Mentor brushes aside concern over Malinga

Malinga was not his usual best in the CB series, yet he was
easily the highest wicket taker

Sri Lanka's bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake has brushed aside any concerns about Lasith Malinga's form, saying that with the number of games Sri Lanka have been involved in Malinga was bound to have a poor game or two. Malinga comes in to the Asia Cup after an inconsistent performance in the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia, in which he was the leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps in 11 games but went at 6.21 runs per over.

Sri Lanka plays India again in Asia Cup

Dilshan is back at his best and could be a real threat to the opposition

Another ODI between India and Sri Lanka. Before you cringe in disgust, the mitigating factor in favour of the latest match is that it is not part of another hastily arranged bilateral series. The teams have no option but to meet once, at the least, in the Asia Cup. One silver lining, if it can be called that, for India on the disaster that was their recent tour of Australia was their performance against Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Bank series, which culminated in that record chase led by Virat Kohli in Hobart. Out of four meetings between the two sides, India won two and tied another.

Sri Lanka vs Australia 2nd final of the CB Series - Highlights

Part 1

The captain Sri Lanka have needed

"Every country needs to have the best captain, and the best captain in Sri Lanka is Mahela Jayawardene, and I think everybody knows that," Geoff Marsh said at the end of his brief stint as head coach. In March 2009, Jayawardene's first captaincy stint hit an abrupt blockade, figuratively and literally, when Sri Lanka's bus came under attack in Lahore. Three years of a different sort of tumult later, he is back at the helm. As the nine-run win in Melbourne and Sri Lanka's progression to the triangular series final proved, it's a job he should never have left.
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At last, let the finals begin

Finally, the finals. Nearly a month after the tournament began, Australia and Sri Lanka have been confirmed as the top two sides and India, the World Cup champions, are on their way home. Now it is down to the World Cup runners-up, a Sri Lankan side that looks strong under the leadership of their restored captain Mahela Jayawardene, and the No.1-ranked ODI side, an Australian outfit that disappointed at the World Cup but has made some positive steps towards regeneration.

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Sri Lanka vs Australia 12th match of the CB series - Highlights

Part 1

Mahela Jayawardene at the press conference on 24th Feb

Mahela Jayawardene after the win against Australia in Hobart

Jayawardene hails "special" Chandimal

Photo : AFP

Mahela Jayawardene believes Sri Lanka have found a special player in Dinesh Chandimal after his third half-century of the series helped set up a record chase at Bellerive Oval. Chandimal scored 80 and kept the chase on track after Jayawardene fell for 85, and although he was out to an ill-judged attempted paddle off Ryan Harris, he had done enough to allow the tail to finish the job.

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Sri Lanka vs Australia 9th match of the CB series - complete highlights

Part 1

Delhi Daredevils names Mahela Jayawardene vice-captain

Delhi Daredevils has named the vastly-experienced Mahela Jayawardene, who led Sri Lanka to the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, as its vice-captain this season.Making this announcement, Delhi Daredevils’ Team Mentor TA Sekar said today that it was an easy decision to make. “He has an excellent track record as a leader of men and draws enormous respect from his team-mates,” he said.

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Fired up Lankans to face the Aussies in Hobart

For Sri Lankans this will be another opportunity to continue their process of regaining the lost pride. They certainly have done that quite successfully so far. If they manage to beat the Australians again that will be a colossal statement.

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Jayawardene: We are getting better and better

Photo : Getty Images

Mahela Jayawardene emerged a proud captain after Sri Lanka secured a 51-run win to rise above India in the ODI tri-series standings in Brisbane.Tuesday saw half-centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathew's late-order blitz, which brought 49 unbeaten runs from just 37 balls, power the Sri Lankans to the highest score of the tournament thus far - 289 for six.

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Jayawardene pleased despite dropped catches

Sri Lanka have not played a single out-and-out bad game in this tournament. Yet they lost their first three matches. They were not efficient in finishing the opposition off, they were not starting their innings well, and even if they recovered they would fall away towards the end. In the last two games, though, they seem to have overcome those flaws.

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Mahela Jayawardene at the press conference

Mahela Jayawardene after the victory against India

Sri Lankans too hot for the Indians

Photo : Getty Images

Sri Lanka proved to be way too strong for India today at Brisbane in the Commonwealth Bank series 8^th match. Indians were without their captain and the most successful batsmen of the tournament M.S Dhoni and found resurgent Sri Lankans a bit too hot to handle. Sri Lankan batsmen put in a commanding batting performance earlier in the day with all of their batsmen except for Kumar Sangakkara, getting amongst the runs.  The most encouraging factor for the Sri Lankans were the way their next generation of batsmen handled the situation and batted India out of the game.

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Ranil Abeynayake passes away

Former Sri Lankan cricketer and cricket commentator Ranil Abeynayake has passed away early this morning at the age of 57.

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Sri Lanka vs India 8th ODI of CB series Highlights

Part 1

Part 2

Dhoni less India to face resurgent Sri Lanka

Photo : Getty Images

After losing quite badly in the previous game against Australia, they got hit by a penalty to their captain and who is also their best batsmen of the tournament. Sri Lanka though will be brimming with confident after hammering the Aussies in Sydney. Coming back to form of the captain Mahela Jayawardene is a big boost for their batting department and he might continue to open by displacing the award winning opening combination of 2011 and that seems to be the wise thing to do in the context of the tournament because Mahela averages 67.90 when opening the innings which is a twice his career average.

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Dhoni will not play in the next game against Sri Lanka

MS Dhoni has been suspended for one ODI and India fined for the team's second over-rate breach in ODIs in less than a year. India were found to be two overs short during their 110-run defeat against Australia in Brisbane, after time allowances were taken into consideration. Match referee Andy Pycroft also fined Dhoni 40% of his match fee and the team's other players were fined 20% each.

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1996 World Cup Final - Last few minutes and celebrations

Final few minutes of the 1996 Wills World Cup Final and the celebrations and presentations afterwards. This is one of the greatest moments of Sri Lankan history and even today fills us with emotions. Thought to share this with all the cricket fans because we werent so lucky enough to celebrate a moment like this after 1996 though we got so close on two other occations. Enjoy these great scenes and wish to see another win like this real soon.

1996 WORLD CUP FINAL - WINNING RUNS AND POST... by cricsl

Mahela Jayawardene at the press conference on 17th Feb

Mahela Jayawardene after the match against Australia

Pay-day for Sri Lanka players this month

Sri Lanka's cricketers are set to receive their outstanding salaries by the end of February after a Sri Lankan bank agreed to release 600 million rupees (approx US$5.07 million) to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to meet this commitment, the country's sports ministry has said.

The state-owned Bank of Ceylon agreed to provide the funds following discussions between its officials and the Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage. The minister subsequently instructed SLC "to pay the pending salaries up to the month of February to its contracted cricketers by February 28, 2012," according to a statement from the ministry. The minister also stated that payments from March 2012 onwards would be paid on time.

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Chandimal a promising new find

In those days of yore when our school cricket was of a very high standard to be admired by those here and abroad every school had attractive cricketers to be outstanding as match winners. It did speak well for our 'School Cricket', when a few prodigious cricketers during their relative periods at school were selected to play for the national team while at school, names like Pat Macarthy, Bryan Claessen and Arjuna Ranatunga come easily to mind.

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Jayawardene happy with youngsters stepping up

Photo : Getty Images

Mahela Jayawardene is pleased Sri Lanka's turnaround in the triangular series has begun with youngsters stepping up. Thisara Perera, the promising allrounder who is slowly becoming a key member of the side, and Farveez Maharoof, who made yet another comeback in an in-and-out career, took four wickets for 47 runs between them, and broke the back of the Australian innings.

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Sri Lanka vs Australia 6th ODI of the CB series - Highlights

Sri Lankans thrash the aussies at their own backyard

About a week ago, if you have said that Sri Lankan cricket team will thrash the Australians to their biggest defeat after 1992, you would have laughed at by almost all. But half way in to the CB series Australians find themselves being hunted by two cricket teams who were struggling to beat anybody. The performance put up by Sri Lanka today may have been unexpected to many but, if you look at their recent matches starting from the 4^th ODI against South Africa, there is plenty to be cheered.
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'Bangladesh can't make do with left-arm spin only' - Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan has said that Bangladesh will need variety in their bowling stocks to complement the surfeit of left-arm spinners emerging in the country. The retired Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in Test and ODI history, is a part of the Chittagong Kings side for the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League. His observations came after Chittagong's encounter with Dhaka Gladiators on Monday, a game in which as many as five left-arm spinners played.

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Jayawardene calls on his team to be ruthless

Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene called upon his teammates to show more focus and be ruthless in finishing off games, after their tri-series match against India resulted in a tie on Tuesday.

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Sri Lankans head to Sydney with fond memories

Photo : Getty Images

Sri Lanka is yet to register their first win in the Commonwealth Bank Series, but somehow they need to. Otherwise they will leave themselves too much ground to cover in the second half of the tournament. The venue for their next game against Australia gives them plenty of encouragement because Sri Lanka have won five of their last seven games including three wins against the hosts. If one of their four most experienced batsmen could contribute and does not let Dinesh Chandimal who has become the mainstay of the Sri Lankan batting lineup do all the scoring, they will have a golden opportunity to beat the aussies and get strongly back to the tournament.

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Sri Lanka vs India 5th match of the CB series Highlights

Mahela Jayawardene at the press conference

Mahela Jayawardene after the match

Sri Lanka vs India 5th match of the CB series - short highlights

Sri Lankan innings of the 5th match of the CB series short highlights

Sri Lankan Innings - Commonwealth Bank Series... by cricsl

Sri Lanka, India in dramatic ODI tie

India and Sri Lanka finished in a sensational tie in their tri one-day series international at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.

Photo : AFP

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Sri Lanka scores their first points of the series

Photo : AFP

Batsman messing up the bowler’s good work seems to be the theme of this year’s CB series. Although I’m not quite sure which batting unit messed it up this time, in the context of the series the tie is a win for the Indians. Whatever the way they comes, Sri Lanka will take their first points. They needed them badly.

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Sangakkara wants an urgent review of Sri Lanka cricket

Photo : Getty Images

Former captain and star batsman Kumar Sangakkara wants an urgent review of Sri Lankan cricket, and has said first class structure should be overhauled on the lines of Australian cricket.

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Sangakkara says India vulnerable overseas

There was a time when you dialled Sri Lanka to knock India out of big competitions. They did that famously in the 1996 and 2007 World Cups. They beat India in the Asia Cup in 2008. They knocked India out of the World Twenty20 in the West Indies in 2010. At some time, though, the two teams' administrations became too friendly, and started making the teams play against each other every other day. The sting was taken out of the contest, and familiarity bred some insipidness. That India have been dominating their neighbours of late would be an apt assessment.

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Time for the big guns to fire



Photo : AFP

In the opening two matches for Sri Lanka, their three big guns failed to fire and that led them to be at the bottom of the table needing to win tomorrow’s game to be in contention. In both the matches all of them got starts and didn’t convert them in to anything substantial. Thilakarathne Dilshan is the main culprit since he got to 40s on both occasions and threw it away. Kumar Sangakkara was never out of form but he too got out in bad situations. The major worry for the Sri Lankans is the form of their captain. Mahela Jayawadene looked very scratchy against india in the 1^st game. Although he looked better against the aussies, we are yet to see the silicon touches that we are so used to see.  It is time one of these three go on to make a big one and let the in-form youngsters to play with freedom.

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Sri Lankan cricketers are playing for pride, make no mistake about it

Photo : Getty Images

We just cannot think of any other professional group in Sri Lanka to keep working without being paid for so long. There would be a strike right away. One can say that the cricketers earn a lot so they can do without salaries for some time. If you happen to think the same way, then think again. That maybe right for few of the established players but not for the youngsters who are starting their careers. Sri Lankan cricketers are playing for pride, make no mistake about it.

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India should take a cue from the never-say-die spirit of Sri Lanka

Photo : Getty Images

In spite all the troubles Sri Lanka are facing at the moment, their attitude towards the game should really be commended. If we take the last four matches they played, their never-say-die attitude was really in show. Chasing 300 plus totals in consecutive matches does say a lot about the attitude of a team. Even the last two games, though they lost, was real proof of that quality.

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Now they know who Angelo is

Photo : Theron Kirkman/AP

Finally, the attention of the Australians turns to Angelo Mathews. Just over a year ago, he brought Sri Lanka out of a cricket match that was all but lost. Though he couldn’t repeat the heroics this time, the quality of the man and the fighter within will not go unnoticed.

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Sri Lanka vs Australia 3rd match of the CB series short highlights

Commonwealth Bank Series Match 3 Australia vs... by cricsl

Mahela.. the mastermind tactician returns

Mahela Jayawardene was arguably the best captain that Sri Lanka has ever had. In this turmoil of Sri Lankan cricket, if anything good has happened, it’s the reappointment of Mahela because Its absolutely a pleasure to watch his tactics and sheer brilliance as a captain. For the sake of cricket in Sri Lanka, its time he brings back his silicon touches with the bat.

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Australia hold on for five-run victory

Photo : Getty Images

Angelo Mathews narrowly failed to deliver victory to Sri Lanka at the WACA, where Australia held on by five runs in a thrilling finish. Sri Lanka needed 18 from the final over bowled by Mitchell Starc, and Mathews gave them every chance by pulling the first ball for four and driving the next delivery over long-off for six, before a pair of singles left the visitors needing six from two balls.

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Sharp Sri Lanka keep Australia to 231

A sharp fielding performance from Sri Lanka gave them the upper hand at the WACA, but some handy late runs from Australia's tail ensured they stayed in the game. Mahela Jayawardene's decision to send Australia in was unexpected but it proved a reasonable move as his five main bowlers took two wickets each. Australia's batsmen struggled for rhythm and were dismissed for 231 from the first ball of the 50th over.
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Sri Lanka vs India CB series 2nd match short highlights

Jayawardene targets Australian attack

Photo : Getty Images

The triangular series needs a strong Sri Lanka, especially after their slow start to the tournament on Wednesday night in Perth. The much-criticised format finds itself in a strange situation even before the end of the first of the four legs of the league stage. The crowds are coming to Australia games only - the India-Sri Lanka game was watched by fewer than 7000 at the WACA - but it's when India played Sri Lanka that we got the only close international game of the summer, across formats. Then again the close game lacked the quality and intensity Australia have brought. Clearly we need both India and Sri Lanka to run Australia close to prevent the return of the bad old days of the triangular, which starts to feel bloated if one team is significantly more dominant than the others.

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Settled hosts meet hesitant visitors

Photo : Getty Images

An Australian side in the pinkest of form meet Sri Lankan opponents with plenty of improve upon following a first-up loss to India in a mediocre match that was also at the WACA ground. While the tourists will benefit from having played a match at the ground, a series of starts with the bat, some middling bowling and hesitance in the field - from the newly-appointed captain Mahela Jayawardene's field placements as much as his men's occasionally indifferent attacks on the ball - must be rectified if they are to get close to the hosts.

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Team combination did not cause loss - Jayawardene

Mahela Jayawardene, in his first match back as Sri Lanka captain, made an interesting move in not picking a specialist spinner. Sri Lanka lost a close match, but Jayawardene did not think the team combination was the reason. "If we had taken the last four wickets, you would have said, 'good combination'. We felt the pitch was such that four seamers would probably do the job for us. Picking up wickets is very crucial against India. We went with bowlers we thought could do that."

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All-round Ashwin stars in hard-fought win

India's feted openers exited early, and the inexperienced middle order succumbed to old failings, but their bowling allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin showed admirable poise to steer a wobbly chase home. Virat Kohli's authoritative 77 set the agenda, but India began to falter when he had cramps around the mid-point of the innings. His exit, run out while attempting a hopeless single, left India's lower order 53 tricky runs to get. Ashwin and Jadeja did the rest, braving the Lasith Malinga threat and the epidemic of nerves that had blighted the middle order.

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Preview for the CB series

For Sri Lankan cricket fans, the CB series starts tomorrow. This series is mostly important to us than the other two teams because of mayhem that Sri Lankan cricket is now in. Let’s take a look in to the future of the tournament. Despite all the changes that took place recently, the team composition stays more or less the same and from cricketing point of view that should be a good thing. Yes we lost tournament after tournament and the form of most of the player were below par. If you believe in change of personal will bring back the results, then we might as well play a completely different team because whatever happen on the field, the entire team is responsible for them, not just the captain, not just the senior players. These players are responsible for where we are now and we should give the opportunity to take us out of it. In my opinion they are on their way for that.

Photo : Getty Images

Batting unit : whatever said and done, this will be headed by Thilakarathne Dilshan. He is so important at the top order not only because he scores quickly but also his sheer presence can unsettle the opposition bowlers. Mahela Jayawardene will come in to the middle order and probably in place of Lahiru Thirimanne. Dinesh Chandimal was the best batsmen in South Africa so he should not have any problems with his number 4 spot.

Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilakarathne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Thilan Samaraweera, Lahiru Thirimanne

Bowling unit : is unsurprisingly will be headed by Lasith Malinga. Early wickets from him and Nuwan Kulasekara will go a long way towards success. There will be an interesting choice for the spot of third seamer between Chanaka Welagedara, Dhammika Prasad and Farveez Maharoof. It’s hard to think of two spinners playing on those conditions, so Rangana Herath might get the nod.

Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dhammika Prasad, Sachithra Senanayake,  Chanaka Welagedara

Photo : Getty Images

All-rounders : Thisara Perera is almost a certainty to play because of his heroics in South Africa and also he did an equitable job with the bowl too. Though on form, Angello Mathews and not Lahiru Thirimanne should lose the place to Mahela Jayawardene but since he is the wise captain, it’s hard to see former being dropped.

Angello Mathews ,Thisara Perera

One to watch : Dinesh Chandimal was the player of the tour for Sri Lanka in South Africa where he performed splendidly under pressure. On an even bigger stage, he just might bring out something special.

NDM : cricsl.blogspot.com

World Cup finalists meet in very different circumstances

Just over 10 months have passed since that Wankhede night, last April. Within that period, the fates of the two teams that brought the best out of each other in that memorable World Cup final have nose-dived in bizarre style. India have been mercilessly stripped of their No. 1 Test ranking, the sunset on their golden generation of batsmen hastened by eight successive away drubbings. But their one-day outfit still holds promise, with the energy of fresh legs and the power of broad bats, for the moment at least, masking the worry of poor techniques on quick pitches.

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Sri Lanka vs England 1996 World Cup Quarter Final

Islanders face high tide

Seated deep inside the folds of the WACA, a leader is found brooding intensely over his big-hearted but small-pocketed men. Mahela Jayawardene’s Sri Lankan team, the third wheel of this tri-series, has witnessed a sea change in its cricketing structure. A change that crippled its old administration and ensured that none of its current players will receive a dime for their efforts in Australia this year. While Team Sri Lanka is still awaiting its payments over the last one year, news of Jayawardene being bought for $ 1.4 million by the Delhi Daredevils seeped through on the flight to Perth.

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Beware of the Slinga...

Speedster Lasith Malinga is undoubtedly one of the key components of ODI plans of Sri Lanka, who are currently trying to win back the reputation as one of the top international teams and arguably the best pace bowler in the world at the moment when considering the limited over game. It is a shame that he is retired from Tests because he brings a real spectacle to whatever the format he plays.

Photo : AFP

When he first came in to the Sri Lankan team for the tour of Australia in 2004, the world had hardly seen an action like his. He was not the typical fast bowler we have seen day in and day out. He was special but that specialty was limited to his action only. That’s why most people considered him as a hit and miss kind of a bowler and expected him to struggle to continue performing well. They had their reasons for their doubts because Malingas bowling action puts enormous amount of pressure on his body. In a time that fast bowlers with ordinary actions were struggling to cope with a amount of cricket that is being played, how can one expect him to keep repeating that extraordinary action for a long period of time. The physical aspect was not the only concern. There was the other problem of accuracy which was not necessarily a strength of his bowling. As one can expect with an action like that he was wayward at the best of times and with that slinging action it was never the easiest thing to land the ball on good areas consistently.

          Looking back now, it astonishes to see how he has overcome those obstacles and his record in limited overs cricket speaks for himself. 167 ODI wickets at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 30. But the most impressive stat is his economy rate of under 5 runs an over which is remarkable for a bowler who has the most difficult action and for a bowler who almost all the time bowls at situations where batsmen are looking to step on the accelerator. 28 year old Sri Lankan also has managed to achieve milestones which were never seen before at international level. The most famous of those being his 4 wickets in 4 consecutive deliveries against South Africa at 2007 world cup and also he is the only bowler to have 3 international hat-tricks. For the upcoming CB series, Sri Lanka will need their leading strike bowler to fire from all cylinders for them to get back to winning ways. There is no doubt that his bag of tricks, including is most lethal toe crushing yokers will be needed to surmount batsmen like Micheal Clarke, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar. It will be an interesting battle so let’s not miss the slinga in action.

-NDM

Lasith Malinga hat-trick vs Australia

Final moments of a great victory

Jayawardene eyeing finisher's role at Daredevils

Photo : AFP

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has said he will complement the big-hitting batsmen at his new IPL franchise, the Delhi Daredevils, and will try to play the role of a finisher. Jayawardene was one of 16 players from the terminated Kochi IPL franchise up for auction yesterday in Bangalore, and was bought by the Daredevils for US$1.4 million, making him the second-most expensive player on the day after Ravindra Jadeja. He said he was looking forward to playing with the likes of Virender Sehwag, David Warner and the newly acquired Kevin Pietersen.                             
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We just need to find that killer instinct - Jayawardene

Australia's commanding one-day international form on home soil will make them the outstanding favourites to claim the Commonwealth Bank Series Tri-nation cricket tournament which begins in Melbourne today with a game between the hosts and India."We're the No.1 one-day team in the world so I'd like to think that we're favourites," Australian captain Michael Clarke said yesterday. However, Clarke admitted the two sub-continent teams, India and Sri Lanka can provide a shock despite playing in alien conditions out of their comfort zone. "But in saying that we have to be at our best. We have to play at our best to beat both these teams. They were both in the final of our most recent World Cup. We know the conditions very well in Australia and I'm confident if we play our best cricket we can win this series," added Clarke.

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We may be down… but not out

There’s no hiding the fact that Sri Lanka Cricket is on the downward curve since becoming the runners up of the world cup 2011. 4 Test series, 4 ODI series, 3 tours have gone by without ever getting to touch silverware. The closest we got were in South Africa where one more win could have made the script to be written in a different language but, all these are history. Now we can talk about how badly we played in those matches, how badly we lost a test match in a session against England, how poor our batsmen were against spin in UAE, how badly they coped with the bounce at Paarl, how ineffective our Test attack against South Africa erratic our fielding were most of the time but, let’s not.

           Let’s talk about how our players managed their own game because they had no excuses all along. They never complained about the pitches like our neighbors did, They didn’t call for turning pitches at home like our neighbors did, they didn’t say we beat them at home too like our neighbors did and they didn’t even say a word about their payments. Yes they have lost, all teams do but, they accepted responsibility for the failures and stayed professional throughout and that deserves a pat on the back.

                                        Here comes the opportunity for them to make the last 8 months vanish in to the history. Australia is almost unbeatable at home (although we did last time) and how bad their recent record may be, India are the world champions. So this won’t be plain sailing by any stretch of the imagination but anyone who write Sri Lanka off from the upcoming CB series, can do it at their own peril because Sri Lankan Cricket is far from being bowled.

-NDM

Duty calls again as revolving door stops at Jayawardene

Photo : Getty Images

Having three captains within a year is proof enough that all is not rosy with Sri Lankan cricket.The new leader, for a second stint, Mahela Jayawardene, makes no attempt to gloss over the problems on and off the field but his determination to play a key role is remedying at least the former.Wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara resigned the captaincy after the World Cup final loss to India last year and Sri Lanka's selectors also felt a duty to depart.

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PM's XI abandoned due to rain

The Prime Minister's XI match against Sri Lanka in Canberra has been abandoned due to incessant rain.The match between Brad Haddin's young squad and Mahela Jayawardene's national team was due to start at 10:00am (AEDT) on Friday at Manuka Oval, but was postponed early hoping a light drizzle would clear.ACT cricket officials kept pushing the start time further back from 11:00am to 12:00pm to finally 2:00pm before calling it quits.It was to be a key warm-up match for Sri Lanka ahead of the one-day series against Australia and India and was also the biggest day on the ACT Cricket calendar.

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Majestic innings from Sangakkara

192 against Australia at Hobart on 20th November 2007. This innings is considered by many as one of the best Test innigs ever where he almost took Sri Lanka to a historic win chasing 507 but it was all ended with an unfortunate umpiring call...

Sri Lanka aim to rise above money worries

New Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene is adamant his unpaid squad can put their money woes and off-field dramas behind them to turn around what's been a bleak patch of Test and one-day results.Since finishing runner-up to India at last year's World Cup, Sri Lanka's form has slumped, falling to series losses to England, Australia, Pakistan and most recently South Africa.

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Jayawardene happy to hold poisoned chalice again

Reinstated skipper Mahela Jayawardene says Sri Lanka can overcome a week of turmoil and do what India couldn't - challenge Australia on home soil.The World Cup runners-up arrive in Canberra today ahead of tomorrow's match with the PM's XI at Manuka Oval still stinging from a less-than-perfect start to its one-day international tour, losing to a Victorian 2nd XI by 23 runs in Melbourne yesterday.

Sri Lanka was rocked last week when Tillakaratne Dilshan stepped down as captain after just nine months in the job, coach Geoff Marsh following him out the door two days later.Jayawardene led his country from 2004 until 2009 and is doing his best to separate the off-field dramas from the task at hand.

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Sri Lanka ready for pace: Geoff Marsh

THE Sri Lankan side should have no difficulties adjusting to Australia's livelier wickets, having just come off a Test and one-day series in South Africa, sacked Sri Lanka coach Geoff Marsh warned yesterday.

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Lanka well prepared for Australia series

The Sri Lankan players are unlikely to struggle on the bouncy Australian pitches in the upcoming tri-series as they have performed well in similar conditions in South Africa, the island nation's sacked coach Geoff Marsh said. India have struggled to cope with the conditions and lost the Test series 0-4 apart from losing the first Twenty20 match against Australia on Wednesday. But, according to the former Australian opening batsman, Sri Lanka won't face much problem.

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Lankans look forward, not back, says Malinga

THE marvel of Sri Lanka's last visit to Melbourne, slinging speedster Lasith Malinga, says his team will not get cocky from winning its past two one-day international series against Australia.Malinga carried the drinks yesterday in a depleted Sri Lanka XI's 23-run loss against the Victoria 2nd XI. In late 2010 he provided the highlight of the lightning limited-overs series before the Ashes with a pivotal half-century against Australia at the MCG.

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Unpaid Sri Lanka playing for love

Photo: Pat Scala

This summer's tri-series will be played against the backdrop of a worrying pay dispute for Sri Lanka's players who are owed as much as $US5 million ($A4.7 million) due to a cash crisis within the country's governing body.As Mahela Jayawardene's team battles the world's top two one-day international sides on the field in this month's tri-series, off the field its player union will be taking on a cash-strapped board in a row that threatens to send cricket on the island nation further into turmoil.
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Sanga.. still at the top

Sri Lankan star batsmen Kumar Sangakkara is still at the top as the world’s leading batsmen according to the latest release or ICC rankings. The Sri Lankan left hander has 850 points, four ahead of Jacques Kallis who is in the second place. After his incredible performance against India in the just conclude Test series, Australian captain Michael Clarke moved in to the third spot with 821 points. Sri Lankan middle order batsmen Thilan Samaraweera has secured the 7^th spot of the rankings after a successful South African tour where he scored 2 magnificent centuries.

South African pacer Dale Steyn continues to be the best bowler in the world with 896 points, well ahead of the second place, Pakistani spinner Saeed Ajmal who is probably the best spinner in the world at this point with other spinners in the top ten being Gream Swann and Abdur Rehman.

Two south Africans Hashim Amla and A.B de Villiers hold on to the first and second spot respectively of the ODI batting rankings. The only Sri Lankan in the top ten is Kumar Sangakkara, who is in the 7^th spot with 745 points.
                                       
                                   Spinners dominate the ODI bowling rankings as there are 4 spinners in the top 5 positions. Two Pakistanis, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez are in the 1^st and 2^nd spot while the South African left armer Lonwabo Tsotsobe holds on to the 3^rd place. Sri Lankan pace ace Lasith Malinga is at the 10^th spot with 648 points

-NDM

Muralitharan back at Gloucestershire for T20s

Muttiah Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in Test and ODI cricket, will be back at Gloucestershire this year to play a part in the county's Friends Life t20 campaign. The Sri Lanka offspinner, who retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup final, has most recently turned out for Wellington in New Zealand's domestic Twenty20 competition, the HRV Cup.

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My long term goal is to make SL the best team in the world – Ford

The adage that a good player doesn’t make a good coach has been proved in so many cases, with Sir Viv Richards and Greg Chappell being cases in point. But the contrary seems to be true. An average player can turn out to be an excellent coach. Australia’s John Buchanan played only seven first class games, but won two World Cups and the Ashes three times. Like Buchanan, Sri Lanka’s new coach, Graham Ford also played only seven first class games for Natal ‘B’, but became South Africa’s Head Coach, before he turned 40.

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FACTBOX-Cricket-Australia, India, Sri Lanka Tri-series

FIXTURES          

 Feb 5  - Australia v India, Melbourne          

 Feb 8  - India v Sri Lanka, Perth (0420)      

 Feb 10 - Australia v Sri Lanka, Perth (0420) 

 Feb 12 - Australia v India, Adelaide            

 Feb 14 - India v Sri Lanka, Adelaide           

 Feb 17 - Australia v Sri Lanka, Sydney        

 Feb 19 - Australia v India, Brisbane            

 Feb 21 - India v Sri Lanka, Brisbane           

 Feb 24 - Australia v Sri Lanka, Hobart         

 Feb 26 - Australia v India, Sydney  

 Feb 28 - India v Sri Lanka, Hobart

 Mar 2  - Australia v Sri Lanka, Melbourne    

 Mar 4  - First final, Brisbane          

 Mar 6  - Second final, Adelaide      

 Mar 8 -  Third final, Adelaide*

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