Category Archives: Rex Clementine

April 19, 2019 · 9:43 am

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

March 31, 2019 · 2:40 pm

When Sri Lanka had to ‘mankad’ Buttler and Co.

Rex Clementine, in Sunday Island, 31 March 2019, where the title runs “Marvan on ‘Mankading’ Buttler in 2014”

There are certain places visiting teams would hate play overseas. As for Sri Lankans, they avoid Wanderes in Johannesburg like the plague as it always seams around there. So is Edgbaston in Birmingham where the seam bowlers come into the equation all the time. Sri Lanka have played at Edgbaston on five times but won only once. That win came in 2014 in a bitterly contested ODI. These days teams tend to make most of the scheduling and invariably the hosts would want to play the final game of a series at a venue that favours them, just in case if that happens to be a decider. So was the case in 2014. The five match ODI series was squared 2-2. Sri Lanka won a low scoring thriller with Lahiru Thirimanne and Mahela Jayawardene posting half-centuries to wrap up the series 3-2. Rather than celebrating a famous series win, the cricketing world was busy discussing the ‘Mankading’ of Josh Buttler. Some ex-England players found fault with the Sri Lankans.

Sachithra Senanayake gestures to the umpire after ‘mankading’ Jos Buttler.

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Filed under Atapattu, confrontations on field, English cricket, fair play, performance, politics and cricket, Rex Clementine, sportsmanship, Sri Lanka Cricket, unusual people

March 11, 2019 · 12:31 pm

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

February 24, 2019 · 10:49 am

How Sri Lanka Transformed Themselves in South Africa — Rex Clementine

ONE: Rex Clementine in Port Elizabeth, Sunday Island, 25 February 2019 = Karunaratne credits change of team culture for series win”

Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has credited changing the dressing room environment for the success his team enjoyed in South Africa. Sri Lanka arrived in Johannesburg straight from Australia having suffered successive humiliating series defeats at the hands of New Zealand and Australia. With an inexperienced side, the tourists were able to achieve the unthinkable recording a comprehensive eight wicket win in Port Elizabeth to wrap up the series 2-0. They had won the first Test in Durban by one wicket.

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Filed under close finsihes, cricket and life, memorable moments, performance, player selections, Rex Clementine, Sri Lanka Cricket, tower of strength

February 8, 2019 · 6:42 am

Rex in Q and A with Michael Hussey

Rex Clementine, in Island, 7 February 2019, with the title “Murali is Mr Cricket –Mike Hussey”

No batsman in Test cricket played Sri Lanka better than Australia’s Mike Hussey. Numbers prove it. His average of 110 against Sri Lankan attacks is better than that of Brian Lara (86), Virat Kohli (77), Sunil Gavaskar (66), A.B. de Villiers (62) and Sachin Tendulkar (60). Hussey’s average against Sri Lanka is the best by any Test cricketer.

 Rival players at one point, Muttiah Muralitharan and Mike Hussey went onto become great friends when they were team mates at Chennai Super Kings.

The Island caught up with the man who was nicknamed Mr. Cricket for his deep knowledge about the game. In this interview, Hussey opens up on his battles against Murali, his close relationship with the man who was once his opponent and later a team-mate. Dismissing Kumar Sangakkara in a Test match and the future of Australian cricket and lots more. Here are the excerpts. Continue reading →

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Filed under cricketing icons, cricketing records, Mahela Jayawardene, memorable moments, performance, player selections, Rex Clementine, Sangakkara, shane warne, Sri Lanka Cricket, tower of strength, unusual people

January 25, 2019 · 7:11 am

Lord Superior’s Lessons for the Patriotic Excess of Armchair Critics

Michael Roberts

The SL cricket team’s collapse at Brisbane has produced severe condemnation by patriots on Facebook –patriots who clearly do not know much about cricket. Well before the match commenced it was my expectation that Australia would win by an innings because Brisbane is a bouncy pacey pitch and because the pink ball is in use over day and night.

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Filed under Australian cricket, child of empire, cricketing icons, patriotic excess, performance, player selections, politics and cricket, Rex Clementine, Sri Lanka Cricket, taking the mickey, taking the piss, West Indian Cricket

January 24, 2019 · 9:00 am

Before the Brisbane Test Match: Clementine

Rex Clementine in Brisbane for Island,

The national cricket team has gone through some tough times in the last ten weeks and despite all the hard times, they head into the opening Test against Australia here at the Gabba knowing too well that they could make history here. Sri Lanka have never won a Test match in Australia and with the opposition in shambles, following the ball tampering fiasco, this is seen as the perfect opportunity to record the elusive win.

Captains Dinesh Chandimal (R) and Tim Paine pose with the Warne-Murali Test trophy at The Gabba in Brisbane on January 23, 2019, ahead of the first day-night Test match between Australia and Sri Lanka on January 24. ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP

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Filed under Australian cricket, cricket and life, player selections, Rex Clementine, Sri Lanka Cricket, Test rankings

January 16, 2019 · 9:34 am

Cricket Team’s Problems in Selectors’ Gunsights

Rex Clementine, in Island, 14 January 2019, where the title is “De Mel urges SLC to stamp out indiscipline”

Chairman of Selectors Ashantha De Mel has urged Sri Lanka Cricket to not to tolerate indiscipline after two senior players were involved in a public spat last week while on tour in New Zealand. ODI captain Lasith Malinga and ex-skipper Thisara Perera were settling scores through social media bringing the game into disrepute.

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Filed under cricket and life, cricket governance, performance, player selections, politics and cricket, Rex Clementine, Sri Lanka Cricket

December 18, 2018 · 1:22 pm

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 →

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Filed under Aravinda de Silva, child of empire, cricketing icons, memorable moments, performance, Rex Clementine, Sangakkara, Sri Lanka Cricket, tower of strength, unusual people

September 24, 2018 · 12:29 am

Rex Clementine demands Wholesale Change in ODI Cricket Selections

Rex Clementine, in Island, 19 September 2018, where the title is  “World’s most boring cricket team”

A proud cricketing nation has been brought to its knees twice inside three days here in the Arabian desert as Sri Lanka crashed out of the Asia Cup in such an embarrassing way. Defeat to Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi Monday night was perhaps the lowest point in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. It remains to be seen whether it is a point of no return?

The current side has no depth in batting, their bowling is toothless while fielding remains the worst in the world. Less said about the team’s running between the wickets the better. Continue reading →

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Filed under cricket and life, cricket governance, Lasith Malinga, performance, player selections, Rex Clementine, Sri Lanka Cricket, work ethic