Category Archives: Angelo Mathews

Captaincy Stakes: How the Burden landed in Dimuth’s Lap

Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, 17 April 2019, with this title How Sri Lanka’s search for a World Cup captain ended with Karunaratne”

Where most teams are merely working out which of their fringe players will make the trip to the World Cup, Sri Lanka had a bigger question to answer: who will captain the team? Over the past two years, the captaincy has changed hands at a dizzying rate, with Angelo Mathews having had it in two stints, Dinesh Chandimal also helming the ship twice, Lasith Malinga getting the job in late 2018 (after having been stand-in captain once, in 2017), while Thisara Perera and even Chamara Kapugedara have also led the team. It’s been like a game of spin-the-bottle, except instead of embarrassing teenage consequences, Sri Lanka have had embarrassing losses. Since the start of 2017, they have lost 41 and won only 11 ODIs.

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Filed under Andrew Fidel Fernando, Angelo Mathews, cricket and life, Hathurusingha, Lasith Malinga, performance, player selections, politics and cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket, world cup squad

Rex Clementine’s Appraisal of World Cup Selections

Rex Clementine, Island, 19 April 2019, with the title SLC justify Malinga axing”

Sri Lanka Cricket big wigs justified the axing of Lasith Malinga as the captain of the national cricket team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 during a media briefing yesterday. The fast bowler was named captain in December 2018 but after the team failed to win a single game under his charge, the national selection panel promoted Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne as the ODI skipper for cricket’s showpiece event in England and Wales. Under Malinga, Sri Lanka had suffered 12 straight losses in New Zealand and South Africa in ODI and T-20 cricket.

Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva, flanked by captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Chairman of Selectors Ashantha De Mel, stresses a point during a media briefing to announce the squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup in Colombo yesterday.

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, performance, player selections, Rex Clementine, Sri Lanka Cricket, World Cup 2019, world cup squad

Harin Fernando’s Clarification on SL World Cup Selections

N. Krishnamurthy in Cricket Age, 18 April 2019

As some people in social media are questioning the appointment of Dimuth Karunaratne as the captain for the Sri Lanka’s world cup campaign, young and dynamic Sports Minister Harin Fernando has issued a statement, clarifying all the baseless allegations [accusations, it seems, that are rooted in (A) personal malice and muckraking and (B) Sinhala Buddhist chauvinist thinking and (C) perhaps the tactical moves by outsiders from neighbouring lands seeking to create dissension .. …….. Editor Roberts’ NOTE]

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, performance, player selections, Sri Lanka Cricket, World Cup 2019

Premature Thoughts on Sri Lanka’s World Cup Squad: The Fifteen

Michael Roberts

 PREAMBLE: On the 21/22nd March I organised my thoughts on Sri Lanka’s potential ODI squad for the World Cup in England. This was a premature move – before the final two T20 matches in South Africa and without inside information of what had transpired behind the scenes in New Zealand and Australia in ways that led the new selection Committee headed by Ashantha de Mal to insert some radical changes in the squad for South Africa.  

I sent some queries to cricketing friends as soon as this draft was completed; while also posting it confidentially to some of them. Since then a searching interview with Ashantha De Mel by Champika Fernando in the Daily Mirror has provided some crucial information on the events that led them to recall Chandimal. More vitally, it has provided illuminating insights into the new Selection Committee’s thinking. His comments should serve as a testing yardstick for my reflections below so that we can then move further forward in the light of the second and third T20matches against the Safs.

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, Atapattu, cricket governance, Lasith Malinga, performance, player selections, politics and cricket

Rex in Q and A with Michael Holding …. Whispering Death

Rex Clementine

The countries that possess weapons of mass destruction are feared by all and sundry. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is the most dreaded man in the world at the moment as he is believed to be armed to the teeth with nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological weapons. So was Clive Lloyd. He ruled the cricketing world with an iron fist capable of striking at anytime. His weapons being – Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall.  “How the **** could you get back into form when you were playing Roberts, Holding, Garner day after day,” Ian Chappell once lamented during World Series Cricket.

Holding was said to be the fastest. He was nicknamed ‘the Rolls Royce of fast bowlers’ for his smooth run-up and delivery. The batsmen who were troubled by him, however, had other names. Geoff Boycott called him, ‘whispering death’.  He bowled at lightning speed but his run up, you couldn’t hear him coming. Normally a fast bowler comes up with lot of aggression, power and lot of effort, but Michael you just didn’t realize he was coming. That’s the whispering part. Death, boy, he could hurt you,” Boycott once said. Continue reading

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, child of empire, cricket and life, cricketing icons, memorable moments, performance, Rex Clementine, Sri Lanka Cricket, unusual people, West Indian Cricket

Further Reflections on Sri Lanka’s Cricketing Defeats in Australia

Michael Roberts

Many factors contributed to the resounding defeats suffered by the Sri Lankan squad in Australia, A few were dictated by the dice of the gods. But as many were due to serious shortcomings in the capacities displayed by individuals in the team on the field.

Dimuth Karunaratne being attnded to after being hit on the helmeted head

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Profound Problems for Sri Lanka Cricket

Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, 4 February 2019, where the title is “No quick fixes, Sri Lankan cricket needs a bottom-up overhaul”

Sri Lanka have lost 16 of their last 18 international matches, so there are rumours floating around about replacing the coach again. Rumours that Sri Lanka Cricket has inquired about the availability of top coaches overseas. That the island’s sports ministry – essentially running cricket in the country at present – has consulted lawyers about the legal ramifications of firing or demoting Chandika Hathurusingha. Perhaps they will remove him from the national side and send him to the High Performance Centre. This is what they have just meted out to batting coach Thilan Samaraweera, who was replaced in the national set-up in December.

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Evaluating Sri Lanka’s Prospects in Australian Test Matches

Andrew MCGlashan, in ESPNcricinfo, 22 January 2019

Sri Lanka have never won a Test in Australia, losing 11 of their 13 encounters and many by a considerable margin. On this tour they are without the experience of Angelo Mathews while still adjusting to life after Rangana Herath. However, they may never have a better chance of success down under and here are three reasons why.

Kusal Mendis reaches century at Wellington

The better batting line-up?

Sri Lanka have toured Australia with stronger batting line-ups than this squad – in 2012 their No. 2 to 5 read Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera and Mathews – but the difference this time is that you could argue what they have is stronger than what the Australians can offer. Even without the injured Mathews there is proven quality in the top order. Kusal Mendis (second) and Dimuth Karunaratne (sixth) were both in the top 10 run-scorers last year and both were above Australia’s only entrant Usman Khawaja (seventh). You would go past two further Sri Lankans (Mathews and Roshen Silva) before reaching Australia’s next-best run-scorer in captain Tim Paine. Continue reading

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A New Year Resolution: Sri Lankan Players now Training at Junction Oval in Melbourne

Rex Clementine, in Island, 1 January 2019

Saliya Ahangama

Sri Lanka’s Test cricketers will not come back home after the Test leg of the tour of New Zealand that concluded in Christchurch on Sunday and instead will be based in Melbourne, Australia undergoing training ahead of the two match Test series there. Accordingly, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Suranga Lakmal, Dilruwan Perera and Roshen Silva will be based in Melbourne for two weeks, SLC’s High Performance Manager Asanka Gurusinha confirmed yesterday.

Thirimanne Roshen Silva

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, Australia Cricket, cricket and life, performance, player selections, politics and cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket, unusual people

Boultage in Christchurch! Carnage! …. Cricketing Carnage!

No… It was not an Earthquake but devilish swing bowling from Trent Boult …….effecting six wickets for 4 runs at one end while Angelo Mathews was left stranded at the other end!

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, New Zealand cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket, unusual people, unusual statistics