|
•Sri Lanka
won 1st ODI
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Chamara Silva
top scores for
Sri Lanka with a fluent 65 runs
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By
Point
FAST
bowler Dilhara Fernando's career best 4/24 guided Sri Lanka to a 70
run win in the first limited overs international against Bangladesh
on Friday to take a 1-0 lead in the three match series. Bangladesh
captain Mohammad Ashraful won his first toss of the tour, sent the
hosts in to bat, and saw his bowlers restrict a powerful Sri Lanka
batting lineup to 234 runs from their allotted 50 overs. Chamara
Silva and Upul Tharanga scored half centuries, but the visitors
snapped up wickets at crucial times and never allowed the batsmen to
dominate.
The
achievable total gave the visitors a good chance to win their second
ever limited overs match against Sri Lanka, who were missing strike
bowlers Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. But Sri Lanka's
bowlers, led by Fernando, proved too much for the visitors as they
crumbled to be all out for 164 runs in 40.3 overs. Openers Shahriar
Nafees and Tamim Iqbal showed determination with a 45 run
partnership for the first wicket before Fernando struck to have
Iqbal caught at first slip for 11 and in the same over trap Tushar
Imran lbw without scoring. That double strike precipitated a
collapse that saw Bangladesh lose five wickets for just 11 runs in
less than five overs.
New
batsman Sakib Al Hasan departed in the first ball he faced against
Farveez Maharoof, snicking a ball to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.
Ashraful was next to go as he skied a pull shot and Maharoof took a
well judged catch running in from deep backward square.
Mushfiqur
Rahim and Farhad Reza played some aggressive strokes during a 42 run
partnership for the seventh wicket that threatened to bring
Bangladesh back into the match. Reza hit three sixes, including two
in Sanath Jayasuriya's first over, before that bowler eventually
claimed his wicket for 28. Rahim too made 28 before being caught by
Tharanga off legspinner Malinga Bandara and tailender Abdur Razzak
struck three sixes as he also scored 28, unbeaten.
Earlier,
Sri Lanka's batsmen struggled after left arm bowler Syed Rasel
dismissed Jayasuriya just as he was showing signs of aggression.
Jayasuirya's opening partner Tharanga was dropped by wicketkeeper
Rahim while yet to score, and went on to make 57 to record his ninth
limited over half?century. Sangakkara (16) and Jayawardene (2) were
also dropped, but the pair failed to capitalize on their second
chances. Silva top scored with 65 runs that included eight
boundaries and a six.
The
second match will be played at R.Premadasa Stadium Colombo on
Monday.
Godamanna
keeps Lanka in promotion chase
THE
brilliance of Harshana Godamanna again helped Sri Lanka pull out the
chestnuts from the fire. As was the case in the Group B encounters
with Malaysia and Vietnam on the two previous days, the 21-year-old
southpaw took his country from 0/1 down to 2/1 triumph over U.A.E.
in the Davis Cup Group Three semifinals yesterday - and keep alive
Sri Lanka's chances of Group Two promotion.
Godamanna
annihilated Omar Bahrovzyn, 6/2, 6/1, in just 43 minutes before
combining with Rajeev Rajapakse to demolish UAE's Bahrovzyn and
Mahmoud Nader, 6/3, 6/1, in the decisive doubles, lasting an hour.
Godamanna,
based in Thailand since last year pursuing a professional career,
has clearly been the player of the tournament so far. Displaying the
arrogance of a born champion, he remains undefeated in the singles
yet, whipping opponents from Oman , Malaysia and Vietnam before
adding the scalp of his UAE opponent yesterday - all in straight
sets. He has also won three of his four Doubles; the solitary loss
was to Oman .
His
win over Bahrovzyn yesterday was just as convincing as those won in
the Group B matches of the ongoing eight-nation event on the SLTA
courts in Green Path. Godamanna unleashed quite some breathtaking
shots, from tracer-bullet serves, cunning drop shots and searing
passing shots that, at times, left his helpless opponent standing in
wonderment, applauding. Godamanna took the first set with ease, 6/2,
in only 28 minutes, and if Bahrovzyn had hoped that assumed victory
would make for a less intense opponent in the second set, there was
no such luck.
If
anything Godamanna was even more devastating, blasting his opponent
off court in the second set in just 15 minutes. Poor Bahrovzyn
walked away cross-eyed and groggy, as if he had crossed the path of
a hurricane. It was by far the most ruthless performance seen yet in
the event.˙ ˙˙˙
There
was no end, though, to Renouk Wijemanne's misery; his loss yesterday
to Hamad Abbas Al-Janahi was the biggest of his four defeats.
Littered with countless unforced errors, the US-based Wijemanne was
swept off in 61 minutes by the diminutive Hamad Abbas, who won 6/2,
6/1.
Sri
Lanka qualified for the semifinal on Friday, along with Lebanon ,
Oman and UAE. Lebanon yesterday won their semifinal match over Oman,
who inflicted Sri Lanka's only defeat so far in the event. Today,
Sri Lanka meet Lebanon and Oman take on UAE.
Points
gained so far, including those from the group matches, will decide
the two countries that will be promoted to Group Two. Sri Lanka
would enhance their chances of promotion if they overcome Lebanon
today, though promotion won't be a certainty. In the event the Sri
Lankans win today, and Oman as expected prevail over UAE, three
teams - Oman , ' Lebanon and Sri Lanka - would overall have four
wins each. In that scenario, a count back of the sets won by each
will decide the two teams to win promotion.
St.
Peters' Never had it in this fashion
THE
Peterites are enjoying the most successful season of rugby in the
year 2007, under the captaincy of Ranuka Jayasinghe, their scrum
half, having won all their Singer Inter School 'A' Division League
matches. Truly they are the champions of school rugby and now awaits
the Presidents Trophy Tournament, which they won last year beating
Kingswood College, Kandy, 8 -5.
The
revival of Peterite rugby began in the year 2005 when
Sanath Martis, the former Issipathana and C.R. and F.C.
player, and Issipathana coach undertook the coaching assignment,
when Peterite rugby was on a downward trend. That year the Peterites
were without Twelve (12) of their senior players who represented the
previous year( 2004), just leaving three seniors. Then many would
have thought that the year 2005 may be a bad season for St. Peters
College.
That
year I had the opportunity of meeting Martis just before the 'A'
Division League tournament began and during the course of a
conversation he conveyed to me that he is not going after big names
or concerned about the individual brilliance of a player, but he
will be in the process of building up new players by imparting
rugger sense and using the services of Mohotilal Jayatilleke, the
new Performance Therapist to make the boys fit.
He
was very confident of building a formidable side that would play
together as a team. To this end Martis was dedicated to his task.
Martis though a unassuming type of person was a task master where
his job was concerned and performed his duties without fear or
favour, when the odds were against him or undue influences were
experienced in the performance of his duties as a normal coach would
encounter, and was able to deliver the goods for St. Peters' College
in the year 2005.
The
Peterites earned a respectable third position in the Singer 'A'
Division League Championship, and also became runners up in the
Presidents Trophy Tournament in the year 2005.
In
the year 2006 he guided the team to win a double. St. Peters'
College emerged champions in the Singer 'A' Division League
Tournament and the President's Trophy Tournament, and now the
Peterites are going from strength to strength. In the current (2007)
Singer 'A' Division League Tournament. The Peterites' have achieved
a rare feat by being unbeaten as they have never been unbeaten in a
League Tournament from the inception of Peterite rugby.
Another
noteworthy feature in the year 2007 was the 'Massacre of the
Innocence, namely the smashing 101 points to 5 victory win against
the Joes, which will go down in history. The Peterites camp should
honour, Sanath Martis for his enormous contribution to the rugger
team, and bringing glory to St. Peters' College.
At
this juncture it is also fitting to pay tribute to fitness guru .
Mohotilal Jayatilleke who travels all the way from Kandy to make the
boys fit. His job is to built the physical strength and moral of the
players and he too has delivered the goods for St Peters in no
uncertain means. The boys are fit even to play an extra hour of
rugby in a game. All the efforts of : Martis will be in vain if the
boys are not fit, because fitness is very essential to discharge the
best of any player.
The
success story of the Peterites rugby team in the years 2006 / 2007
is a dream come true to the Rector of St. Peters' College, Rev. Fr.
Travis Gabriel. When the Peterite rugby was at a decline many years
ago Fr. Travis, then the Vice Rector and Sports Co-ordinator of St.
Peters' College took so much of pain to resurrect Peterite rugby.
He
was very concerned about the players, and went to the extent of
insuring the players against injury at that time. Fr. Travis an
educationist and a strict disciplinarian who has instilled high
moral values and disciplines to the students of St. Peters' College,
and expects them to maintain these standards In and out of College,
has had a great impact on the discipline of the rugger team.
The
ruggerites of St. Peters' College maintain a very high standard of
discipline in and off the field. It is very encouraging to the boys
who are playing the game to see Fr. Travis at every match. Dear,
Rector the seed that you have sworn has now brought the harvest.
May
St. Peters' keep the fires of rugby burning in the future and let
not complacency overtake you, well done St Peters'
Sriyan
de Silva
Caddies
Triangular Tournament
THE
much awaited Triangular Caddies Tournament organised by the Sri
Lanka Golf Union with a sponsorship from Sri Lankan Golfers in
California took off on the 9th at the picturesque Victoria Golf
Course.
The
Victoria Golfers though inexperienced gave the Colombo lads a run
for their money.
Colombo
overcame Victoria in the 3-round series by 21 « to Victoria's 10 «
points. Special mention should be made of players like Vijitha
Bandara and Pathmanadan from Victoria Golf Club who overcame the
more experienced Colombo's S Kumar and M Perera in the 4 ball
competition. The winners from Royal Colombo traveled to NEGC on the
12th and the matches took off on the 13th.
The
weather in Nuwara Eliya was fair but the prevailing monsoon winds
made the conditions ideal for the Nuwara Eliya golfers. In the first
round it was a 4-ball better ball competition the Nuwara Eliya lads
overcame Colombo with a 5 « points to a 2 « points.
In
the second session it was a foursome. The boys from RCGC overcame
the Nuwara Eliya team with a 4 « to 3 « points. The final session
was played on the 14th where 16 single match plays took off. It was
keenly contested and the chances were that the RCGC with five
national pool players would demolish the NEGC lads.
It
came about to be a draw with 8 matches each, where 4 of the pool
players lost to inexperienced but keen and young NEGC players.
Prabagaran our national captain and current Indian Open Champion,
leading from the front, won his match by 7/6. The outstanding
players from NEGC namely Soundararaj brother of Prabagaran, Vinodh
and Dinesh Kumar, Kishor Kumar, Jayasena, Sivakumar and the seniors
Sunderam and Ariyapala have to be mentioned as they overcame the
much experienced players from RCGC.
Himendra
to guide TCK OBA- Colombo Branch in Centenary year
DILMAH
Deputy Chairman Himendra Ranaweera,was elected as the President of
the Colombo Branch of the Trinity College Old Boys' Association, due
to celebrate its existence of one hundred years in 2008.
Himendra
captained Trinity College in cricket and was a recipient of the
coveted 'Cricket Lion.' He takes over the reigns from Upali
Ratnayake of CIMA fame who completed a successful tenure.
The
Following Committee was appointed as the Office bearers of the
Trinity College
Old Boys' Association (Colombo Branch) for the year 2007/2008
at the 99th Annual General Meeting held on June 23 at Christ Church
(Parish Hall), Galle Face, Colombo 03.
Patron
-The Principal - Trinity College,Vice Patrons Gilbert Paranagama,
James Mather,Dr.Neville Karunatilleke, Sriyantha Senaratne, Y C
Chang, L U B Dissanayake, Jim Bandaranayake, Chulika de Silva,
Jayantissa Kehelpannala, Gotabaya Dasanayaka, Andrews Thevathason
and Upali Ratnayake.
President-Himendra
Ranaweera,Vice Presidents Sharm de Alwis, Anura Rathnawardena, Anil
Goonetilleke, Nath Wijesundara, Horace Jacob, Prabath Harshakumar,
Ajith De Silva, Romesh Jayawardena, Dan Seevaratnam and
Sidath Pananwala., Secretary- Ranil Prematilake,Treasurer Muthiah
Chandrasekeran,
Asst. Secretary / Asst. Treasurer Keshan
Thalgahagoda,Trustees Gotabaya Dasanayaka, Jim Bandaranayake and Dr.
Douglas Nethsinghe.
Committee
20-30 years Shamal Gunawardena, Madhushanka Ranatunge and Vajira
Abeysundera. 30-40 years Nalaka Madugalle, Suchitra Aluvihare and
Chandana Abeywardena. 40-50 years Umindha Dunuwlle, Imal Fonseka and
Clifford Shadrach.Over 50 Amitha Nugawela, Asitha Abeysekara and
Upaka Weerasinghe , Auditor Upatissa Hulugalle
Victoria's
Bash in the Bush
"IT
was Stunning.."
"A great night - cannot wait until the next one.."
"Great Venue - deep in the Bush - really enjoyed
it." "The
food was awesome.."
Just
a few of the comments about Victoria golf and Country Resort's
latest 'Party in the Bush.'
Advertised as elegant dining in the bush, this event is now
firmly set in the Social Calendar as a must attend event.
"We
could have sold at least an additional 60 tickets for this year's
Party," commented the Resort's Marketing and Sales Executive
Nickola Bonifass, and continued "We stopped the sales at 60
diners as this is the maximum we can cope with in this Bush
setting."
Supported
by Aqua Fresh Water, Deccan Helicopters, Premadasa Jewelers with
musicprovided by local disco favourite -Heavy Ramper this year's
Party in the Bush featured a secret location overlooking the
Victoria Lake, lit with flares and candle light.
To get to the site each person was chauffer driven to the
secret site along a pathway of flares and bonfires.
The
Resort's Marketing Manager
and driving force behind the event Lalindra Ranaweera said
that "the diners were asked to dress in black tie 'upper half'
and relaxed lower half because of the bush location - this time we
got allsorts of outfits and it was great to see everyone getting
into the swing of things."
Big
winner for the night was local business tycoon and owner of
Kundasale Auto
Servcice Ravi Mediwake, won a spectacular trip for four in the
Deccan Helicopter.
Other prize winners received gorgeous pendants from
Premadasas Jewelers in Kandy.
Ranaweera
further added,
"for the next party in the bush we aim to surprise the
dinners again with a more special and spectacular venue - watch this
space for details."
Is
Interim Committee for ever?
ONE
OF Gamini Lokuge's first vows on being appointed Sport Minister last
January was to dispense with the many government-installed interim
committees administering national sport bodies and replace them with
democratically elected officials. Lokuge had inherited countless
interim committees from his predecessor, but as far as the public
was concerned, his promise was relevant only in relation to
cricket's interim committee - for reasons too obvious to restate.
The
termination of the Jayantha Dharmadasa-led interim committee,
however, didn't come as swiftly as the minister had vowed. Lest you
think political influence bought time for the Dharmadasa committee,
the real reason was far more legitimate. The minister himself
pointed out that it doesn't make sense to change the administration
until the World Cup in March-April is over and done with - and
rightly so. So, presuming the minister was a man as good as his
word, it was only logical to believe that he would call for Cricket
Board elections after the World Cup, say some time in May.
Nearly
three months after the World Cup Minister Lokuge did make the
change, but in so far as only two personnel. He removed Prakash
Schafter and Damien Fernando, brother-in-law of Lokuge's
predecessor, and appointed Sidath Wettimuny, Dian Gomes and
Premasara Epasinghe. The interim committee, though, remains
entrenched. As for the promised elected Cricket Board, well, so many
of politicians' promises have gone unfulfilled that one more to the
list is no big deal. These are, after all, times we've learnt to
immune ourselves from the disappointment of being diddled of life's
bigger promises. And cricket is but only a game.
It's
a safe assumption that the re-constituted Dharmadasa committee,
expanded from five members to seven, is going to be in office for at
least a year. Were the term less, it is hardly likely that the new
members would've agreed to accept the job simply because a task
that's difficult to complete in a year is impossible to do in mere
months. It is recalled that the lament of previous interim
committees was that yearly terms aren't adequate to effect any
meaningful changes.
That
apart, the year ahead holds some crucial engagements - none more
crucial than the six-week tour of the island in December/January by
England , presenting as it does an opportunity to resuscitate the
country's moribund tourist industry. As well, the 2007/08 diary
includes the Twenty-20 World Cup in South Africa and an away Test
and VB series in Australia .
Gomes
is relatively a stranger to the world of cricket, but given his
appointment earlier this year as advisor to the Minister of Tourism,
it is easy to understand his inclusion. His first interim committee
assignment would no doubt be to formulate a plan that would help
exploit the tour by England , Barmy Army and all, in a bid to show
the world the country remains an attractive holiday destination -
though what the world has heard is quite the contrary. As well, he
is a successful corporate CEO and, unquestionably, has the capacity
to restructure the Board on company lines, which, it has to be said,
isn't exactly a new thing; previous interim committees too proposed
corporate-style structures, but sport ministers and their lackeys,
fearing changes might threaten their hold on the cash cow, wouldn't
hear of altering the status quo.
Wettimuny's
appointment is self-explanatory given that he is a one-time Test
cricketer and also served in the interim committees of Rienze
Wijetilleke, Vijay Malalasekera and Hemaka Amarasuriya. He is a
successful entrepreneur as well, and, in my book, has all the
credentials to head the interim committee. But that's a can of worms
best left unopened at a time when the reconstituted committee
settles down to the job. In a strictly cricketing sense, though,
Wettimuny's inclusion is timely, with two crucial Test series just
six months away, against Australia and England . As well, the new
coach assumes duty next month and there's no one in the committee
with better credentials than Wettimuny to brief the Australian on
what the Sri Lanka Cricket expects of him. We don't want the sort of
trouble caused the Indian Board by the discord between Greg Chappell
and the players. Wettimuny's intimate knowledge of Sri Lankan
cricket and cricketers and his persuasive nature can be trusted to
give the new coach the right guidelines in terms of dealing with
local cricket, culture and nuances.
Epasinghe's
place in the interim committee apparently is reward for the huge
part he played in converting the once-elitist sport into the masses'
favourite. Whether he can make as significant a contribution as an
administrator as he did as a Sinhala radio commentator, though, is
left to be seen, but there can be no quarrels about his knowledge. A
former Nalanda cricketer and a pioneer Sinhala cricket commentator,
he brings to the interim committee knowledge of the game that no
member of the previous interim committee had.
This
is not to infer that the Dharmadasa administration over the past
year or so had been only ornamental. The shearing of weak provincial
teams from the Premier division teams was thought to be suicidal by
elected administrations as it carried the danger of losing club
votes. Previous interim committees, restricted to terms of a year,
preferred to let the undesirable status quo remain because they
didn't want to start anything that they might not be able to finish.
But the Dharmadasa committee, in office for nearly two years, pruned
the number to 12, from 20 odd. As well, it invested well in the 'A'
teams, which of late has proved to be a useful feeder to the
national team. It has also assisted clubs across the board, unlike
elected officials who favoured only clubs loyal (read: vote) to
them. The Dharmadasa committee can also claim that the country's
success in the last World Cup was under its stewardship, though
critics might ask what contribution can a committee without any
cricketing pedigree have made.
That,
though, is not the issue. Minister Lokuge's decision to give
extension to interim committee, contrary to his vow to rid it, means
that, since 1999 cricket has been in the hands of four interim
committees and just two elected bodies; both presided over by
Thilanga Sumathipala or his proxy, Mohan de Silva. So, cricket has
been under interim committee for much of the past eight years,
roughly six to the elected bodies' two years.
Against
that backdrop and the Sport Minister's continuing faith in interim
committees, it is pertinent to ask if it is the government's
intention to move away from democratically elected officials for Sri
Lanka Cricket. Given the horrendous misdeeds of some post-96 elected
officials and the utter politicisation of the Board, there's a
strong case for cricket administration to reside in the hands of
interim committees.
But
with officials of an interim committee being Sport Minister
appointees, there's no guarantee that political appointments would
not be made. Politicians, after all, think nothing of using any
opportunity to secure jobs for their supporters, and the Cricket
Board has some rich and prestigious pickings. In that scenario, the
Cricket Board might well end up in a far sorrier plight than it was
in the worse years of elected administration.
The
Rienzie Wijetilleke and Vijay Malalasekera administrations prepared
separate restructuring plans that were designed to minimise the
risks of political influence as well as corruption in the Cricket
Board. The Wijetilleke plan was to have the elected body answerable
to a superior body, called Board of Governors. The elected body
makes the suggestions, but the final say would be the Governors, a
panel made up of qualified accountants, lawyers, company directors
and former cricketers. The idea of a superior body was born of the
need for transparency with the Board's income enhanced tremendously.
The intention of the Malalasekera plan was pretty much the same.
Different committees - finance, tours, cricket, infrastructure etc -
were to come under a Board of directors. The committees were
expected to present their plans and budgets, the directors would
study those plans and release the funds accordingly - and then
monitor progress of the plans. Board members were to be appointed on
the basis of specific professional qualification and experience.
Both
were, of course, draft plans and obviously would require much fine
tuning. But the concept is sound, given that cricket administration
is not quite the same as governing any other sport, it doesn't
depend on the government for a brass farthing; it earns huge foreign
exchange for the country; it's a jobs-generating industry - and it's
the pride of the country. It's too precious a thing to be left in
the hands of self-seeking elected officials or wealthy
politically-appointed individuals looking for a place in high
society.
Minister
Lokuge's decision to retain faith in interim committees in that
sense is a good, but to ensure that cricket administration remains
stable it requires a greater degree of permanency, not exist at the
whim and fancy of the Sport Minister. Lokuge will find the
Wijetilleke and Malalasekera plans useful-reading should he be
seeking an alternative to interim and elected committees.
The
SriLankan NEGC Tour '07
THE
SriLankan Airlines Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) Tournament 2007
will tee off this August, pitting some of the country's best golfers
against each other on a challenging course.
Each
year over 100 of Sri Lanka's leading golfers converge on one of the
country's oldest golf courses - the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club,
considered to be among the finest in Asia .
The
NECG Tournament 2007 will be held for the third consecutive year on
August 10 and 11, hosted by Sri Lankan Airlines, the Nuwara Eliya
Golf Club, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel and auto manufacturer Kia
Motors.
The
Nuwara Eliya golf course is one of the most challenging in Sri Lanka
. Surrounded by hills, sweeping mountain ranges, forests and tea
estates, Nuwara Eliya will provide a beautiful backdrop to several
exciting games that will test the skill of players against a
demanding course.
"The
NEGC Tour has proved to be one of the most popular golfing events
and has contributed to developing the sport in Sri Lanka . We are
proud to be hosting this event for the third consecutive year for
Sri Lanka's golfing fraternity," CEO Sri Lankan Airlines Peter
Hill said.
Players
with a valid Sri Lankan Club handicap are eligible to participate,
with the men's tournament played in three categories and the women's
in two categories. The event will consist of one Stableford round.
Winners
will walk away with trophies and return air tickets courtesy of Sri
Lankan Airlines to Beijing, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and
Bangalore. A Kia Picanto Hatchback is also up for grabs for a
'hole-in-one'.
"It
is our pleasure to join hands with SriLankan Airlines the second
consecutive year, bringing together the dynamism of two national
entities to present this year's golf tournament, an event that is
much looked forward to," said CEO of Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel
Suren Amarasekera,
"The
involvement of Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel in an endeavour of this
calibre stems from Mobitel's involvement with a class of corporate
clients that favours elegance in both spirit and sport. Now well
poised to launch into 3rd generation technology, we are able to take
mobile communication experiences to the next level enabling our
customers with the infocom experience wherever they may be."
Overall
winners in the men and women's categories will receive the Sri
Lankan Airlines Challenge Trophy and a business class return ticket
to any of Sri Lankan Airlines destinations in the Far East .
Wrapping
up the tournament, participants will be treated to cocktails, a gala
awards dinner and entertainment in true Sri Lankan style.
Sri
Lankan Airlines actively promotes sporting events in Sri Lanka and
the region and has several signature events in golfing, surfing and
rugby in its sporting calendar.
The
NEGC Tour is one of four golfing tournaments for local and
international players, hosted by Sri Lankan Airlines during the
year.
Sri
Nisanka: a religious ruggerite
RANJITH
Sri Nisanka, who was born to a wealthy and illustrious family
on January 17,1934, passed away on July 7, 2007, a bachelor. He was
cremated on the same day at a private ceremony.
His
father was the famous King's Counsel, the late Herbert Sri Nisanka,
former Member of Parliament for Kurunegala District, who was also
the founder member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party along with the
former Prime Minister the late Hon S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.
He
had his entire education at St.Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, where
he excelled in studies and sports. He was a champion swimmer. Even
though there was no rugby football at St Thomas, he joined CR
&FC and represented the Club at the Clifford Cup tournament with
distinction in the company of Summa Navaratnam, Mahesh Rodrigo, Ago
Paiva, Dr Trevor Anghie, Geoff Weiman, A K Dorai, Kavan Rambukwella
and Ashey Cader to name a few. He also represented Ceylon at the All
India Rugby Tournaments.
He
resigned from CR&FC along with Dr Trevor Anghie over a dispute
regarding captaincy and joined the Havelock Sports Club and
continued his Clifford Cup rugby under the captaincy of Dr Hubert
Aloysius and players of the calibre of Gamini Fernando, Y C Chang,
Raja Sumanasekara, Nimal Maralande, Dickie Jayatilleke, Maurice
Silva, Conrad Ephraims, Quentin Israel and Ken de Joedt, that won
the Clifford Cup in the early 60s.
He
lived in a sprawling mansion 'Yamuna' down Maya Avenue where he had
his own Gym which I used to frequent during my school days along
with Muni Gomes, later DIG Police, Gamini Fonseka, late actor and
parliamentarian along with several schoolboys from the area, who
were keen on physical culture.
Ranjith
was very fair and had a striking personality and many mistook him
for a European. Leaving school he worked inseveral tea companies
such as Forbes and Walker. He also owned a large coconut estate at
Pothuhera. He was deeply religious and practiced both Hinduism and
Buddhism and donated lavishly to temples.
His
mother who was a devotee of Shri Sai Baba moved to Putrapathy after
the death of his father and lived there till her death. His younger
sister Geetha too lives in Putrapathy and is a Sai devotee. His
other sister Manil is married to Dr Gemunu Karunaratne and lives in
Australia with her two children Avanthi and Randhir.
All
his friends were shocked when his obituary notice appearedin the
newspapers after the funeral was over as they would have loved to
pay their last respects to a wonderful friend.
May
he rest in peace.
S.Sivendran.
Retired
Senior Supdt. of Police.
Singer
Sri Lankan - Air Lines Sevens
By
Hafiz Marikar
The
hills of Kandy will have the wave of rugby in full swing when the
kick off of the much looked forward to, Singer - SriLankan Airlines
- Asian Region - IRB Satellite series, 7's tournament which will be
played in September at the Nittawela rugby stadiumtakes place.
Come
September, loud cheering will echo across the usual tranquil hill
capital, for the ninth successive year, with 16 nations battling out
for the coveted trophy.
Singer
Sri Lanka as the title sponsor extends their banner in bringing the
best to the rugby fans. Sri Lankan Airlines, as the other title
sponsor for 8th consecutive year, will be flying in the teams and
some of the foreign match officials.
This
tournament began in 1999, when the Kandy Sports was celebrating its
125th year. And it was non other than rugby king Malik
Samarawickrema who brought in this idea, and Singer Sri Lankans,
sporting Chairman/Managing Director Hemaka Amrasuriya cagve his
helping hand to kick off the first tournament , with ten Asian
teams.
In
a city steeped in history, where kings ruled with pride centuries
ago and pageantry has always been the order of the day, it seemed
fitting to infuse the even with a local flavour. So the tournament
began with a parade of colorfully- dressed and energetic drummers
followed by the teams.
So,
this years kick off will happen from September from 7 to 9, and
promises to be a tumble of muscle power and lot of shoving.
The
grand opening will be a spectacular curtain raiser with school
matches, which will be a warm up to the main tournament. A women's
exhibition match that is on the agenda will titillate the
imagination of the spectators. The host of cultural and sight-seeing
experiences - not to mention the carnival atmosphere as players and
spectators enjoy themselves to the full.
The
ball handling will comprise of teams from South Korea, Japan,
Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore,
India,
Arabian Gulf
and Sri Lanka.
Sri
Lanka cricket awards night
Sri
Lanka Cricket will be having their Cricket Awards Night today(22) at
the Galadari Hotel commencing at 7.00 p.m. to felicitate club teams
and special achievers in the domestic tournaments of 2006/07.
Sri
Lanka Cricket conducted 10 tournaments last year and accordingly
twenty club teams.
The Champions / Winners and Runner Up will receive trophies.
Also cricketers with outstanding performances will receive
individual awards for each of the tournaments, in the categories of
Man of the Tournament, Man of the Final, Best Batsman, Best Bowler
and the main individual award - Player of the Year who will receive
an unprecedented grand prize of a brand new Suzuki Swift car. There
will be also 3 awards to the best Curators of the clubs.
The
Chief Guest will be Minister of Sports & Public Recreation
Gamini Lokuge -
while the Special Guest of Honor will be Minister of Sports
Bandula Basnayake.
The
Sri Lanka National Team will be in attendance and the other invitees
include former national captains, Presidents / Secretaries of Clubs,
Electronic / Print Media Personnel, Sponsors / Partners of SLC,
Officials of SLC and others connected to the cricketing fraternity.
The
proceedings will include presentation of trophies / awards,
entertainment items and dinner.
Sri
Lanka Cricket's Committee headed by Chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa
decided to organise this important event this year, with a view to
giving a moral boost to the players of domestic cricket. As the
future of Sri Lankan Cricket depends on the emergence of new
outstanding players to feed the national side on an on going basis.
Many other programmes that would benefit these cricketers are under
consideration at present, aimed at professionalising domestic
cricket.
Domestic
Cricket is only one aspect in further developing Sri Lankan Cricket
in general and other major projects to develop the infrastructure
through out Sri Lanka are also underway.
Golf
in memory of the maestro Pin Fernando
THE
late Pin Fernando Sri Lanka's most distinguished amateur golfer was
remembered and honoured once again last week when the, stroke play
contest for the Trophy in his honour took off at the Royal Colombo
Golf Club. 133 golfers shot the fairways and greens in pursuit of
the honour of qualifying for the final rounds and 32 qualified for
match play.
Sato
brilliant
K.
Sato was in great shape when he struck the best nett score to take
the lead with nett 67. He was delighted with his success and very
quickly many of his community joined the happy man to celebrate.
Nikamal Perera was quite successful too. He played great golf and
deserved much more than nett 67 and 2nd place. There were three more
praiseworthy rounds. Say Tien Fatt nett 69, S. Vairavanathan nett 69
& Priath Fernando nett 71. The others had scores between 72
& 76 nett with Mithun Perera significantly outstanding with
gross 71 nett 74. He had the best gross score for the day - an
excellent par round.
Centuries
galore
Unbelievably
there were 38 centuries of which almost 20 were struck by those
classified as 'rookies.' Enthusiastic and willing to learn from
error they appeared to enjoy the outing and also the spirit of the
great game and the fellowship.
Distress
zone
With
June over and the wedding season closed until X'mas time there is
very little demand for confetti, so we have a Shredding machine
coming in to clean up the messy discarded score cards.
Pam
Fernando & son Priath have planned a grand final following which
United Tractor & Equipment Co.Ltd will sponsor a pleasurable
award ceremony - laced with cocktails and a great spirit of
fellowship.
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