Sanath Jayasuriya’s fame still lingers

Here in London, especially at the Kennington Oval, former Sri Lankan master blaster Sanath Teran Jayasuriya, who has a triple hundred in his name in Test cricket is still a big draw to the Lankan cricket fans. On Tuesday night after Sri Lanka won the First Twenty20 international against England and while waiting at the Alec Stewart Gate for my two friends Colin Fernando and Cassim Jaleel, I bumped into Jayasuriya.

Now playing the game of politics and a MP from the Hambantota District, Jayasuriya, now chief selector was mobbed by the delighted Lankans and some English cricket fans.

Worrying him for autographs

All of them were worrying him for his autograph while many more wanted to pose with him for photographs. Jayasuriya obliged ungrudgingly and weren’t his fans elated.

Incidentally Jayasuriya smashed a double hundred at the Oval when Sri Lanka beat England in Test match. That double hundred is still fresh in the memory of cricket fans here, especially Fernando and Jaleel. Jayasuriya told me that he was overjoyed by the Lankan Twenty20 victory, especially heaping praise on Captain Lasith Malinga and all rounder Thisara Perera and was convinced that if the Lankans play in this form they could end the tour on a winning note.

Lankans maintain winning T20 trend

The Sri Lankan cricketers, winners of the World Cup Twenty20 in Bangladesh recently played the better all round cricket to stun the Brits by 9 runs and maintain their hard won status as World Champions. Before going on to comment on the one and only Twenty20 game which was an exercise in futility - playing just one game - which serves no purpose, I would like to reproduce the catchy headline appearing in the London ‘DAILY MIROR’, the morning after the match.

The main headline read: ‘IT’S MOORES OF THE TIME’ and the strapline -
England’s new era begins as last one ended ...in defeat.
Taking a shot at coach Peter Moores who came back a second time as coach.

It was not only a bad beginning for Peter Moores, but it would have also hurt Assistant Coach Peter Farbrace the Sri Lankan coach who was pinched by England. Probably Farbrace forget to tell the England players about the strong and weak points of the Lankan cricketers.

New Twenty20 England Captain Eoin Morgan was looking forward to having a dream start to his ambition of one day becoming England’s regular captain.

But to his dismay, he and the team could not deliver. Morgan usually a slap bang batsman made only 5. He started on the wrong foot when he won the toss and asked Sri Lanka in to bat.

He was fooled by the heavy clouds that hung around during the toss and the overcast conditions and put the Lankans into bat. And when the ball was expected to wobble, it was inexplicable his opening the bowling spell with spinner Joe Root.

After the game Morgan who is not likely to get a look in as skipper and laid the blame on the bowlers. ‘Our bowling has let us down for a while now. We’ve able to get up there with the chase or set a good score, our batting is quite strong.

‘But it is just disappointing that our skill level has not been high enough. I’m not happy that we’ve just lost a game we probably should have won.

‘It is not often in T20 you get dominated by one bowler like Malinga. He crops up at every team meeting and we have to decide how to negotiate him, he is world class.

Morgan was also upset that match fixing continues to overshadow the sport. He was upset that, despite the efforts to clean up the game, the subject of spot-fixing refuses to go away.

‘It really does make me angry. Everyone knows you have to say no to corruption. It is important for guys to come out and say ‘this is unacceptable’. People have to be punished for it’.

Spot-fixing allegations surfaced after a leaked interview given by New Zealand Captain Brendon McCullum to the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption and security unit where McCullum was said to have been offered more than 100,000 thousand pounds to under-perform in a match, which he refused, by a star international player in 2008.

Story on Sri Lankan Nihal Arthnayake

The CRICKET paper, the England Cricket Board’s Newspaper of the year has a story written by Joshua Peck on a Sri Lanka Nihal Arthanayake a radio and TV presenter saying that Arthanayake has got a job many would love to have but he’s the first to admit he’s due to achieve a lifetime ambition this summer.

Born into a Sri Lankan family in Essex, Arthnayake is the Asian Network and Radio presenter and he will be the guest on Test match special with Jonathon Agnew and company in the Lord’s Test when Sri Lanka play England. And he says that with Sri Lanka’s World Twety20 success still fresh in the memory he can’t wait to remind listeners of that win, if he can get a word with Geoffrey Boycott around. Says Arthanayake: ‘I’ve met some Sri Lankan greats but I’ve not met Aggers and I don’t think you can say ‘you’ve had any experience of cricket until you meet Aggers.

Remarkable to hear Geoffrey Boycott

‘I also love the way the legendary Geoffrey Boycott pronounces Punjab.

It’s remarkable to hear and that’s something I’m really looking forward to’. Cricket has played a large part in Nihal’s life, and although he has rarely played, he’s been an avid follower. He is hoping that Sri Lanka’s ventures to the UK will see him get one over on fellow Radio DJ Greg James. Obviously Greg is also big on his cricket and I’ve had a few chats with him about it. I’m sure the banter will be flying with our countries playing each other. ‘I’ve had the upper hand recently with England not doing so well and Sri Lanka having their success so hopefully that continues.

‘I have to say this, and no doubt some guy in a stripy tie will say something to me when they see me at Lord’s, but I am a T20 and IPL man. ‘I got into cricket through my dad and that was at a time when there was really only Test cricket but now I am part of the MTV generation’. After admitting that he prefers the shorter format despite acknowledging the importance of Test cricket, the DJ does have concern about the sport. ‘The idea was that T20 would draw kids into the sport and then get them into Test cricket but I don’t know if that’s working’, said Arthanayake.

Phil Sharpe passes away

Cricketers of a generation past will remember former England batsman and classic slip fielder Phil Sharpe. It was sad to hear of his passing away at the age of 77. He played 12 Tests for England in the 1960s and averaged 46.2.

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