Sports

Prabath Jayasuriya – from unfit, overweight, lazy spinner to record breaker

Published

3 years ago

2022/07/14

by Rex Clementine

Last year when Lasith Embuldeniya was injured, Prabath Jayasuriya was next in line to make his Test debut against Bangladesh. The news was leaked that he had failed the two kilometer fitness test and had become ineligible for selections. The press went to town. Quietly, Prabath reached out to reporters to inform them that he had not failed the kilometer run, but in fact his skin folds were over the limit. He didn’t twist the knife in anger in telling reporters that they had got it totally wrong. He gently passed on what had taken place. The reporters had failed to adhere to Tyron Devotta’s golden rule in journalism, ‘check, double check and check again.’

Prabath was never able to fix his skinfolds problem. The selectors were on the war path. He was ineligible for selection. Their policy of our way or the highway had served little purpose with quite a few players quitting early. It was a crying shame as the likes of Dilruwan Perera and Thisara Perera had so much to offer the game.

Sometimes no matter how arrogant and resentful you are, there are forces that are more powerful than you. When COVID hit the Sri Lankan camp forcing the team to isolate four players, the selectors were left with Hobson’s choice but to turn back to Prabath Jayasuriya. Their much publicized fitness regime has become a laughing stock. It’s as good as Gota’s one country one law.

In the first Test, when the pitch offered much assistance for spinners, Lasith Embuldeniya and the rest were wayward. Sri Lanka suffered a heavy ten wicket defeat.

Jayasuriya is a veteran in First Class cricket. While among the left-arm spinners, the overwhelming favourite to make his debut in the second Test was Dunith Wellalage given his brilliant start in international cricket. But skipper Dimuth Karunaratne backed Jayasuriya as he knew that here was someone who could keep things tight.

That’s exactly what Jayasuriya did. Australia had swept and reverse swept to good effect in the first Test against the wayward Sri Lankan bowling. But when the bowling was accurate in the second Test, the sweep was going to backfire and it did. Jayasuriya finished with a new Sri Lankan record for best figures by a debutant in Test match cricket. His 12 for 177 is also now the fourth best figures in the history of Test match cricket. A remarkable achievement.

Many of our spinners be it Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath or even the great Muttiah Muralitharan have matured after 30 years. Age should not be a factor to determine whether a player is good enough to play at the highest level. Jayasuriya did it when chips were down and that too against world’s number one ranked team. You just get the feeling that he’s going to win you a lot more Test matches moving forward.

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Sports

Sri Lanka Under 19s pull off two wickets win against Afghanistan

Published

8 hours ago

2025/12/16

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka Under 19s scored back to back victories as Mahanama College batsman Chamika Heenatigala anchored the tail with an unbeaten half century to seal two wickets victory over Afghanistan U19s in their second group match of the Under 19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Monday.

‎Chasing 236 runs to win Sri Lanka U19s were eight wickets down for 217 runs in the 48th over but Heenatigala with Rasith Nimsara kept their cool to seal the victory with four balls to spare.

‎In their chase, Viran Chamuditha top scored with 62 runs and put on a first wicket stand of 55 runs with Dimantha Mahavithana (27).

‎While Kavija Gamage (34) and Dulnith Sigera (22) made vital contributions with the bat, Sethmika Senevirathne and Sigera took three wickets each.

‎It was Sri Lanka Youth team’s second consecutive win in the tournament after registering their first win against Nepal.

Sports

Dasun Shanaka’s all-round effort can not hold Vipers

Published

8 hours ago

2025/12/16

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sam Curran bagged two wickets before scoring an unbeaten fifty. (ILT20)

Dasun Shanaka scored an unbeaten 29 and took two wickets but that could not hold Desert Vipers becoming the first team to seal a playoffs spot as they made it six wins out of six on Sunday (December 14) halfway through the league stage of the ILT20 2025-26.

‎Sam Curran produced an all-round effort as Vipers chased down Dubai Capitals’ 166/4 with five wickets in hand and a ball to spare.

‎Asked to bat, Capitals lost Shayan Jahangir to Naseem Shah in the third over and were kept on a tight leash by the Vipers pacers in the powerplay, reaching 35/1. Gulbadin Naib and Leus du Plooy then added 39 at close to a run-a-ball before Noor Ahmad removed his Afghanistan teammate. Capitals were 68/2 at the halfway mark and in need of momentum through the second half of the innings.

‎Du Plooy injected some urgency with two fours off Lockie Ferguson in an over, followed by a six off Naseem Shah to bring up a 38-ball fifty. But Curran turned the innings again with a double-wicket over, dismissing du Plooy and Rovman Powell off successive deliveries. Jordan Cox and Dasun Shanaka, however, ensured a strong finish, striking six fours and three sixes in an unbroken 72-run stand off 40 balls.

‎Max Holden set the tone in the chase, accounting for six of the seven fours Vipers struck in the powerplay. Fakhar Zaman fell to Mustafizur Rahman in the fifth over but Vipers still reached 50 in six overs. Holden was dismissed for 34 by Haider Ali while attempting a slog sweep, and although Hasan Nawaz struck three sixes, he fell to Waqar Salamkheil to leave Vipers at 88/3 after 10 overs.

‎Dan Lawrence and Curran steadied the chase with a 32-run stand before Lawrence was dismissed by Shanaka for 20 in the 14th over. In the same over, Shimron Hetmyer struck a four and a six and was later reprieved by Shanaka. A couple of tight overs followed, but Vipers remained in control, needing 31 from the final four overs.

‎Curran took them closer with two fours off David Willey and a six off Muhammad Jawadullah. With three required in the final over, Hetmyer fell to Shanaka, but Curran finished the chase with a six off the fourth ball, completing a 33-ball fifty to cap a fine all-round performance.

‎‎Brief scores:

‎Dubai Capitals 166/4 in 20 overs (Leus du Plooy 54, Jordan Cox 49*; Sam Curran 2-17)

‎Desert Vipers

171/5 in 19.4 overs (Sam Curran 52*, Max Holden 34; Dasun Shanaka 2-19)

Sports

Akbar Brothers crowned MBSA A-Division champions

Published

19 hours ago

2025/12/15

Priyan

Akbar Brothers Ltd delivered a commanding all-round performance to clinch the ‘A’ Division title at the 33rd MSBA League Basketball Tournament, defeating defending champions Fairfirst Insurance 70–60 in a thrilling final held recently.

Despite a group stage loss to Fairfirst, a revitalized Akbar Brothers team returned for the final with renewed focus, executing a strategic and disciplined game plan with some excellent passing and defense. Akbar Brothers came in with all guns blazing right from the outset. The first quarter was all Akbar’s that stacked up a 13 to 4 lead. Fairfirst mounted a strong challenge in the second quarter, narrowing the margin, but Akbar’s momentum secured a 35–28 lead at halftime, a margin they maintained with composure through to the final whistle.

Dasun Mendis led the charge for Akbar Brothers with 18 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). Chenura De Alwis added 17 points to the tally, while Shehan Udayanga posted a valiant 22 points for Fairfirst. Dimitri Grebe anchored Akbar Brothers with strong leadership, with Hiran Wijesooriya captaining Fairfirst.

Earlier in the tournament Akbar Brothers beat Sampath Bank (82-71), Seylan Bank (91-68) David Pieris (110-78) and Seylan Bank in the semi final (83-60)

The final, held at the Royal College Indoor Sports Complex, saw a vibrant turnout of supporters as Akbar Brothers proved their championship mettle with teamwork, resilience, and clinical execution.

Akbar Brothers – Dimitri Grebe (Captain), Dasun Mendis, Chenura De Alwis, Randil Henry, Taher Akbarally, Selvam Savarimuttu, Franklyn Morais, Sanketha Jayarathne, Jeewan Priyankera , Praneeth Udumalagala, Ajith Kuruppu (Coach), Adrian Gabriel (Asst. Coach)

Fairfirst Insurance – Hiran Wijesooriya (Captain), Shehan Udayanga , Lakshan Kulathunga, Roshan Randima, Arnold Brent, Isuru Perera, Denzil Nicholas, Nimesh Fernando, Keshawa Perera, Charaka Anuhas, Asanga Perera (Coach)