Sports
Mendis under the radar after Bloomfield complaint
by Rex Clementine
Within days after being handed the captaincy of the ODI team, Kusal Mendis has got under the radar following an incident at Reid Avenue during a domestic one-day game involving Bloomfield and SSC.
Mendis was dismissed for a second ball duck and on his way back to the pavilion, he is alleged to have smashed the dressing room door. Following that incident, he had got involved in an altercation with the Manager of Bloomfield scolding him in filth for the poor wicket prepared for the game.
Bloomfield had brought the incident to the attention of match officials but none of them had seen the incident, and no CCTV footage of the incident were available either.
The matter has been referred to Sri Lanka Cricket and it remains to be seen what action the board will take. Some observers say that with no evidence available, it will be hard for the board to take action; one man’s word against the other. Anyway, in recent times, the board has let players off with mere slap on the wrists.
However, on the contrary, there is some pressure for the board to take action against the player as Mendis has been a serial offender.
There is a push for the player to be handed one game suspension from international cricket just to drive home a point that a captain of a nation cannot behave like a thug.
Mendis captained Sri Lanka during the World Cup filling in for the injured Dasun Shanaka. But a mere couple of days after being given the captaincy on a full-time basis, to bring the game into disrepute wouldn’t have been what the selectors would have expected.
Mendis was one of the players sent home from UK for breaching the bio-secure bubble in 2021. Although the independent judge who conducted the inquiry recommended a two-year ban, SLC reduced it to one year and further cut it down by six months enabling him to resume international cricket a few months after the incident.
Mendis has a history of discipline issues, and his progress as a top-notch batsman has been hindered due to these off the field distractions.
SSC also has promised to look at the matter seriously. Mendis although has been named Sri Lanka’s ODI captain, the club is captained by Charith Asalanka, a more sensible man.
Zimbabwe will arrive in Colombo later this week for a three match ODI and T-20 series.
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.
Tourists and residents evacuated as volcano erupts in Iceland
Mandalay was the ‘city of gold’ – now it reeks of death
PM visits France to attend high-level conference at UNESCO
-
Sports3 days agoSri Lanka’s eternal search for the elusive all-rounder
-
Features7 days agoCelebrating 25 Years of Excellence: The Silver Jubilee of SLIIT – PART I
-
News4 days agoGnanasara Thera urged to reveal masterminds behind Easter Sunday terror attacks
-
Business7 days agoCEB calls for proposals to develop two 50MW wind farm facilities in Mullikulam
-
Business5 days agoAIA Higher Education Scholarships Programme celebrating 30-year journey
-
Features7 days agoNotes from AKD’s Textbook
-
News2 days agoBid to include genocide allegation against Sri Lanka in Canada’s school curriculum thwarted
-
News3 days agoComBank crowned Global Finance Best SME Bank in Sri Lanka for 3rd successive year