Now comes the post Murali era

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It’s back to Test cricket after the slam bang approach of the shorter version. The Indians are here once again to do battle in Tests. Mind you at the end of the series which will be the first week of August, the two teams would have played six Test matches in a matter of nine months! I wonder whether either India or Sri Lanka would have ever had so many engagements with another nation in such a short span! Maybe its becoming a bit too predictable and could be stale to the players and the public too.

The Test series in 2010 would amount to a crucial phase in Test cricket for the Sri Lankans. This would be for two reasons. Firstly it would see the end of an illustrious career of one of Sri Lanka’s greatest cricketing sons, Muthiah Muralitharan!

Having played International cricket for almost two decades Murali, as he is fondly known, would want to bow out on a high and one way of doing it is to reach the magical 800 wickets and the other is to force a victory for Sri Lanka. However only the events which will unfold during the game will stand to decide the final conclusion and let’s hope it will be memorable for Murali and a fitting finale to him.

But that apart Muralitharan will be remembered for his unparallel record and the humiliation he was subjected to and of course the manner he overcame them all! His act will be a very hard one to emulate and one wonders whether any bowler would ever get close to these phenomenal deeds! Especially with so much of cricket being played at present the bowlers in particular would be the ones hard pressed to maintain themselves free of injury and therefore it is questionable as to whether any one bowler would be able to carry on long enough to get close to the 800 wicket mark.

Muralitharan’s illustrious career is coming to an end

Besides the retirement of Murali, the series will turn out to be a whole new era for Sri Lanka cricket! i.e the post Muralitharan era! Looking back one could recall the days when Sri Lankan bowling was only Murali and Vaas. And without the bowling of the said duo, the Lankans were no match to any opposing batsmen. Hence many bating records were set up against the Lankan bowling, though the situation has been reversed largely due to the great commitment and expertise of the bowling coaches who have been instrumental in Sri Lanka being able to hit back in that area of the game with some world class performers taking the field today.

However, the question that begs an answer is how would Sri Lanka cope with Test cricket in the future? This is an extremely interesting phenomenon which warrants a credible reply. First it was Chaminda Vaas who hung up his boots and now it’s Muralitharan bidding goodbye after the first Test in Galle! On that topic I want to congratulate Murali for deciding to call it a day when people may be still asking him, “Why are you going” rather than “Why not?”

Back to the question of how would Sri Lanka cope without Murali? This again is something only the future would reveal. Maybe the remaining two Test matches against India could give us an indication, though its comforting to note that Sri Lanka has played Test cricket without Muralitharan in the past when injury plagued him and have also been able to do reasonably well even during his absence in the recent past.

Besides India hasn’t won a series in Sri Lanka since 1993 either! But it will be the vacuum that Murali creates which will be tough for any single bowler to fill. Besides his huge ability with the ball the psychological advantage he brings in to the game which he holds over many batsmen around the world will not be lost on the very same players when they play Sri Lanka minus Muralitharan. Further batsmen in the international circuit are sure to breathe a sigh of relief and will not have nightmares when playing Sri Lanka as they had no clue when dealing with the spin of Murali.Though the evidence of the challenges in post Muralitharan era may be real and hard to accept all good things have to come to an end and Murali was definitely one of the greatest things that have happened to Sri Lanka cricket which is ending. It is a good decision that the Chairman and the Secretary of the Interim Committee are part of the organizing committee overseeing the arrangements of the Muralitharan farewell, ensuring that attention to detail is paid besides giving the hero a great sendoff.

And from a Sri Lankan cricketing perspective I must add that all is not lost. Though we may never find another Murali for another one hundred years, we certainly have Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv, Malinga Bandara, Sachitra Senanayake, Seekuge Prasanna, Saranga Rajaguru, Rushan Jaleel etc all either proven quality or waiting in the wings to show their metal and the list can go on as the talent is enormous!

As any good manager will look to turn a disadvantage to his advantage, I believe it’s up to the Sri Lankan cricketing think tank to now look at using the absence of Murali as an opportunity rather than a threat and blood and permit the potential players with sufficient exposure to ensure that the supply line is not dry.
But as for Murali it’s a big thank you for the entertainment. You will definitely be missed!

Murali bites back

Australia's self confessed "cricket tragic" John Winston Howard has once again been taught the lesson that he should have learnt a long time ago. The last general election had him voted out of office as the majority of Aussie's had had enough of his arroance. Now, seven of the ten full member nations of the ICC have dealt another blow that should finally take his mug off the front pages of all newspapers.

Sri Lanka's spinning sensation - Muthiah Muralitharan- had to cope with little Johnnie's comments about his bowling action at a time when the cross he bore was so heavy - until he was finally cleared of any wrong doing in his bowling action by the ICC itself.

John Howard had every opportunity to apologise to Murali at the Tsunami Cricket Match played in Melbourne in 2005 - instead he chose to ask that the new kid on the block Michael Clarke- be brought up to the President's box to speak to the then Primate Minister.

Murali went on to write his name in the book of legends when he broke every spinning record. John Howard was thrown out of office and now has been thrown out in his attempt to become the Chairman of the ICC. To blame it on Robert Mugabe is like blaming Saddam Hussein for the weapons of mass destruction that have still to be found.

CHARLTON HESTON in INDEPENDENT 21st July 1999 said "The most important thing a man can learn - the importance of three little words: "I was wrong". These words will get you much further than "I love you".

NCC felicitates Kumar Sangakkara

NCC President Camilus Abeygoonawardene handing over a memento to Kumar Sangakkara at the felicitation ceremony.

Amidst a distinguished gathering of past and present Sri Lanka cricketers, officials of Sri Lanka Cricket, family and friends, the Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) felicitated Kumar Sangakkara on his appointment as the Sri Lanka Cricket Captain at the Club House on Friday evening.

After a brief welcome address by the President of NCC Camilus Abeygunawardene and a felicitation speech by former NCC President Ranjt Fernando, Kumar Sangakkara captivated the audience with a relatively long but a spectacular speech.

Sangakkara who is known for his eloquent speeches traced back his illustrious cricket career at Trinity College and also recalled as to how he joined the Nondescripts Cricket Club.

“It was my school friend Ashan Welagedara who first invited me to join the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) twelve years ago. While I was walking to the CCC to get myself enrolled, Asoka de Silva met me and invited me to meet him. I promptly agreed, and at this meeting Asoka invited me to join the NCC. I was delighted as it would give me the opportunity to play along side some great cricketers like Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tilakaratne, Russell Arnold and a few others. I agreed with Asoka and had to disappoint my friend Ashan’s request. And the rest is history now”.

During his speech the Sri Lanka Cricket Captain paid a glorious tribute to his past cricket coaches Upul Jayasiri, Bernard Perera, and Sunil Fernando and many others for helping him during his early years. However he emphasized that it was Dav Whatmore who provided him with the opportunity of batting at the top that helped him to be the batsman he is today.” It was during a tour in South Africa that Dav called me up and asked me to bat at number three. If you need to play for Sri Lanka for long you need to bat at number three, Dav stressed”recalled Sangakkara.

The Sri Lanka Captain had also a word of thanks to his parents, family members, wife Yeheli and some of his close friends who were all present at the evening. In a lighter vein he quipped: “My father was my first coach and he is also my biggest critic. So much so that he tells me that sometimes I bat like a ‘donkey,” ” even today.

Sangakkara speaks on ultimate ‘hat trick

As India and Sri Lanka prepare for the Micromax Asia Cup final - Captain of the Sri Lankan team Kumar Sangakkara and bowler Muthiah Muralitharan took time off to speak to children from Matale, about good nutrition, sanitation and girls' education.

"We are very excited to lend our voices to this noble effort and create awareness about what is happening to our children because we don't just care about cricket, we are fathers, we are husbands, we are brothers and we really care about our communities. This for us is the ultimate Hat Trick - it goes beyond everything, said Sangakkara.

Last week at a joint press conference held by the Asian Cricket Council and UNICEF, the captains of the four nations competing for the Micromax Asia Cup, endorsed the Healthy Hat-Trick: invest in good nutrition, sanitation and girls' education, three critical interventions to save children's lives.

UNICEF Sri Lanka Representative, Philippe Duamelle, said: It was great to see Sri Lanka's Farveez Maharoof take the first Hat-Trick of the tournament. When it comes to the Healthy Hat-Trick for children, Sri Lanka has made great progress - investing in girls' education and sanitation, however, challenges in nutrition still rema

‘We are ready’ - Sangakkara

Our cricketers should be ready to perform with great skill at the T/20 World Cup in the West Indies – This sentiment was expressed by skipper Kumar Sangakkara on the eve of Sri Lanka cricket team’s departure to the Caribbean’s yesterday.

Sri Lanka cricketers hold the ‘pirith noola’ as they are blessed for success before their departure to the Caribbean at the Cricket Board Headquarters yesterday – Pic by J. Weerasekera

“We have a set plan for the contest. When we face New Zealand in the first competition game on April 30, we will field a team that could match the New Zealanders,” said Sangakkara. “We will not take any game lightly, even Zimbabwe,” quipped Sangakkara.

When asked about Dilshan’s opening partner, Sangakkara said that there are four players – Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardena and Dinesh Chandimal – who could be the openers but they have not finalized the openers but will decide on them after considering the conditions in the West Indies.

“We will not put pressure on the new comers. There are others to shoulder responsibilities,” said Sangakkara.

Former skipper Mahela Jayawardena said that he had performed as an opener in competitions held in Sri Lanka and is prepared to take on the job if the team management decides so.
Sri Lanka will have a practice game against South Africa on April 28.

Sangakkara guides Kandurata to second win

Sanga once again proved why they have rated him as No. 1 - Pic by Ranjith Perera

MAS Holdings Kandurata skipper Kumar Sangakkara put in another superlative batting display when he cracked an 84 ball knock of 96, with six boundaries and two sixes. This score helped Sangakkara to guide his side to an easy 192 run win over E-Wis Basnahira North at the R. Premadasa Stadium yesterday.

Sangakkara was supported by two fine knocks. In the first he was associated with opener Tharanga Paranavithana with whom he added a valuable 118 run partnership for the third wicket. The other was an unbeaten 60 by Chamara Kapugedera who shared a 80 run stand for the fourth wicket. This helped Kanduarata to reach a formidable 296 for 5.

Basnahira North having won their two previous games was no where close to their old form. They lost their first four wickets for 40 runs in the ninth over. These included batsmen who cracked half tons in the previous game - Avishka Gunawadena, Ruwin Peiris and Shanuka Dissanayake - with the last two going for ducks.

In the early stages skipper Sangakkara only used his pacies Akalanka Ganegama, Kaushalya Weeraratne and Thilina Thushara. This trio obliged the skipper to obtain the much needed breakthrough.

Muttiah Muralitharan was brought in only after 24 overs with Basnahira North struggling at 92 for 9. Ultimately it was Muralitharan who finished off the innings. Murali dismissed Dhammika Prasad and Basnahira North were bundled out for 104 in 26.3 overs.

MAS Holdings Kandurata 296 for 5 in 50 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 96, Tharanga Paranavithana 75, Sajith Fernando 18, Chamara Kapugedera 60 n.o.)

E-Wis Basnahira North 104 in 26.3 overs (Dhanuka Pathirana 20, Gayan Wijekoon 19; Thilina Thushara 3 for 18, Kaushalya Weeraratne 2 for 19, Akalanka Ganegama 2 for 35)

Ruhuna crash again
Hirdaramani Ruhuna succumbed to their second defeat of the inter-provincial limited over cricket tournament when they were beaten by 39 runs by Lanka Bell Wayamba in a rain shortened encounter at the Welagedera Stadium in Kurunegala yesterday.
No play was possible in the morning session due to heavy rain. When the green light was given after the lunch session, the match was curtailed to 22 overs.

Wayamba sent in to bat first lost two quick wickets. They were however propped up by a third wicket partnership of 56 runs between Mahela Udawatte and Jehan Mubarak. This helped them to make an imposing 143 for 5 in their 22 overs. Mubarak was the top scorer with a 47 ball knock of 47 which included four boundaries.

Ruhuna sans skipper Sanath Jayasuriya in their run chase, struggled as pacies Farveez Maharoof, Ishara Amarasinghe and Ajantha Mendis broke the back bone of the top order batting to send them reeling at 60 for 5 at the half way stage. The batting was a repeat of their first game with none of the batsmen being able to make any useful contribution. Spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi put the finishing touches to end the Ruhuna innings for 104. Lokuarachchi ended with figures of 4 for 24 while Maharoof took 3 for 19.

Lanka Bell Wayamba 143 in 22 overs (Mahela Udawatte 26, Jehan Mubarak 47 n.o., Farveez Maharoof 23 n.o.; Sachitra Senanayake 2 for 28)

Hirdaramani Ruhuna 104 in 20.4 overs (Anil Ridigammanagedera 26, Kosala Kulasekera 20, Gihan de Silva 15; Kaushal Lokuarachchi 4 for 24, Farveez Maharoof 3 for 19)

Premier league cricket- Big guns boom

Angelo Matthews who scored 168 for Colts in action yesterday. Pic by Ranjith Perera

It was a week where most of the national stars shone. Beginning with the effort of young Angelo Mathews who made a brilliant 168 against CCC, there were several other good performances by the ‘big guns’.
At Maitland Place national captain Mahela Jayawardena who had a bad patch in Zimbabwe came up with a typically fluent knock of 60 runs against arch rivals NCC while medium pacer Nuwan Kulasekera bamboozled the CCC batting to capture 6 for 31 for Colts in their match played next door.

At Panagoda left arm spinner Rangana Herath celebrated his recall to the national squad in style for Moors against Army. First Herath scored 32 and 55 and followed it up with a haul of 6 for 28 to guide his side to a narrow first innings win.

‘Keep fighting on’ seems to be the motto of forgotten national leg spinner Malinga Bandara. Bandara turning out for Ragama CC captured 3 for 8 and then followed it up with a breezy half century to help his side to a first innings win over the strong Chilaw Marians.

Besides Bandara, Harsha Witharana also contributed well for Ragama when he hit 101 runs facing 248 balls with eleven fours.

At CCC grounds
Colts - 328 for 7 cont. 379 (Dilruwan Perera 48, Malinda Warnapura 21, Nuwan Kulasekera 21, Angelo Mathews 168, Sajeewa Weerakoon 46: Sujeewa de Silva 2 for 74 Jehan Mubarak 2 for 78, Chaminda Vidanapathirana 3 for 68, Ishan Ratnayake 2 for 75)

CCC 133 (Jehan Mubarak 42, Bhathiya Perera 31, Nisal Randika 33n.o. Nuwan Kulasekera 6/31, Ishara Amerasinghe 2/32) and 28 for no loss (Michael Vandort 16n.o., Daminda Ranaweera 12n.o.)

At P. Sara Stadium
Tamil Union - 336 for 6 cont. 349 (Gihan Rupasinghe 84, Ashan Priyanjana 74, Sajith Fernando 49, Lanka de Silva 39, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara 46: Duncan Arnolda 5 for 79, Niroshan Bandarathileke 2 for 62) and 36 for no loss (Jeewan Mendis 16n.o. Sajith Fernando 18n.o.)

Badureliya CC 203 (70) (Chanaka Withanage 33, Rasika Priyadarshana 14, Alankara Asanka 75n.o. Malinga Surappullige 3 for 25, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara 3/15)

At SSC ground
NCC - 194 (Kanchana Gunawardena 40, Chanaka Wijesinghe 33, Sahan Wijeratne 28, Kosala Kulasekera 25, Lasith Fernando 20: Sachitra Senanayake 6 for 61) and 39 for 1 (Upul Tharanga 31n.o. Thilina Kandamby 1/1)

SSC - 38 for no loss cont. 308 for 7 dec. (Dimuth Karunaratne 28, Naveen Perera 20, Kaushal Silva 54, Mahela Jayawardena 60, Thilina Kandamby 32, Kaushalya Lokuarachchi 68, Shalika Karunanayake 24n.o., Tharaka Kottehewa 2/72, Kosala Kulasekera 2/36, Damith Indika 2/68)

At Panagoda
Moors - 161 (Anil Ridigammanagedera 40, Rangana Herath 32, Shameera Weerasinghe 30: Seekkuge Prasanna 3 for 48, Navantha Ratnayake 2 for 32, Asela Gunaratne 2 for 36) and 189 for 6 at close (Damith Hunukumbura 61, Rangana Herath 55, Wesley Fernando 25, Dhammika Sudarshana 21, Seekkuge Prasanna 4/60, Damith Balasuriya 2/22)

Army - 50 for 1 cont. 154 (Asela Gunaratne 45, Chandima Prasad 21, Damith Balasuriya 21, Rangana Herath 6 for 28)

At Braybrooke Place
Chilaw Marians - 170 for 7 cont. 214 (Gayan Wijekoon 26, Suresh Niroshan 25, Milinda Siriwardena 20, Nimesh Perera snr. 77: Malinga Bandara 3 for 8, Kaushalya Weeraratne 4 for 79)

Ragama CC 309 for 7 (Harsha Witharana 101n.o., Indika de Saram 53, Malinga Bandara 50, Hemantha Wickremasinghe 46, Dinuk Hettiarachchi 4 for 113, Janaka Gunaratne 2/48)

Premier Cricket Tier B
At Panadura Esplanade
Panadura - 101 (Nilantha Cooray 18: Lasantha Manoj 5 for 35, Rashmi Jinan 2 for 34) and 293 for 9 (Shamika Ruwan 66, Pramuka Liyanage 90, Dinusha Fernando 43n.o., Amila Perera 28, Mahesh Priyadarshana 6/33, Lasantha Manoj 2/50)

Police - 130 for 6 cont. 167 (58.3) (Rashmi Jinan 31, Tharindu Weerasinghe 25, Nihal Soysa 22, Dhammika Rajapakse 45: Nilantha Cooray 6 for 36)

At NCC ground
Moratuwa SC - 126 (Harsha de Silva 50, Rashimal Mendis 22, Milinda Sepala 22: Neville Liyanage 5 for 48, Sameera Vithana 3 for 16) and 87 (Sudeepa Perera 26: Neville Liyanage 4 for 26)
Singha SC - 137 for 6 cont. 156 (Thilina Rajakaruna 17, Asela Wewalwala 82: Lakshan Rodrigo 4 for 12, Charith Fernando 3 for 42, Lakshan Rodrigo 4/12) and 59 for 1 (Thilina Rajakaruna 27n.o. Denver Faux 17n.o.)

At Royal ground
Seeduwa/Raddoluwa CC - 129 (Umesh Karunaratne 36, Manjula Priyantha 25: Malinda Pushpakumara 4 for 32, Prabhath Priyankara 3 for 57) and 180 (Tharaka Waduge 36, Ranil Dhammika 41, Gihan Dilruk 24, Malinga Pushpakumara 4/62, Prabhath Priyankara 2/37) Saracens SC - 81 for 6 cont. 197 (Samith Dushantha 19, Chamara Soysa 68, Shashrika Pussegolla 58: Umesh Karunaratne 3 for 24, Ranil Dhammika 4 for 66) and 24 for 3 (Umesh Karunaratne 2 for 10)

At De Zoysa Stadium
BRC - 230 (Dilhan Cooray 52, Jehan Perera 39, Romesh Eranga 28, Manoj Fernando 21: Gayan Sirisoma 3 for 44, Praneeth Jayasundera 3 for 54, Hemantha Boteju 2 for 15) and 108 (Rathika Wimaladharma 27n.o., Romesh Eranga 21, Pubudu Seneviratne 21, Praneeth Jayasundera 2/11, Dhammika Perera 2/26, Chathura Athukorala 2/20)
Sebastianites - 21 for 2 cont. 144 (65.4) (Lahiru Peiris 34, Ruvin Peiris 31, Lakmal Fernando 20, Bradman Ediriweera 18: Romesh Eranga 4 for 38, Marlon Madhushanka 4 for 28) and 5 for 1 at close (Romesh Indika 1/5)

At Rifle Green
Air Force - 240 for 8 cont. 276 (Madhawa Warnapura 51, Abuthahir Rizan 48, Ajith Kumara 31, Yasith de Silva 64, Chamila Gamage 32: Selvin Perera 5 for 90, Mangala Kumara 3 for 53)
Lankan CC 366 for 8 at close (Heshan Tillekaratne 47, Dasun Ariyaratne 23, Chanaka Wannakuwatte 64, Sashan Silva 38, Raju Gayashan 51, Pishan Hewage 51, Mangala Kumara 50n.o., Yasith de Silva 3/58, Suwanji Madanayake 2/91, Rizan Abuthahir 2/72)