Category Archives: T20 Cricket

February 19, 2017 · 11:18 pm

A Heist! A Heist! Lanka snatches Victory from Yawning Jaws

Brydon Coverdale in ESPNcricinfo.com where the title is “Gunaratne 84* caps stunning series win for Sri Lanka”

Asela Gunaratne orchestrated a remarkable heist to seal the T20 series for Sri Lanka with a match to play, stealing an outrageous victory over Australia in the first international match ever played at Geelong’s Kardinia Park. For the second time in three days, Sri Lanka reached their target from the final ball of their chase, but whereas at the MCG they had needed only 18 off the last three overs, here they needed 48. Gunaratne ensured that they did it in style.

Asela Gunaratne of Sri Lanka celebrates scoring the winning run during the second Twenty20 cricket match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Kardinia Park in Geelong on February 19, 2017. — Pic by MAL FAIRCLOUGH/AFP/Getty Images)

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Filed under Australian cricket, Brydon Coverdale, close finsihes, cricketing icons, cricketing records, Lasith Malinga, patriotic excess, performance, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket

February 19, 2017 · 12:58 am

Lasith Malinga “investigated” and in the Limelight

ONE: “Suspicious minds! Umpires force Malinga to turn out his pockets,” Daily Mail, UK and Sunday Times, Lanka

Nothing fishy, it’s just a warmer. Michael Clarke confirmed it’s a legal act.

The Sri Lankan speedster was walking back to his bowlig mark in the 17th over of Australia’s innings when umpire Mick Martell approached him and questioned what was in his pocket. Malinga, in the balls previous, kept placing his bowling hand in his pocket which prompted commentator Michael Clarke to reveal the 33-year-old keeps a hand warmer in his pocket.

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Filed under Australian cricket, cricketing icons, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket, unusual people

February 16, 2017 · 10:08 am

Neville floored by Hodge’s Flying Bat, 16 January 2017

News Item in Daily Mail. 16 February 2016

Peter Nevill was hit in the jaw with a flying bat on Monday night before being taken off for his second concussion check in just two weeks. The Melbourne Renegades ‘keeper was playing away to the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League when the painful incident took place.

Brad Hodge smacked a ball away to leg side as the Strikers chased a target of 171 when he suddenly let go of the bat, sending it flying toward Nevill.

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Filed under Adelaide Oval, Australian cricket, Big Bash League cricket, cricket and life, T20 Cricket

February 16, 2017 · 8:16 am

Malinga and Tharanga as Sri Lanka’s Point-Men?

The Australian, 15 February 2017 deploying Champaka Ramanayake

Sri Lanka’s bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake has declared Lasith Malinga the best T20 bowler in the world as he prepares to make his return to international cricket in a three-match series against Australia. Malinga is set to face the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra today, their only warm-up match before Friday’s series opener against Australia in Melbourne.

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Filed under Australian cricket, cricketing icons, Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket

January 20, 2017 · 7:36 am

Lanka’s T20 Spinners: The Missing Aponso

Michael Roberts

Guided by the vague notion that the omission of Vandersay and the choice of Sandakan for the T20 series in South Africa was an error of some magnitude, I went for the statistics on all the leading Sri Lankan spinners in this format. There is a problem here however. The ESPNcricinfo style of statistics distinguish between T20Is and Twenty20. I assumed the former figure was restricted to international games and focused on the whole corpus of games because some players have had limited exposure at the international level.

Aponso Vandersay

The key indicators are (A) Strike Rate ….. (b) Economy Rate…. (C) Average. My survey encompassed Amila Aponso, Sachitra Pathirana, Dilruwan Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Lakshan Sandakan, Sachitra Senanayake, Milinda Siriwardena, and Jeffrey Vandersay. Continue reading →

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Filed under performance, player selections, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket, unusual statistics

January 20, 2017 · 12:19 am

Andrew Fernando on Lanka’s T20 Squad

Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, January 2017 with the title “Sri Lanka pick uncapped Thikshila de Silva for SA T20Is”

Who is Thikshila de Silva?Uncapped batting allrounder Thikshila de Silva has been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the T20 series against South Africa, which starts from January 20. Thikshila is yet to play international cricket in any format; the other new member of the T20 squad is the left-arm wrist-spinner Lakshan Sandakan, who has played three Tests and an ODI.

Lakshan Sandakan made a promising start to his Test career last year but has only 16 wickets in 15 domestic T20 games © Associated Press

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, player selections, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket

September 8, 2016 · 5:41 am

Clementine’s Reflections on Cricket in Lanka Today

Rex Clementine, in The Island, 8 September 2016, where the title is “The Carnage at Pallekele”

Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell relaxes ahead of the second T-20 International against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday. Maxwell’s sensational unbeaten 145 at Pallekele helped the tourists to take a 1-0 lead in the two match series. ‘Let’s rewrite history’ said a billboard at Pallekele, the venue for the first T-20 International between Australia and Sri Lanka. That’s exactly what Sri Lanka did conceding a World Record 263 on Tuesday night. Sri Lanka’s record for most runs in an innings in T-20s had stood for nine years and it was snatched away by Glenn Maxwell.

The heavy defeats in first T-20 International and the ODI series have brought some people back to earth after the euphoria of the Test series win. The 3-0 whitewash in Tests was great, but intoxicated by the rare achievement, some were wandering around two feet above the ground level. The stark reality of our cricket has brought them to ground level. The great game of ours is a fine leveler.

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Filed under Australian cricket, cricket and life, cricket governance, performance, player selections, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket

September 7, 2016 · 3:27 pm

Mad Dog Maxwell murders Sri Lanka at Pallekelle

Michael Roberts

When I first witnessed Glenn Maxwell on the field i thought that he was as electric as mad … quick a cross the grass, adventurous in whatever he did and, with those gleaming eyes, an epitome of the demonic and dangerous. Subsequent cricketing events on the world stage have proved me correct. Take the World Cup in Australia New Zealand for example…… and THEN yesterday — at the appropriate ‘jungle setting’ of Palle-KALAY — he mauled the Sri Lankan bowlers in hammering 145 runs in 65 balls at a scoring rate of 223.07 … almost as much as the Lankan batsmen could accumulate in 20 overs.

He respected Dilshan however: he did not use the “dilscoop”. He did not need to mind you.

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell (R) is watched by Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper Kusal Perera as he hits a ball to the boundary during the first T20 international cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on September 6, 2016. / AFP / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI (Photo credit should read LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images)

“Australia canter to win after record 263, Maxwell slams 145* = says Andrew Fidel Fernando in ESPNcricinfo reports … http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-australia-2016/content/story/1054835.html .... AND…..http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/author.html?author=335

ALSO SEE http://lanka99videos.blogspot.com.au/2016/09/Glenn-Maxwell-play.html

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Filed under Australia Cricket, cricket and life, cricketing icons, cricketing records, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket, unusual people, unusual statistics

May 8, 2016 · 10:26 am

“Death of A Gentleman” — Lamenting the Assassination of Our Gentleman’s Game

Sit back, digest and … ponder these thoughts from Reflective Personnel in

….. You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8nCBMuuPeg … with Michael Holding, Gideon Haigh et cetera spearheading the charge … and is it an accident that we come across SRNIVASAN