide a leg side delivery to the fine-leg boundary, the Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper gloved a simple catch to Kumar Sangakkara off left-arm seamer Thilan Thushara's bowling in the sixth over.

From there on both Tendulkar and new man in Rahul Dravid found going tough although the the master blaster managed to find the fence in between.

Tendulkar hit some elegant flicks and glances to score his boundaries before Nuwan Kulasekara got the vital wicket in the 14th over with India scoreboard reading 67. He struck five fours in his short but classy 33-ball 27-run innings.

Vice captain Yuvraj Singh made his arrival in style, clobbering Kulasekara for four over mid-on in the very second ball he faced but thereafter went to a shell as he played and missed Lasith Malinga on several occasions.

Boundaries were far and few as Dravid and Yuvraj kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos before the right-hander cut loose in the 19th over, hitting a four and a six of Dilshan's consecutive deliveries to pick 13 runs off the over. But Malinga broke the dangerously-looking 38-run fourth wicket stand as Yuvraj edged one to Sangakkara.

After that the famed Indian batting line up crumbled like a pack of card as they lost five wickets for mere 25 runs as Angelo Mathews wreaked havoc, picking three six wickets for mere 20 runs in his six overs.

Suresh Raina's misery with the bat continued as he made a duck. He gave a catching practice to Sangakkara in the very first ball he faced off Mathews.

Dravid was the next to follow, bowled by Mathews as the right-hander went for an extravagant drive.

In his next over and innings 28th, Mathews struck twice, first castling skipper Dhoni's stumps and then Yusuf Pathan handed a regulation catch to Sangakkara, thereby dashing India's hopes with the scoreboard reading 130 for seven. Mathews' rampage continued unabated as he disturbed both Harbhajan Singh and Asish Nehra's timbers.

The duo of RP Singh (19 not out)and Ishant Sharma (13) did make a last ditch effort to take India's score to some respectability by adding 29 runs before Ajantha Mendis wrapped up the proceedings.

Earlier, Jayasuriya returned to form with a blistering fashion. The 40-year-old left-hander, who had failed to score a half-century in his last eight previous outings, smashed 13 boundaries in his innings.

However, after the good start Sri Lanka were struggling at 176 for five at one stage but Kandambi and Chamara Kapugedara (36) rattled up 83 runs for the sixth wicket to pour water on India's hopes.

The duo batted sensibly dealing mostly on singles with occasional fours and saved their last for the final power-play.

A direct hit by RP Singh separated the pair at the fag end but Kandambi batted with vigour and punished all the Indian bowlers with utter disdain.

His 91 came off just 73 balls which included 11 shots to the fence as the last four overs yielded 46 runs. Sri Lanka got off to a flying start with Dilshan (23) and Jayasuriya relishing batting on a good track.

Dilshan hit a flashy square cut to fence off Nehra in the first ball of the match and then sent an exquisite straight drive to boundary ropes, to start the proceedings in a brilliant fashion.

With Both Nehra and RP Singh not making any impact, Dhoni brought gangling pacer Ishant into the attack as early as in the fifth over of the innings.

The lanky bowler soon produced result, dismissing Dilshan, who played a casual drive to give an easy catch to Dhoni behind the wicket.

Jayasuriya was unperturbed and severely punished RP Singh, fetching 15 runs from his over, en route to his half-century, which came off just 45 balls.

The hosts were cruising comfortably but some exceptional glove work by Dhoni resulted in the fall of Mahela Jayawardene (17) off Yousuf Pathan and then Harbhajan Singh trapped Kumar Sangakkara (5) to make it 102 for three.

Jayasuriya continued with his aggressive batting as he hit Yuvraj Singh for successive boundaries. He survived a run out chance and together with Angelo Mathews (19) put up 70 runs for the fourth wicket before his heartbreaking dismissal. Mathews too joined him soon when he gave charge to Raina, got foxed by the spin and Dhoni stumped him.

Nehra bowls India into Tri-series finals

2009-09-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

India left-armers Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh shared six wickets on Friday to take their team to a six wicket win over New Zealand and a place in the Tri-series final against hosts Sri Lanka.

After dismissing New Zealand for 155 from 46.3 overs, India reached their target in the 41st over.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (35 not out) and Suresh Raina (45 not out) shared an unbroken 72-run stand for the fifth wicket after they had lost their first four wickets for 84. Sachin Tendulkar contributed 46 off 55 balls.

New Zealand, who won the toss, failed to find any momentum.

Man-of-the-match Nehra trapped openers Jessie Ryder and Brendon McCullum lbw off successive overs with McCullum's dismissal giving him his 100th wicket in one-day internationals.

After the initial damage had been done by Nehra, the left-arm spin of Yuvraj crippled the New Zealand middle order. Yuvraj ended with figures of three for 31 and Nehra with three for 24.

India will play Sri Lanka in their second match on Saturday in what will be a dress rehearsal for Monday's final.

ICC announces schedule of warm-up matches ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy

2009-09-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

The ICC has announced the schedule of warm-up matches to be played in the lead-up to the ICC Champions Trophy to be staged at The Wanderers and Centurion from 22 September to 5 October.

The matches will be played on 18 and 20 September in Potchefstroom, Benoni and Pretoria. In line with previous ICC events none of these matches will carry official ODI status.

On 18 September, South Africa takes on the West Indies in Potchefstroom and Pakistan faces South Asian rival Sri Lanka at Willowmoore Park, Benoni. Both the matches will be day/night fixtures and will start at 1430 (SA time).

In the other match of the day, which will start at 0930 (SA time), New Zealand plays the Warriors (Eastern Cape franchise team of Cricket South Africa) at LC de Villiers Oval, University of Pretoria.

On 20 September, India plays New Zealand in Potchefstroom and Pakistan takes on the Warriors at Willowmoore Park in two day/night fixtures while Sri Lanka meets the West Indies in a day game at LC de Villiers Oval.

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2009-09-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

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2009-09-09T04:44:00.000-07:00

Sangakkara praises combined effort of teammates

2009-09-09T04:36:00.001-07:00

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara showered encomiums on his teammates after they scored a comprehensive 97-run win over New Zealand in the first ODI of the Compaq Cup tri-series here today.

Hosts Sri Lanka put up a brilliant all round show as they folded Kiwis innings for just 119 after putting up 216 on the board.

Thilan Samaraweera (104) and Anjello Mathews (51) starred with bat while Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara did well with the ball.

"When you lose three wickets in the first six seven overs it is always difficult but it was magnificent recovery specially by Samaraweera, who clawed his way back to the one-day side.

"It shows how good he is and what a solid batsman can do when chips are down," he said after the match.

"And Mathews along with Samaraweera showed a huge amount of character and then fast bowlers and spinners did everything right," he added.

Sangakkara also praised his pace trio.

"Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga have now taken over the responsibility of putting in match winning performances day in and day out.

New Zealand beaten fair and square by Sri Lanka

2009-09-08T18:59:00.001-07:00

When restricted to 216, it seemed a tight contest on the cards for Sri Lanka, but instead it proved too much for the Black Caps. New Zealand were all out for 119, thus by giving the home side a huge victory in the inaugural match of the Compaq Cup in the R Premadasa Stadium.

Thilan Samaraweera was the batting mainstay of the Sri Lankan innings, surpassing his highest ever score in ODIs, in the way posting his first ever hundred which enabled a big way in ensuring the victory of his country. Lasith Malinga later followed it up with a superlative bowling performance which saw 3 wickets fall in a single over that too of important batsmen.

In-form Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram then Nathan McCullum all fell in the 19th over bowled by the slinging action bowler and from there onwards, it was downhill for the visiting side.

Such was the magnitude of Sri Lanka's victory, that in a tri-series like this, they have incurred the all too important bonus point also. But the early stages of the match, did not give any indication of all the happenings in the evening.

When Sri Lanka were restricted to 216, it seemed a tight contest was on the cards, sending the smattering of spectators home early. Sri Lanka's innings had been resurrected from 69 for 5 by Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews, but New Zealand never recovered after Sri Lanka's fast bowlers sliced through the order.

Within 29 balls, Jesse Ryder (0), Martin Guptill (3) and Ross Taylor (2) were left brooding in the dressing room. New Zealand's shot at victory had been squashed and any self-belief that lingered after the Tests now vanished.

Malinga was a revelation with the ball when your top order has been blown away, and what followed was stunning. With his first three overs, comprising deliveries on all sorts of lengths, Malinga kept the batsmen tied down. The fourth was something out of a shooting gallery. Brendon McCullum had run the risk of being arrested for loitering as he squeezed 14 from 51 balls before Malinga rattled his stumps. Two deliveries later Malinga held back his length and drew an edge off Jacob Oram's bat to Kumar Sangakkara. With his next ball, Malinga hurled down a corker that went right through debutant Nathan McCullum.

At 41 for 6 in the 19th over, this game was as good as done. The only batsmen to cross 14 were Grant Elliott, with a brave 41, and Ian Butler, whose efforts lessened the margin of defeat. Completing the rout with another yorker was Malinga, whose aggressive bowling had undoubtedly been fuelled by Samaraweera's inspirational batting.

Samaraweera, whose highest ODI score coming into this match was 38 not out, teamed up with Mathews and averted a meek surrender with a 127-run association from 134 balls. The pair combined exceptional running between the wickets with some fireworks to help Sri Lanka reach a total that looked remote when they began.

Conventional wisdom and statistics at the Premadasa suggest strongly you bat first in day-night matches, and when Sangakkara won the toss it was greeted with loud cheers as the crowd anticipated a quick start. But this was an unusual two-paced track that didn't encourage for blazing shots and Sri Lanka slipped to 22 for 3.

There were only two boundaries by the half-way mark - both inside the first three overs - and a run rate of 2.72 indicated how much Sri Lanka had struggled. Almost immediately, Samaraweera and Mathews began to build some momentum, unfazed by the nature of the track and energetically hunting for scoring possibilities. A boundaryless streak, lasting 143 deliveries, was soon snapped.

Vettori has a tough match ahead of him against India, who are keen to wrist the No. 1 spot in One-Dayers. The only hope seems to be look forward to a new pitch.

Team India looks to break finals jinx in Lanka

2009-09-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

Having led India to many great victories since donning the captain's mantle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has another chance to ink his name in the record books when the team begins the new season with the tri-series in Sri Lanka.

India have the opportunity to clinch their first final in a multi-nation event in almost 11 years in the island nation when they take on the hosts and New Zealand in the ODI event at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo from September 9-14.

India had last won the final of a major one-day event on Lankan soil in 1998 and then shared the rain-marred ICC Champions Trophy with the hosts in 2002.

The team rode on twin centuries from openers Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, now retired, to defeat the home side, led by another ex-player Arjuna Ranatunga and clinch the Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy eleven years ago. Incidentally that tri-series also featured New Zealand.

Since then India have participated in five multi-national tournaments (excluding the abandoned Unitech Cup in 2006) but have failed to break the summit clash jinx.

They have finished on the losing side to the hosts on all other occassions.

Since winning the triangular event in 1998, India have taken part in 12 multinational ODI tournaments, barring the abandoned Unitech Cup in Sri Lanka in 2006, in the Indian sub-continent. But their record in these finals has hardly been impressive.

The team emerged joint winners in two tournaments -ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 and the 2003 TVS Cup in Bangladesh - by sharing the top prize with Lanka and South Africa respectively.

On seven occasions, India have finished second-best, while crashing out of the tournament thrice in the league stage itself.

However, Dhoni's team has gradually gained a reputation of not being bogged down by history and past baggage, as is expected from a team that hit a purple patch with five consecutive bilateral ODI series truimphs.

What will boost the squad's morale further is that three of these five recent series triumphs have come against the two opponents it will face in the tri series.

India have not only defeated Sri Lanka in their own backyard twice in the past two years, but also humiliated the Kiwis in New Zealand earlier this year.

A win in the tri-series will not only add another feather to Dhoni's cap, but may also act as a balm for the cricket-mad fans who have not forgiven the team for its below-par display in the T20 World Cup in England in June.

Eden may get India-Lanka Test this November

2009-09-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

For cricket-starved sports fans in Kolkata who are dying to catch some action at the hallowed Eden Gardens, there's finally some good news.

Come November, Eden may get to host an India versus Sri Lanka Test match. The Sri Lankans will be touring India for three Test matches and five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in November, and the BCCI is apparently mulling over allotting a Test match to Eden Gardens.

The last time Kolkata hosted an international cricket match was way back in 2007 November-end, when India and Pakistan played out a tame draw in which city icon Sourav Ganguly stood out with his maiden Test century at his home ground.

Ever since that match, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has somehow been off the radar for the BCCI when it came to international fixtures.

However, after CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya admittedly sent out repeated requests to the Board to allot an international tie at Eden, the BCCI seems to have finally thinking over handing out one of the India-lanka Test matches to Kolkata.

Speaking to The Indian Express on Tuesday, a senior CAB functionary said: "If things go according to our wishes, then we may get to host a Test match this November. It's been a very long time since Eden hosted an international match. People in Kolkata have nearly forgotten the last time they sat through an international match here."

Problems with Eden missing out on international fixtures began way back in early 2007 when the previous CAB administration misread the loopholes in the Board's renewed rotation policy and agreed to be featured at the bottom of the new priority list of venues.

The new rotation policy that was drawn up just a week or so after an India-Sri Lanka one-dayer at Eden Gardens was washed out.

The new system placed Eden right at the bottom at No 22, as a result of which the CAB has been made to wait for over one-and-a-half years now for the next big tie.

In between, the CAB hosted just the one India-Pakistan Test match in November 2007.

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