Sports

Epidemiologist Venura Singarachchi told AFP that the two kitchen staff at the Light House hotel in Galle were tested after they showed symptoms.

However, there is no threat to the series as of now as the visiting team confirmed that their bio-bubble security has been excellent.

"Our protocols have been excellent and we continue to be vigilant," spokesman Danny Reuben told AFP.

He said players respected social distancing, wore masks in indoor settings at the hotel and where possible dined outdoors.

Reuben said Moeen was still isolated at a different hotel in Galle and would return to the team as soon as it was safe.

England all-rounder Moeen Ali tested positive for Covid-19 on his arrival in Sri Lanka and is isolated in another hotel.

England arrived in Sri Lanka on January 3 and spent a week in isolation in the southern town of Hambantota before travelling to Galle.

They were allowed into the country despite a ban on flights from Britain in an effort to keep out a new, more contagious coronavirus variant.

Mexican pound-for-pound boxing champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez ended the longest layoff of his career on Saturday, capturing two world super middleweight titles by beating previously undefeated Briton Callum Smith with a unanimous decision victory. The three-division champion, fighting for the first time in 13 months, claimed the vacant World Boxing Council title and its World Boxing Association equivalent despite moving up in weight class for the bout in front of a restricted crowd at the Alamodome.

Canelo Alvarez had a simple explanation for his ability to dominate a previously undefeated champion and emerge unscathed against an opponent that physically towered over him.

“I am better,” Alvarez said. “Because I’m better and I have many abilities. I make them think about what they are going to throw and simply because I’m better.”

Two judges scored the bout 119-109 and the third had it 117-111.

Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) dominated his only bout this year, repeatedly hitting Smith (27-1, 19 KOs) with straight rights and right hooks to the head and punishing his upper arms over 12 rounds.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn said doctors believe Smith tore his left bicep or triceps muscle. There was a noticeable protrusion coming from the bottom of Smith’s arm beginning in the fourth round from Alvarez’s repeated blows.

Alvarez previously knocked out Callum’s older brother, Liam, on Sept. 17, 2106, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Many speculated Callum wanted revenge for the ninth-round knockout, but Alvarez dominated the younger Smith, too.

At 5-foot-8, Alvarez was the aggressor against the 6-foot-3 Smith.

“Like I said, (the size difference) doesn’t matter to me,” Alvarez said. “My boxing experience is what matters. If they are taller, shorter, that doesn’t matter, my experience is what gives me the ability to fight anyone.”

Alvarez controlled the fight, continually pressing forward and only taking a step back to evade one of the numerous punches that Smith missed.

Alvarez threw 494 total punches, landing 43% of them compared to just 18% of 539 punches thrown by Smith.

Sri Lanka were bundled out for 135 – their lowest first-innings total in Galle – after opting to bat, with Dom Bess claiming his second five-for in Test cricket, after Stuart Broad, picked in the XI over Jimmy Anderson, dismantled Sri Lanka's batting line-up.

The England batsmen then made up most of the deficit before the stumps were drawn, despite a difficult start. The visitors lost Dom Sibley in the fifth over of their innings, when Sri Lanka used the DRS to good effect –  Sibley was adjudged caught at slip off Lasith Embuldeniya. When Zak Crawley, who scored a double-century in his last Test against Pakistan, followed suit, England seemed in trouble at 17/2.

However, captain Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow absorbed the pressure and counter-attacked, putting on an unbroken 110* to help England go through to stumps primed for a second-day assault. En route that solid partnership, Root brought up his 50th half-century in Test cricket, Bairstow a typically dominant 47*, and Sri Lanka were left to reflect on one of the tougher days they’ve faced in their Galle fortress.

Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when it emerged their captain, opener Dimuth Karunaratne, was ruled out of the Test with a fractured thumb. Dinesh Chandimal took over the captaincy in his stead, but his team’s batting performance in the first innings has ensured he’ll have a tough outing. Also missing was Suranga Lakmal, who failed to recover from a niggling injury.

The hosts lost their first wicket in as early as the seventh over, when Lahiru Thirimanne fell into Broad’s trap – he had stationed a leg-slip, and sent in a delivery into his ribs, and Thirimanne promptly fended it to the fielder. Two balls later, Broad had another when Kusal Mendis fell to his leg-cutter, feathering an edge to the wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. It was his fourth duck in a row in Tests.

There were a few hopes on Kusal Perera, given his track record for reviving teams in the face of adversity, but when he was dismissed for a 28-ball 20 – he top-edged an attempted reverse-sweep – Sri Lanka were 25/3. It was then that two veteran batsmen, Angelo Mathews and Chandimal, got together to attempt to revive the innings.

It was tough going. Broad had sensed an opening, and Mathews and Chandimal had to be extremely cautious. And they were, putting on a 56-run stand for the fourth wicket, off 113 balls. They had taken the total to 81 when Broad claimed the big wicket of Mathews, who attempted a cut and edged it to slip. When Chandimal followed suit in the next over, Sri Lanka were in dire straits at 81/5.

There was a collapse thereafter. Niroshan Dickwella (12) was dismissed when Sibley took a rather fortunate catch at point off Bess, and four overs later, England struck another blow when Dasun Shanaka, who had scored a hard-fought 23, miscued a slip off Bess and was caught behind.

Dilruwan Perera and Embuldeniya both failed to get off the mark, and while Wanindu Hasaranga’s enterprising 22-ball 19 took Sri Lanka to 135, his dismissal, which helped Bess to the coveted five-wicket haul, ended a difficult innings.

England then ensured they took advantage of that.

Jaffna Stallions defeated Galle Gladiators by 8 wickets to register their win in the second match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2020 played at MRICS in Hambantota on Friday (27).

The Gladiators won the toss and elected to bat first scoring 175 for the loss of 8 wickets. The Jaffna Stallions chased the target easily led by a brilliant knock of 92 from Sri Lanka batsman Avishka Fernando.

The Gladiators were struggling early on to put runs on the board until the arrival of their captain Shahid Afridi, who scored a quick fire 58 runs off just 23 balls including 6 sixes.

However, that wasn't enough as Avishka Fernando, ably supported by veteran all rounder Shoaib Malik, hit seven sixes and finished on 92 not out off 63 balls leading the Jaffna Stallions to a comprehensive victory over the Galle Gladiators.

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry had himself a night Sunday as his 62-point performance set a new high in his career and in the history of Chase Center, while also leading the Warriors to a 137-122 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Naomi Osaka returned to the fore in women's tennis Saturday by coming back to defeat Victoria Azarenka and win her second U.S. Open.

Osaka's 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory capped a run of powerful play and political activism in New York. She wore seven different masks with different names for each of her matches to honour Black victims of violence. She walked on court Saturday with a mask bearing the name of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed in Cleveland by a white police officer in 2014.

"The point was to make people start talking," Osaka said at the awards ceremony.

Naomi Osaka of Japan lays down in celebration after winning her Women's Singles final match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on Day Thirteen of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 12, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. Getty Images

Osaka's win Saturday came in radically different conditions than her first title run in New York in 2018.

In that final, she defeated Serena Williams in a tumultuous straight-set match that turned ugly when Williams clashed in Arthur Ashe Stadium with chair umpire Carlos Ramos, who called three code-of-conduct violations against Williams.

The crowd, unclear on the rules and upset at the treatment of Williams, booed during the awards ceremony, leaving Osaka in tears shortly after her first Grand Slam singles title.

But Ashe Stadium was nearly empty Saturday, as it has been throughout this unusual U.S. Open where fans were not permitted because of the coronavirus pandemic.

What little crowd there was in attendance never became a factor, and though Osaka started very slowly against Azarenka, she gradually found her range and became the first player in 26 years to win a U.S. women's singles final after losing the first set.

The last player to manage it was Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, who rallied to defeat Steffi Graf in 1994.

Osaka, 22, who represents Japan and is based in the U.S., is 3-0 in Grand Slam singles finals. With her huge serve, powerful groundstrokes and improved fitness, she appeared ready to take command of the women's game when she won the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open.

But she surprisingly split with her coach Sascha Bajin shortly after that victory in Australia and struggled to recapture the same sparkling form.

Last year, as she defended her U.S. Open title, Osaka was beaten in the fourth round by Belinda Bencic. At the Australian Open in January, she played an error-filled match and was upset in the third round by Coco Gauff, then 15, an American whom Osaka had beaten in straightforward fashion at the 2019 U.S. Open.

Osaka was in evident disarray, but then came the five-month tour hiatus because of the pandemic. Osaka, the biracial daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, became deeply involved in the social justice movement, attending a rally in Minneapolis and speaking out on social networks and elsewhere.

When she returned to the tour for a two-tournament double header in New York, with the players in a controlled environment, she continued her activism. She initially declined to play her semifinal match in the Western & Southern Open the week before the U.S. Open, in solidarity with athletes in professional basketball, baseball and soccer who were protesting systemic racism and police violence.

Tour officials responded by cancelling the entire day of play, and Osaka went on to reach the final, withdrawing with a left hamstring injury before facing Azarenka.

The hamstring was still strapped Saturday as she came back to beat Azarenka in the final.

Azarenka, 31, from Belarus, lost to Williams in classic U.S. Open finals in 2012 and 2013 but rallied to defeat the 38-year-old Williams in a ferociously contested semifinal Thursday and started just as convincingly Saturday.

Azarenka was unseeded but hardly a tennis outsider. She was No. 1 for 51 weeks in 2012 and 2013 and won two Australian Open singles titles before Williams reasserted herself at the top of the women's game and Azarenka dropped back.

She had injuries, painful breakups with boyfriends and coaches and, most traumatically, a lengthy and bitter custody dispute over her now 3-year-old son, Leo, who stayed with Azarenka and her mother and team at a private home she rented near the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the tournament.

She would have been the first mother to win a Grand Slam singles title since Kim Clijsters won the Australian Open in 2011. As Azarenka dominated the opening set, hitting nearly every first serve in play and controlling the rallies, it appeared she might win in a hurry. Osaka threw her racket at one stage in frustration as her unforced errors piled up.

"I just thought it would be very embarrassing to lose this in under an hour," Osaka said, explaining that she told herself to "stop having a really bad attitude."

Her mood and game improved dramatically as the final progressed, while Azarenka failed to sustain her level of play. After losing the second set and falling behind 1-4 in the third, Azarenka made one more surge, battling through a five-deuce game to hold serve and then breaking Osaka's serve in the next game to close the gap to 3-4.

But at 30-30 on Azarenka's serve in the next game, the match turned for good as Osaka won a high-velocity rally to get a break point and then converted it as Azarenka lined up a forehand, went for an inside-out winner and missed just wide.

Osaka, who has yet to lose a major final, then closed out the victory by holding serve as Azarenka's last shot, a backhand, struck the net. Osaka tapped rackets with Azarenka at the net — another sign of these changed times — and then lay on her back on the court and took a moment to savor the moment.

"I always see everyone sort of collapse after match point, but I always think you may injure yourself, so I wanted to do it safely," she explained. That seemed an appropriate approach at a tournament where staying safe was the top priority, as players were tested for the virus regularly and restricted to their lodging and the tournament site.

"It's not easy times in the world right now," Azarenka said, holding back tears in her post-match speech in the near-empty stadium. "So I'm very grateful for the opportunity to play in front of millions of people watching on TV, unfortunately not here."

"I thought it would be embarrassing to lose this in under an hour," Osaka said in her victory speech. "I fought for every match."

(The New York Times)

South Africa knocked off a target of 67 runs without loss as openers Dean Elgar (31 not out) and Aiden Markram (36 not out) saw them to victory at the Wanderers Stadium - with two-and-a-half days of the contest still remaining.

Success in Johannesburg followed a convincing innings and 45-run triumph in the first Test in Pretoria last week and turned around a poor run of Test form over the last year.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 211 in their second innings, surviving only 95 minutes of Tuesday's morning session.

They resumed their second innings at 4-150 overnight with a tenuous five-run lead but with captain Dimuth Karunaratne not out on 91 and hoping to set the home side an imposing target to chase in the fourth innings.

Karunaratne reached his 10th Test century off 123 balls as the visitors began in aggressive fashion, but a misjudged pull shot saw the Sri Lanka skipper top edge Anrich Nortje to be caught by Wiaan Mulder in a major blow to their hopes, just 20 minutes into the day's play. He was dismissed for 103.

Niroshan Dickwella, who scored 36, followed in the next over as Lungi Ngidi (4-44) took another crucial wicket, setting off an end to the resistance among the lower order.

Lutho Sipamla cleaned up the tail with three wickets in 12 balls, including bowling Wanindu Hasaranga for 16, to finish with figures of 3-40.

Sri Lanka, who won the toss and elected to bat, scored 157 in their first innings and South Africa replied with 302, with Elgar top scoring on 127.

South Africa now look ahead to their first visit in 14 years to Pakistan, where they will play two Tests and three Twenty20 internationals later this month, while Sri Lanka return home to host England in two Tests in Galle. The first starts on January 14.

Moors Sports Club, steeped in rich history spanning over 110 years and situated in the heart of Colombo has now embarked on a course to position itself as the leading cricket playing club in the country. The Moors Sports Club committee is headed by Sajjad Mowzoon with the Hon. General Secretary being Dr. A.M. Mubarak. In addition to cricket, the club offers facilities for Billiards and Snooker, Tennis, a gymnasium, ground facilities and a pavilion.

Moors SC President Sajjad Mowzoon

Cricket has been in the forefront for Moors SC’s sporting endeavors given the fact that cricket was played from the very inception of the club and it has brought much glory and fame to the club over the years. A vibrant and revamped cricket committee composed of leading sportsmen and administrators have now been entrusted the task of regaining the club’s former glory.

Accordingly, the Cricket Committee is as follows:

1. Zuraish Hashim - Cricket Secretary
2. Hisham Jamaldeen
3. Reyaz Noor
4. Jehan Mubarak
5. Dinesh Schaffter

Chamara Kapugedera brought in as Head Coach

Moors SC has appointed Sri Lankan national cricketer Chamara Kapugedera as the Head Coach. Kapugedera played for Sri Lanka from 2008 representing the country in 8 test and 102 ODIs plus 48 T20s. He has been given the clear mandate to position Moors SC as one of the top three clubs in the country for Cricket within the next three years.

Kapugedara will be ably assisted by former national player Jehan Mubarak and former first class player Dinesh Schaffter who will serve as the cricket advisors who will be tasked with managing the cricket affairs of the club.

In recent history a crop of players from Moors SC, namely Chamara Silva, Sajeewa Wijekoon and Kosala Kulasekera had the distinction of representing the national cricket team. Players in the ilk of Rangana Herath (National Player) and Chandika Hathurusingha (national player and coach) have also represented the Moors Sports Club. Up and coming youngster Ramesh Mendis has been identified by the administration as another clear hopeful in this regard.

Speaking to our paper, Hisham Jamaldeen, member of the cricket committee and treasurer of the club said, “We are bringing new life and energy to our club. With the new committee being put in place, coupled with the hiring of former national cricketer Chamara Kapugedera as Head Coach for the next three years, we are extremely confident of achieving our mandate. We want to revamp the club cricket structure and put in place all systems to produce many more national players. We have done reasonably well in the recent club cricket season being able to win the Plate Championship, but we yearn for more."

"With the plans that have been clearly drawn up by Moors SC for Cricket and the in-house desire for pro-active implementation, we can expect the club to create positive waves in the cricketing sphere in the not so distant future," he added.

Ushan is an accomplished opening batsman playing in Sri Lanka’s top tier (A) first-class competition.

A left-hander of some pedigree, he represented Sri Lanka Under-19’s in 11 Test (4) and ODI’s (7), to include the ICC World Cup in Bangladesh back in 2016.

He made his first-class debut for Colts Cricket Club in February 2017 and played two matches during the 2017/18 season, before his move to current club, Badureliya in 2017/18.

Domestic run machine

The youngster excelled for his new club, scoring 323 runs at 53.83 to include his maiden century (154), before striking a further 574 runs at 38.26 (and 2 further hundreds) in 2018/19.

Since joining Badureliya, he has racked up 1,051 runs at 38.92 with 3 centuries and 4 fifties.

The run machine is quite the prospect who was set to follow in the footsteps of fellow Badureliya and CricX clients, Dushan Hemantha and Damith Perera, and play UK league cricket in 2020, before COVID struck.

However, Ushan will get his chance in 2021, having recently signed with Saltburn for their North Yorkshire and South Durham Premier League campaign.

Novak Djokovic has been defaulted from the US Open for hitting and felling a lineswoman with a ball.

The world No.1 fled Flushing Meadows without facing the press but just issued a statement on social media, saying he felt "sad and empty".

"I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok," Djokovic wrote.

"I'm extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong.

"I apologise to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behaviour."

The tournament favourite, who was trying to add to his haul of 17 Grand Slams, pleaded his case with officials for 10 minutes but was kicked out of the New York major.

Djokovic whacked a ball towards the back of the court in a moment of frustration, without looking where it was going, after dropping serve in the first set to trail 5-6 in his fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Busta.

The ball hit the lineswoman in the head/neck area, dropping her to the ground. The lineswoman grabbed her throat after falling. Djokovic quickly ran to her aid but the damage.

De Silva retired hurt during Sri Lanka’s first innings on the opening day of the first test at Centurion Park on Saturday.

His absence will not only weaken the tourists’ top-six batting line-up but also their bowling attack as they will be unable to call on his right-arm off-spin.

The 29-year-old was injured while on 79 as he cruised through for a comfortable single, immediately falling to the ground after completing the run.

De Silva is expected to be out for two weeks but Sri Lanka will hope to have him fit for the home series against England that starts in Galle on Jan. 14.

Sri Lanka closed the opening day on 340 for six, a strong position on a wicket that is providing plenty of assistance to the bowlers.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday appointed Dr Jayantha Dharmadasa as the new vice president after K Mathivanan resigned from his post.