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Sports

SLC announce new selection committee

Sri Lanka's Minister of Sports Harin Fernando on Tuesday announced that three members will fucntion as national selectors for Sri Lanka Cricket for a year.

Accordingly, Fernando has named Asantha de Mel as the chairman of selectors along with Vinothen John and Chaminda Mendis.

Sri Lanka whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0 in the recently concluded ODI series.

Now the selection for the team against New Zealand Test series will be done by the newly formed selection committee.

Sri Lanka is scheduled play their first Test of the 'Test World Championship' against the visiting Kiwis in Colombo from August 14.

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SLC analyst charged under ICC anti-corruption code

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has charged Sanath Jayasundara with two counts of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

Jayasundara, a performance analyst at Sri Lanka Cricket, has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect. 

The charges are as follows:

1.
Article 2.1.3 – offering a bribe or other Reward to the Sri Lankan Sports Minister to contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an International Match
OR (in the alternative)

Article 2..1.1 – contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an International

Match

AND

2. 

Article 2.4.7 – obstructing or delaying an ACU investigation into possible corrupt conduct under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code Jayasundara has 14 days to respond to the charges.

The ICC will not make any further comment in respect of these charges at this stage.

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'Slinga' Malinga bids adieu as Sri Lanka crush Bangladesh

Lasith Malinga shone in his farewell match after Kusal Perera struck a quick-fire century as Sri Lanka crushed Bangladesh by 91 runs in the first one-day of a three-match series in Colombo on Friday.

Malinga rattled Bangladesh with his fiery opening spell, reducing the visitors to 39-4 in the process, without allowing them to recover from the damage despite the best efforts by Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir Rahman.

Mushfiqur made 67 while Sabbir added 60 as the duo shared an 111-run partnership for the fifth wicket but Bangladesh stuttered to 223 all out in 41.4 overs replying to Sri Lanka's 314-8.

Retiring Malinga claimed 3-38 while Nuwan Pradeep (3-51) and Dhananjaya de Silva (2-49) played their parts in the win.

"I feel it's the right time for me to retire from ODIs. I have been playing for the last 15 years for Sri Lanka and this is the right time to move on," Malinga, who finished his ODI career with 338 wickets, said after the game.

"My time is over and I have to go."

Perera struck 111 off 99 balls with 17 fours and a six, his fifth ODI century, to set up Sri Lanka's total after skipper Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and elected to bat first.

Left-handed Perera put on 97 runs with Karunaratne for the second wicket before adding 100 with Kusal Mendis for the third wicket.

Shafiul Islam, who finished with 3-62 in his first match in three years, drew the first blood for Bangladesh when he had opener Avishka Fernando caught by Soumya Sarkar at slip for seven.

Perera was reprieved on 49 runs when the third umpire overturned a caught behind decision off Shafiul.

Part-time seamer Soumya ended the valiant knock of Perera as he was caught at short fine leg by Mustafizur Rahman.

Mendis, who was dropped on 28 by Mahmudullah Riyad off Soumya, fell to Rubel Hossain the next over after making 43 off 49 balls.

Mendis walked after a muted appeal for caught behind from wicketkeeper Mushfiqur and bowler Rubel.

Angelo Mathews took Sri Lanka's total past the 300-run mark with 48 off 52 balls.

Mustafizur dismissed Mathews before finishing with 2-75.

Malinga, who was unbeaten on six with the bat, hit the leg-stump of opener Tamim Iqbal in his fifth ball with a deadly yorker.

Tamim, who debuted as Bangladesh's 14th ODI captain, was unable to open his account and the team's other top-order batsmen did hardly any better.

Pradeep trapped one-down Mohammad Mithun leg-before for 10 and Malinga bowled out opener Soumya for 15 in the next over.

Kumara compounded Bangladesh's problem once he removed Mahmudullah for three.

De Silva ended the resistance of Sabbir, forcing him to give a catch at deep midwicket to leave Sri Lanka's victory all but a formality.

Malinga took the final wicket fittingly to end the brief entertainment by Mustafizur, who made 18 off 14 balls before being caught by Thisara Perera at mid-off

The second match will be held at the same ground on Sunday.

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Avishka Gunawardene denies ICC corruption charges 

Sri Lanka's suspended coach Avishka Gunawardene is all set to deny the corruption charges. Following International Cricket Council's (ICC) recent allegation against him, the former opening bastman is set to defend his case in his first press conference to be held at the SSC (Sinhalese Sports Club) on Monday at 3.00 PM.He will be accompanied by his lawyer Chrismal Warnasuriya.  

Ex left-arm fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa and left handed batsman Avishka Gunawardene have become the victims of the ICC's Amnesty Scheme.
Both have been charged by the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) on the basis of the revelation made by one of the Sri Lankan players who opted the ICC's Amnesty Scheme a few months ago, it is reliably learnt here.  

Earlier this year, for the first time the ICC had announced this scheme in Sri Lanka cricket corruption for those who had previously failed to report any information concerning corrupt activities in Sri Lankan cricket.

According to the highly placed sources in Sri Lanka, the 27-year-old left-handed batsman, who is a close relative of the former minister opted to share the corruption information to the ICC.

Under the amnesty, any information reported by the said player will not attract a charge for failure to report previously.  

The player, whose identity is known to this reporter, was a member of the touring party to UAE, where the first edition of the T-10 was played.

Interestingly, the "official status" of the first edition of this tournament is debated. The said player, who has made this complaint is now not a member of the World Cup squad.

Avishka Gunawardene was a head coach and Nuwan Zoysa was a fast bowling coach of the Sri Lankan players.

Both Zoysa (who in November was also charged for breaching ICC code) and Gunawardene are charged under Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) have been given 14-days to respond to the various charges because the tournament was played in UAE.  

Despite repeated attempts, both didn't respond to calls.

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Zimbabwe Cricket suspended over 'political interference'

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Zimbabwe for failing to ensure there is no government interference in its running of the sport.

ICC funding has been withdrawn and the country will be barred from participating at ICC events.

Zimbabwe are due to take part in a T20 World Cup qualifier in October.

"We must keep our sport free from political interference," said ICC chairman Shashank Manohar.

"What has happened in Zimbabwe is a serious breach of the ICC constitution and we cannot allow it to continue unchecked."

The ICC issued the punishment after the entire Zimbabwe Cricket Board was suspended by the government sports and recreation commission last month and replaced with an interim committee.

The ICC says it will review its decision at a board meeting in October.

Zimbabwe's Test status was suspended by the ICC in June 2004 after 15 players dropped out of the squad after the then captain Heath Streak was sacked.

They played eight Test matches in 2005 after the suspension was lifted, but would then not play another Test match until 2011.

They failed to qualify for this year's Cricket World Cup in England and Wales.

In March, former Zimbabwe Cricket director Enock Ikope was given a 10-year ban from the game after being found guilty of breaching three counts of the ICC's anti-corruption code.

His suspension followed a 20-year ban for Rajan Nayer, a former Zimbabwe cricket official, for attempted match-fixing in March 2018.

Meanwhile, the Croatia Cricket Federation and the Zambia Cricket Union have also been suspended for failing to meet ICC criteria while the Moroccan Royal Cricket Federation has been expelled for continuing to remain non-compliant.

The decisions were taken at the ICC annual conference in London.

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Former cricketers Zoysa and Avishka charged for match-fixing

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has charged two former Sri Lanka players with match-fixing.

Nuwan Zoysa has been hit with a charge of four breaches of global cricket's anti-corruption code, while Avishka Gunawardene is alleged to have been in breach twice.

Both men have until May 23 to respond. Zoysa had already been provisionally suspended by the ICC because of previous charges laid against him in November, and Gunawardene has now joined him.

Both men are alleged to have briefed article 2.1.4 of the code, which relates to "directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any participant to breach Article 2.1."

Zoysa is also accused of breaching article 2.1 - "being party to an agreement to influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspects of a match".

The ICC undertook an intensive investigation of Sri Lankan cricket earlier this year, including offering an amnesty to those who came forward with information about match-fixing in the country.

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Lara gets a doctorate

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara has been given an honorary doctorate by the DY Patil University in India.

The Doctor of Science from the University is for a “remarkable cricketing career and his impact on cricket in the West Indies and around the world at large.”

The honor was bestowed on him during a ceremony at the University campus in Navi Mumbai, India by the Chancellor Dr. Vijay Patil.

Lara was in India for World Cup broadcasting role for Star Sports.

In making the announcement on his Instagram page last week, Lara said, “I am honored! An Honorary Doctorate bestowed on me by the University. WOW.”

Lara, who is nicknamed “The Prince of Port of Spain,” has been widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time.

He was awarded Trinidad and Tobago’s highest national award, the Trinity Cross (later changed to the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) in 2013.

The legendary batsman holds the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston, England, in l994 and the record for the highest individual score in a Test innings after scoring 400 not out against England at Antigua in 2004.

Lara was appointed honorary member of the Order of Australia on Nov. 27, 2009.

On September 2012, he was inducted to the ICC’s Hall of Fame at the awards ceremony held in Colombo, Sri Lanka as a 2012-13 season inductee along with Australians Glen McGrath and former England women all-rounder Enid Bakewell.

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West Indies rewrite history with highest opening stand ever 

West Indies openers John Campbell and Shai Hope shattered the record for the highest ever opening partnership in ODIs of all time on Sunday as they moved past Pakistan‘s Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq‘s 304-run stand against Zimbabwe registered last year, during the first ODI against Ireland in the Tri Series opener at Dublin.

Put into bat, both Campbell and Hope dominated a hapless Ireland bowling attack with utmost ease finding the boundaries at will. The massive 365-run partnership ended in the 48th over when Campbell top edged it Ireland captain William Porterfield at mid-off to give Barry McCarthy his first wicket. Campbell, who registered his maiden ODI century in 99 balls, departed for 179, his 137-ball stay laced with 15 boundaries and six towering hits over the fence.

Hope followed his partner two balls later adding 170 off 152, his innings studded with 22 boundaries and two sixes.

Campbell and Hope’s innings is the first time in ODI history that both openers have made 150 in an innings.

Here are the top five opening partnerships in ODIs:

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Pradeep's career best saves Sri Lanka the blushes

Lasith Malinga walked off a relieved man. These are, after all, not the best of days for his side. Having made his disappointment pretty clear, in a press conference, and on the field, he saw Sri Lanka bounce back to secure a 34-run win by DLS method over Afghanistan in Cardiff on Tuesday (June 4). Sri Lanka's bowlers saved the batsmen major blushes after they posted just 201. Rain intervened and reduced the clash to 41-overs-per-side, giving Afghanistan a revised target of 187 out of which they could only manage 152.

Sri Lanka, at one stage, lost 4 for 6 as Kusal Perera, the highest scorer in the game, saw the middle-order get wiped out by Mohammad Nabi. It all started with the tentativeness of Lahiru Thirimanne as Sri Lanka, horribly short on confidence, found a way to shoot themselves in the foot after putting it on Afghanistan's throat. Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews were both caught at first slip as Nabi's 22nd over read - dot, Wicket, 2, Wicket, dot, Wicket.

Sri Lanka had raced off the blocks after being asked to bat, managing 52 for no loss after five overs and then 79 after the powerplay with the openers going strong. Although Dimuth Karunaratne fell with the score on 92 in 13.1 overs, Perera continued with his assault to help Sri Lanka make steady progress and put Afghanistan under pressure. While the opening pacers were poor, Rashid Khan too found it hard to make an impact with no pressure on the batsmen.

But the fortunes turned quickly in favour of Afghanistan thanks to Nabi's inspired spell while more recklessness followed for Sri Lanka as Dhananjaya de Silva bagged a duck, Thisara Perera fell after scoring two while Isuru Udana also gifted his wicket away. Meanwhile, Afghanistan bowlers were inconsistent with their lines as well, conceding 35 extras - which included 22 wides and three no-balls - as Sri Lanka huffed and puffed their way past 200.

During the chase, Sri Lanka's bowlers found swing early on but weren't able to make optimum use of it. Hazratullah Zazai consistently plonked his right foot out of the way and swung across the line to give the team a fast start. But Mohammad Shahzad made a timid start and fell to Malinga after a 34-run opening stand.

And that's when Karunaratne's side made an exceptional comeback as Afghanistan lost their top five with just 57 on the board. While Malinga started the slide, Pradeep and Thisara dealt the knockout blows.

Pradeep dismissed Zazai and then nipped out Hashmatullah Shahidi. Zazai's wicket was also a moment of redemption for Thisara at a venue where his mistake cost his side a place in the 2017 Champions Trophy semifinal.

This time though he plucked a tough chance at deep fine-leg to give his side the much-needed boost. Nabi chopped one back off Thisara as Afghanistan nosedived further. If Sri Lanka lost their wickets to recklessness, Afghanistan's inability to bat on testing tracks was pretty apparent.

Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran scored 64 for the sixth wicket to revive the hopes but Pradeep struck again to produce his career-best. In consecutive overs he dismissed Naib and Rashid to put Sri Lanka back on top. Dawlat Zadran batted valiantly with a hamstring issue but Malinga too produced some magic, producing the perfect yorker to get rid of Dawlat. Najibullah tried to keep the team in the hunt with some big hits but an ill-timed mistake sealed Afghanistan's fate.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 201 in 36.5 overs (Kusal Perera 78; Mohammad Nabi 4-30) beat Afghanistan 152 in 32.4 overs (Najibullah Zadran 43; Nuwan Pradeep 4-31) by 34 runs (DLS method).

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Sangakkara becomes first non-British President of MCC

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has been named as the next president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).Sangakkara, 41, will be the first non-British president of the MCC and his one-year stewardship will begin on 1 October, 2019.

"It is a huge honour," said Sangakkara.

"2020 is going to be yet another significant one in cricket, especially at Lord's, and I am thrilled I am going to be able to play a part in supporting its future as president of MCC."

The MCC, who are based at Lord's, remain the guardians of the laws of the game and uphold the spirit of cricket.

Sangakkara's tenure will include two Tests at Lord's - against West Indies and Pakistan - and the launch of The Hundred competition.

During his playing career, Sangakkara scored 12,400 Test runs, more than 14,000 one-day international runs and almost 1,400 T20 runs for Sri Lanka.

He succeeds Anthony Wreford in the role.

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Mahela rejects SLC's World Cup offer

Mahela Jayawardene has stated that everything is done and dusted in Sri Lanka’s World Cup preparation and thus he declined SLC’s offer to be with the team during the World Cup. Jayawardene in the past produced plans to overhaul Sri Lanka's domestic system, only for those to be rejected by SLC.

Sri Lanka's sports minister and SLC's CEO invited Mahela Jayawardene to play a role in Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign but the former skipper declined the offer largely because he is disillusioned with Sri Lanka Cricket's general direction. Earlier in the past, Jayawardene produced plans to overhaul Sri Lanka's domestic cricket system, even before a committee featuring Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Aravinda de Silva made a detailed report on the Lankan cricket, but those proposals were rejected by SLC.

"I was [invited] but I have several other commitments. More than that, I didn't understand the role I am expected to play. There's no point in me getting involved tactically, or whatever if I don't have a say in the whole structure. The team is selected and everything is done and dusted. There is no room for me to come in and add something,” Jayawardene told Sunday Times.

"I am still happy to contribute in my little way with the management of the team, but nothing to do with the SLC. That's something I have told myself as well. I just don't have the appetite to come and work for anybody when I know that it's not the right place for me.

The anger in Jayawardene's part is mostly due to the fact that the structure was entirely ignored by the board, even though talented Lankan players are steadily moving out to England and Australia to play league cricket. Jayawardene strongly criticised that and said their efforts were in vain.

"We created a professional cricketing structure spending eight months. We offered to set it up for them but they rejected it. We did it because we don't want to lose our cricketers going to Australia and to league cricket in England. We need those experienced players in our system.

"There are some teams in our first class system where the average age is 25, which is sad. When we played, we had so many senior cricketers to guide us. Without them in our system, we cannot build a strong domestic cricket structure. And without doing that, there's no point in building stadiums."

In no uncertain words, Jayawardene criticised Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal's leadership who he believes could have been more responsible and their failures contributed to the rapid recent turnover of captains in the Sri Lanka side. Mathews was captain in all three formats when Jayawardene retired in 2015, but since then, Chandimal, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Chamara Kapugedara and - most-recently - Dimuth Karunaratne have held the reins.

"The only advice we gave Angelo was not to give in to cricket politics. He needs to be a stronger leader, to be with the players and do the right thing. But he gave in to cricket politics. He allowed other people to make decisions and did not stand up for his players. I am being honest. I have told him this as well and he accepts it. If he hadn't given in, we would probably not be in this situation today. Even if I see him today, that's the only complaint I will have against him," Jayawardene said.

"The number one rule in Sri Lanka is, if you are the captain, lead by example and do not allow any outsiders coming into that setup. That's the only way we ran the show and survived. It was unfortunate and it was not easy, either. You need to deal with a lot of unwanted elements. But if you are a strong character, that's something you have to do. I have nothing against him. He is a brilliant cricketer and a wonderful person but he did not handle this situation well. He should be the one who is leading this team at the World Cup. He had to give up because it was too much for him. But it was his fault.

"I think [Chandimal] was another victim of cricket politics. In the sense, he was another player like Angelo Mathews who was snared to elements behind the scene and went along with them rather than taking control of the team and being a strong leader."

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With team spirit, Sri Lanka will do well in World Cup: Vaas

Member of the 1996 World Cup winning team, Chaminda Vaas believes with “team spirit”, Sri Lanka will do well going in the marquee event, beginning May 30. 

“Sri Lanka is an unpredictable team. They need to be united, and there are special cricketers who can perform extremely well there (in England). If they have the team spirit, unity amongst the team, I think Sri Lanka will do well in the World Cup,” ICC quoted Vaas, as saying.

The 45-year-old, who featured in 322 ODIs and picked up 400 wickets, is part of Sri Lanka’s coaching set-up. Vaas called on the players to take responsibility, overcome recent ODI struggles and prove their capabilities at the World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in England. 

“I played for 20 years and enjoyed my game and as a coach, I’m enjoying what I’m doing for the youngsters. I tell young fast bowlers, ‘Do not take short cuts, give 100 percent, focus on fitness, focus on endurance stuff and bend your back and bowl. Don’t keep it for the next game, what you can do today, do it. Do it for your country, remember where you come, don’t give excuses, make sure you are humble and when people try to criticise, you take it in the right way,” Vaas said.

Vaas played a vital role in Sri Lanka’s 1996 campaign and since then the team has reached two finals in 2007 and 2011. Emphasising the impact that a successful campaign can have on the country, he said: “We knew if we won the World Cup it was going to be a huge factor for Sri Lankan cricket. When we won it and brought the trophy back to Sri Lanka, we realised we had done something for the country and it’s huge. After 1996 until now, we have got to finals and semi-finals, and when it comes to important games such as the World Cup, our guys have done really well.”

“It is now time for young guys to take the initiative to perform well and I am sure when given the chance they will grab it from both ends and perform well for Sri Lanka,” he said. Ranked at eighth, Sri Lanka will play against South Africa and Australia in their warm-ups, before opening their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on June 1 at Cardiff Wales Stadium.

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