|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 29 February 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Sports |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Sri Lanka dissatisfied with ICC about match arrangements Chris Dhambarage reporting from Bangladesh DHAKA, Bangladesh, February 28 - The Sri Lankan team management came hard on the International Cricket Council when they were robbed of a place in the semifinals of the under 19 Youth World Cup been played in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka's manager Ashley de Silva was completely disappointed in the manner his team was treated leading upto the important Super League match against India played on Thursday at the Bangabandu National Stadium. Sri Lanka were dismissed for 260 chasing India's massive total of 316 runs made in 50 overs. Ashley de Silva said that India always had the advantage as they were based in Dhaka and also played all their matches at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. In contrast the Lankans were forced to play their matches at completely new venues and even their request for a training session at the Stadium was turned down by the ground authorities. He said that this was really unfair where one side had all the advantage and the other side were forced to play a crunch game without any kind of match practice. The Sri Lankan manager said that even India's delaying tactics on the field went unnoticed by the New Zealand match referee John Morrison. India quite strangely changed their field after every delivery when Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga was smashing the bowling to all parts of the ground. They were warned twice by South Africans umpire B. G. Jerling but continued to indulge in the same while sending down only ten overs during the first one hour of play. Ashley de Silva said that chasing over 300 runs in any type of cricket is a tough task and the boys showed a lot of guts and determination to get pass the 250 run mark. He said that the tournament was a highly competitive one and a lot of teams had made their preparations well ahead through many training sessions. He also said the main drawback of this tournament was the wickets which were not upto a good standard. In fact venues like the Bogra District Stadium and the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium were hosting international matches for the first time. The early start of matches was also a major concern and Sri Lanka were forced to play some of the games even under misty conditions. De Silva said that in the game against Zimbabwe at the Bogra Stadium the players could not be seen on the field due to the mist and the wicket offered great assistance to the bowlers. Ashley de Silva said that Sri Lanka should begin their preparations immediately if they are to make any impact when they compete in the next Youth World Cup in 2006 and to be staged in England. He said that most of the teams are making a lot of emphasis on their under 19 team with the intention of building a good back up side for the national team. He also said that as Sri Lanka has a very good inter school structure they should identify the talented players early and include them in a squad which will go into regular training sessions. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
