Tamil Union’s Mixed Bag recalls its Season Coup of 1982/83

Somachandra Skandakumar, presenting this tale under the title “When agony followed ecstasy!”

S. SKANDAKUMAR, a former Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka and skipper of the Tamil Union Cricket Club recounts their key game against Bloomfield and how Tamil Union won the game and ultimately lost the trophy on re-scrutiny.

Seated L to R– Athula Samarasekera, S. Skandakumar , Kushil Gunasekera

Standing- Ashley De Silva, Wayne Jansz, Dushan Soza, Sittampalam Shivaraj, Channa Wijemanne, Sudath Munaweera, Sujeeva Rajapakse, Chandika Hathurusinghe, Lakshman Aloysius

Absent – Indrajit Coomaraswamy (overseas), Upul Sumathipala (Overseas)  Nirmalal Perera (USA) Walter Fernando and Upul Gunasena (Australia) Shantha Jayasekera (Canada )

A.J Samarasekera (Indisposed )

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Wijesinghe and Clementine on the Cricket Scene

ONE = Mahinda Wijesinghe: “Giving up the game when ‘there’s nothing left in the tank’,” Sunday Island, 9 September 2018

At the moment cricket fans are awaiting the Asia Cup 2018 due to begin on September 15 with Sri Lanka placed in Group B alongside Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Akila Dananjaya

Unfortunately Sri Lanka is starting on the wrong foot with Chandimal on the injured list while Akila Dananjaya will in all probability miss two games and has informed the selectors to excuse him since he wants to be present when he is due to become a father for the first time shortly. Family comes before profession is a motto he is following. In this time and age, modern technology enable doctors to predict births almost to the date. Taking this into account, Dananjaya has taken the right decision by the family and the team. Opting out of the tour, at least where two games are concerned, before the tour begins is the correct decision. Going on the tour and baling out halfway is obviously not this youngster’s style. Well done Dananjaya, you have set an example even to your seniors. Let me wish you the best of luck as a father and as a player when you rejoin the team.

Down Memory Lane with Michael Tissera

Tilak in Daily News, 26 June 2018

At long last, I got the opportunity through Leo Wijesinghe to meet the much talked about Michael Tissera whom I met at his residence at Nawala. Although aged 78 he still looked the neat smart cricketer I used to epitomize as a budding cricketer.

As we started the ball rolling he mentioned to me that he has nothing to do with the administration of the present set up at the moment, and for very good reasons too, well more of that later.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s Unique Last-Over Blues

Mohamed Isam, in ESPNcricinfo, July 27 July 2018, where the title reads “

Georgetown. Dehradun. Bengaluru. Harare. These four cities, connected by a line more than 18,000km long, have one thing in common: tense chases in which Mushfiqur Rahim has been caught on the leg-side boundary in the last over.

It has now happened five times in the last seven years, and Bangladesh have lost on each occasion, heartbreakingly, from positions of strength. Georgetown was the latest entrant on this list. This time, Mushfiqur was out hitting a Jason Holder full-toss down deep midwicket’s throat, leaving the side with eight needed off the last five balls. He had batted brilliantly up to that point to score 68 off 66 balls.

Sri Lankan Brain’s Trust banished for several matches

Rex Clementine in Island, 17 July 2018, where the title reads “No escape as Chandimal, Coach and Manager receive further sanctions”

Neither a guilty plead nor Faizer Mustapha’s lawyer friends could save the Sri Lankan trio of captain Dinesh Chandimal, Coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Manager Asanka Gurusinha as the International Cricket Council came down hard on them imposing the maximum possible penalty for their excesses during the second Test Match against the West Indies last month. Apart from the two Test match ban, that the trio are already serving, they were also handed a suspension of four ODIs after pleading guilty for breaching Level 3 of the ICC Code that relates to conduct that is contrary to the Spirit of the Game.

The Groundsmen and Tactical Thinkers behind Sri Lanka’s recent Success

Rex Clementine, in ISLAND, 21 February 2018, where the title is “Mendis was used as opener for tactical reasons – Samaraweera

Sri Lanka’s Batting Coach Tilan Samaraweera shedding light into the decision to open the batting with young Kusal Mendis during the just concluded tour of Bangladesh said that it was more a tactical decision and wasn’t sure whether Sri Lanka would stick to the same strategy moving forward.

The Way Forward: Hathuru Unwinds

Madushka Balasuriya, courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, February 2018, where the title reads “Hathurusingha keen on expanding Sri Lanka’s player pool”

One tour, three formats, three series wins. For Chandika Hathurusingha, it has been the ideal start to his tenure as head coach of Sri Lanka. Speaking on his side’s return home from Bangladesh, a content Hathurusingha cited good communication, tactical flexibility, and a relaxed environment as key elements in Sri Lanka sweeping every trophy on offer. Now, his concentration has shifted to cultivating a strong squad that can compete in various conditions.