Sri Lanka News Round-up (20 Jan 1998)

Tuesday 20, January 1998

SRI LANKA SPORTS NEWS AT-A-GLANCE

Compiled by Dinesh Weerawansa.

* A Sri Lankan student in United Kingdom Harsha Priyantha Wickremasinghe, playing for the Lashings Cricket Club, Maidston Kent, plans to join a cricket club in Colombo to play during the summer vacation from July to September this year.

Wickremasinghe is a fast bowler and coached by former West Indian captain Richie Richardson who is also the cricket captain of Lashingtons CC. Local clubs interested in obtaining the services of the paceman could contact him on 19, Dixon Close, Maidston, Kent ME 156 SS England. (Home):

* Former Sri Lanka wicket keeper batsman Lanka Silva has been included in the Sri lanka Board X1 squad which will play Zimbabwe in a one day limited over game to be played at Moartuwa Stadium tomorrow. Dashing Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya will lead the local side at this match which will be the only warm-up for the visiting Zimbabwe team before their three-match one day international series.

Ex-Test all rounder Ruwan Kalpage will be the vice captain to jayasuriya and the Board X1 team include Sri Lanka 'caps' Ravindra Pushpakumara, Upul Chandana and Mahela Jayawardena. The three one day internationals between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe will be played on January 22 (SSC grounds), 24 (Premadasa Stadium) and 26 (SSC grounds). Zimbabwe team will leave Colombo on January 28.

* Sri Lanka's next Test commitment will be against South Africa. Sri Lanka team is due to tour South Africa from early March to play two Tests and to figure in a triangular one day international series which also features Pakistan.

Prior to the two Tests against Sri Lanka, South Africa will host Pakistan for a three-Test series which ends on March 10 in Port Elizabeth. The first Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa will commence in Cape Town on March 19. The second Test will be played in Centurion Park from March 27. South Africa is one of the three countries which have not lost a Test to Sri Lanka, the other two being Australia and the West Indies.

* Sri Lanka remained in the sixth place in the Wisden Cricket Monthly's year-ending unofficial World Championship table of Test nations.

Sri Lanka who were placed seventh in the Wisden Test rankings two months back but climbed a step ahead displacing England after Arjuna Ranatunga's team gained a point for drawing the recent three-Test series with India nil-all. Sri Lanka's 2-0 series win against Zimbabwe has not been counted in the last rankings.

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