•  ICC champions trophy 2002

 India out to nudge Old Blighty

By Ranil Prematilake

Two nations high on morale savouring regular success in international cricket during the recent past brought about thrills and spills the last time they confronted each other in the Lords triangular final, now regarded as one of the best games in the all time list. It can be no better today when the Indians more or less under home conditions takes on the Englishmen to decide the last semi final berth in the ICC champions trophy 2002.

Already the host nation is gearing up to deal with the Aussies next Friday while the South Africans await today's result. The game played under lights would not derive any disadvantage to the side bowling second as the dew factor has had minimum of effect going by the matches played so far.

The controversy revolving around the curtain raiser where assumptions of match fixing came into being has died away in quick time. A human being with a reasonably proud mind would find it difficult to understand the logic of the indifferent treatment meted out to certain selected Test nations only. The New Zealanders after an impressive showing against the Australians just a fortnight ago succumbed meekly in dismal fashion on a SSC track extracting decent pace and bounce, very much similar to the Australian wickets after conceding a bag full of runs a few hours earlier. There was not even a hint of the so called match fixing issue being raised. Why? The answer goes without saying. Making one's thinking on this issue is therefore obvious leave aside the hypocrisy that is involved in such manoeuvre. An ascertainment of the Pakistani track record in the recent past speaks volumes for  their reputation of being the world's most talented side failing to click as a team.

Coming back to today's game the crucial factor for the Indians would be the spinning duo of Anil Kumble and Harbajahn Singh expected to extract maximum out of the slow turning Premadasa turf although the tournament has been  batsmen friendly, where eight centurions have already emerged.

England are high on hopes on this tournament as exhibited by the prominence given by the English press on their teams' progress right from the Zimbabwean game. In from Marcus Treschothick would be the prize scamp while the formidable Indian top order is assured to deliver the goods with either Tendulkar, Dravid, Shewag or skipper Ganguly definite to be amongst runs.

Tickets have already been sold out for the day/night game on 27 Friday with the Lankans going in with a slight advantage of spectator backing and undoubtably more familiar playing conditions.

The Sunday Leader reliably learns that the organisers have only invited three members of the Sri Lankan cricket's interim committee into the hospitality boxes, and have conveniently excluded the other honorary members of hospitality invitations, namely Hemaka Amarasuriya the chairman, Jaliya Jayasuriya and the chief executive Anura Tennakone have been extended the gesture. This is most certainly an arguable factor, but the question is whether one should go that distance and is it worth doing so. The matter nevertheless had been subsequently taken up and the ICC had consented and adhered to the wishes of the host nation's request and thus today all members of the interim committee would enjoy equal treatment. It is also learnt that Jaliya Jayasuriya had declined the initial invitation in the light of the above stated factors prevailing at the time.

Kenya encouraging

Kenyan cricketers have shown the potential for improvement in their game. Although bowling and fielding leaves a lot of room for improvement their batting is definitely not below world standards. Which makes them a better bet than the Bangladeshsis for Test cricket status. The defeat at the hands of the West Indians was a respectable outcome, especially Steve Tikolo's knock coming in for praise by many a cricket expert.

Sri Lanka 'A' lose by 9 wickets

Hasan Raza continued his liking for Sri Lanka 'A' bowlers by stroking an undefeated 119 for  Pakistan 'A'   in the first Test at Iqbal Stadium.

Hasan Raza, who chalked up his third century in as many matches against the same rivals  made two unbeaten centuries at Dambulla (121) and Galle (102) when he led Pakistan 'A' to series victory on the away tour last year.

Wedding bells for swimming prodigy Upeksha

Swimming sensation Upeksha Silva, who set an all time record of winning all nine events at the National Swimming Championships in 1992, will take a new step in her life when she ties the knot on Monday.

She started her swimming career at the age of six and from then, it has been victory all the way till she gave up at the age of 17.  In 1989, Upeksha joined the Colombo International School and she started her training under E.G.A Wilson, a former champion Sri Lanka swimmer who identified her hidden talent and taught her the finer points of swimming. It was with the tremendous help and training by her coach Wilson that made her a champion swimmer at the tender age of 13.

Upeksha first came into the limelight in 1987, when she won the 33 1/3 meters Dolphin stroke girls under 10 event, at the Novices Championships.

Her first record breaking feat was in the 50 meters Dolphin stroke in 1988 at the prestigious Pentathlon Championships.

She was the first under 10 champion at the meet.  Even at the junior public schools meet she set up two records in her age group.

In 1989, in the under 12-age group of Junior Public Championships, and Age Group Meet she established two meet records each.  Among these awards, Upeksha has won many more.

Upeksha was one of the poolists at the fifth SAF games held in Colombo in 1991.  However, she was very unlucky not to be given an event to participate.

Upeksha gained national recognition in 1992 when she was picked for the sixth APAGSC in Beijing, China.  She won two diplomas and then participated in the APAGSC in 1993 and 1994 in Hong Kong and South Korea with great distinction. She also won several trophies at these meets.  She also showed her prowess in the sea by winning several two mile sea swim events. These are a few of her swimming achievements.

Upeksha is also a talented artist and musician, she has won the first place at the Supreme Gold Medal at the Korean Children World School Art Exhibition held in South Korea in 1989.

She was successful at the grade six exams in music.  She obtained honours at the Trinity College and the Royal College of Music exams.

While Upeksha is a graduate in Computer Science and Management from the City University of London, the bridegroom Dr. Ravi Rajapakse has a MSD in dermatology. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. D. S. Rajapakse. Upeksha is the daughter of Sandya and Dayananda Silva.

The wedding will be held on September 23 at the Hilton and the homecoming will be held on September 29 at the hotel Taj Samudra.

• All Blacks Leslie sees Singer/SriLankan Sevens and says:

Don't become like the Hong Kong 7s

By T. M. K. Samat

ANYONE wishing that the SINGER /SRILANKAN Sevens doesn't become another HongKong  Sevens must be teetering on the edge of lunacy _ or has spent life in an incommunicable world since 1976. The 26-year HongKong event, as everyone knows, is acknowledged as the finest blueprint of Sevens rugby, which others fruitlessly try to duplicate. But hear what Andy Leslie has to say, ''I'd be sad if your Sevens became another HongKong Sevens. '' It has to be quickly added that he's no where near the gates of a mental asylum, running a successful business of his own, and the world is only a push-button away from his Wellington habitat.

Also, Leslie's admirable rugby credentials precludes him from mouthing any frivolous opinions on the game, lest he demeans his own reputation. After all, he was the All Blacks' no.8 forward from 1974 to '76, captaining New Zealand throughout that period. His two sons, John and Martin, presently fly the family flag in international rugby, though not for the All Blacks. ''It was their choice to play for Scotland, which is my wife's birth country,'' says Leslie. John plays at centre and Martin, a backrow forward.

With such a background, it is easy to understand why the Kiwi has a different perspective, uninfluenced by the razzmatazz of Sevens. His outlook is developmental, full stop. '' The 80s, 90s and 100s we see in HongKong doesn't do any good for the development of the smaller countries. There were no big scores here, the competition throughout was close and the teams, I am sure, enjoyed and learnt much more than they would have if things were one-sided. Don't change a thing in your Sevens _ as an international event it has a huge future provided this parity of strength is preserved,'' said Leslie. ''The selection of countries by your organizers has been meaningful as far as development goes. I am certain the IRB will see the usefulness of this event.''

As he spoke above the sounds of trumpets, drums and a near 5,000 cheering throats, the wisdom of his words were being enacted on the playing field. For instance, twice champions Chinese Taipei were eliminated in the Cup quarterfinals and South Korea, runner-up last year, didn't even make it to the Cup contest. India was a revelation, the newcomers to international rugby usurping China for a place in the Bowl final.  No one can grudge Portugal's and Kenya's place in the final, they were in a class of their own and provided an enthralling climax.

New champion

The schools event too threw up a new champion, Vidyartha, one of three Kandy teams among the last four. The season's top guns, Royal and Isipathana were mere spectators on the final day, shown the door in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning.  The results were head spinning stuff, and went to prove that, without world powers like All Blacks, Wallabies or Fiji, a Sevens tournament can yet be an exciting prospect.

More importantly, however, the cause of development was well served. Portugal and Kenya may have been a cut above the rest but they are no giants of international rugby. Taking silverware from World Series events is a touch beyond the Portuguese and the Kenyans. So, their success in the Singer/SriLankan Sevens is a new experience and can only impact positively in future battles with the bigger boys. Chinese-Taipei and South Korea, I am told, kept their better players in reserve for the coming Asian Games. But the two fiercely proud Asian nations, who have been customary finalists here (South Korea won the inaugural in 1999 and Chinese Taipei the following two), will surely want to redeem honour next year, so, happily, enhancing the quality of competition of our Sevens. China too kept their better players in wraps for the Asian Games _and had their pride bruised by India, once an arch political foe. The old enmity is a lot less, but in rugby, as in most other things, China's ambition is aimed at being the world's best, and defeat at the hands of India will be...  well, as shameful as Jayasuriya's team losing to Fiji.

Old scores

Indeed, there will be a lot of old scores to settle at the fifth SINGER/SRILANKAN Sevens. The rivalry may not be on the scale as what it is in HongKong, where, Fiji, the All Blacks and Australia are the perennial contenders. Their long rivalry (a sort of CR-Havelocks of old, if you like) provides the ready-made hype that contributed considerably to the enormous fame of the HongKong Sevens. It would be nice if the Singer/SriLankan Sevens could work up a similar lather in Asian rivalry. Chinese Taipei and Korea were Cup finalists since inception. Their failure this year will do the tournament much good as continuing dominance by a few can surely lead to diminishing interest. As well, the defeats will no doubt inspire afresh their challenges next year, when there will be no Asian Games to place selection restrictions.

Highest priority

Securing Japan's presence deserves highest priority. The Asian champions were here in 1999 and 2000 but since has declined invitation. Their reason for the absence (because their players are engaged in domestic tournament) has to be taken with a pinch of salt. The Japan RFU, I reckon, think our Sevens is too small to serve their ambitions of joining the world powers. To be honest, they're not wrong either, as the opposition hasn't been challenging enough to interest Asia's no.1. But with Portugal and Kenya making a sweep of the prize table last week, there's a good case for asking Japan to make a fresh review of the opposition available here.

Japan's participation is insisted only because the chance of IRB recognition would be enhanced _ recognition the title sponsors want. But whether the present level playing field, which the one-time All Black so unashamedly admires, will be lost is questionable. Leslie thinks not. ''There's no harm in even inviting New Zealand so long as it is not a fully-fledged side _ a junior team or whatever would be preferable, so long as it doesn't disturb the evenness of the competition,'' says Leslie. So, a development side from Japan would do, for the time being. The fact is, a tournament in Asia without the continent's no. 1, in any form, is a case of Hamlet without the prince.

Leslie also spoke of his surprise at the high level of skills shown by the local schoolboys. ''Their skills are as good as any I've seen in any country at the junior level. I believe your problems are not about a lack of a healthy nursery, but what happens to all this wonderful talent after they leave school,'' says Leslie. He did his own research and wasn't surprised why the exceptional schoolboy talent isn't coming through to the club and national level in the numbers it ought to. ''There's not enough clubs to absorb a majority of the school leavers,'' observed Leslie. He warns of dangerous consequences. ''Schoolboys will realize the future in rugby is limited and will look to doing some other sport. It is important to hold on to your youngsters.'' His suggestions: 1/ set up Old Boys Clubs 2/ stage under 21 and 23 tournaments to keep the post-school talent active.

Professionalism at a club level, he thinks, is undesirable, but understands why the Sri Lanka clubs have to adopt it. ''Your major tournaments are inter club and it's understandable why clubs will even pay to have the better players represent them. In New Zealand club rugby is loyalty-based and professionalism comes only at the inter-district level. But you don't have an inter-district tournament; obviously there are good reason why it can't be staged,'' said Leslies. ''Yet, to have one should be the union's aim because all the country's talent can be tapped only through an inter district tournament.''

Leslie's thoughts on Sri Lankan rugby aren't exactly new. They've been expressed by a few well-meaning officials before, but were, tragically, strangled by the cruel hand of factionalism. Guess, the words of advice from the one-time All Blacks' alone won't do; compulsory reading of Dale Carnegie's 'How To Win Friends' is required too. That will make for a promising start to development here.

• Mirinda Mini Tennis to be launched next month

SLTA's five-year plan for Jaffna

''WE set out with a fair knowledge of the numbers and locations of the tennis courts that were in Jaffna before the war broke out,'' said Boshan H. Dayaratne, CEO of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association who recently undertook a weeklong inspection tour of Jaffna aimed at reviving the sport. ''We should've also taken along some land-clearing equipment as well.''

Where the courts stood during the pre-war era is now smothered under vegetation and gone to shrub lands. ''We were at the right locations, but all we saw was grass, weeds and bushes. A lot of clearing would've had to be done to uncover any evidence that people once played tennis on them,'' said Dayaratne, whose tour was coordinated by Brig. Madura Wijewickrema and Capt. Prasanna  Liyanage.

Despite finding no trace of the old courts, Dayaratne, who was accompanied by K Y D Pathirajah, returned from the north in a mood that was anything but dejected. ''We were delighted by the response of the schools _ they just can't wait to start,'' said Dayaratne, who, however, admitted the task of getting tennis back to where it was is going to be monumental. ''We are going to do the recovery job in three stages under a five-year plan, estimated at roughly Rs.5 million,'' said Dayaratne.

Stage One gets a move-on next month with the launching of SLTA's highly successful Mirinda Mini Tennis Program in ten schools. These schools attended a meeting with Jaffna AGA, T. Vythilinkam, where the SLTA made a presentation of its Mirinda Mini Tennis Program. ''The schools representatives were very excited about mini tennis as no courts are required and all the equipment is to be given by the SLTA . The schools were impatient to have the program started. Our plan is to begin the program next month,'' said the CEO. ''Our mini tennis programs in other outstations have drawn youngsters by the thousands, and we're confident the ten Jaffna schools will enroll 4000 to 5000.''

Dayaratne has already located in Jaffna a suitable tennis development officer for the North, and he has been asked to train and recruit teachers into the program. The mini program is for children aged between 5 and 10 years, and is the SLTA's way of pushing the game out into the provinces after being essentially Colombo-based for much of the sport's 87-year history.

The 10 schools that have confirmed their participation in the Mirinda Mini Program are, Jaffna Central, Vembadi Girls School, Chundikuli Girls School, St Patrick's, St John's, Jaffna Hindu, Hindu College, Union College, Jaffna College, Vadukoddai and Jaffna College, Uduvil

As the mini tennis program advances, the SLTA will initiate the second stage of its five-year plan, which is repair, where possible, the long neglected courts and build new courts. ''Our aim is to have 12 courts in Jaffna. We have already sounded out the AGA for land to build new courts, preferably near schools. Of course this will take time, but with restoration of normalcy in the north a government priority, we are confident of being allotted state land,'' said Dayaratne.

The third stage would be to re-launch tournaments in Jaffna, which once had flourishing competitions. Frank Sebaratnam cut his teeth in Jaffna tournaments before shifting to Colombo and winning the national title in 1985 and 86 and representing the country in Davis Cup competitions of the mid 80s. ''The centre of tennis then was Jaffna Tennis club, which was close to the bombed out old library. There's no trace of the club now. We'll have to revive the old club or encourage the setting up of a new club which will organize tournaments in the north,'' said Dayaratne.  ''The five-year plan will be wholly dependent on sponsorship, and being a project that also addresses national interest, we're hopeful sponsors will join hands with the SLTA on this venture,'' said Dayaratne.

- T.M.K.S