Sri Lanka News Round-up (20 Feb 1998)

Friday 20, February 1998

SRI LANKA SPORTS NEWS AT-A-GLANCE

Compiled by Dinesh Weerawansa.

* The visiting England Customs and Excise team beat Sri Lanka Customs by 9 wickets in their limited over cricket match played at SSC Grounds, Maitland Place.

England Customs all-rounder A. Powney excelled for capturing 4 wickets for 8 runs and top scored with 75 runs. Chief scores: Sri Lanka Customs 149 all out in 38.2 overs (D. Weerakkodi 41, A. Jayasinghe 27, A. Udawatta 21, A. Powney 4 for 8); England Customs 151 for 2 wickets in 35.1 overs (A. Powney 75, D. Weerakkodi 2 for 20).

* Ravindra Pushpakumara took a matchbag of 9 for 96 as NCC defeated Panadura SC outright by eight wickets in their P.Saravanamuttu trophy Division one segment 'A' cricket tournament match concluded at Panadura.

Chief scores: Panadura SC 217 (S. Wijesuriya 33, S. Kumara 102 n.o, R. Pushpakumara 4 for 56, S. de Silva 3 for 34) and 140 (N. Jayalath 31, M. Jayasena 25, K. Silva 18, R. Pushpakumara 5 for 40, R. Peiris 2 for 23). NCC 263 (R. Arnold 112, R. Peiris 28, A. Gunawardena 26, N. Saranasekera 18, K. Silva 2 for 61, D. Arunasiri 7 for 73) and 95 for 2 (R. Arnold 39, R. Peiris 45, M. Silva 2 for 12).

* Galle CC trounced Matale CC by nine wickets in their P.Saravanamuttu trophy Division one segment 'B' cricket tournament match concluded at the Galle Esplanade.

Chief scores: Matale CC 275 (R. Punchihewa 59, A. Kumara 51, I. Prasad 40, C. Vithanage 3 for 60, C. Perera 4 for 45, D. Charles 2 for 37) and 194 (R. Punchihewa 25, I. Prasad 65, A. Jayasekera 50, S. Fonseka 3 for 28, H. Rajapaksa 3 for 32). Galle CC 375 for 5 decl (S. Fonseka 63, C. Vithanage 35, D. Sudarshana 68, D. Wickramasinghe 100 n.o, C. K. Hewamanna 48 n.o, P. C. Aluvihare 2 for 52, A. Kumara 2 for 74) and 95 for 1 (S. Fonseka 25, C. Vithanage 42, D. Sudarshana 25).

* A brilliant knock of 106 not out by Tharaka Jayasekera (13 fours) and a bemusing spell of left arm spin bowling by Priyantha Weragoda who captured a match bag of 8 for 51 helped Kandy Cricket Club to post their third outright win of the season when they beat Navy Sports Club by 178 runs in the segment B of P. Sara trophy cricket tournament match concluded at Navy grounds, Welisara.

Navy were set a victory target of 362 and they were all out for 224. Chief scores: Kandy CC 195 all out in 51 overs (I. Kulatunga 50, A. Perera 4 for 49, N. Gunawardena 3 for 48) and 296 all out (S. Weerasiri 65, Tharaka Jayasekera 106 not out, K. Perera 3 for 88, M. Gunaratne 3 for 62, N. Dissanayake 3 for 48). Navy SC 124 all out (S.M. Perera 40, I. Beddegama 5 for 49, P. Weragoda 3 for 12) and 224 all out (M.Dissanayake 30 not out, I. Beddegama 4 for 64, Priyantha Weragoda 5 for 48).

* Good bowling by spinner S. de Silva who captured a match bag of 9 for 132 for Nalanda College and an aggressive knock of 80 by Ravindra Wickramapala with 8 fours, one six, one seven) for St. Anthony's College was the highlight of their inter-school cricket match which ended in a draw at Katugastota.

In a rare incident, Ravindra Wickremapala scored seven runs off a single scoring stroke. He glanced spinner S. de Silva on to the leg side and ran two which was converted into three when the fielder misfielded. This fielder in an attempt to have a direct hit at the stumps only succeeded in sending the ball to the boundary for four overthrows making a total of seven runs for that delivery. Chief scores: St. Anthony's College 200 for 8 decl. (Ravindra Wickremapala 80, K. Jayaratne 36, M. Pallihakkara 39, S. de Silva 7 for 71) and 200 for 4 (R. Wickremapala 32, M. Chithrasena 53, M. Pallihakkara 48 n.o., S. de Silva 2 for 61); Nalanda 265 for 8 decl in 63 overs (D. Jayasundera 29, S. Rodrigo 91, d. Dayaratne 20, P. Hedigolla 31).

* Kingswood College, Kandy pulled off a dramatic two wicket win over St. Aloysius College, Galle in their Coca Cola Bottlers Trophy under 19 cricket tournament match played at Police Grounds, Kandy.

Kingswoodians were set a victory target of 125 runs in 26 overs and after beign 88 for 3, lost wickets in a wild chase for runs and were tottering at 100 for 8 at one stage. But tail-ender No. 10 batsman Namal Pushpakumara slammed the 26 runs required by remaining unbeaten on 26 which included two fours and two sixes. He finished the match with a huge six which cleared the long-on boundary. Chief scores: St. Aloysius - 186 and 130 all out; Kingswood - 191 all out and 127 for 8.

* St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa forced a draw in their coca Cola Bottlers Trophy Cricket Tournament match aainst St. Sylvester's College, Kandy at Peradeniya University grounds.

Highlight of the match was a fine 140 runs stand for the second between Zahran Hijireen 74 (11 fours) and Ranga Dissanayake 60 (7 fours, 1 six) for St. Sylvester's. Chief scores: St. Sebastian's -201 and 185 for 6 - St. Sylvester's 284 for 9 decl.

Roshan, Sanath special guests

By Mohammed Rasooldeen in Riyadh

Two star players in the world's champion cricket team will be the special guests at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Sri Lankan independence day which will be held at the Prince Muhammed Bin Fahd Amusement Park at the Half Moon Bay in the eastern province today. Sri Lankans and cricket fans from all parts of the Kingdom will get an opportunity of meeting and greeting Roshan Mahanama and Sanath Jayasuriya on this occasion.

Mahanama who is the 3rd senior player in the team is one of the world's best fielders while Jayasuriya who has entertained the spectators with his batting marvels, holds the world record for scoring the fastest half a century off 17 balls in one day international cricket. Jayasuriya has topped the list of batsmen in the CEAT ranking with 110 points in his favour. Both Mahanama and Jayasuriya re-wrote history with a partnership of 548 runs in tests.

The Sri Lankan Expatriates Association, SLEA, in the eastern province has chalked out a day's program for the participants with the star cricketers. The program is being worked out by a special committee headed by Charley Talayaratne.

Catches win matches

School cricket review by Premasara Epasinghe

Most of the inter-school cricket matches played last weekend, resulted in no-decisions.

The main reason this can be attributed to poor-fielding. If a side is not prepared to make sure of the catches that come their way, they will never be able to win a match. Therefore, always concentrate on your fielding as "catches win matches". It is easy to judge the value of a batsman who is piling on the runs. In the same way a bowler who is taking wickets. Sometimes, there are no facts and figures to support the worth of an outstanding fielder. Be that as it may, top-class fielders are priceless to any eleven. Since, you will be fielding for 75 per cent of the time you spend playing cricket, you must always practise the skills constantly.

To improve fielding the coach also has to play an important role. He must encourage the players to enjoy the game. Fielding practice should be fun. When teaching fielding you must not allow boys to be hurt or frightened. There is no quicker way of making a boy dislike fielding than bruising his hands. You must not forget the fact, that fielding is something that a player can teach himself too.

One of the most difficult aspects of fielding is that you have to concentrate on every ball. Cricket is such a funny game that the moment your concentration falls apart, this is the very moment a "catch" comes on your way. This very often happens to the wicket-keepers and slip-fielders. The moment they relax, a catch will go a begging, which sometimes will cost the match. Therefore never take your mind away from the game.

The wicket-keeper is the most important fielder in the field. He may have to stop every ball. In short, he takes more catches, stumps more batsmen, and runs out more players than any other fielder. For a good keeper there is no substitute. He must be consistently proficient. He must be a "tower of inspiration" to a side.

Speedy footwork and quick movement are important to good wicket-keeping. This starts from a very comfortable squatting position. Keep the body balanced and the feet apart. Stand back for enough to face bowlers. Judge how far outside the off stump you should stand for slow bowlers. Watch the ball all the time and concentrate.

You should always take fielding as a personal challenge against you and the batsman. One cardinal principle an outfielder should follow is to move in with the bowler. Some schoolboys do not follow these basics and falter. The attacking outfielder is positioned away from the wicket, the third man area, deep point, cover, extra-cover, mid-off, mid-on, mid-wicket, square leg, fine-leg and on-side.

If you analyse most dismissals in cricket, they result from catches. Many of these catches are taken in close to the wicket positions. They are positioned in front of the wicket and behind. The slip cordon and the close-in fielder in front of the wicket should watch the ball in play all the time. Always be balanced, watch the ball and the batsman.

Anticipation is another skill that will improve your fielding. When in the covers, it is good to watch the batsman's actions. By having a very close look at the way the batsman moves his feet in a particular position, you can get a fair idea where the ball is going. Ananda - Mahinda

Bad fielding let Ananda down. A superb 118 by Anandian, M. Pusphakumara, and a fine spell of bowling by S. Rupasinghe (match bag of 10 for 129) was all in vain, when they could not hold on to catches which came their way. P. Kumara (57) and D. Munasinghe (40) rescued the Mahindians. D.S.S. - Thurstan

D. S. Senanayake College, recorded an eight-wicket win against Thurstan College in their inter-school cricket match concluded at Wijerama Mawatha. The architect of D. S. Senanayake's victory was Namal Abeywickrema with a match bag of 9 for 36. Royal - Wesley

Exchanges were even at the Royal-Wesley encounter at Reid Avenue. In a batsman's paradise, both teams made 737 runs and only 24 wickets fell on both days. Ruchira Jayasuriya (56 & 34 n.o.) and skipper Shanaka Perera (67) top scored for Royal and Nalin Balasuriya (46) and M. Zainudeen (47) batted well for Wesley. Richmond - Prince of Wales

Primal Buddhika of Richmond College and Indika Hittatiya of Prince of Wales stole the limelight in scoring 94 and 99 respectively in their drawn cricket match concluded at Moratuwa. St. Peters - St. Benedict's

St. Peter's - St. Benedict's inter-school cricket encounter ended in a draw where both sides passing 200 run mark. Consistent run-getter Peterite skipper M. Warnapura (77 n.o.) batted well for the Bambalapitiya lads. G. M. Theeban scored 59 runs for St. Benedict's. De Mazenod - St. Anne's

Batsmen dominated in the De Mazenod vs St. Anne's drawn inter-school cricket match played at Kandana. The highlight of this game was the twin centuries scored by De Mazenod skipper Priyasad Seneviratne (102 & 105). Seneviratne's achievement is great, in any standards. If my memory serves right only few schoolboys have achieved this distinction. In 1953 Nalandian W. W. Silva scored a twin century against St. Benedicts, and in recent years Kumar Dharmasena scored twin hundreds for Nalanda. Nalanda - Dharmapala

Dharmapala, Pannipitiya led Nalanda in the first innings in their inter-school cricket match played at Nalanda grounds, Colombo.

Dharmapalian Hiran Gunawardane (78) and Nalandian Arunalu de Silva (58) batted well and Sanjaya Devapura (4 for 40) bowled well for Dharmapala College.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)