Considering that cricket bats have normally been packed away at this time of year, it is hardly surprising that the T20 Canada tournament is proving tough for batsmen, but Shoaib Malik and Fawad Alam combined in thrilling style to steal this match away from Sri Lanka with a ball to spare.
Sri Lanka held their nerve to quell the plucky resistance of Canada, whose opener, Rizwan Cheema, struck an entertaining 43-ball 68 which so nearly caused an unlikely upset. Sri Lanka now face Pakistan, who earlier eased past Zimbabwe, in tomorrow’s final.
Sri Lanka go through to the final of the quadrangular Twenty20 event in King City after a 15-run victory over Canada.
An experimental Sri Lankan side overcome a late scare to beat Zimbabwe in the King City Twenty20 event.
The Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association (SLCA) and sports minister Gamini Lokuge have set up a possible financial package for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) worth a minimum of US$70million over the next 10 years from the BCCI.
Sri Lanka A’s recent tour to South Africa has unearthed three potential players for the future, according to coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, has said the team’s campaign in the four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Canada would help in strategising for the ICC World Twenty20 in England in 2009.
Nondescripts Cricket Club gave their coach, Samath Perera, a fitting farewell by winning the Under-23 Youth Tournament Division 1. NCC beat defending champions Sinhalese Sports Club in the three-day final played at the SSC in Colombo.
Muttiah Muralitharan has said he is yet to sign a contract to play for Bengal in the 2008-09 Indian domestic season and that his priority will be to represent Sri Lanka.
Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, has said the trend of Twenty20 tournaments sprouting up “isn’t a healthy sign” for the future of international cricket and called on the ICC to strike a balance between the three forms of the game.
Kaushal Silva made an express 126 to set up Sri Lanka A’s comfortable 81-run win over South Africa A in Bloemfontein, a deviation from the trend in the previous three matches which were all closely fought.
Sri Lanka’s sports minister Gamini Lokuge has ratified a 15-man squad for the Canada Cup Four Nation 20/20.
A summary of the semi-finals of the Under-23 Division I tournament.
Sri Lanka Cricket has revised its stance on ICL cricketers playing domestic cricket after a meeting with the sports minister Gamini Lokuge. The board clarified that the interim committee approval given to ICL players last week to play domestic matches was limited to the “upcoming Premier League Cricket Tournament 2008 only”.
Upul Tharanga’s big hundred outweighed Gulam Bodi’s century to give Sri Lanka A a 26-run victory and a 2-1 lead after the third ODI against South Africa A in East London.
The squad chosen for the Canada Cup Four Nation 20/20 has not got the approval of sports minister Gamini Lokuge because he is considering a complaint from 35-year-old batsman Indika de Saram, who hasn’t been selected.
Jeewan Mendis scored his second century of the match, and Akalanka Ganegama and Ranesh Perera ran through the Bangladesh Academy line-up as Sri Lanka Academy made a strong comeback to win the third and final four-day game.
Marvan Atapattu, who plays for ICL’s Delhi Giants, said the decision will lead to a situation where Sri Lankan cricketers can play for their country and choose between the unauthorised cricket league and the IPL .
Chaminda Vaas and Chamara Silva are notable absentees from Sri Lanka’s squad for the Canada Cup Four Nation Twenty20 tournament to be played in Toronto next month, while Dilhara Lokuhettige, Jeevantha Kulatunga and Thilina Kandamby have been rewarded for consistent first-class contributions.
Sri Lanka lift the domestic ban on players involved with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League.
The result of the four-day match between Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy and Sri Lanka Academy XI at the Premadasa Stadium will hinge on how long the hosts’ lower-middle order can resist the Bangladesh Academy attack on the final day.
Sri Lanka A warmed up for their five-match one-day series with a convincing 62-run win over University Sports South Africa XI at Sinovich Park. Kanchana Gunawardene’s 90 guided Sri Lanka to 229 for 5 and the total was more than sufficient to challenge USSA as they folded up for 167.
Hong Kong’s misery on their tour of Sri Lanka continued as they lost the final one-dayer against the Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI in Colombo by 16 runs. The result meant a 4-0 clean sweep for the Sri Lankans who showed no signs of easing off having already secured the series in the previous match.
Having kicked off two months ago, the Under-23 Division I tournament is nearing its close, with Sri Lanka Under-20 Schools unexpectedly making it to the semi-finals alongside defending champs Sinhalese SC, Nondescripts CC and Colombo Colts CC.
South Africa A failed to win at the Willowmore Park in Benoni, but the draw meant a 1-0 triumph for the hosts in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka A.
For the second game in succession, Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI were barely tested by the visitors as they stormed to a nine-wicket win at the R Premadasa Stadium.
An 82 from Naeem Islam saved the visitors from an embarrassing defeat after they were reduced to 36 for 5 in their second innings against the Sri Lanka Academy. A draw seemed imminent when play started on the fourth and final day.
Shamsur Rahman made 125 batting at No. 3 and shared a 179-run fourth-wicket stand with Marshall Ayub, who scored a patient half-century, to ensure that the Bangladesh Academy finished the first day of their match against the Sri Lanka Development XI at a comfortable 340 for 5.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene wants to see just one big Twenty20 tournament a year to safeguard Test and one-day international cricket.
Cricket Wellington is offering young Sri Lankan players the opportunity to train and play in New Zealand as part of its Wellington School of Cricket programme.
Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, has said he will need to find ways to beat the Indians after they managed to play him reasonably well during the recently-concluded one-day series. India won the series 3-2 and Mendis took 13 wickets at 11.69 but he said the Indians played him cautiously.
Dian Gomes, a member of Sri Lanka’s interim committee, has resigned from his post citing excess workload as the reason. Gomes juggles his cricket commitments with roles at the Amateur Boxing Association, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and an apparel manufacturing company.
Sri Lanka have confirmed their participation in a four-nation Twenty20 tournament in October, involving Pakistan, West Indies and hosts Canada.
South Africa A’s bowlers once again dismissed Sri Lanka A in less than a day’s time to help their team win the second four-day game by an innings and 63 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Dilhara Fernando, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has joined Worcestershire as a replacement overseas player for the remainder of the season.
The first four-day Test between South Africa A and Sri Lanka A ended in a dull draw after batsmen from both sides plundered the bowlers mercilessly at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.
Chaminda Vaas, who became the fourth bowler to reach 400 one-day wickets when he had Yuvraj Singh caught for a duck in the fourth ODI in Colombo, has said he thoroughly enjoyed playing cricket through his career and had no regrets whatsoever.
There’s little a team can do once they’ve lost a series with a dead rubber to be played. Faced to confront a future that appears less than rosy, Mahela Jayawardene emphasized that it was important to get things right for his team and make sure they don’t give up.
Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, blamed inconsistent batting for his side’s defeat in the ODI series against India.
India made the most of the toss, a vicious turner in the second innings and Sri Lanka’s feeble batting to record their first bilateral one-day series triumph on the island, completing a stunning turnaround from the crushing defeat in the opener in Dambulla.
For Sri Lanka, the series had come reached a point where writing about them could be dealt with in one comment: “Insert previous comments here.” However, the fifth match at Colombo on Friday was refreshingly different with Thilan Thushara and Nuwan Kulasekera capping hard-working efforts in the series with personal bests.
Thushara, Kulasekara emerge as the bright spots for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka lose a second consecutive home one-day series for the first time in their history as India beat them by 46 runs.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has adapted his game superbly to the needs of his team over the last couple of years and it was again evident in a bristling 76 that helped leave India a win away from their first ODI series triumph in Sri Lanka.
India level their one-day series in Sri Lanka with a hard fought three-wicket success in Dambulla.
David Morgan, the ICC president, says he is “concerned” over the fact that, with the Champions Trophy “perilously close”, some of the participating teams are yet to confirm their presence in Pakistan for the tournament starting on September 12.
India fought back to level the series 1-1 with a three-wicket win but the victory was far from convincing as they made heavy weather of a modest target of 143.
Munaf Patel, the Indian fast bowler, has been fined 75% of his match
fee for a breach of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Dambulla.
On the day when Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Kumar provided unanticipated boosts to the country’s Olympic campaign, India’s one-day team tussled and tugged their way to a series-leveling victory in Dambulla. .
It could very well have been Sri Lanka’s day had it not been for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Subramaniam Badrinath. Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believed their partnership took the game away from his side and helped India square the series 1-1..
India level their one-day series in Sri Lanka with a hard fought three-wicket success in Dambulla.