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World Cup winning veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas were left out of Sri Lanka’s final squad of 15 players named on Friday

Sa'adi Thawfeeq07-Jan-2011World Cup-winning veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas were left out of Sri Lanka’s final World Cup squad of 15 players named on Friday by the national selection committee headed by Aravinda de Silva.The squad consists of 11 members who represented Sri Lanka in the three-match one-day series in Australia, which the visitors won 2-1, giving them their first ODI series win in Australia. The one surprise was that left-arm spinner Rangana Herath was picked ahead of offspinner Suraj Randiv.Both Jayasuriya and Vaas had been named in the provisional squad of 30, and there was speculation that either one of the two players would make it to the final team. They had indicated to the selectors that they would want to play in another World Cup before announcing their retirements from international cricket. Both players have retired from Test cricket but have been playing one-day and Twenty20 cricket. Vaas last played an ODI in August, 2008, while Jayasuriya last played a 50-over game for Sri Lanka in December, 2009.The only surviving member of the 1996 World Cup winning side is Muttiah Muralitharan, who retired from Test cricket after the first Test against India in July last year, but has remained eligible for selection in the 50-over game, and was always expected to make the final 15.Kumar Sangakkara will lead the side with Mahela Jayawardene as his deputy.
India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh host the 2011 World Cup, which will take place from February 19 to April 2.Sri Lanka World Cup squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, who will be playing his second World Cup, has said he is looking forward to playing a huge role as opener and help Sri Lanka win another World Cup

Sa'adi Thawfeeq10-Feb-2011Tillakaratne Dilshan, who will be playing his second World Cup, has said he is looking forward to playing a huge role as opener and help Sri Lanka win another world title. Dilshan made his tournament debut in 2007 but managed just one half-century, scoring 217 runs in nine innings.”Everything is going well at the moment for us and we are looking forward to the World Cup,” Dilshan said. “Whenever I get a chance I want to get a start and capitalize on that and get big runs. I am going to give 100% for the team and am looking forward to the games.”Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga had said that Sri Lanka’s middle order was a concern ahead of the World Cup but Dilshan felt the middle order was coming through very well. “We are getting guys like Angelo [Mathews] coming through in the last year or so. Chamara [Kapugedera], Chamara Silva and Thilan [Samaraweera) are there too. At the moment everything is falling in line for us and we are looking forward to the tournament.”Dilshan, who started his international career in the middle order, felt his move up the order had transformed his career. “I batted at No. 7 from 1999 to 2008. I felt I could do more at the top of the order and I volunteered to open. I had a chat with Mahela [Jayawardene] and he said, ‘okay you first play in the domestic season and let’s see’. I got the Man of the Series in the domestic tournament and from there my game totally changed. The last two or three years have been my best in both Test and one-day cricket,” Dilshan said.Dilshan said that Sri Lanka’s consistency in the ODI format leading up to the World Cup, would hold them in good stead for the tournament.”If you take the last 15 months, we have played 27 ODIs and lost only six. Now, that’s quite a good record. We are very consistent and it’s a very good sign as well.”Dilshan, one of Sri Lanka’s best fielders, said fielding would play a key role in the tournament. “We’ve had good fielding sides right throughout. We are doing a lot of practice with our fielding coach Ruwan Kalpage. We are training in some new fielding methods and the results can be seen in how we have done in the last couple of matches.”Sri Lanka play two warm-up games against Netherlands and West Indies. They open their World Cup campaign against Canada in Hambantota on February 20.

A round-up of the fifth round of Plunket Shield matches

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2011Backed by a comprehensive bowling performance Nothern Districts beat Auckland by 9 wickets with a day to spare at Colin Maiden Park. Left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult justified James Marshall’s decision to bowl, picking up three quick wickets to leave Auckland at 17 for 3. The hosts never recovered, bowled out for 136 in less than two sessions. Boult finished with figures of 5 for 35 and was given good support by Brent Arnel who picked up three wickets.Auckland did not allow ND to pile up too big a lead, bowling them out for 213 courtesy a haul of 7 for 97 from left-arm spinner Bruce Martin. ND’s innings was built around half-centuries from Brad Wilson and Hamish Marshall. Boult was equally impressive in the second innings, knocking over Auckland’s top three. Opening bowler Graeme Aldridge and Arnel picked up wickets at regular intervals thereafter, ending the Auckland innings on 253.Northern Districts made light work of chasing down their target of 177, with Wilson (100*) and Daniel Flynn (68*) involved in an unbeaten 136-run partnership to take their team home. Northern Districts are second on the points table after five matches.Otago pulled off a comprehensive 116-run win over table-toppers Central Districts at McLean Park. Otago began well after being put in to bat; openers Craig Cumming and Michael Bracewell stringing together a 129-run partnership. The middle order built on the solid start with Shaun Haig and Neil Broom scoring 124 apiece, followed by a half-century from Derek de Boorder to steer Otago to 475 for 7 declared.In a bid to get a result out of the match – day one was washed out and by the time Otago declared, there were just four sessions left – Central Districts batted just one session, scoring 156 for the loss of five wickets. Tim Weston powered the innings with a 54-ball 61, while the Otago bowlers shared the wickets around. The Otago second innings was even shorter, lasting just 9 overs and producing 71 runs for the loss of one wicket.Needing 391 in two sessions, Central Districts started steadily with openers Peter Ingram and George Worker putting on a half-century stand. Ingram fell after making 22, but Worker stayed solid. He made 98 before he was dismissed by Ian Butler. The Otago bowlers took control of the game after that and though Matthew Sinclair made 59, Neil Wagner and offspinner Mark Craig took seven wickets between them to give Otago the victory.The Wellington v Canterbury game was postponed.

Delhi come up against an opponent who seemed to have the weakest team on paper, in Jaipur

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran11-Apr-2011

Match facts

Tuesday, April 12
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Can Johan Botha continue to perform at No. 3 for Rajasthan?•Associated Press

Big picture

Delhi Daredevils were among the pre-tournament favourites in each of the first three seasons of the IPL. They also began each of the first three seasons with victories. This time, though, they have been questions over the strength of their squad, and they started with a big defeat to Mumbai Indians. The only plus from their opening game was the middle-order batting of Venugopal Rao and Naman Ojha; the pair put up some resistance after the crowd-pullers at the top had flopped.On Tuesday, Delhi come up against an opponent who seemed to have the weakest team on paper, especially in the absence of Shane Watson, who is away in Bangladesh where he broke the record for hitting the most sixes in a one-day innings.As usual, in their opening game against Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan relied on their low-profile Indian players to provide solid performances. Amit Singh and Siddharth Trivedi delivered, taking three wickets apiece, while Shane Warne showed little sign of being away from cricket for a year with an accurate spell of legspin bowling, which fetched him two wickets.

Team talk

Rajasthan have one injury worry ahead of the game: Jacob Oram has picked up a groin injury, and a decision on including him will be taken only on Tuesday morning. Their opener Amit Paunikar had a difficult time against the Deccan Chargers quick bowlers, and Rajasthan may be tempted to pick Swapnil Asnodkar in his place.Lasith Malinga’s electric display put Delhi out of the game so early that little can be gauged about their players from the performance on Sunday. They may be tempted to retain the same XI for Tuesday’s match.

In the spotlight

Irfan Pathan played his first match in a year on Sunday, and showed signs of getting the ball to move back into the right-hand batsmen. It’s a skill which he will need to show on a consistent basis if he is to entertain thoughts of making a national comeback.Till the arrival of Shane Watson, the man Rajasthan will look to for the big hits will be Ross Taylor. He has shown how destructive he can be recently, during his demolition of Pakistan’s bowling in the World Cup, but has proved to be extremely inconsistent.

Prime numbers

• James Hopes, who is one of Delhi’s overseas players, has the sixth highest strike-rate in IPLs: 149.32
• Virender Sehwag is only 21 short of reaching 1000 IPL runs. Rahul Dravid doesn’t get much credit for his Twenty20 batting, but he too is closing in on the 1000-run mark, just 53 behind Sehwag.

The chatter

“They have some very good batsmen in Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Aaron Finch who are capable of wresting the match away from us. But we want to concentrate on our strengths rather than worrying about the things which we can’t control.”

Shaun Tait’s days as a cricketer, at least as most have come to know the word, are over

Daniel Brettig28-Mar-2011Shaun Tait has announced his retirement from the one-day format, and his days as a cricketer, at least as most have come to know the word, are over. His decision to quit at the conclusion of Australia’s World Cup campaign, in order to concentrate his energies on the many riches to be had in Twenty20, was far from a surprise. But it will sadden those who found real exhilaration in unbridled pace delivered in bursts of more than four brief overs.In truth, the 28-year-old Tait has been a T20 bowler for quite some time, never delivering more than four overs in the one spell for Australia or South Australia over the past two seasons. He never retired officially from Test or first-class cricket, though in July last year, he had little hesitation in flatly rejecting Ricky Ponting’s hopeful suggestion of an Ashes campaign.A violent action placed unique strains on Tait’s body, and caused him to gradually pare back his cricket from the peak of 2004-05, when he claimed a record 65 wickets in the Sheffield Shield – strike-rate an eye-popping 36.10 – to win an Ashes tour berth. Those days – which retiring South Australian wicketkeeper Graham Manou described glowingly when he departed the game earlier this month – have now receded well into the distance, replaced by only fleeting glimpses of the sustained speed Tait was once capable of delivering.”This is not a decision I have taken lightly but I believe it is one that will help me to prolong my cricketing career through the many Twenty20 avenues available,” Tait said. “In reality, playing all year round for Australia and South Australia is not allowing my body to stand up as I would like and I do not want to be forced into retirement through career-ending injuries.”Twenty20 cricket allows me to manage my body to a level where I feel I can continue to contribute to the game for some time yet. My goal was to hopefully help Australia retain the ICC Cricket World Cup. However, with our involvement now finished I feel it is the perfect time to move on in a new direction.”There was no little nostalgia in Tait’s retirement statement, although his tale has always been somewhat bittersweet. He endured a hellish Test match against India in Perth in January 2008. Picked despite injuries that worsened as the match wore on, Tait spiralled into a state of exhaustion, depression and utter distaste for cricket, and subsequently took nine months out from the game. He returned as a warier figure, but he was able to enjoy the high of World Cup victory in 2007 amid a general pattern of injuries and rehab sessions.His decision to abandon the longer forms of the game allowed Tait some more space, something he needed as a man who was not always devoted to cricket – not unlike the great West Indian Curtly Ambrose.”I’ve never been one of those blokes who loves cricket flat out,” Tait said in a 2010 interview. “I like playing the game and I enjoy it, but I’m not a cricket fanatic and I haven’t always found it as enjoyable as I probably could have, and that’s probably pretty obvious.”I don’t always get up and feel like that [I’m looking forward to playing today], but the majority of the time this season I have, so it’s been a plus. There was a time a couple of years ago when I didn’t want to leave the house and go onto the cricket field, but it’s been quite good this year [2010]. If I keep a positive mindset that’s always going to help physically as well if I’m not so tense and it’s going to help with my results and help the team, so it’s all good.”The Indian Premier League, the Champions League and the expanded Big Bash are where Tait’s future lies, and his retirement from Redbacks duty will make him a notable free agent for all eight teams to pursue for next summer.

The picturesque Adelaide Oval will become a 50,000-seat stadium with drop-in pitches after South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) members approved a major upgrade to the venue

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2011The picturesque Adelaide Oval will become a 50,000-seat stadium with drop-in pitches after South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) members approved a major upgrade to the venue. The proposal needed at least 75% support to go ahead, and at a meeting on Monday night, 80% of votes from SACA members approved the redevelopment.The decision means Australian rules football will return to Adelaide Oval, and the SACA will share the venue with the AFL’s two Adelaide-based clubs. The upgrade sparked heated debate among South Australians, some of whom felt the ground would lose its character if the move went ahead, but it had the unanimous support of the SACA board.”This decision heralds a new era for cricket and football in South Australia with benefits over the coming decades for the State as a whole”, the SACA president Ian McLachlan said of the upgrade, which will cost the the state government more than half a billion dollars. “It is the result of years of negotiations and detailed work by many people and the vision of the State Government to fund this important improvement in South Australia’s infrastructure.”The move does not put the Adelaide Test at risk, and while most Sheffield Shield matches will still be held at the venue, there is the chance of the occasional state game being moved to the beachside suburb of Glenelg. Drop-in pitches will need to be used at Adelaide Oval from 2014, when the Adelaide and Port Adelaide AFL clubs start playing there.More than 2000 of the SACA’s 19,500 members attended Monday’s meeting, while a further 8000 had already lodged a proxy vote. The SACA’s $85 million debt will be cleared as part of the proposal.McLachlan described the financial benefits for the SACA, which has lagged behind the on-field performances of other state associations for some years, and the wider windfall for the state.”SACA’s stronger finances and debt-free position will mean millions of extra dollars a year available to be invested in developing cricket all around the State from junior level to the Sheffield Shield,” he said. “Adelaide will have the most modern sporting venue in the country with world-class facilities in the best location in any capital city.”The redeveloped Oval will draw large crowds to the city on a regular basis throughout the year, creating opportunities for hotels, restaurants, bars and shops in the CBD and encouraging increased visitation from interstate. It will enable Adelaide to complete more effectively with other interstate and international venues to attract major events, whether sporting or cultural such as concerts.”

Shane Shillingford, the West Indies offspinner, has been cleared by the ICC to resume bowling at international level after undergoing remedial work on an illegal action

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2011Shane Shillingford, the West Indies offspinner, has been cleared by the ICC to resume bowling at international level after undergoing remedial work on an illegal action. The ICC notified the WICB of the clearance following a biomechanical bowling analysis conducted by a research team at the University of Western Australia on May 25.”I am extremely happy that I have been cleared to continue playing international cricket,” Shillingford said. “It has been what I always wanted to do and having to overcome this hurdle has made me stronger and more determined to succeed.”I put in a lot of hard work over the past few months and I must thank the West Indies Cricket Board for the support and particularly the Sagicor High Performance Centre where the majority of the work was done.”Shillingford had been reported for a suspect action after the first Test in Sri Lanka in November 2010. The umpires’ report had cited concern over the straightening of Shillingford’s arm while he bowled some deliveries. The ICC had then confirmed the illegality of the action after independent tests in Perth.

Middlesex remained rooted to the foot of the Friends Life t20 South table after suffering an eight-run defeat against Essex in Chelmsford

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2011
ScorecardMiddlesex remained rooted to the foot of the Friends Life t20 South table after suffering an eight-run defeat against Essex in Chelmsford.Although only faced with a modest total of 139 for nine, the visitors finished on 131 for eight – and that included a bonus of six runs when Essex were penalised for not completing their overs in the permitted time. It was Middlesex’s 10th defeat in a dozen outings.Ryan McLaren was the only visiting player to score over 20. He struck an unbeaten 35 from 30 deliveries, but not before he received three lives. He survived a sharp caught and bowled chance to Ryan ten Doeschate, before he was put down twice in an over by David Masters on the fine-leg boundary – both off the bowling of Graham Napier.Napier, ten Doeschate and Tim Southee were the most successful Essex bowlers with two wickets each. The home side’s total owed much to the efforts of Napier and ten Doeschate. Essex reached the end of the 15th over in disarray at 76 for 7, but were boosted by 63 in the final five.That surge was spearheaded by Napier, who struck three sixes in an over against spinner Tom Smith before falling leg before wicket to McLaren for 23 in the next over. Ten Doeschate went on to make 28 from 20 balls before paceman Steven Crook had him caught in the deep.In contrast, Ravi Bopara again struggled to find his touch. He needed 10 deliveries to get off the mark and his innings of 14 spanned 28 balls and included just one boundary. He was finally put out of his misery when Smith had him caught behind.Smith, Crook and McLaren each picked up a couple of wickets while Crook also ran out Owais Shah, playing against his former county, for a duck with a direct throw from short fine leg.The scarcity of runs would suggest that the bowling was of the highest quality and the pitch contained demons. But nearer the truth was the fact that batsmen on both sides were the architects of their own downfall, with a series of unsightly strokes on a good pitch.Essex’s success, coming after their eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of Kent 24 hours earlier, keep alive their slender hopes of making the latter stages of the competition. But they will need to play much better in their next two games against pace-setters Somerset and Hampshire.

Mitchell Johnson has boldly turned his back on the Twenty20 Big Bash League in order to keep himself fit for one of Australia’s most taxing Test match summers

Daniel Brettig12-Jul-2011Mitchell Johnson has boldly turned his back on the Twenty20 Big Bash League in order to keep himself fit for one of Australia’s most taxing Test summers. Having fielded an offer from the Perth Scorchers, Johnson decided it would do him little good to try to squeeze T20 appearances in between home Test series against New Zealand and India, which follow winter and spring tours to Sri Lanka and South Africa.At 29, Johnson is conserving his resources to concentrate on international cricket. It is a sound decision given that he is still to harness the consistency befitting an Australian spearhead – one of the chief tasks confronting the new bowling coach Craig McDermott will be to help Johnson do so. Johnson also indicated a desire to go back to grade cricket when he has the chance, the sort of attitude in short supply among many Australian first-class cricketers.”At the moment I’ve decided not to sign with any of the Twenty20 sides,” Johnson told reporters in Brisbane at Australia’s training camp. “The Scorchers approached me and at the moment I’m just happy to focus on the summer coming up.”With India coming over, they’re obviously a strong side, and it might give me a chance also to go back to grade cricket if the opportunity’s there. We’ve got a big summer coming up, Sri Lanka first, then South Africa, they’re going to be big Tests for us in their home towns, and a big summer here, so that’s where my main focus is.”Where in the past Australian players were encouraged by Cricket Australia to think twice about accepting overseas T20 contracts, this time the game’s administrators have been actively encouraging their nationally-contracted talent to sign with BBL teams, ostensibly to help market the new competition. Johnson is the first to ignore these entreaties.CA had hoped that all of its most high-profile players would take part in the first round of the BBL, as part of a concerted push to grow the game’s audience and revenue.”I’m just going to take it one step at a time,” Johnson said of the upcoming season. “We’re playing Sri Lanka; I haven’t played a Test series there. I know the wickets are pretty flat and it’s quite hot over there as well. They’ve got Kumar Sangakkara in unbelievable form, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan can go off at any time, they’ve got such a great side.”While he is still to do complete justice to his talent, Johnson is increasingly aware of his advancing years; he is little more than two years younger than McDermott was when he retired from the game in 1996. Johnson trained with plenty of purpose during the off-season, rejuvenating his body for the long days in the field that can be expected against strong line-ups such as Sri Lanka’s and India’s.”I’m feeling pretty good at the moment,” Johnson said. “I’ve got plenty of years in me, I don’t know if I’m reaching my peak now, but I’m always working as hard as I can to be as strong as I can and as fit as I can.”That’s why it’s been a good break for me, I’ve been able to go back and do a bit of running, do a lot of strength work and just do different things outside of cricket. So I feel very strong at the moment.”

As the senior England side did against India, the Lions fought back when a match appeared to be drifting away from them against Sri Lanka A at Scarborough

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Jade Dernbach made early and late breakthroughs for England Lions•Getty Images

As the senior England side did against India, the Lions fought back when a match appeared to be drifting away from them against Sri Lanka A at Scarborough. Jade Dernbach and James Harris struck with the second new ball as five wickets fell for 33 runs after the visitors’ middle order had taken them to the brink of a lead with captain Kaushal Silva making 89Sri Lanka’s openers, Malinda Warnapura and Lahiru Thirimanne, gave the team a solid start with a stand of 60 before Dernbach and Stuart Meaker claimed a wicket apiece. However, wickets then became harder to find as Sri Lanka closed in on the Lions total of 299.Dimuth Karunaratne, who made his ODI debut against England at Old Trafford, added 72 for the third wicket with Silva, who then took control of the innings in a partnership of 147 with Bhanuka Rajapaksa. The Lions bowlers didn’t let the scoring rate get away from them, but Silva and Rajapaksa (76) still collected regular boundaries.Both batsmen had hundreds within sight when the hosts started their fightback. Dernbach removed Rajapaksa before Silva fell eleven short of his hundred as Harris, the Glamorgan pace bowler, had him caught behind. Dernbach and Harris soon had another strike each as Sri Lanka’s dominance slipped away while Dernbach also played a part in the run out of Sachithra Serasinghe.”I’m pleased with my performance today, the ball’s coming out well,” Harris said. “We bowled to a plan, stuck to our guns, and we brought ourselves back into it at the end of the day. If we can bowl them out quickly tomorrow and then post a good total, we’ll have a very good chance of winning.”