Upali Dharmadasa, President of Sri Lanka Cricket briefing the media yesterday regarding the forthcoming SLPL T20 cricket tournament. Also in the picture (from left) Ajith Jayasekera CEO SLC, Nishantha Ranatunga Secretary SLC, Harsha Amarasekera Lawyer for SLC, and Ajith Pasqual Asst. Treasurer SLC.

Representatives from Somerset Entertainment Ventures; Kunal Bargawal(L) and Shehan Gunawardene (R) Attorney at Law.

• TM Dilshan
• Kumar Sangakkara
• Mahela Jayawardena
• Thilan Samaraweera
• Lasith Malinga

Category 2

• Nuwan Kulasekera
• Angelo Mathews
• Rangana Herath
• Upul Tharanga

Category 3

• Prasanna Jayawardena

Category 4

• Tharanga Paranawithana
• Suraj Randiv
• Ajantha Mendis
• Dinesh Chandimal

Category 5

• Dilhara Fernando
• Chanaka Welagedara
• Tisara Perera

Category 6

• Chamara Kapugedara
• Suranga Lakmal
• Lahiru Thirimanna

Provincial Categories
Category A

• Chamara Silva
• Thilina Kandamby
• Dhammika Prasad
• Dimuth Karunaratne
• Farveez Mahroof
• Jeevan Mendis
• Kaushal Silva
• Sachithra Senanayake
• Shaminda Eranga

Category B

• Dilruwan Perera
• Dilshan Munaweera
• Janaka Gunaratne
• Kosala Kulasekera
• Kusal Janik Perera
• Malinga Bandara
• Malinda Siriwardena
• Nadeera Nawala
• Nilanga Premaratne
• Roshan Silva
• Sachithra Serasinghe
• Sajeewa Weerakone
• Sekkuge Prasanna
• Tharanga Lakshitha
• Malinda Waranapura
• Nuwan Pradeep

Category C

• Angelo Perera
• Banuka Rajapaksa
• Jehan Mubarak
• Kaushal Lokuarachchi
• Mahela Udawatta
• Malinda Pushpakumara
• T M Sampath

Category D

• Ashan Priyanjana
• Ashan Silva
• Isuru Udana
• Kanishka Elvitigala
• Yohan De Silva
• Kithuruwan Vithanage
• Sohan Boralessa
• Udara Jayasundara

Eastern Province                                 – Manjula Karunaratne
Northern Province                               – Ravindra Pushpakumara
Uva Province                                        - Chaminda Kodikara
North Central Province                       – Ajith Ekanayake
Central Province                                  - Sunil Fernando
Southern Province                               – Niroshan Bandaratilake
Western Province – North                 – Rohitha Perera
Western Province – North Outer      - Dharshana Gamage
Western Province – South                  – Ruvin Peiris
Western Province – South Outer       – Lanka De Silva

District Coaches

Eastern Province

Batticaloa                                K. Anverdeen
Trincomalee                             Mangala Dharmasena

Northern Province

Killinochchi/ Mulativu            Kanagaradaran
Vavunia/ Mannar                    Jeyakumaran
Jaffna                                      Lakshitha Herath

Uva Province

Badulla                                    Priyantha Weragala
Ampara                                   Wasantha Kumara
Monaragala                             Kasun Maduranga

North Central Province

Matale                                     Saman Senanayake
Polonnaruwa                           Nihal Edirisinghe
Kurunegala                              P.D. Ranawaka
Sajith Rupasinghe

Central Province

Kandy Z-1                              Amila Pinnaduwa
Kandy Z-2                              Suresh Peiris
Kegalle                                    Migara Ekanayake
Nuwara Eliya                          K Kathigeson

Southern Province

Galle Z-1                                 Lasith Chaminda
Galle Z-2                                 Praneeth Peiris
Matara                                     Galappaththi
Hambantota Z-1                      Neel Kamal
Hambantota Z-2                      Nilanka Thomahara

Western Province – North

Colombo North Z-1                C.D. Thotagamuwa
Colombo North Z-2                Buwaneka Randeniya

Western Province – South

Colombo South Z-1                Lucky Rogers Fernando
Colombo South Z-2                Ajith Weerasinghe

Western Province – South Outer

Ratnapura                                Hiroshi Welagedara
Kalutara Z-1                            S.K. Perera
Kalutara Z-2                            Umal Irandika

Western Province – North Outer

Puttalam                                  Wasantha Wijesuriya
Gampaha Z-1                          Vipula Sittamige
Gampaha Z-2                          Samantha Guruge
Gampaha Z-3                          Alex Nishantha Perera

1.    Dimuth Karunaratne

2.    Ashan Silva

3.    Udara Jayasundara

4.    Thilina Kandambi

5.    Kaushal Silva

6.    Roshan Silva

7.    Kushal Janith Perera

8.    Banuka Rajapakse

9.    Angelo Perera

10.  Sohan Borallessa

11.  Malinda Pushpakumara

12.  Kanishka Elvitigala

13.  Nilanka Premaratne

14.  Vishva Fernandes

15.  Kosala Kulasekera

16.  Sachithra Serasinghe

17.  Jehan Mubarak

Twenty20’s massive popularity and status as the most exciting and entertaining format of cricket will be further enhanced by this newest tournament to the world of cricket. The tournament will be held in line with the MCC “SPIRIT OF CRICKET” guidelines.International players will be playing in the SLPL alongside Sri Lankan national cricketers and young Lankan hopefuls.

The first edition of SLPL Twenty20 will feature 7 Provincial teams which will adhere to a compulsory ruling of no more than 6 overseas players in each squad. However, it will be mandatory for each team to field only 4 overseas players in the playing eleven, whilst the remaining 7 players will all be Sri Lankans, with one player out of the said seven players will be an under-21 cricketer.

SLC shall, through this tournament, increase the number of Provincial teams from the existing number of 5 teams to 7 teams, in order to provide more opportunities to a vast number of talented players who are striving to advance to the next level of their cricketing abilities.
Each Provincial team shall draw elements of its unique branding/personality from the Province it represents.

The Provinces in pursuit of the SLPL 2012 Title for Season 1 are as follows:-

Basnahira Bears

Kandurata Kites

Nagenahira Nagas

Ruhuna Rhinos

Uthura Oryxes

Uva Unicorns

Wayamba Wolves

The names of the respective Sri Lankan Icon Players for each Province will be released shortly.

All 24 matches will be telecast live globally, and SLC believes that millions of television viewers across the globe will enjoy this tournament.

Date and Time

Match Details

Fri Jun 1
19:00 local | 13:00 GMT

1st T20 - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota

Sun Jun 3
19:00 local | 13:00 GMT

2nd T20 - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota

Thu Jun 7
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT

1st ODI - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy

Sat Jun 9
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT

2nd ODI - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy

Wed Jun 13
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT

3rd ODI - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Sat Jun 16
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT

4th ODI - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Mon Jun 18
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT

5th ODI - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Fri Jun 22 – Tue Jun 26
10:30 local | 05:00 GMT

1st Test - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
Galle International Stadium, Galle

Sat Jun 30 – Wed Jul 4
10:30 local | 05:00 GMT

2nd Test - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo

Sun Jul 8 – Thu Jul 12
10:30 local | 05:00 GMT

3rd Test - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy

The tour will consist of 5 Limited over Games.

Team:-

1. Anuk Fernando                       -           St. Sebastian’s College (Captain)
2. Kushal Mendis                        -           Prince Of Wales College (Vice Captain)
3. Shanuka Dulaj                         -           Prince Of Wales College
4. Kavindu Kulasekara               -           Thurstan College
5. Minhaj Jalil                              -           Thurstan College
6. Roshan Anuraddha                 -           Gurukula M.V.
7. Hashan Dumindu                    -           Gurukula M.V.
8. Ron Chandragupta                  -           Trinity College
9. Amrith Srimaha                       -           Trinity College
10. Lakshan Jayasinghe                -           Trinity College
11. Adeesha Punchihewa              -           Dharmasoka College
12. Madushan Ravichandrakumar -          St. Thomas’ College
13. Sadeera Samarawickrema       -           St. Joseph’s College
14. Keshan Wijeratne                    -           Maliyadewa College
15. Nayana Prabath                       -           Mahanama College

Officials :-

1. Roger Wijesuriya        -           Manager/Coach
2. Aravinda Jayadewa    -           Physio
3. Nishantha Kumara      -           School Representative

Group A

M

WO

LO

FW

FL

FT

MT

NR

POINTS

Tri Youth SC

5

3

1

-

1

-

-

-

59.260

Old Marians CC

5

1

1

3

-

-

-

-

51.305

Samagi SC

5

1

-

2

2

-

-

-

43.025

Rajarata SC

5

1

1

2

1

-

-

-

42.770

Old Cambrian SC

4

-

1

1

2

-

-

-

21.155

Maroons SC

4

-

2

-

2

-

-

-

9.975

Group B

M

WO

LO

FW

FL

FT

MT

NR

POINTS

Old Moratu Vidyalaya SC

6

2

-

4

-

-

-

-

69.010

Crusedars SC

6

3

1

1

1

-

-

-

64.980

Kelaniya CC

6

1

2

2

1

-

-

-

46.800

Old Thomian SC – Matara

6

1

1

1

2

-

-

-

44.350

Uva SC

6

1

1

1

3

-

-

-

38.450

Old Anandian SC

6

-

1

2

3

-

-

-

33.910

Matara SC

6

1

4

-

1

-

-

-

27.020

Group C

M

WO

LO

FW

FL

FT

MT

NR

POINTS

Old Servation SC

6

3

1

2

-

-

-

-

78.395

Narammala CC

6

2

-

3

1

-

-

-

69.225

Nugegoda S & WC

6

1

1

3

1

-

-

-

54.665

Wennappuwa CC

6

1

-

2

3

-

-

-

48.885

Nomads SC

6

1

3

1

1

-

-

-

36.980

Weera SC

5

-

1

1

3

-

-

-

22.260

Sunflower SC

5

-

2

-

3

-

-

-

14.030

Group D

M

WO

LO

FW

FL

FT

MT

NR

POINTS

Ratnapura CC

6

1

-

3

2

-

-

-

54.97

Old Vidyalaya SC

6

2

-

1

3

-

-

-

53.185

Peterson SC

6

-

2

4

-

-

-

-

50.565

Col – University SC

6

-

1

4

1

-

-

-

46.690

Old Thomian SC – Matale

6

-

-

3

3

-

-

-

43.865

Hambantota CC

6

1

1

1

3

-

-

-

37.085

Seevali SC

6

-

-

1

5

-

-

-

24.155

1.      Dilani Manodara (Captain) (Wk)

2.      Sadamali Dolawatta (Vice-Captain)

3.      Chamani Atapaththu

4.      Inoka Galagedara

5.      Yasoda Mendis

6.      Shashikala Siriwardene

7.      Deepika Rasangika

8.      Prasadani Weerakkody

9.      ChamaniSeneviratne

10.  Chandima Gunarathne

11.  Sripali Weerakkody

12.  Dhashani Dharmasiri

13.  Maduri Samudika

14.  Inoka Ranaweera

Stand by

1.      Oshadi Ranasinghe

2.      Lasanthi Madushani

3.      Niluka Karunaratne

4.      Udeshika Prabodeni

Graeme Swann claimed a match haul of 10 wickets as England roared to a series-levelling win over Sri Lanka in the second and final Test on Saturday to retain their number one ranking.

Swann followed his four wickets in the first innings with six in the second as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 278 at the stroke of lunch on the fifth day at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo.

England, set a modest target of 94, coasted home by eight wickets despite a brief stutter at 31-2 following the dismissals of skipper Andrew Strauss for no score and Jonathan Trott for five.

Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen carried the tourists home with a brisk third-wicket stand of 66 in 69 balls, amid wild celebrations from some 5,000 travelling English fans at the ground.

Left-hander Cook remained unbeaten on 49 and Pietersen, who hit a century in the first innings, smashed 42 not out from 28 balls, signalling his team’s emphatic victory with a six off Tillakaratne Dilshan.

It was England’s first win in five Tests on their Asian sojourn this year after being blanked 3-0 by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and losing the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Sri Lanka, currently ranked sixth, paid the price for not reaching 300 in either innings of the match and will remain without a series win since 2009, when they beat New Zealand at home.

The overnight pair of Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews, who resumed at 218-6, survived close calls within the first 30 minutes of play.

Mathews was fortunate to see Cook put down two sharp chances at short-leg off Swann, first when the batsman was on three and then on 12.

Jayawardene, on 58, was reprieved by a television review in the day’s fourth over after on-field umpire Asad Rauf had upheld seamer James Anderson’s appeal for leg-before.

Cook finally held on to a catch at short-leg to remove the in-form Sri Lankan captain for 64 and give Swann his fifth wicket in the innings.

Jayawardene ended the series with 354 runs in four innings at an average of 88.50 with two hundreds and a half-century.

Swann then bowled Prasanna Jayawardene around his legs and Samit Patel removed Rangana Herath to reduce Sri Lanka to 251-9, before Mathews delayed the end with a fighting 46.

Mathews was last man out, caught at mid-wicket off seamer Steven Finn, who finished with two wickets.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has been fined 10 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the second Test between his side and England at the P Sara Oval, Colombo on Thursday.

Dilshan was charged with a Level 1 offence, contrary to clause 2.1.5 which covers “excessive appealing and excessive shall include a) repeated appeal of the same decision/appeal and b) celebrating a dismissal before the decision has been given”.

Dilshan pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction so there was no need for a formal hearing.

The incident took place during the England first innings with Sri Lanka bowling. In over number 88.2, after delivering the ball, the bowler Dilshan ran towards the striker’s end celebrating a dismissal before the decision had been given. When he reached the other end he turned around and appealed repeatedly.

Javagal Srinath of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, said: “Dilshan accepted the charge and the penalty imposed without qualms and so there was no need for a formal hearing.”

The charge was laid by on-field umpires Asad Rauf and Bruce Oxenford and third umpire Rod Tucker, of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, as well as fourth official Ranmore Martinesz.

All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee.

Sri Lanka’s group game against South Africa most popular

One week after tickets for the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 went on local sale, more than 25 per cent of all capacity in the first phase has been sold – with on average 10,000 tickets being sold each day.

Upekha Nell, the Tournament Director, said on Monday that she has been ‘delighted’ with the sale process and the interest shown in the tickets. She said: “There has been a great response from the wonderful Sri Lankan public and their enthusiasm is now being mirrored across the world after tickets went on global sale on Friday.

“The global sale launch has obviously increased the number of on-line sales which now accounts for 40 per cent of all purchases – again with the vast majority of website sales coming from Sri Lanka.”

Ms Nell revealed that the most popular group game so far has been the match between the host and ICC World Twenty20 2009 finalist Sri Lanka and South Africa which will be played in Hambantota on 22 September. She added: “There is great interest in the Super Eight matches, semi-finals and finals as well but as of today there are still tickets available for all the games.

“Spectators should not be disappointed if their ticket preference is not available because any location in the stadium will have a fantastic atmosphere as well as view. This is another chance to be a part of a global cricket event and one that fans should grab this opportunity.”

The ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 is the first to be held in Asia and will take place between September 18 and October 7 in Hambantota, Pallekelle and Colombo with the women’s group matches in Galle.

Tickets will be available at box offices located in Colombo, Kandy and Hambantota and at selected MoneyGram outlets in Bank of Ceylon branches. It is mandatory for those purchasing tickets to have their NIC or a valid Passport on hand.

Online booking of tickets will be available by logging onto www.icc-cricket.com, and buyers must produce a receipt confirming their purchase to redeem their match ticket at the box office. Ticket collection will take place from 1 August 2012.

A maximum of four tickets can be purchased by each person for the super eights, semi-finals and finals, and a maximum of six tickets per person for the rest of the matches.

Tickets represent excellent value with prices starting at as little as US $0.25 for the single group games and the final itself has tickets ranging from only US $2.50 up to just US $45.

Attendance at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 during the group stages in Galle will be free of charge. The women’s semi-finals and final will be played on the same day on the same ground as the men’s and will be covered by the same ticket. There will be a second phase of ticket sales after 1 August 2012.

The FAQs on tickets can be found here.

Sri Lanka’s cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene celebrates after scoring a century (100 runs) during the first day of the second and final Test match between Sri Lanka and England at the P. Sara Oval Cricket Stadium in Colombo on April 3, 2012.

England’s Alastair Cook (L) and captain Andrew Strauss (R) run between the wickets during the second day of their second and final Test Match between Sri Lanka and England at the P. Sara Oval Cricket Stadium in Colombo on April 4, 2012.

Sri Lankan cricketer Rangana Herath (4R) celebrates with his teammates after dismissing England cricketer Kevin Pietersen (R) during the third day of the second and final Test Match between Sri Lanka and England at the P. Sara Oval Cricket Stadium in Colombo on April 5, 2012.

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene plays a shot during the fourth day of the second and final Test match between Sri Lanka and England at the P. Sara Oval crickrt Stadium in Colombo on April 6, 2012.

England captain Andrew Strauss (L) gestures as he holds the trophy alongside Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene during a presentation ceremony following England’s victory of the second and final Test match between Sri Lanka and England at the P. Sara Oval crickrt Stadium in Colombo on April 7, 2012.  England defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the second and final Test to level the series 1-1 and retain their number one Test ranking.