The Sri Lanka Cricket Museum at Maitland Place seemed to attract few visitors even during the Royal-Thomian …. so our sparkling moments in cricket history enshrined in trophies remain buried though not quite dead.
Category Archives: Aravinda de Silva
Kumar and Aravinda in Expressive Doubt!!
Ishara’s Catch, July 2010
Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara (R) and chief selector Aravinda de Silva talk at a practice session at The Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on July 25, 2010, ahead of the second Test match againstn India scheduled to start July 26. India needs to win at least one of the two remaining Test matches if they are to retain their number one ranking status. Sri Lanka won the first Test at Galle by ten wickets. AFP PHOTO/Ishara S.KODIKARA
Top of the Tree in Test Cricket: Kusal’s 153 Not Out in a Statistical Table of Comparison
Anantha Narayanan, in ESPNcricinfo, 20 February 2019, with this title “Why Kusal Perera’s 153* is the best Test innings ever”
Kusal Perera‘s once-in-a-lifetime 153 not-out, which orchestrated an almost single-handed win over a South Africa much stronger than Perera’s Sri Lanka, has become the best innings in 142 years of Test cricket, moving to the top spot in my Golden Willow 25 (GW 25) table of top batting performances.
Perera’s innings secured 897.2 rating points, which is about 30 points more than the previous top innings, Graham Gooch’s classic 154 at Headingley in 1991 against the mighty West Indies. Perera’s innings ticks all the boxes and sits comfortably in top place. The only other innings that has come into the top 25 since this list was originally published in August last year is Cheteshwar Pujara’s 123 in Adelaide.
From Basin Reserve to Aravinda, Sanga and A Homily
Rex Clementine, in Island, 16 December 2018, where the title reads “Two different Basin Reserve classics”
The Basin Reserve where the current Test match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand is in progress remains a special place for Sri Lankans in many ways. Generally the Sri Lankans have done well at this picturesque venue. The Basin as they call it is literally one of Wellington’s busiest roundabouts. It is the two mountains – Mount Cook and Mount Victoria in the backdrop that add to the beauty of this ground in New Zealand’s north island.
The first double hundred by a Sri Lankan overseas was scored at the Basin and the last double hundred by a Sri Lankan was also scored at the Basin. In fact after Kumar Sangakkara’s sensational effort in 2015, no Sri Lankan has scored a double hundred – home or away. Aravinda de Silva was the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred overseas in 1991.
Arjuna Ranatunga once told us that there won’t be another Aravinda for another 50 years. When we asked him why, he told us this story. “I was batting with Aravinda at the Basin and was struggling to put bat to ball as there was quite a bit of seam movement. But Aravinda had no such issues and he was absolutely hitting everything from the middle of the bat. During the tea break, I took Aravinda’s bat and checked whether his was wider than that of mine. He was making it look so easy,” Ranatunga said. Continue reading
Reflections on Sri Lanka’s Topsy-Turvy Journey in Cricket — Mark Nicholas
Mark Nicholas in ESPNcricinfo, 22 October 2018, where the title runs “Sri Lanka’s cricket legacy is glorious, but what does the future hold?”
The first two Sri Lankan cricketers to catch this observer’s eye were Roy Dias and Duleep Mendis. Dias, slim and elegant at the crease, played the game in beautifully straight lines and had a hand in important moments during Sri Lanka’s early days at the top table, most especially against Pakistan and India. Mendis was a bull of a fellow on first look but the most genial of cricketers, whose explosive strokeplay at Lord’s in 1984 won him many a heart. It was for the Indians, however, that he reserved his very best cricket, making hundreds in both innings of the 1982 Madras Test and then leading his country to a famous series win in 1985 with a match-saving hundred in the final Test at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy. It is close to impossible to describe how much this meant to his people. It was more than a victory for cricketers; it was a victory for character and for relevance – a precursor to the days when Arjuna Ranatunga would bow before no one in the pursuit of his country’s place in the world order.
An All-Time Sri Lankan XI: Selection Game in 2010
Sa’adi Thawfeeq presenting Mahinda Wijesinghe’s Choice XI …. courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, 1 April 2010
How dearly the national selectors would love to have a Cricinfo jury to help them pick the national teams, going by how straightforward the selection of Sri Lanka’s all-time XI turned out to be. The middle order of Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva and Mahela Jayawardene, and champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, were all unanimous picks, with 10 votes apiece.
Left-arm spinner Ajit de Silva and legspinner DS de Silva were tied for the spot of Muralitharan’s spin partner; but with Murali dominating from one end and Chaminda Vaas, whose nine votes justify his place as the spearhead of the bowling attack, from the other, you could assume the three other bowlers in the XI would have little to do. Continue reading
New Structure for Local Cricket Competition
Rex Clementine, in Island, 7 January 2018, with title “Domestic cricket set for complete overhaul”
Following the national cricket team’s disastrous showing in 2017 across all formats of the game, Sri Lanka Cricket has been under the pump for messing with the domestic cricket structure. SLC’s decision to increase the number of First Class teams from 14 to 24 had drawn much criticism forcing the Sports Ministry to intervene. It resulted in a high profile committee put in place to restructure domestic cricket and the committee has now forwarded its recommendations to the Ministry.
Former Test captains Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were part of a high profile committee that was formed by the Sports Ministry to address the woes of domestic cricket.
Aravinda’s Thoughts on the Present World Order in Cricket
Item in Daily Mirror, 10 August 2017
Cricket mentor Aravinda de Silva has said the Indian cricket team derives its strength from the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Hindustan Times reported today. “The IPL has helped them (Indian players) in playing against the best players in the world. They are able to bring in all the international players because of the monetary capability of the Indian cricket board. They all bring in the best knowledge into one country because all the best coaches are there in one competition. Continue reading
Sidath vs Sanath: Selectors Castigated by Sunday Times
S. R. Pathiravithana, Sunday Times, 6 August 2017, where the title reads “No Plan”
As I was saying before; keeping my ear to the ground, I presume it is a part of my job. It gives you vibes without prejudice or even second thoughts; it just surfaces from the ground within – where it began. The other day I was chatting to my grocery man Seneviratne, an ardent cricket fan. You must see how his face lights up when Sri Lanka wins. It’s so pleasing to see a face so bright. The vibes that emanate from his even make our daily drudges look good. Yet, just before the second Test against the Indians, Seneviratne was down, way below his usual self. When I asked him why, he just mumbled “Oka Hariyanne nehe, Mama cricket balana eka athheriya. (Things will not come right for us, so I quit watching cricket)”.
Roller-Coaster Changes in Sri Lanka Cricket: A Chronology
Champika Fernando in The Sunday Times, 7 August 2017, where the title is Chronology of a cricket disaster
When the coalition of Thilanga Sumathipala and Jayantha Dharmadasa convincingly beat the group led by once-powerful board secretary Nishantha Ranatunga at the Sri Lanka Cricket elections in 2016, expectations were high of the new administrators.
Are they rapidly losing their focus – File pic by Amila Gamage
Twenty months into their first term, they have achieved little in respect of their promises of good governance, transparency and, more importantly, improvement of the game. Sri Lanka are now one of the lowest ranked teams among ICC full members across all three formats. They even face the threat of missing out on a direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup. (Only the top eight teams, including hosts, qualify directly while the other teams must play qualifying matches for the remaining two slots).
The slide has been attributed to the long transition following the retirement of Mahela (Jayawardene), Kumar (Sangakkara) and Tilakaratne (Dilshan) but has the Board made the right decisions to enable a smooth passage?