ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 goes social

With just two years to go until the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 cricket fans around the world can now participate in the build up to the tournament on social media.

Organisers of the World Cup are expecting a considerable response to the launch of the online communities with John Harnden, Chief Executive of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, saying that this will be the most social World Cup ever.

"The ICC Cricket World Cup starts right here. Cricket fans around the globe can exchange views and gossip and plan their World Cup experience on all of these platforms."

David Richardson, Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council said social media was increasingly important to cricket

"We're setting ourselves some big targets and we know everyone will get behind us and make this the biggest and best online World Cup."

The latest news, photos, videos, trivia, ticket information and competitions are on:

   www.twitter.com/cricketworldcup

   www.facebook.com/cricketworldcup

   www.gplus.to/cricketworldcup

   www.linkedin.com/company/cricket-world-cup

Ryder responding, second man arrested: police

New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder's condition was improving and he was responding to medical staff and his family on Friday as police said they had arrested two men in connection with the alleged assault.

A 20-year-old man and 37-year-old had been charged with assault and would appear in court on April 4, New Zealand Police (NZP) said in a statement.

The men were related, police said, without providing further detail.

Ryder, 28, was rushed to hospital early on Thursday with serious head injuries after being involved in two altercations outside a bar and fast food restaurant in Merivale, a suburb of Christchurch.

Local media reported Ryder, who was in a critical condition on Thursday, had sustained a fractured skull and a collapsed lung in the alleged assault.

New Zealand Cricket Players Association chief executive Heath Mills said that Ryder's condition had improved on Friday, while his manager Aaron Klee told a media conference that the batsman had given him "a thumbs up" gesture.

"He has been responsive and has been interacting with his family and his medical team, Jesse is still in an induced coma and is still needing support with breathing following an injury to his lungs," Mills said.

"In terms of a head injury it cannot be fully determined at this stage what the effects of a knock to Jesse's head are, we will know more once he comes out of the coma."

Ryder had been expected to travel to India for the lucrative Twenty20 tournament with the Delhi Daredevils this week, but had been in a self-imposed exile from international cricket after a series of alcohol-related incidents.

Despite publicly swearing off alcohol, Ryder had begun drinking again in recent weeks, Mills said on Thursday.

Police, however, told reporters on Thursday that they did not think alcohol was a factor in the alleged assault.

Ryder was not expected to return to international cricket for New Zealand's tour of England in May-June, following their 0-0 draw in the recently completed home test series.

An aggressive batsman with a superb eye and delicate touch, Ryder has made 1,269 runs in 18 tests at an average of 40.93 with a highest score of 201 and 1,100 runs in 39 one-day internationals at 34.37.

Dilshan century in vain as Bangladesh seize victory

Tillakaratne Dilshan's 17th one-day century proved in vain on Thursday as Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by three wickets under the Duckworth/Lewis rain rule to win the third and final one-day international and share the series one-all.

Sri Lanka looked to be in control when they ran up an impressive 302 for nine after choosing to bat first.

But Bangladesh whose run chase was interrupted in the 14th over when they were 78-1, were then set a revised target of 183 to win off 27 overs.

They were given a splendid start by Anamul Haque (40) and Mohammad Ashraful (29) who posted 77 at a run-a-ball.

Despite losing wickets at regular intervals Bangladesh were taken over the line with an over to spare by Nasir Hossain who struck Thisara Perera for four fours in the penultimate over. Nasir made 33 not out as Bangladesh finished on 184-7.

Earlier man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series Dilshan with 125 off 128 balls, including 12 fours, and Kusal Perera provided Sri Lanka with a fine launchpad, putting together an opening stand of 116 off 127 balls.

Perera's contribution in the partnership was 56, his maiden one-day half-century.

Kumar Sangakkara helped Dilshan add a further 87 for the second wicket by scoring 48. During his knock Sangakkara became the first Sri Lankan and seventh batsman overall to pass 11,000 runs in one-day international cricket.

There was also a milestone for Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak who ran through the Sri Lanka middle order to take five for 62 and become the first bowler from his country to take 200 one-day wickets.

Bangladesh complete their five-week tour of Sri Lanka on Sunday when they take on the hosts in a one-off Twenty20 international at the same venue.

Sri Lanka puts No.1 T20I ranking on the line against Bangladesh

Sri Lanka will stake its number-one ranking on the Reliance ICC T20I Championship Table when it plays Bangladesh on Sunday in a one-off Twenty20 International at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

Sri Lanka leads ninth-ranked Bangladesh by 47 ratings points and this gap means Sri Lanka is favourite to win the one-off match. As such, because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, failure to win the match will mean Sri Lanka will drop five ratings points and slip one ratings point behind the second-ranked West Indies.

However, if Sri Lanka wins the match, then it will gain one ratings point and will extend its advantage over the West Indies to six ratings points.

Sri Lanka's victory will, however, cost Bangladesh a drop of two ratings points that will put it at par with Ireland on 82 ratings points, but ahead of the Associate side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal points.

Reliance ICC ODI Ranking-Last Updated: Thu, Mar 28, 2013

	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	India	38	4514	119
2	England	33	3849	117
3	Australia	37	4285	116
4	South Africa	26	2940	113
5	Sri Lanka	41	4446	108
6	Pakistan	36	3824	106
7	West Indies	33	2823	86
8	New Zealand	26	2124	82
9	Bangladesh	23	1856	81
10	Zimbabwe	17	808	47
11	Ireland	6	207	35
12	Netherlands	4	63	16
13	Kenya	4	45	11
			Last Updated: Thu, Mar 28, 2013

Sri Lankan Squad for the 3rd ODI & T20I

Sri Lanka's national Selectors have retained the squad for the third ODI on 28 March, as the second match at Hambantota was washed out.

Meanwhile, the selectors have named a 16-man squad for the one-off T20 International at Kandy on Sunday.

This will be Dinesh Chandimal's debut as captain for the T20I squad.

Squad: Kusal Janith Perera, Dilshan Munaweera, Lahiru Thirimanna, Dinesh Chandimal (captain/wicketkeeper), Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Kithruwan Withanage, Angelo Perara, Lasith Malinga (vice-captain), Sachthra Senanayaka, Shaminda Eranga, Chathuranga De Silva, Shehan Jayasooriya, Ramith Rambukwella, Ishan Jayaratne, Thisara Perera.

SLC receives safety assurance from BCCI

With regard to the prevailing situation in India, Sri Lanka Cricket has written to the president and to the secretary of Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and received assurances that the BCCI will take all necessary steps to ensure that the players feel safe and action will be taken to ensure that the players' safety is paramount.

BCCI also stated that they are monitoring the situation closely and will take necessary action as and when required, to request teams not to bring Sri Lankan players to Tamil Nadu if the situation escalates.

Further Sri Lanka Cricket has written to the Ministry of External Affairs through the Ministry of Sports seeking advice on the prevailing situation.

Nabi stars in Afghanistan win

Afghanistan started off its campaign in the ACC Twenty20 Cup tournament with a 44-run win over Oman in a Group B match on the opening day on Tuesday.

Afghanistan batting first was bowled out for 150 in 18.5 overs. In its response Oman was shot out for 106 in 19.1 overs.

The chief-wrecker for Afghanistan was captain Mohammad Nabi who picked four for 18 and was voted Man of the Match for his performance.

In the other matches of the day, Hong Kong got the better of Malaysia by six wickets in a Group A match .

Nepal registered a 76-run win over Maldives in another Group A encounter.

In the final encounter of the day, UAE beat Kuwait by five wickets.

UAE, Kuwait, Maldives, Hong Kong post wins

United Arab Emirates registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Oman on Day 2 of the ACC TWenty20 Cup on Wednesday.

In the other matches Kuwait beat Bahrain in a thrilling match by three wickets.

In Group A Maldives stunned Singapore by five wickets, while Nepal went down to Hong Kong by six wickets.

USA starts off ICC Americas Division 1 Championship with Two Convincing Victories

The ICC Americas Division 1 Championship kicked off today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The top two finishers at this event will be promoted to the ICC World T20 Qualifier to be held in UAE later in 2013.

In the first match of the day, tournament favorite USA cruised to an easy 100 run victory against the Cayman Islands in the featured game of the day played at the Central Broward Recreational Park Stadium (CBRP).

USA won the toss and elected to bat in perfect conditions for cricket and slammed 185/5 from their allotted 20 overs. The left handed belligerent opener Stephen Taylor smashed the ball to all parts of the ground making 95 runs before he was caught on the long-on boundary. He hit seven 4?s and one 6 in an innings of power and skill. The USA batsmen took advantage of the conditions and the poor bowling performance of the Cayman Islands team. Nicholas Stanford stroked a polished 34 from 30 balls and Captain Orlando Baker put the finishing touches on the innings as he was run out on the last ball of the innings for a well-played 36 from 19 balls.

The Cayman Islands innings never gained momentum as wickets fell with great regularity, only Conroy Wright who had 36 from 42 balls put up any resistance as the USA completed a comfortable victory by 100 runs. USA's Steven Taylor was awarded man of the match.

In the second game of the day at the CBRP Stadium, the USA secured another victory against the unlikely Suriname. USA won the toss and elected to bat and Steven Taylor continued from the morning game blasting 28 from 22 balls with four 4's. He and opening partner Timothy Surujbally, who had 44 from 34 balls, put on 67 for the first wicket. The USA batters never allowed the Suriname bowlers to settle. Akeem Dodson with a man of the match performance made 54 from 40 balls. He had good support in the middle overs from Karan Ganesh, 27 from 19 balls, as the USA finished on 171/4 in their 20 overs.

Suriname soon found themselves in trouble with three wickets falling for 13 runs in the 3rd over. The innings never recovered from there and Suriname finished on 92/7 from their allotted 20 overs.

The first game of the tournament played at Brian Piccolo Park saw Bermuda face recently promoted Bahamas from the ICC Americas Division 2 Championship. Bahamas won the toss and asked Bermuda to bat first. After losing their captain Stephen Outerbridge without scoring, Curt Stovell and David Hemp scored steadily off some fairly ordinary bowling. They put on 153 for the second wicket before Hemp fell for 66. Curt Stovell batted through the innings for 71 not out and with a few big hits from Janerio Tucker at the end saw Bermuda post a total of 192-4. Albert Peters was the only bowler to show any consistency and picked up 3-26.

The Bahamas reply couldn't have had a worse start with the Taylor brothers both out with only 3 on the board and it never got any better. Three players scraped into double figures but a dismal performance saw the Bahamas dismissed for a paltry 65. Malachi Jones was the pick of the bowlers with 3-6 and Curt Stovell was adjudged man of the match. Bermuda won by 127 runs.

In the second game of the day at Brian Piccolo Park, Cayman invited Bahamas to bat and they fared slightly better after losing Captain Greg Taylor II for 0. Marc Taylor and Ryan Tappin mixed watchful batting with aggressive hitting and then Jonathan Barry added a run a ball 13 to take the score to 83-3. From there it was a repeat of the morning as the last 7 wickets fell for only 14 runs, the main damage being done by spinner Alessandro Morris who picked up 6-13.

In reply the Cayman Islands reached 45-2 before the rain came and finished the game after 8 overs of the reply. The Cayman Islands won by 10 runs on the Duckworth Lewis. Ramon Sealy scored the lion's share of the runs and finished unbeaten on 36. Alessandro Morris was awarded the Man of the Match for his 6 wickets.

Du Plessis banks on momentum for ICC Champions Trophy 2013

South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis believes that the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 will be an excellent opportunity for his country's ODI squad to match the lofty standards of its Test side, which currently sits on the top of Reliance ICC Test Championship table.

The Proteas have entered every ICC event as one of the title favourites. However, the side's best result was achieved 15 years ago, when it won the inaugural edition of the ICC Champions Trophy (then called the ICC Knock-Out). Then, it defeated the West Indies in the final in Dhaka.

Du Plessis, who was recently appointed as South Africa's T20I captain, believes the ICC Champions Trophy provides his side the perfect platform to show the rapid strides it has made recently. He warned, however, that the event will be a tough one and South Africa will have to improve its success rate.

"The ICC Champions Trophy is going to be a really tough tournament. It will bring everyone to a more level playing field," du Plessis told the ICC Cricket 360 television show in an interview, adding: "There are some really good teams in the competition but we really do need to work hard at our one-day cricket. Our Test team is fantastic at the moment. But if we want to be competing for that final spot in the ICC Champions Trophy, we need to start winning more convincingly."

The 28-year-old hard-hitting middle-order batsman hopes that South Africa, which is currently engaged in a five-match ODI series against Pakistan, will enter the tournament with a winning momentum. "The series against Pakistan will help us take a lot of confidence into that series (ICC Champions Trophy) because that's what you need when you get there, as you will rely a lot on momentum.

"You win a game or two and just take that momentum forward. It is also about peaking at the right time, but the key is to build up now," du Plessis said.

"South Africa has a very good chance at the ICC Champions Trophy. It is something we are really looking forward to. We are putting a lot of emphasis on it now. The key for us will be to be mentally sharp on that tour and hopefully get some momentum with winning the first two or three games.

"We have got a nice team, a good blend of guys. The young guys are really playing well now. We have obviously got the experienced guys with us (too). So it is all looking good," said du Plessis.

Du Plessis is confident that South Africa has an excellent opportunity to end its title drought.

"For the South Africa team, it would be awesome. For us as a team, we have had so many opportunities. We have never really played to our full potential. So, we are really looking forward to getting rid of that curse of the ICC trophy,'' hoped du Plessis.

About ICC Champions Trophy 2013

Group A of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 includes defending champion Australia, 2000 champion New Zealand and 2002 co-winner Sri Lanka, along with host England, which reached the final when it last staged the event in 2004.

South Africa is drawn in Group B of the tournament, alongside 2004 champion West Indies, 2002 co-winner India, and Pakistan.

The tournament opener of the ICC Champions Trophy will feature two former winners, when South Africa takes on India at Cardiff on 6 June. The following day, West Indies will face Pakistan at The Oval.

The semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 will be staged at The Oval (19 June) and Cardiff (20 June), while Edgbaston will be the venue of the final, to be played on 23 June.

Mitchell Starc to return to Australia

Cricket Australia (CA) today advised that Mitchell Starc will return to Australia later today to have surgery to remove the bone spurs on his right ankle.

Australian Team Doctor Peter Brukner said: "Mitch has been experiencing ankle pain related to bone spurs during the India Test series and whilst manageable, this represents an appropriate time for Mitch to have the surgery with a view to having him fully fit for the Ashes in late June.

"Mitch will have surgery later this week and we'll assess his recovery as he returns to bowling."

Australian men's team coach Mickey Arthur said: "We were aware that Mitch would need surgery at some point in the future to have the spurs removed. He could have continued playing but we want to take a proactive approach in managing Mitch to have him fit for the Ashes Series in England. Our medical team will monitor his progress closely on whether he is available for selection for the ICC Champions Trophy."

England batsmen dominate first day of second Test

England's Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott punctured New Zealand's growing bubble of self-belief on Thursday as they both scored centuries to guide their side to an imposing 267 for two at the close of play on the first day of the second test.

The hosts had entered the match with a burgeoning sense of confidence after a credible performance in the drawn first test in Dunedin, though England's batsmen brought them back to earth on Thursday with a ruthlessly efficient display.

Trott was 121 not out, his ninth century, at stumps after he and Compton combined for a 210-run partnership on a Basin Reserve pitch that was offering New Zealand little assistance. Kevin Pietersen was on 18 at the close of play.

Compton had been dismissed in the final hour for 100, his second test century.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum had won the toss and chosen to bowl to try to extract whatever help they could get from the pitch expected to offer more pace and bounce than University Oval in Dunedin.

Compton and Trott, however, made him pay for that decision, comfortably dealing with the lack of swing, seam movement and penetration by the New Zealand bowlers, who consistently failed to force them to play at deliveries or create any sustained pressure.

Captain Alastair Cook (17) was the only wicket to fall in the first session when he appeared to get through his shot a little ahead of the delivery from left arm pace bowler Neil Wagner and it spooned to Peter Fulton at mid-on.

Compton and Trott then dominated the rest of the day's play.

They guided the visitors through to 162 for one at tea and then appeared to be engaged in a race between themselves as the first to three figures when play resumed in the final session.

Trott belted two boundaries in one Bruce Martin over, then Compton responded in the next by Trent Boult, dispatching the left arm medium pace bowler to the fence twice.

The 31-year-old Trott, however, reached the mark first when he rocked back and pulled a short Wagner delivery to the square-leg fence for the 14th boundary of his 174-ball innings.

Compton wasted little time in joining him, effortlessly driving a full Wagner delivery in the left armer's next over through the covers for his 15th boundary.

The 29-year-old Compton, who scored his maiden test century in the second innings in Dunedin, punched the air in delight before the ball had even reached the boundary to celebrate the achievement.

Compton, however, did not capitalise, driving at a full delivery from left-arm spinner Martin in the first over after drinks only for the ball to bounce and turn just enough to catch an edge and fly to Ross Taylor at slip.

The third and final match of the series is at Eden Park in Auckland from March 22-26.

Khan leads from the front

United Arab Emirates (UAE) skipper Khurram Khan led from the front with a hundred in response to Ireland's 589 for seven on the third day of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

UAE ended third day's play at 302 for six, still 287 runs behind Ireland.

Khan (115: 232b, 17x4) added 187 runs for the second wicket with Arshad Ali (95: 271b, 10x4) to lead a strong reply for the host.

UAE chugged along nicely from an overnight 56 for one to 210 for two before Khan was dismissed by Trent Johnston.

Thereafter, UAE slipped from 210 for one to 248 for six in a space of 15.1 overs.

Swapnil Patil (50 not out: 103b, 6x4) held the innings together when stumps were drawn.

John Mooney (2-41) and George Dockrell (2-97) were Ireland's best bowlers on view.

Afghanistan completes formalities

Defending champion Afghanistan needed just six balls to wrap up Scotland innings to thereby seal an innings and five runs win on the third day of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Resuming at its overnight score of 144 for nine, still six runs behind Afghanistan, Scotland captain Gordon Drummond and Safyaan Sharif could play out just one over.

Drummond was the last man out off the sixth ball of the third day, as he was clean bowled by Dawlat Zadran.

Drummond became the fourth victim of Zadran who ended with figures of four for 51.

Afghanistan now has three wins from five matches and is now second on the points table.

Afghanistan stays on course for a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Afghanistan has stayed on course for a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after winning both its fifth round One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Championship against Scotland at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Both matches were streamed live on the ICC website www.icc-cricket.com.

Afghanistan beat Scotland by seven wickets in the first ODI on Wednesday and then made it two out of two on Friday by winning the second ODI by five wickets.

The double-win means that Afghanistan joins Scotland on 11 points and both sides now share second position on the WCL Championship table.

The top two sides from the WCL Championship will qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. The final two positions in the ICC's flagship event will then be determined at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which will be staged in New Zealand in 2014.

Afghanistan's final two round matches are against Namibia and Kenya, while Scotland will play Kenya and Ireland. Both sides will need to win all four matches in the remaining rounds to keep their automatic qualification hopes alive for the ICC World Cup 2015.

With so much riding on each match, both Afghanistan and Scotland will be closely following the forthcoming WCL Championship matches between UAE and Ireland, Namibia and Netherlands, and Kenya and Canada to be played over the next month.

A 2-0 win by Ireland will see the table-topper move to an almost unassailable 17 points, and leave four teams in the hunt for the crucial second position on the table.

The UAE and Ireland matches will also be live streamed on the ICC website www.icc-cricket.com.

Reverting to the Afghanistan-Scotland ODIs, former captain Nawroz Mangal stole the limelight in his side's seven wickets victory on Wednesday, while it was a total team effort on Friday that steered Afghanistan to a five wickets win.

On Wednesday, Nawroz stroked an unbeaten 112 off 96 balls with eight fours and six sixes, as Afghanistan achieved the 200-run target in the 34th over. In the second ODI, contributions by captain Mohammad Nabi (51), Mohammad Shahzad (48), Rahmat Shah (35), Nawroz Mangal (30) and Samiullah Shenwari (30 not out) helped the Asian side reach the 260-run target with eight balls and five wickets to spare.

The star of Scotland's total of 259 for nine was opener Kyle Coetzer, who stroked a brilliant 136-ball 133, including 14 fours and two sixes.

Afghanistan captain Mohammed Nabi was delighted with his team's performance, saying: "Sharjah is very good for batting and the boys played really well. The crowd was also brilliant so that really kept us going.

"We've got some very important games ahead and if we lose one or two games than we may not qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup. We'll be watching UAE and Ireland closely."

Afghanistan coach and former Pakistan Test fast bowler Kabir Khan was particularly pleased with his batsmen. "Qualification is now looking good and we've worked hard for the last three months to achieve this. It's paid off very well and I can see a change in the boys ? a coolness in their batting that wasn't there before," he said.

"We are now in the game ? up there with the top teams. We know that there is little margin for error and we have to work hard to qualify for the ICC World Cup, which we will do," he concluded.

Scotland captain Gordon Drummond was disappointed with the result. Speaking after the second ODI, he said: "Playing Afghanistan in their back yard is always going to be difficult. The score of 259 was below par today and 280 would have been a far more challenging score."

Drummond said that his side will be keeping a close eye on the forthcoming matches. "We want to make the top two in the Championship but obviously realise that four victories are now needed. We'll see what happens in the UAE v Ireland matches next week and keep working hard and being positive," he said.

Afghanistan and Scotland will now face each other in the four-day first-class ICC Intercontinental Cup 2011-2013 encounter at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan is the defending champion of this event, while Scotland finished second.

Drummond said his side was looking forward to this match. "Afghanistan is obviously used to the conditions here in Sharjah and they were fearless from the start. They take chances and ride luck but we can't hide that they've been better than us. Abu Dhabi is a totally different wicket so we'll have to see what happens in the four-day match," he opined.

WCL Championship matches live streamed

The two ODIs between Afghanistan and Scotland were the first of 16 matches that the ICC live will stream during the final rounds of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship.

Below is the schedule of the remaining matches that will also be live streamed at www.icc-cricket.com:

Round 5

UAE v Ireland 18 March - 50-over, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

20 March - 50-over, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Round 6*
Scotland v Kenya
Netherlands v Ireland

Round 7*
Ireland v Scotland
Afghanistan v Kenya
Canada v Netherlands
UAE v Namibia

Bangladesh earn first draw against Sri Lanka

Bangladesh drew the high-scoring first test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium on Tuesday to snap their 12-test losing streak against the islanders.

Chasing an improbable 268-run victory target with just one session and 37 overs left, Bangladesh were 70 for one wicket in 22 overs when the teams agreed to a draw after five days of batting dominance on a placid track.

Only 19 wickets fell in the test while eight centuries were scored, equalling the record set in the 2005 South Africa v West Indies test at Antigua.

The 1613 runs scored by both teams also made it the highest match-aggregate in a test in Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored his country's maiden test double century, was named man of the match.

Colombo hosts the second and final test from Saturday.

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara (105) helped himself to his second century of the match while Tillakaratne Dilshan (126) also joined the list of centurions before Sri Lanka declared their second innings on 335 for four at tea.

Sangakkara completed his 32nd test hundred shortly before lunch to become the fifth Sri Lankan -- after Duleep Mendis, Asanka Gurusinha, Aravinda de Silva (twice) and Dilshan -- to have scored centuries in both innings of a test match.

He was dismissed in the second ball after lunch when he pulled a short delivery from Mahmudullah to Jaharul Islam at mid-wicket to fall after a 172-ball knock that had 10 fours in it.

Dilshan, who had scored his 16th test century off 190 balls with nine fours, was caught at deep square leg giving Mahmudullah his second wicket of the innings. Dilshan and Sangakkara put on 213 runs for the second wicket.

Mahmudullah captured his third victim when he bowled debutant Kithuruwan Vithanage (59) after inducing an inside edge.

Mathews was unbeaten on 38 and Lahiru Thirimanne on two when Sri Lanka declared at the tea break.

මාලිංග, ක්‍රිකට් හා පරිපාළනය

ලසිත් මාලිංග විසින් මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ බැන වැදීම ගැන බොහෝ දෙනා විවිධ මත පළ කරති. බහුතරයක් දෙනා විසින් ඔහුගේ ක්‍රියා කළාපය දැඩිව හෙළාදකිනු දක්නට ලැබිණි. අතලොස්සක් තරම් වු පිරිසක් පමණක් ඔහු වෙනුවෙන් හඩ නගනු දක්නට ලැබිණි. ඒ වෙනකක් නිසා නොව ඔහු විසින් ලංකාවේ ක්‍රිකට් වෙනුවෙන් කළ දෑ නිසාය. නොයෙසේනම් ඔහු තවමත් අපේ නිසාය.ඔහුට බනින බහුතරයක්  බනින්නේද ඔහු හදාගන්නට මිස නැතිකරන්නට නොවන බව ඔහු තේරුම්ගත යුතුය. ඇත්තටම තවමත් ඔහු ශ්‍රී ලංකා කණ්ඩායමට නැතිවම බැරි ක්‍රීඩකයෙකි. ක්‍රිකට් ගැන අල්ප මාත්‍රයක් හෝ දන්නා අයෙක් ඔහුගෙන් ලබාගත හැකි අතිරේක වාසිය ගැන කතා කරනු ඇත. එහෙත් ලසිත් මාලිංග යනු ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් නොව ක්‍රිකට් නැමති ක්‍රීඩාවේ එක් සොඳුරු දඩයම්කරුවෙකු පමණි.

මෙහිදී විශේෂයෙන්ම සඳහන් කළ යුත්තේ අප විසින් ඔහුගේ හැසිරීම දැඩි පිළිකුලෙන් යුතුව හෙළා දකින බවයි. ඒ වෙන කිසිවක් නිසා නොව විනය යනු ක්‍රීඩාවේ අංක 1 ලෙස අප විසින් තරයේ සලකනු ලබන බැවිනි. එහෙත් මෙම  සිද්ධිය හා බැඳුනු, සැගවුනු ගැටළුකාරී හා වේදනාකාරී කාරණා බොහොමයක් ඇති බව දැක ගත හැකිය. එනම්,

-ලසිත් මාලිංග විසින් තමන් ක්‍රීඩා කරන්නේ මුදල් වෙනුවෙන් පමණක් බව ප්‍රසිද්ධ ප්‍රකාශයක් කර තිබියදීත් ඔහුව විවේචනය කරමින් ක්‍රීඩා කරවන්නේ ඇයිද යන්න හා ක්‍රිකට් පරිපාළනය ඔහු වෙනුවෙන් ආදේශකයක් සොයා නොගන්නේ මන්ද යන්න.

-මුදලට පමණක් ක්‍රීඩා කරන ක්‍රීඩකයන්ගෙන් රටකට ඇති වැදගත්කම කුමක්ද යන්න හා අතීතයේ මෙන් ක්‍රීඩකයන් රට ගැන නොසිතන්නේ මන්ද යන්න..

-ක්‍රිකට් ගැන මළපොතේ අකුරක් නොදන්නා පුද්ගළයන්ට ක්‍රිකට් සම්බන්ධයෙන් විවේචනය කිරීමට ඉඩදීම කොතෙක් දුරට සාධාරණද සහ ක්‍රිකට් පිළිබඳ ප්‍රවීණයන් ඉදිරිපත් කරන තර්ක කොතෙක් දුරට ප්‍රායෝගිකද යන්න හා ඒවා කොතෙක් දුරට ඊර්ශ්‍යා සහගත බවින් මිදුනක්ද යන්න...

-"ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට්" යනු ජාතික කණ්ඩායම පමණක්මද යන්න..

-මාධ්‍යවේදීන් හා කුළුපගව  කතාබහ කළ පමනින්ම ක්‍රීඩකයන් හා පරිපාළකයන් සියල්ල මහත්වරුන් වීම හා මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට බැණවදින්නන් පමණක් විවේචනයට බඳුන්වීම කොතෙක් දුරට සාධාරණද යන්න..

-ජේ‍ෂ්ඨ ක්‍රීඩකයන් නොමැතිව බංග්ලාදේශය වැනි රටක් සමගවත් ක්‍රීඩා කිරීමට නොහැකි ඇයිද යන්න..

-කුළය, ප්‍රදේශය,විලාසිතාව,පවුල් පසුබිම හා වෙනත් අතිශය පෞද්ගලිකමය කාරණා ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් ක්‍රීඩකයන් විවේචනය කිරීමේ යටි අරමුණු මොනවාද යන්න..

ඉහත දක්වා ඇත්තේ මෙහි බොහෝ දෙනා නොදකින හෝ දුටුවද ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ කතා කිරීමට අකමැති ගැටළු කිහිපයක් පමණි.

සාමාන්‍ය ජනතාව වන ඔබ අප විසින් සිහිතබා ගත යුතු ප්‍රධානම දෙය වන්නේ ක්‍රීඩකයන් සියල්ලෝමද ඔබ අප මෙන් ඇට, ලේ.මස් වලින් හෙබි පෘතග්ජන පුද්ගලයන් බවයි,ඔවුනද ඔබ අප මෙන් නොනිමි ආශාවන්ගෙන් පෙලෙන්නෝ වෙති. සමහරු අතීතය අමතක කරති. තමනට උදවු කළවුන් අමතක කරති. ඒ සියල්ල වාණිජ ලෝකය ඔවුනට ඉගැන්වු දේය. සියල්ලෝම එසේ නොවෙතත් එසේ කළවුන් වර්ථමානයේ පමණක් නොව අතීතයේද ශ්‍රී ලංකාව නියෝජනය කළහ. එබැවින් මේ දෙස උපේක්ෂාවෙන් බැලිය යුතුය.

මෙහිදී ක්‍රීඩකයන් විසින් සිහි තබා ගත යුත්තක් ඇත. වාසනාවකට හෝ අවාසනාවකට ආසියාකරයේ ජනතාව ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩකයෝ උන්මාදනීය ලෙස දේවත්වයෙහිලා සලකති. ඒ ඔවුනගේ රට වෙනුවෙන් ක්‍රීඩා කරන තුරු පමණි. එසේ නොවන කළ ඔවුහු ඔවුනට මුදල් අපේක්ශාවෙන් ක්‍රීඩා කරන  කුළීකරුවන්ම පමණි. යම් දිනක ක්‍රීඩාවෙන් සමුගන්නා කළ ඔබ දේවත්වයෙන් පිදුම් ලබන්නේද එසේත් නොමැතිනම්  බිළියන ගනනක් හිමි කෝටිපති කුළී කරුවෙකු වෙනවාද යන්න තම තමන්ම තෝරාගත යුතුය. ගෞරවය බලෙන් ලබා ගත නොහැකිය. එය තමන් විසින්ම උපයාගත යුතුය.

ක්‍රීඩකයෝ හා පරිපාළකයෝ එති යති.එහෙත් ක්‍රීඩාව එලෙසම පවතින්නේය ,පැවතිය යුතුය.

Afghanistan and Scotland chase World Cup spot

Scotland and Afghanistan are set to lock horns in the first of the crucial fifth round fixtures of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Championship, which resumes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 6 March after a five-month break.

In a fixture that could determine which two teams qualify directly for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Afghanistan will face Scotland on 6 and 8 March at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, a match-up that Afghanistan must win to keep its hopes alive for a top-two finish.

Currently, only three points separate the top four teams in the WCL Championship, with Scotland in second place and Afghanistan four points behind, in fifth. At the end of the seven-round competition, the top two teams will qualify directly for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, to be held in Australia and New Zealand. With the leader board so close, both Afghanistan and Scotland are aware that their fixture is a pivotal one.

Scotland has previously appeared in two ICC Cricket World Cups (1999 and 2007), and the side's captain Gordon Drummond says qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015 is the primary motivator for his team.

"Only a few players in the squad have played in 50-over World Cups and there is definitely a hunger in the squad to get to the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. This is a definite goal for this group of players," he says.

"Two victories in the matches would put us in a strong position for either of the top two qualification spots, and we will be positive in our approach. I'm confident we can get two victories in these games with the strong squad that we have," Drummond adds.

The two teams have previously met on four occasions, winning two matches apiece, and Drummond agrees that there is little to separate them on a head-to-head basis: "Our results have been pretty even against Afghanistan in the past and the games have always been enjoyable battles. They have performed well in recent years, which has been good for cricket in general.

"We now have more knowledge about their team and how they play, which has helped shape tactics for this match. We also have a better understanding of the conditions at Sharjah from our previous tour, and discussed at length how each player needs to individually adapt to these conditions, which are different to the UK. I think the teams are evenly matched for these games," says the 32-year-old all-rounder.

Drummond, however, is confident that his side, which includes four new faces - Neil Carter, Matt Machan, David Murphy and Iain Wardlaw – is well-prepared for the encounter: "We know that these games against Afghanistan will be challenging, particularly in their adopted home ground (Sharjah).

"We have been out here for the last 10 days preparing through intense training and matches against the UAE Blues, who were challenging opposition in their own environment. The squad has gained a lot of knowledge and confidence from these matches and is looking forward to the games starting," he concludes.

Afghanistan captain Mohammed Nabi says that while his side needs to win both matches to stay in contention for a top-two finish, it is motivation rather than pressure that is inspiring the team.

"I would say that there will be slight pressure, but that the team is more motivated to win to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, which is out main aim," he says.

"Last time (2009), we missed qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup by a slim margin. It is a personal goal and a personal aim to lead from the front and take my team to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015."

Twenty-eight year old Nabi is confident of his team's chances of winning the two-match encounter: "We have played Scotland previously, and we know that they will come hard at us in these games. We played them in 2008 and 2010, but I think we have an edge against Scotland because we've beaten them."

"We know Scotland's strengths and weaknesses, and we will focus on these two areas - working against their strengths and focusing on their weaknesses," he says.

Afghanistan has enjoyed a lengthy preparation period for the WCL Championship, including training camps in Jalalabad and then in Pakistan, where the side played 10 one-day games and three T20s against Pakistan teams.

"The preparation we've already undergone will continue, as we groom our skills to prepare for playing against Full Members. We have already faced Full Member teams a lot – Australia, Pakistan, England, India - and we are aware of areas we need to work on to compete at that level," Nabi adds.

In other fifth-round fixtures, Kenya takes on Canada in two ODIs at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai on 11 and 13 March. Kenya is currently in sixth spot in the WCL Championship, four points ahead of Canada, who is in eighth position.

Fourth-placed UAE will play host to table-topper Ireland at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 18 and 20 March, and UAE will be looking for a clean sweep to keep its automatic qualification hopes alive. Two wins for Ireland would see it take a significant step to cementing a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Namibia will host third-placed Netherlands on 16 and 18 April in the 50-over-a-side event.

The forthcoming WCL Championship matches are as follows:

Afghanistan v Scotland

6 Mar - WCL Championship, ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

8 Mar - WCL Championship, ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

UAE v Ireland

18 Mar - WCL Championship, 50-over, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

20 Mar - WCL Championship, 50-over, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Kenya v Canada

11 Mar – ICC WCL Championship, ODI, ICC Global Cricket Academy Oval No.1, Dubai
13 Mar - ICC WCL Championship, ODI, ICC Global Cricket Academy Oval No.1, Dubai

Namibia v Netherlands

16 Apr - WCL Championship, 50-over, Wanderers, Windhoek

18 Apr - WCL Championship, 50-over, Wanderers, Windhoek

India takes 2-0 lead

India took a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series against Australia by winning the second Test by an innings and 135 runs on the fourth day at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Ravichandran Ashwin took five wickets as Australia was bundled out for 131 runs in its second innings. Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets in the win.

This is the first time in Test history that Australia declared its first innings and then lost by an innings

This is Australia's fifth Test defeat in a row in India.

India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was named player of the match.

A DARK DAY IN SRI LANKA’S CRICKET HISTORY

The signing of player contract is resolved
But a Black mark left
The monthly fe for seniors of Rs 40 Lakha and a fee of Rs 20 lakhs for juniors was told as insufficient:
ARJUNA SAYS THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS TO RESOLVE THAN ARGUINING ABOUT THE BUSINESS CLASS TRAVEL ENTITLEMENTS FOR SPOUSES OF PLAYERS

Yesterday (3/3/2013)evening the 3rd a black was inserted to the annals in the history of the game of cricket in Sri Lanka .Our cricketers took a stand in disagreeing to the decision of the SLC authorities with regard to their contract payments which were pruned. They were on the verge of taking a decision not to sign the new contracts which were made by the SLC. Finally they successfully made changes to the contract payments made by the SLC according to their suggestions.
The earlier contract expired on the 28th February and the deadline for the new contract had to be signed by the 2nd of March. Nevertheless not a single player bothered and took interest to sign the new contract by the 2nd of March. They abstained from signing and were like on a protest or a strike.
When 23 members of the National team and others were to sign the new agreements they were faced with a grave conflict. Furner skipper Mahela Jayawardena who was away on a holiday to Thailand was not bothered but two senior players Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga were at a strong decision in this regard.
However yesterday evening ( 2rd of March) the Chairman of the new selection Committee Sanath Jayasuriya was able to have a discussion with the contracted players and were able to resolve the matter by agreeing to a 78% and thereby resolved the conflict.
This conflict had begun it is learnt as the payments that were given to
contracted players were reduced by the executive committee of the SLC in relation to the payments paid in the previous years had gin way to this conflict.
It was suggested to pay the players 68% of the 78% that is paid to the SLC by the ICC as match fees. It was also suggested to withdraw the facilities offered to the spouses of cricketer’s to travel in Business class travel plus other privileges offered once a year for a tour abroad. This was one other reason for them to decide in objecting to signing of this new agreement, they also did not want to the six groups in the contracted players’ category to be brought down to four categories.
The Minister of sports was at a firm stand had even decided to appoint a new captain and a new vice captain and form a new team altogether by leaving all those experienced players, Because of this stand made by the Minister may have prompted them to sign the contracts they had earlier refused to sign.
Before the First test against the visiting Bangladesh is scheduled to commence on the 8th of February. The first practice match commenced yesterday the 3rd of March at the Matara Uyanwatta Stadium. On the previous night Kunar Sabgakkara had travelled to Matara to be in the side. As he was not allowed to play he had come back to Colombo on the 3rd.
After the meeting on the 3rd late evening Sangakkara and his colleagues had come out of the SLS premises with smiling faces. Former World cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga expressed his views to the media angrily expressed about the demands of the players who fought for the business class travel for their spouses is a big joke. He went on to add that there are more important issues to address than this business class travel. He accused all the agents ansd managers of players who make these demands.
When considering the 68% percentage a senior player would receive about Rs 40 lakhs for a month while a junior player would receive a fee of about Rs 20 lakhs for a month. These payments are in addition to other payments they are to receive for playing in matches. But they fought saying it is not enough
Regarding this conflict what the Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had this to say...”.In other Test playing countries players are paid only 25% of the ICC payments. Our players are paid 69%.When they are paid very much over the payments made in other countries, they are demanding a further 10% more. This is not the payment for one pound of flesh but for a 1 ½ pound of flesh. For 8 of the senior players are paid around Rs 40 lakhs. Accordingly a sum of Rs 480 lakhs is paid.  For those who are paid less the total amount paid to them is Rs 240 lakhs. While paid such a large sum they are demanding a further 10%.Is it reasonable? Are we not spending for our under 19 team players? Who also travel overseas? We have to spend money for side pitches and for cricket equipment it is not only for the players payments but there are many expenses we have to meet.”