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What Ranil can learn from Chandrika

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Rex Clementine in Delhi

When defending champions Sri Lanka made an inglorious exit from the 1999 Cricket World Cup having failed to progress to the second round, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga acted fast. She didn’t spare anyone. The board was sacked, the captain was sacked and so were the selectors, coach, team manager. In the process she angered many people.

The Board President’s family were staunch SLFPers and had funded the party for decades. The captain was her Cabinet Minister’s son. Many other stakeholders’ better halves had rubbed shoulders with her either at St. Bridget’s or at Colombo – 7.

The measures she took even angered her Sports Minister. But Chandrika didn’t hide behind excuses. She was determined to clean up the mess.

CBK was smart in her choices as well. She didn’t appoint an ex-cricketer to head the committee to run cricket. Instead, she chose a banker. Rienzie T. Wijetilleke is his name. One of the biggest problems facing the sport at that time was corruption and accountability. Wijetilleke brought financial discipline back to cricket.

Then she picked other eminent sportsmen like S. Skandakumar, Michael Tissera and Sidath Wettimuny to run the sport. Things were back on track within weeks.

Sri Lanka not only beat Australia, who had been just crowned World Champions in an ODI series but recorded their first Test win over the Aussies as well. The changes she introduced stood in good stead and Sri Lanka went onto win ten Test matches in a row under a new captain, coach and a selection panel.

The public was all praise for Chandrika for her bold move. But she paid a heavy price. Her government toppled as aggrieved parties licked their wounds and then showed their might by triggering mass crossovers.

But the iron lady wasn’t afraid to take decisions. Had she been in power at the moment, she would have cleaned up this mess, appointed competent men to run the sport and helped Sri Lanka regain the past glories.

Will Ranil take a leaf out of CBK’s book and act? Some have run down Ranil as a weak leader and here’s an opportunity for him to show to the nation it’s far from the truth.

Sadly, some of Ranil’s loyalists like Sagala Ratnayake and Harin Fernando are fans of the current cricket administration. They will be stumbling blocks for bringing in change. If Ranil entertains them, his beloved UNP will fare worse than what they did in the last general elections for people are angry that the sport they love has suffered many setbacks and humiliations.

Thursday night’s embarrassment wasn’t just one off. In the last three years, Sri Lanka have played three qualifying round tournaments in ICC events and right now they are in danger of being knocked out of the Champions Trophy.

Let there be an Interim Committee not to run for a couple of years, but to oversee the affairs of cricket until the new constitution that has been drafted by the retired Supreme Court judge is passed by an act of Parliament and let the new governance structure take place. That will make all stakeholders happy.

We have had too many Interim Committees in the last two and half decades. Let’s put an end to it all by changing our governance structure. Barring the first two Interim Committees, most others that were appointed were to entertain the friends of politicians.

As for the current administration, they have blundered by not being able to move with times like rest of the world has done. They boast of having made record profits but were not able to put up a swimming pool or an indoor nets facility for our High Performance Programme.

They are unable and unwilling to take unpopular decisions for the betterment of the sport. Their lack of foresight has dragged the game into this mess. They need to be replaced without any delay so that fresh thinking can come in and address these issues.

 

 



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Woods charged with driving under influence after crash

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iger Woods was fortunate to escape with his life from this 2021 crash near Los Angeles [BBC]

Tiger Woods has been charged with driving under the influence after rolling his car in a crash in Florida, police have confirmed.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the 15-time major champion was also charged with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.

Woods, 50, rolled his Land Rover after clipping a pressure cleaner truck while trying to overtake it at “a high rate of speed”, according to Sheriff John Budensiek.

The golfer, who had to crawl out of the passenger door of his vehicle, passed a breathalyser test after the crash but refused a urine test.

No-one sustained any injuries in the incident which took place on Beach Road in Jupiter Island just before 14:00 local time on Friday (about 19:00 GMT).

Sheriff Budensiek told a news conference: “The DUI investigators came to the scene and Mr Woods did exemplify signs of impairment.

“They did several tests on him. He did explain the injuries and surgeries that he’s had and we did take that into account, but they did some in-depth roadside tests.

“When it was determined, he was placed under arrest and taken to the Martin County jail.

“At the Martin County jail, and even on scene, we were really not suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case and that proved to be true.

“Mr Woods did a breathalyser test with triple zeros, but when it came time for us to ask for a urinary analysis test, he refused.”

Budensiek also said Woods had been “co-operative but was trying not to incriminate himself”.

“He has a right to refuse that test,” added the sheriff. “There is a statute which he will be charged with for refusing to take that test, but we will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on at the time of the crash.”

US president Donald Trump was asked about the crash on Friday, saying: “I feel so badly. [Woods has] got some difficulty. There was an accident. That’s all I know.

“He’s a very close friend of mine, he’s an amazing person, an amazing man.”

Sheriff Budensiek said Woods would remain in jail for eight hours then be released on bond. The charges are misdemeanours, not felonies.

The BBC has contacted the golfer’s representatives for comment.

This is not the first time Woods has been involved in a car accident – he has played a limited schedule since the serious crash in 2021 that left him with extensive injuries and fortunate to be alive.

In 2017 police officers also found him slumped at the wheel of his parked Mercedes-Benz not far from his Florida home.

A toxicology report found Woods had several legal medications in his system and marijuana’s active ingredient, and he was sentenced to a year’s probation after pleading guilty to reckless driving.

In 2009 Woods hit a fire hydrant, a tree, and several hedges in a bizarre collision outside his home.

The incident sparked accusations of extramarital affairs which led to the end of his seven-year marriage and the loss of lucrative sponsorship deals.

[BBC]

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Sri Sumangala cruise to semis after Kumarasiri heroics

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Sri Sumangala College, Panadura secured a convincing five-wicket victory over Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya in their Under-19 Division I Tier ‘B’ cricket quarter-final at Kuruvita on Friday, sealing a place in the semi-finals with two sessions to spare.

‎All-rounder Mevindu Kumarasiri played a decisive role in the win, following up his outstanding bowling performance with a vital knock of 44 runs to guide his team to the target of 157.

‎Sri Sumangala’s run chase was anchored by Kumarasiri and Neksha Iddamalgoda, who shared a crucial 85-run partnership for the fourth wicket after the early setbacks. The stand effectively put the Panadura side on course for victory.

‎Kumarasiri’s brisk 44 came at just under a run-a-ball and included five boundaries, while Iddamalgoda top-scored with 49, striking seven fours in a fluent innings. Although both batsmen were dismissed before the target was reached, their partnership had already taken the sting out of the chase.

‎Bihanga Silva and Sadika Damyuru then completed the formalities, steering Sri Sumangala past the target to wrap up an impressive victory.

‎The win was particularly remarkable considering Sri Sumangala had been bowled out for 144 in their first innings. However, Kumarasiri turned the game dramatically in their favour with a superb six-wicket haul that dismantled Sri Dharmaloka for just 89 in the second innings.

‎His match-winning all-round performance proved to be the turning point as Sri

Sumangala capitalised on the opportunity to book their place in the tournament’s semi-finals.

‎Scores

‎Sri Dharmaloka 211 all out in 76.3 overs

(Kaveen Deneth 106, Senuka Pehesara 29, Koshitha Adithya 19; Mevindu Kumarasiri 5/82) and 89 all out in 35 overs (Tharusha Mihiranga 24; Mevindu Kumarasiri 6/41, Methum Fernando 4/42)

‎Sri Sumangala 144 all out in 48.4 overs

(Neksha Iddamalgoda 47, Bihanga Silva 36, Mavindu Kumarasiri 21; Tishan Nipun 4/43, Sathindu Prabhoda 3/44, Koshitha Adithya 2/27) and 160 for 5 in 34.3 overs (Vidura Basuru 33, Sandeep Wijerathna 19, Neksha Iddamalgoda 49, Mevindu Kumarasiri 44; Koshitha Adithya 4/64) (RF)

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PSL 2026: Teams allowed to submit two XIs and pick one after toss

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Hyderabad Kingsmen captain Marnus Labuschagne warms up [PSL]

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Marnus Labuschagne, captains of Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen, walked out with two team sheets each for the toss ahead of the opening matchof PSL 2026 and selected their final XIs based on which way the coin fell.

This was in accordance with a new regulation in the PSL playing conditions, which permits the captains to submit two team sheets to the match referee before the toss and finalise one of the submitted line-ups after the toss.

The clause 1.2.1 in the “Nomination and Replacement of Players” section reads: “Before the toss, each captain may submit two (2) different XI lineups in writing to the PSL Match Referee. Each lineup must include 11 players and a maximum of 4 substitute fielders (subject to Clause 1.2.5). After the toss, each captain must finalise one of the two submitted lineups by signing the selected team sheet. Once the final lineup has been nominated, no player listed in the selected playing eleven may be changed before the start of the match without the consent of the opposing captain.”

Tosses can play a significant role in this part of the world in night matches as a result of dew. The ball often gets wet and difficult to grip for the spinners, making them ineffective in the second innings. This change in the playing conditions is expected to provide a level playing field – a team batting first can add a fast bowler instead of a spinner while a team batting second can look to add depth to their batting.

There were no signs of dew in the first match of the season however because of the wind throughout the day and cloud cover.

[Cricinfo]

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