Sports

What cricket when country is suffering!

By Gamini Senadhira Reporting From New Zealand

December 26, 2004, was a terror-stricken day for the Sri Lankans. As a result of the Asian tsunamis (tidal wave) thousands of lives were lost and millions were homeless.

The Lankan cricketers on tour in New Zealand were clueless as to what was happening in their motherland.

In the battle with the Kiwis on their first encounter in the 5 match one day series in Auckland on this disastrous day. Sri Lanka who occupies the No: 2 slot in the ICC one day ratings were bundled out for a pathetic 141 runs in a mere 41overs, after the skipper Stephen Fleming won the toss and invited their opponents to take first lease of the Auckland wicket.

The Lankans 141 runs in a one dayer was a new low in the shorter version of their performance.

Even without been aware of the calamity in Sri Lanka the visitors experienced a shocking day at Auckland losing by 7 wickets in their first clash against the Kiwis.

 Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand began on a sour note losing their first contest, but one must remember that the reason for the Sri Lankans poor show in the first outing was due to the fact that they hardly had any pre-match practice, as a result of the side games played in New Plymouth and Auckland being washed out even without an opportunity for the Lankan batsmen to wield their willows.

To add fuel to fire the Lankans skipper failed to call correctly in the first outing at Auckland, thus the visitors were caught on a moving track when Stephen Fleming invited them to take the first lease of the wicket.

The Lankans possessed a strong batting line up. Their failure to build up a fighting score was mainly due to irresponsible batting from their top order batsmen.

Though Sanath Jayasuriya and T.M. Dilshan top scored for the Lankans they let the side down by throwing away their wickets when they were set for bigger scores.

It was obvious that both these batsmen do not have the correct temperament to pull their sides to safety when in trouble.

Jayasuriya scores 10 runs off Chris Cairns' three deliveries and then gets out and T.M. Dilshan emulates his senior partner. If these two batsmen dug themselves in, the Lankans without question would have had a golden opportunity of posing the hosts with a fighting total.

The moment the Lankan cricketers heard of the motherland's unforeseen disaster they immediately decided to call off the tour, as they assumed that they will not be in a correct frame of mind to do their duty as cricketers towards the nation.

 The New Zealand Cricket Board's stand to give them two million dollars if they opted to go back home, stalled the cricketers, till they got a reply from the Sri Lanka Cricket Board.

The ultimate decision was"Home, sweet home". You can guarantee of a continuation of the tour in early 2005.

Anyway the Lankan cricketers must be applauded for their fellow feeling.

What cricket when the country is suffering!

Earlier Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand had been abandoned, and the team is returning home after the tsunami disaster which ravaged Sri Lanka on Boxing Day. The tour had been put on hold for a week, but after the players made it known that they wished to return home, and after the ICC made it clear that there would not be any financial penalties if the two boards were in agreement that the tour should be curtailed, the decision to cancel was taken earlier today.

A press release explained: "The Sri Lankan cricketers have always stood by the people of this country in good times and bad times. The cancellation of this tour will enable the Sri Lankan cricketers to join Sri Lanka Cricket to assist the victims affected by this grave disaster."

Martin Snedden, the former Test fast bowler who is now the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, said: "As the magnitude of the recent events in Sri Lanka have unfolded, it has become more difficult for the Sri Lankan team to remain in New Zealand, and we can understand their decision as the players are expected to play a meaningful role back home with the rest of the people in Sri Lanka."

He added: "We will now give the Sri Lankan cricket team every assistance to return home as soon as possible."

The two boards will seek to reschedule the tour at some time in the future.

Malcolm Speed, the ICC's chief executive, later confirmed that they had no problem with the two boards' decision to postpone the tour. "The impact of the tsunami on Sri Lanka has been devastating, and we fully understand the decision taken by the boards to postpone the series," he said.

"In this situation where two of our members have agreed to postpone there is no issue of fines or compensation. The Sri Lankan players will now be able to return to their families and the series will be replayed at a date in the future to be confirmed."

And he concluded: "Our thoughts are with the many thousands of people whose lives have been devastated by the impact of this earthquake, and we will be working with our members to help the relief efforts."

MHA Hockey Tournament postponed

By Pelham Juriansz 

The Mercantile Hockey Association (MHA) who were to start their league Tournament 2005 on January 6, 2005, have, in the light of what happened to the country, decided to postpone the opening game till January 17.

The energetic President of the MHA, Dennis de Rosayro informed The Sunday Leader that the MHA Committee and the members who have lost a number of colleagues in the tsunamis (tidal wave) decided to postpone the commencement of the tournament.

The A & B Division matches will be played at the Astro Turf Complex, Torrington and the C & D at the Malay Padang Grounds, respectively.

All matches will commence at 5.15 p.m. the latest.

Last year's winners were as follows: "A" Division Singer Trophy- Hatton National Bank "A".

"B" Division -M& E (Private) Ltd-Sierra Electronics.

"C" Division  - Phoenix Industries Trophy-Janashkthi Group.

"D" Division- John Keells Trophy- Hatton National Bank "B"

According to the President of the Mercantile Hockey Association (MHA) Dennis de Rosayro in whose name the "Fairplay Trophy" was awarded last year said that last year the "A" Division was played for the Horlicks Trophy which has now been discontinued and replaced by the Singer Trophy.

The teams in the "A" division vying for the Singer Trophy are HNB A, Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank, Singer, Sierra Electronics and Seylan Bank.

The "B" division will consist of Sri Lankan Airlines, Airport & Aviation, Browns Group, Arpico, and Bartleet Group and they will vie for the M & E Trophy.

Janashakthi Group, Hong Kong Bank, HNB B, Unilevers and John Keells comprise the "C" Division vying for the Phoenix Industries Trophy while in the "D" Division the John Keells Trophy is on offer for the ultimate winners from GlaxoSmithKLine, Hilton Colombo, AWD Group and the MJF Group.

 In all a total of about 50 matches are on the cards in the preliminary rounds starting on January 17 and finishing on March 10.The matches that were to be played between January 6 and 17 will be re-scheduled after March 10. Thereafter, the knock out matches will take place at the same venues.

Indian Board pledges Rs10 million

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has agreed to give Rs10million (œ120,000) for relief efforts for the tsunami victims in the south of the country, where more than 13,000 are estimated to have died. The move follows similar pledges of aid from Australia, England, South Africa and Bangladesh.

India's one-day players, who are among the highest-paid cricketers in the world, have also indicated that they will each donate match-fees for one match.

The tsunami, which hit costal areas around Asia on Sunday, has killed more than 125,000 people in 13 countries, and has made more than one million people homeless.

Bangladesh board pledges gate-money

The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Thursday that gate-money from the forthcoming series against Zimbabwe, estimated to be $10,000, will go relief efforts to the tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. The move follows similar pledges of aid from Australia, England and South Africa.

The Sri Lankan government has said that more than 27,000 have died in Sri Lanka because of the tsunamis and more than 4900 missing. The tsunami, which hit coastal areas around Asia on Sunday, has killed more than 125,000 people in 13 countries, and has made more than one million people homeless.

Zimbabwe arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday to play two Tests and five one-day internationals. The first Test, at Chittagong, starts next Thursday, January 6.

Bertie's book available

A LIMITED number of BERTIE Wijesinha's well-written book, Love of a Lifetime, are yet available.

Wijesinha's first book on cricket tells the story of Sri Lanka cricket from its beginnings to the World Cup triumph of 1996, not in the boring language of a historian. It is woven around the great personalities of the game and bristles with anecdotes - all written with classical excellence.

The book will surely awaken old memories and is a must read, both for the young and old. As well, a definite addition to any library.

It could be had from popular bookstores, including Vijitha Yapa's and M D Gunasena's. S. Thomas, his old school, also has a few copies.

 National champs of 19 and 5,500 juniors, badminton is.

No wayward 'shuttle' in the wind 

By T.M.K. Samat 

TWO OF the country's finest sporting achievements within four years doubtless did our national pride a world of good. The 1996 World Cup triumph and the first Olympic medal, in the 2000 Games, in more than half-century gave the world outside another reason to identify Sri Lanka by other than the traditional reputation of being the server of a good cup of tea. Time might've dulled the world's memory of those successes, but within our shores they'll long remain a popular boast, for sure.

But as the historical fame endures, spare a thought to those engaged in the country's many other sports. Cast to the shadows by the unforgettable deeds of cricket and athletics, it's been a tough old battle for the other games - to deflect public cynicism over their pursuits at the international level, as well as to hold on to diminishing public appeal, if there's any left at all.

"There was a time when there was public admiration for merely representing the country in overseas competitions. To have the Lion flag crest on the blazer was a supreme honour. But Arjuna's team and Susanthika have upped public expectations of any sport, and if you now don't return with medals you're likely to be called anything between failure to fraudster," says Oliver Guruge, badminton association vice president.

''Also, there was an aura about going abroad, and that, in the old days made sportsmen with overseas representation special people. That aura is no more - hundreds of village girls go abroad daily these days as housemaids."

Guruge's theory is vividly borne out by the present state of affairs in, notably rugby, soccer and hockey. These were sports that once had caught the public imagination and attracted droves of spectators. Not any more, though: they don't live up to pubic expectations, heightened by the deeds of '96 and 2000.

Now, public disinterest makes a vicious circle: fewer spectators mean poor gate receipts, and that in turn means a product that won't interest would-be sponsors. And so, it's a life in penury for most sports - small miracle that some of these sports yet survives, given what the Sport Ministry doles out is, as one wag described, "a pail with which to empty an ocean."

Many sports have become victims of the successes on the world stage by cricket and athletics. This might seem unfair, but it tells, loud and clear, what the public expects of sport: international medals, no less. Otherwise, the sport faces a virtual paling to irrelevance at home.

That, sadly, is quite evident in most "other" sport. The impoverishment of some is self-inflicted, like rugby, whose overreaching international ambitions weren't supported by proper management of the domestic scene. It now struggles in the netherworld, with lesser followers and still less cash.

Hockey lives in some quiet world of its own, thanks to the good offices of its old faithful friends. As for soccer, the wolf might be some distance away from its headquarters' door, due as much to generous helpings from FIFA as the sponsorship availability from being a global sport. But it doesn't quite magnetize the multitude it did during the times of the Peter Ranasinghes, Hasim Deens, Ossens, Sirisenas and other past magical names. Reason: little or no international success.

There will be many causes why the present breed of players isn't like the crowd pullers of yore. Whatever they are, the lack of foresight, opportunistic officials and misplaced priorities of successive administrations have to take much of the blame for soccer's poor overseas record - despite being relatively richer than most other sport bodies.

It's one of those unexplained things why, while there's much gnashing of teeth over the decline of once-popular sport, not much is made of the failure/success of the other sports. The media give them no more than a passing mention, while cricket and athletics, justifiably, and soccer and rugby, undeservedly, get the lion's share.

You can't, however, blame the sports editors: the wide exposure given to cricket and athletics is merited; followers of soccer and rugby may have declined, but they are still larger than, say, the numbers that table tennis, squash or badminton attract. Newspapers, after all, are businesses, not godfathers of sport.

It has to be said, though, that there's quite some good happening in those ''other" sports, away from the banner headlines and the television lights. Squash, for instance, has a 14-year-old schoolgirl as national singles champion.

Admittedly, that's not the same thing as winning the World Cup or an Olympic medal, but if a sport can produce a champion so young, then, the controlling body can't be doing a bad job. I might have said an excellent job, but for some nitpicking within. That is another story.

The best of the unsung success stories, for me, is badminton. Its' national men's and women's champions are both 19-year-olds. Champions that young don't just come. Niluka Karunaratne, in fact, won the men's title for a fourth straight year last month. It was Thilini Jayasinghe's first, ending the seven-year (1997-03) reign of Chandrika de Silva, 31 years.  Obviously, development is top priority with the badminton association.

Champions reigning for long years aren't strange. In the 52-year history of the Nationals, there has been one unbroken reign of six years (Ravi Kuruppu, '76-'81), two of five years each (L R Ariyananda 67-71 and Niroshan Wijekoon (83-87) and two four-year dominations (Thushara Edirisinghe 97-2000 and Niluka Karunaratne 2001-04). Chandrika de Silva and Chandrika Mallawarachchi ('71-'77) top the women's list with seven straight titles each, followed by Lucky Dharmasena and Kaushalya Dissanayake's five successive wins, respectively from 1964-68 and 1992-96.

It is true that during the long spells of individual domination in the 1960s through to the 80s the sort of organized development programs of now didn't exist, so that individual domination was less difficult - not so now. To explain further, a bit of history is necessary. The badminton association is relatively a new creation, founded only in 1950.

The inaugural National Championships followed two years later. But at the school level, the sport had long been the preserve of Colombo schools. ''From the 1950s to 70s we had only about six to eight schools playing badminton - only Dharmasoka and Richmond were from the outstations," said Guruge. ''The idea of reaching out to the outstations was inspired by Ariyadasa Silva (coach of L R Ariyananda) when he was secretary in the 1970s. Himself from the outstation, he had this obsessive compulsion to reach out for rural talent and develop it to a national level."

The harvesting of outstation talent didn't come overnight, and so individual dominance over long periods was pretty much the rule up to the 80s. This is not to say that in the 90s, with a greater influx of challenging outstation players, life at the top was short lived. But extended stays at the top became increasingly challenging - and would be a lot more intense given the swelling numbers at a junior level.

The last Junior National Championships, for instance, drew a staggering number of 5,500 entries from 141 schools. "We want to get the numbers to 7,000 in the next few years," says Guruge. ''The north and east can't be tapped for obvious reasons, but we're hopeful before long the doors to those provinces will open."

Such aggressive junior development work, of course, is meant to serve the achievement of a larger goal: international success. "It's very much the game of the Asians - the Chinese, Indonesians, Malaysians and Koreans are world's leading contenders," says Guruge. "Three Indians (Padukone, Mody and Chopra) have won the British Open over the last 15-20 years - so why can't one of us?"

How? "We're hoping to launch next year a junior elite pool of 48 selected players from above 10 years. Obviously they'll be put through specialized training, and the better players will be exposed to international competitions," says Guruge. "The ultimate target is to produce an Asian Junior champion by 2010."

The distance between intention and achievement is considerable, and the cynical among us will say ''we've heard that prattle before" and take Guruge's promise with more than a pinch of salt.

"They once said the same thing about cricket and athletics. It has to be mentioned though, talent alone didn't bring the World Cup or the Olympic bronze - huge financial investments were made for them," says Guruge. ''The Sports Ministry invests millions in athletics - if half that amount is invested in badminton, then, I am certain we'll prove the doubters wrong."

I wouldn't swear by Guruge's promise of a Sri Lankan Junior Asian champion six years hence. With Asian countries long being the home of world champions, Guruge might be a tad far-fetched. But any country that can attract over 5,500 entries for its premier junior event would have sponsors queuing at the door. Which hardly is the case over here.

Arjuna and Suanthika have been especially hard on badminton.

Niluka ready to take on the world

SHOULD you bump into National badminton champion, Niluka Karunaratne, it is advisable that you don't ask him how many matches he's lost on home courts - unless, of course, you want to be as stupid as talking business in terms of hundreds with a billionaire entrepreneur: The four-time champion deals his losses not in matches, but sets.

Says the 19-year-old champion: " Don't ask me when exactly I last lost a match; I can't recall that. But I remember very well the day I last lost a set: a day in July 2003 at the Nationalised Services Championships, to Manjula Fernando, 12/15 in the second set of the semifinal."  He is less certain of his last match defeat, though. "All I am certain about is that I haven't lost any match since winning the National title in 2001."

That would make it a confirmed undefeated record of four straight years. But it could well be longer, given that the former Royalist won the national title first time for the asking, aged a mere 15. So, to trace back the last defeat, he'd have to trawl through his records as a junior - but there's not many he can recall there either, given that he was under 11 champion in 1995 and then went on to successively win the under 13, 15, 17 and 19 titles, the last in 2001, together with the National title.

Another tip: don't ask him if he aims to become the longest reigning national champion; presently Ravi Kuruppu is, a six-year spell of domination, 1976-81. It is a logical question to ask, as he is presently only two short of Kuruppu's mark. At 19, Karunaratne's prime years have just about begun, and it's a fairly safe bet that he would nudge Kuruppu out from the history books three years hence.

But that's not high on his wish list at this point of his career. "When you've not lost for four years at the highest local level, then, naturally your ambitions shift to international challenges. My aim in 2005 is to improve my present world ranking of 71st to somewhere in the 20s, and, before my best years are over, to be in the top 10," says Karunaratne, a Dharmasokian from Balapitiya before becoming a Royalist. "If I set about working on those goals then achieving Sri Lanka records should look after itself."

His 71st world ranking has already earned him a place in the record books: the highest achieved by a Sri Lankan. He is, of course, not the first local to get among the top 100 world rankings; Niroshan Wijekoon was the first, listed in the 90s in the mid 90s. No one else has.

Karunaratne has set himself quite some tall international goals. He would have to contend with challenges from world powers, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan and Denmark, where badminton is as much a national passion as cricket is here. But his isn't random optimism. Internationally, the vastness of his experience belies his tender age. He has had overseas exposure since he was 15, when he got his international career off on an auspicious start by winning the maximum three titles at the 2000 Junior SAF Games in Male. He was also a member of the Sri Lanka team that finished runner-up to South Africa in the World Cup Group Six tournament in 2001 in Madrid. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, he upset the eighth seed to get among the last 16 - an achievement he repeated against sterner opposition in the 2003 Asian Championship in Djakarta, defeating Thailand's no.2 and the no.6 from Indonesia, a country that was world champions more than once.

Since then, he twice got within an ace of an overseas singles title. In the Wales Open of 2003, he lost to the host country champion, Irwanshay, who, really, is an import from Indonesia. He also fell at the final hurdle at the 2004 Australian Open, losing to England no.1, Andrew Smith in the final. In the quarterfinal, he upset New Zealand no. 1 Jeff Bellingham, who had once been in the world's top 20. At the New Zealand Open of the same year, he advanced to the semifinals before succumbing to Yuchi Ikeda, Japan's no.3.

It's quite an impressive list of conquests for a 19-year-old. He, of course, is not without sporting pedigree: his father, Louis, excelled in badminton at a national level but is better remembered as a key player in the Bloomfield cricket sides of the 60s and 70s.But pedigree isn't the only reason why the son has come this far. He is pretty clear-headed on what he wants to do. At Royal, he virtually turned his back on a place in the first eleven team because "I prefer to face challenges on my own". He hastens to explain that he's not anti-team sport, ''I suppose I am the type who doesn't like the pressure of being the likely cause for any of the team's failure. I am happier blaming myself for my failures. I had to make the choice between cricket and badminton when I was 15 - and at that time I was enjoying my badminton better."

Clear-minded he is about his after-school future. "I am not interested in a job, unless it's one that will give me all the time for my training and competitions, which is everyday almost year round. I am going to try and achieve all my badminton goals until I am 25 and would not want an eight-hour job to get in the way of them," says Karunaratne. "The path before me is very clear, but if it becomes obvious the goals are beyond, then, I'll quit international competitions earlier and get back to studies or look for a job."

Saying his full name, by the way, could leave you short of breath: Edirimuni Niluka Rushan Perera Karunaratne -and his list of achievements, breathless.

Jaffna and Ratnapura mini tennis champs

JAFFNA and Ratnapura retained the boys' and girls' titles respectively at the All-Island Mini Tennis Championship conducted by the SLTA on its Green Path courts recently.

Jaffna successfully defended the boys' title, defeating Kurunegala,4/3, in the final, while the girls from Ratnapura overcame Jaffna, also 4/3, in their final.

Over 250 participants representing 19 teams figured in the championship. The teams came from 9 provinces: Colombo, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Kurunegala, Panadura, Ratnapura, Kandy, Matale and Negombo.

"The numbers were by far the largest the event ever attracted - and that speaks favourably for the future of tennis," said the Mini Tennis Program's National Co-ordinator, C Barathiraj Pillai.

Tennis has long been the preserve of Colombo Schools, and the SLTA, with the backing of the ITF, launched in the late 90s the mini tennis program to catch the young, especially in the provincial schools. The program is directed at 5 to 8-year-olds and is played indoors with plastic racquets and rubber balls. The talented children of this program are then moved on to real tennis.

RESULTS:- BOYS: (semifinal) Jaffna bt. Batticaloa, 5/2. Kurunegala bt. Ratnapura, 4/3. Final: Jaffna bt Kurunegala, 4/3. Third Place:  Ratnapura bt. Kurunegala, 5/2. GIRLS: (semifinals) Ratnapura bt. Batticaloa, 5/2. Jaffna bt. Kurunegala, 5/2. Final: Ratnapura bt Jaffna 4/3. Third Place: Batticaloa bt Kurunegala, 5/2.