More injury worries for England!
The list of injuries for the England team to face Australia in the third Test of the Ashes series seems never ending. The latest addition to the casualty list being Ashley Giles. Giles had just returned to the side after an Achilles tendon problem had cropped up during the England tour of Sri Lanka. He said that he may require an operation as he is not feeling as fit as he should with the treatment he has taken so far.
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England may decide to risk aggravating skipper Nasser Hussain's injured hand by playing him in the third Test beginning next week. The risk would be a big one, but with a week more to go for the third Test, England will want to do all it takes to stop the Aussies from claiming the Ashes yet again.
Coca-Cola Triangular in Sri Lanka
An amazing fight back by the Sri Lankans after being at one stage 4-27 saw them win the fourth match of the Coca-Cola triangular at Colombo yesterday quite comfortably. Russell Arnold (91 not out) and Suresh Perera (56 not out) masterminded a partnership that saw the hosts sail past a seemingly tough target of 237.
Batting first New Zealand began well with a 70 run opening stand and with the middle order chipping in with useful scores from Astle (54), McMillan (38), Vincent (30) and Parore (37 not out) the total of 236-5 in the 50 overs (then highest total of the tournament) looked a winning one for the Kiwis. Arnold who first steadied the innings with a 110 run partnership with Atapattu (66) stayed on with Suresh Perera whose attractive slogging won the match easily for the hosts.
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Following the bombing of a key military airbase by LTTE militants on Tuesday morning, the manager of the Sri Lankan cricket team Ajit Jayasekara resigned from his post to rejoin the air force. Jayasekara was reportedly devastated by the destruction caused to the key airbase that he had once commanded. Former pace bowler Rumesh Ratnayake has been appointed manager for the rest of the series, by the interim committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka.
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Bollywood films have always been a passion with cricketers and with the tight schedule the current Indian team are up against there is little time for them to catch up with the latest hits. The Indian team these days carry CD's of the latest movies to watch while on tour. They reportedly spent time in Sri Lanka to watch Aamir Khan's heroics in the movie "Laagan". One hopes such inspirational performances can come out of the beleaguered Indian side in the matches to follow.
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Reetinder Sodhi is a gentleman cricketer both on and off the field. Sodhi reportedly spent hours two days ago trying to pacify two Pakistani youngsters who were stranded after the Colombo airport was closed following its bombing by the LTTE suicide squad. The boys finally did leave the next day and Sodhi had made a couple more grateful fans.
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India's premier batsman Sachin Tendulkar will be told on August 10 by the doctors if he will be fit enough to join the team for the first Test against Sri Lanka beginning on August 14 at Kandy. Mumbai based Dr Anant Joshi who is currently treating the maestro said he will conduct a bone scan on the 10th of next month to find out the extent of healing that has taken place. In the meanwhile Tendulkar has been advised to give maximum rest to his leg. He has been walking carefully with the help of a small rubber cushion under his foot to protect the injured area.
Miscellaneous
Justice Malik Muhammad Qayyum has agreed to head the review committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board that is looking into the betting and match fixing issues. He felt the PCB should also appoint a high power committee to make sure the recommendations of the review committee were implemented. The former Justice of the Lahore High Court also said he was keen to get to the bottom of the probe regarding the two matches against India and Bangladesh in the 1999 World cup. Pakistan lost both those matches.
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Leslie Sackstein, disgraced South African skipper Hansie Cronje's lawyer revealed that a senior lawyer has been appointed to go into whether Cronje is satisfied with all conditions required for indemnity from prosecution. He also revealed that media reports that Cronje had been denied immunity were wrong and that the process was still very much being worked on.
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Pakistan all rounder Abdur Razzaq came out and denied all reports that appeared in the media about his sudden and secretive marriage. Razzaq clarified that he had recently held a house warming party at his new home in Lahore that was mistook for his marriage party. Razzaq is currently in England playing county cricket for Middlesex.
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Former Sri Lankan cricketer Asantha de Mel who is in India to meet the Chairman of the Asian Cricket Foundation Chairman Jagmohan Dalmiya, said that it was highly probable that Aravinda de Silva might stage a comeback into the side, and even go on to play the World Cup in South Africa in 2003. He said now that de Silva has got a clean chit regarding his role in betting and match fixing he will now be able to concentrate on cricket.
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Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has reportedly presented some of his cricket gear to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) museum. His contribution included caps, balls and shirts used in the 1997 Sahara Cup played against Pakistan in Toronto. India won the five match series that year in which Ganguly performed exceedingly well both with the bat and the ball and was man of the match on four occasions.
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Former Pakistan cricketer Majid Khan will lead a veteran side to India that will play a series of one-day matches in October. The team includes former Test stars like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Abdul Qadir among others.
SCORES AT A GLANCE
SRI LANKA vs NEW ZEALAND (4th match)
At Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Toss:New Zealand
New Zealand: 236-8 in 50 overs (N Astle 54, McMillan 38, L Vincent 30, A Parore 37 not out; K Dharmasena 3-52)
Sri Lanka: 240-5 in 48.3 overs (M Atapattu 66, R Arnold 91 not out, S Perera 56 not out)
Result: Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets
Man of the match: R Arnold (SL)
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Points Table: (end of round one)
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
L
|
Nr
|
Points
|
Sri Lanka
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
New Zealand
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
India
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
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