Sports
Sri Lanka focus on fitness tests after World Cup debacle
by Rex Clementine
Individuals running the national cricket team found a scapegoat following the recent disastrous World Cup campaign pinning all blame on poor fitness standards of the players. Skin fold tests and the two-kilometer run had been highly publicized when the selectors first introduced them. Anyone who failed these tests were made ineligible for selections.
However, the rules were changed when certain favourites of selectors failed fitness tests. Instead of them being ruled out of selections, a bargain was done and instead players got away with fines, a slap on the wrist.
With a new selection panel in place, it remains to be seen what they will do with fitness tests now that everyone is blaming poor fitness standards for below par performances.
Batting coach Naveed Nawaz and Fielding Coach Anton Roux during the World Cup campaign had highlighted poor fitness standards for the disastrous tournament. The fact that both had failed to address their own areas of expertise is a different story. Under Nawaz there were too many batting collapses while Roux proved to be a misfit to handle a national team as evident by the record 16 catches that Sri Lanka spilled during the World Cup.
Sri Lanka’s cricketers will be at Sugathadasa Stadium today to go through the two-kilometer run in the presence of the national selection panel and the coaching staff.
No matter how much emphasis has been placed on key aspects like fitness, unless individuals commit to the cause, we are not going to see improved results. There are so many factors for India’s excellent run-in world cricket at present and one key reason for their success is fitness.
It is not a case of the administration, coaching staff or the selectors imposing minimum fitness requirements on players, but one player’s initiative changed the culture of the entire team.
Virat Kohli took it upon him to raise his own fitness bar and unprecedented success followed his batting. Rest of the Indian team just followed suit before being told by anyone that the modern-day game is not for the fat and the unfit.
The culture within the Sri Lankan team needs to change and someone must lead from front if Sri Lanka are to get back to the glory days in the sport. The easy-going culture within the team at present is not serving any purpose and unless this issue is addressed we are going to see more humiliation for Sri Lankan cricket in the future.
You do find a lot of players with the right attitude but the moment they graduate into the senior team they become part of the ‘chilled out’ culture and as a result fitness, fielding and discipline all suffer major blows.
Shammi Silva has once again taken guard at the top of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), securing a fourth consecutive term as President at the Annual General Meeting, held amidst much fanfare at Colombo’s Cinnamon Grand Hotel yesterday.
Already calling the shots as President of the Asian Cricket Council, Silva’s crowning achievement in recent years has been bringing the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup to Sri Lankan shores. The marquee tournament will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India next year, a feather in the cap for the country’s cricket administrators.
Silva’s administration has made a concerted effort to bridge the yawning gap between domestic and international cricket. One of the bold strokes in this innings has been trimming the number of First-Class teams – a move aimed at upping the quality and sharpening the edge of domestic cricket.
SLC Ex-Co also played a straight bat when it comes to developing cricket beyond Colombo’s city limits. High Performance Centres have sprung up across the outstations, rolling out the red carpet for raw talent from the hinterlands, who had previously been left in the pavilion.
The school cricket circuit too has been given a shot in the arm, with infrastructure development and skill enhancement taking centre stage. By strengthening the grassroots, the current administration hopes to widen the talent pool and unearth future stars of the game.
SLC’s balance sheet tells its own story – healthy and in the black. Over the past five years, the board’s financial stability has not only benefited cricket, but has also allowed it to lend a helping hand to other sports disciplines, at the request of the Ministry of Sports.
With over three decades of experience under his belt as a sports administrator, Shammi Silva is the long-serving President of the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC), one of the game’s oldest institutions in the country.
The 64th AGM was largely a case of “same XI, new season,” with only one notable change to the playing field – Secretary Mohan de Silva making way for seasoned campaigner Bandula Dissanayake. No stranger to the inner workings of SLC, Dissanayake has previously chaired the Tournament and Umpires Committees, and brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa and former First-Class player Ravin Wickramaratne retained their Vice-President slots, while Sujeewa Godaliyadda continues to hold the Treasurer’s post. Chryshantha Kapuwatta and Lasantha Wickremasinghe will once again don the hats of Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, respectively.
The election, part of SLC’s biannual cycle, was overseen and greenlit by the Election Committee chaired by retired Court of Appeal Justice Malani Gunaratne.
Vidyaloka College fought back on the back of a valuable century by Nimesh Aavinda to pull off two wickets victory over Kingswood in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘B’ cricket tournament final played at Saliyapura, Anuradhapura on Monday.
Vidyaloka had a deficit of 36 runs in the first innings but a combined effort helped them restrict Kingswood to 161 runs in the second essay. They were left with a target of 198 runs to chase. And they achieved it with Nimesh Aavinda top scoring with 115 runs.
Scores
Kingswood
227 all out in 83.3 overs (Chanul Kodituwakku 33, Aadil Sheriff 69, Kavija Gamage 25, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 56; Seniru Ninduwara 4/74, Lidula Nuwanga 2/58, Nimesh Aavinda 2/48, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/19) and 161 all out in 65.3 overs (Kavija Gamage 57, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 45; Seniru Ninduwara 2/45, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/07)
Vidyaloka
191 all out in 79.3 overs (Lidula Nuwanga 81, Seniru Ninduwara 34, Tharusha Jayamith 23; Kavija Gamage 4/63, Upadi Jayawardane 2/41) and 200 for 8 in 48.3 overs( Nimesh Aavinda 114, Lidula Nuwanga 34, Seniru Ninduwara 28; Kavija Gamage 3/80, Dominsara Peiris 2/51)
by Reemus Fernando
There was a growing sense of uncertainty surrounding the hosting of the 120th edition of the Lovers’ Quarrel Big Match after Richmond College raised concerns over an attempt by Mahinda College to field a newly recruited player in the team at the historic match which was scheduled to commence on Thursday.
Richmond College authorities have informed Mahinda that they would pullout from the match if the newly recruited player who played for St. Aloysius’ in the just concluded Under 19 cricket tournament is included in the Big Match team.
According to sources Mahinda College have recruited St. Aloysius’ skipper Charya Paranavithana at the end of the Under 19 cricket tournament and are yet to register him under their name with Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association. They have included the player in the Big Match squad.
A source close to Mahinda said that though the player is included in the squad he was not certain to be in the playing XI.
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