Lahiru Kumara rapped on the knuckles and ankles

Bipin Dani, in Daily Mirror, 13 November 2018, where the title is “Heavy fine imposed on Kumara for breaking curfew”

Sri Lankan fast bowler Lahiru Kumara has not only been axed from the squad on disciplinary grounds but is has been heavily fined too, it is learnt here. This was according to highly placed sources close to the team management. Kumara broke the team curfew just two days prior to the Galle Test and was replaced by another fast bowler, Dushmantha Chameera.

Players are supposed to be in their rooms before 11.00 pm on non-match days. On match-days, they can’t be out of team hotel after 10.00 pm. It could not be verified if and who Kumara, who came to team hotel after 11.00pm on November 4 had met. “He (Lahiru Kumara) is yet to pay the fine which was imposed by the team’s Fine Committee”, sources said.

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A Muckraking Essay from Krishnamurthy about Hathurusingha

N Krishnamurthy  in Cricket Age, 30 September 2018, with this title : “Exclusive! Is Sri Lanka Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha No More A Buddhist?”

Ever since his arrival in Sri Lanka as national Team head coach, Chandika Hathurusingha has become the most powerful and manipulative at the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC). Especially, after the shameful departure of Thilanga Sumathipala led administration on May 31st, he has extended his control over several other non cricketing expects [sic] as well, like in which airlines Sri Lanka team should travel!

 

SLC too, in a bid to hide its incompetent and wrongdoings, gave Hathurusingha all the authority! Though, Sri Lanka Cricket is still in shambles.

Panic Stations and Chaos in Sri Lankan Cricket Selections: Angelo Sacked

Champika Fernando, in Daily Mirror, 24 September 2018, where the title reads –– “Sacked Mathews feels ‘betrayed and let down’

Angelo Mathews feels he has been ‘betrayed and let down’ after he was asked to resign from the captaincy taking full responsibility for the Asia Cup debacle.Mathews who tendered his resignation last night from the captaincy says he is even willing to retire from limited over cricket if the selectors and the coach believe he is unfit to play ODI and T20 cricket.

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 )

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.