[Video] Sanath Jayasuriya's CNN interview

CNN: Growing up in a small Sri Lankan fishing town, cricket changed Sanath Jayasuriya's life. But his association with the game and humanitarian work has also helped transform the lives of many others.

"Without cricket I would have a small job in my home town. My mother is happy to say my name," he told CNN in Hong Kong.

His mother's pride in his success has an extra poignancy as Jayasuriya's fame in some part helped his mother survive the south Asian tsunami on December 26, 2004.


Courtesy CNN. Read the full article here.

Posted by Hilal +/- Expand Post

Sanath Jayasuriya’s call-up by Sri Lanka minimal loss to Dolphins

Sanath Jayasuriya hasn't had the most remarkable of starts playing for the Dolphins in South Africa - in three matches Jayasuriya managed just 6, 1 and 0.

Jonathan Cook of The Witness speaks of Jayasuriya's woes with the bat and talks to The Dolphins manager of playing affairs, Jay Naidoo on Sanath's return to Sri Lanka for the tour to Bangladesh.

Jayasuriya, who is still contracted to Sri Lanka cricket, was given permission by his board to join the Dolphins for the limited-over section of their season on condition that any selection for his national team during that period would be honoured.

The hard-hitting batsman and spinner has 421 ODI appearances behind him, but he has misfired with bat and ball in the three Dolphins matches so far. Naidoo, who is also convenor of the selection panel, is convinced that the player’s class will prevail.

Naidoo said Jayasuriya was signed on a contract befitting his status but his total package — paid in U.S. dollars — “is well below the exaggerated sums mentioned in certain sections of the media”.

“Sanath has yet to come good, but he is a complete professional and has had a positive influence on the squad,” said Naidoo. - The Witness.

Posted by Hilal

+/- Expand Post

Jayasuriya heads to South Africa

Sanath Jayasuriya will touch down on South African soil on Thursday the 13th of November. Jayasuriya is in South Africa as the Dolphins overseas signing. Sanath's first match of the season will be against The Lions in Potchefstroom, on Friday(14).

The first of the MTN Domestic Championship matches start this week with the Nashua Dolphins playing the bizhub Highveld Lions in Senwes Park on Friday 14 November 2008.

An exciting addition to the squad, is the renowned Sri-Lankan batsman, Sanath Jayasuriya, who will make his debut playing for the Dolphins in this 45-over game. - Dolphins.

by hilal


+/- Expand Post

[Video] Sanath Jayasuriya 48 Vs India 2000

For Sri Lanka Cricket news, videos, blog posts, and more visit: http://www.islandcricket.lk/ +/- Expand Post

[Video] Spectacular run out | Dravid - Jayasuriya

Video not working? Check out more Sri Lanka Cricket videos.



Not the first time this has happened to an Indian Batsman. Sehwag was run out in similar fashion not creasing his bat. To Sehwag's credit [NOT] he had his back turned to the fielder. Click here to see that dismissal.

by Hilal


+/- Expand Post

[Video] Sanath Jayasuriya 67 Vs Pakistan 1997

+/- Expand Post

[Video] Coca-Cola Champions Trophy 1999 - 4th match Sri Lanka v West Indies

A match to remember, Sanath and Kalu put on an opening stand of 128 runs. Not sparing the likes of even Curtly Ambrose.

Curtly Ambrose was taken for 22 off his opening 4 overs and Mervin Dillon went for 40 in 6 overs, which included two sixes off his last which cost 15.









ODI no. 1515
Coca-Cola Champions Trophy - 4th match
Sri Lanka v West Indies 1999/00 season
Played at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium (neutral venue) on 17 October 1999 - day/night (50-over match)
Result Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets (with 132 balls remaining)

Courtesy Apni Community


+/- Expand Post

[Video] Sanath Jayasuriya 40(34) Vs Pakistan T20 Canada 2008

Cometh the hour cometh the man. 39 year old Sanath yet again sets the stage up for an important victory.

This was yet another Jayasuriya Vs Akthar confrontation -- Shoaib Akthar hit Sanath Jayasuriya on the helmet with a delivery clocking 142 KM/H, bruising Sanath's upper lip. Jayasuriya's response was typical, he finished Akthar's over with back to back sixes. One was off the tournament's fastest delivery.

The history between the two has taken a similar course, Shoaib has always attempted to knock Sanath off with speed and Sanath uses that speed to his advantage with well timed flicks and late cuts.



During the inaugural IPL season Sanath carved Akthar for 23 runs in an over. As much as I would like to highlight this moment with a video The Indian Premier League however does not appreciate free promotion of their event and as a result they have removed all videos of this event from video hosts such as YouTube and Google Video citing copyright infringement. One cannot hope to ban or shut down every cricket fan in the world -- I did come across the video I had originally edited (prior to being informed of copyright issues,) it can be found here.

by Hilal


+/- Expand Post

[Video] T20 Canada 2008 - final - Sri Lanka V Pakistan

1st Session



2nd Session


Presentation Ceremony


T20I no. 76
T20 Canada - final
Pakistan v Sri Lanka
2008/09 season
Played at Maple Leaf North-West Ground, King City
(neutral venue), on 13 October 2008 (20-over match)
Result Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)

by Hilal


+/- Expand Post

[Video] Sri Lankan Cricket team arrive in Canada

The Sri Lankan Cricket team touched down at the Pearson International Airport this evening for the Al Barakah four-nation Twenty20 tournament.







By Hilal

Video not working? Want more Sri Lankan Cricket videos? Check out more Sri Lanka Cricket videos. +/- Expand Post

Why Sanath is good for Dolphins

Someone like Jayasuriya can help mould young players in the Dolphins squad, just as Malcolm Marshall did when he spent a few seasons with the Durban team, writes Archie Henderson Of The Times (SA).

Click here for the full post.


Posted by Hilal

+/- Expand Post

The Sanath factor excites The Dolphins

Speaking to SuperSport of South Africa Dolphins coach Yashin Ebrahim speaks on the team's acquisition of the game's most explosive batsman.

"The KZN Cricket Union has been very supportive in acquiring an overseas professional," Ebrahim said. "When I attended a spinner's coaching clinic in Mohali [India] in June through Cricket South Africa, I made various contacts there. Then, through our hosts - the Global Cricketing Academy - I got in touch with his agent. Negotiations then began in mid-June regarding terms and conditions. Once this was agreed upon and the permission from the Sri Lankan Board was received, the deal was signed."

"I did speak to Sanath a few days ago and he is keen, he sees it as a challenge and is very excited about coming here. Besides performance, he'll bring knowledge and experience. The younger players will be able to learn from him. He is a professional who loves winning and can bring that winning habit here, and will also assist the union with coaching as well," Ebrahim said.

Posted by Hilal


+/- Expand Post

Jayasuriya to play for Dolphins, South Africa

Posted by Hilal

The Nashua Dolphins are pleased to announce the acquisition of senior Sri Lankan batting sensation, Sanath Jayasuriya to the Nashua Dolphin team for the forthcoming MTN Domestic Championship and Standard Bank Pro 20 competitions. - The Dolphins

Although contractual agreements prevent Jayasuriya from disclosing his fee it is widely reported that he has been offered $190,000 (US).

According to a press release on the Dolphins website the CEO of KZNCU, Cassim Docrat was quoted as saying “I am extremely pleased that Sanath has agreed to spend the summer with us. He is a world star and will help the Dolphins win trophies and will be a hit with our loyal fans”.

In addition to playing for the team, Sanath has agreed to conduct coaching sessions in disadvantaged communities.


+/- Expand Post

The next Sanath Jayasuriya?

by Hilal

This season has already unveiled the next Murali, could Mahela Udawatte be the next Sanath Jayasuriya?



Everything about this 22 year old Anandian oozes positive confidence , As a 19 year old school boy in the 2005 inter school tournament Udawatte became the first school boy cricketer to reach 1000 runs, he went on to plunder a score of 153 against St. Benedict's College in the same season.



Udawatte averages 39.40 in his 5 ODI appearances for Sri Lanka. Whilst his overall strike rate of 71.63 may not reflect the likes of another Jayasuriya just watching Udawatte at the top of the order and the intent behind his stroke play may give you a sign of things to come.


+/- Expand Post

[Video] Sanath Jayasuriya 60 (52) Vs India 2008

by Hilal



Sanath Jayasuriya's 66th ODI fifty. Sanath has also scored 27 ODI centuries of which eleven were scored after the age of 35!


+/- Expand Post

Sri Lankan cricket in the Orient....

Bowled by DamithS

The 1^st week of April in 1996 holds a memorable place in all Sri Lankans hearts(or at least it should!) It was indeed an unforgettable week.

As Sri Lankans we were all still basking in the glory of being tagged “World Champions”, and for any Australians reading this, you’d probably have been cursing and wondering how the tiny island nation that you’d bullied just a few months earlier in your backyard dared to dream and toppled the might of the best team in the world.

So if you were a Sri Lankan, life was good.

It was about to get better.

The now world renowned Sanath Jayasuriya stepped on to the field at the Padang in Singapore to launch an attack on Pakistan that is still the reason for a few Pakistani bowlers to wake up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat.

While the pundits were still trying to decompose whether what Jayasuriya did that week was even mathematically possible, a few unknown records in it self passed un noticed. Well at least until now.

Singapore, became the 12th country to host an ODI. They remain as the only country to host an ODI but never participated in an ODI. The Padang ground, incidentally is 110th ground, while Singapore is the 101st city to host an ODI.

The Padang ground it self holds special significance to us Sri Lankans.

When the first few adventurous Ceylonese left the island for the orient around the 1860s one of their destinations was Malaya, of which Singapore was a part of at the time. Singapore, which was founded by Sir Stanford Raffles in 1819, offered a vast array of opportunities for these immigrants from all over asia.

T. M. Turnbull records in his book, 'History of Singapore, 1819 - 1975', "Singapore's rapidly expanding economy attracted ever-increasing immigrants. At the end of the 19th Century, there were 185,000 people. Three-quarters were Chinese, while the rest comprised Malays, Sumatrans, Javanese, Bugis, Ceylonese, Arabs, Eurasians and Europeans".

If you are wondering what the cricketing relation to all this is- be patient.

These early Ceylonese held esteemed position in Singapore, as doctors, teaches and various other posts and would often get together to discuss the Sri Lankan way of life.

Cricket was usually a topic of great importance.

According to a foreword to the Early History of Sport Among Ceylonese Residents in Singapore, "Up to 1915, sport among Ceylonese youth seems to have been confined to students in the College of Medicine. In that year a more organised team began to take shape under the leadership of Dr. K. Kiramathypathy (Dr. K. K. Pathy). Soccer and cricket were the chief games indulged in, although there seems to have been a greater bias for cricket."

The need for an official union was identified by many prominent Ceylonese and around the early 1920s the first Lanka Union was born. This is when the Padang and the Singapore Cricket Club played a pivotal role.

It offered its facilities for practice and matches for the Sri Lankans who did not at the time have their own ground. Ceylonese cricket thrived.

Dr. Pathy wrote

'In the early stages games had to be played on outside grounds as we did not have a ground of our own, until late 1922..."
'In this connection we should be failing in our duty if we did not record the great assistance given to us by the Padang Clubs of Singapore, the Singapore Recreation Club, and the Singapore Cricket Club in granting its facilities for practice and for matches, and for the great hospitality they showed us at all times. "

The Padang ground it self brings to mind a game of cricket played on a green on a lazy Sunday afternoon in England. Its surrounded by historic British monuments. It seems to have been plucked out of village green in the British Isles and placed in the center of one of the most modern metropolis’s in the world.

When you pass by the ground it reminds me of a time when cricket was simpler.

More laid back.

The way cricket should be.

An indulgence played with your mates, more for the love of the game rather than the accolades and money and the stardom. The pictures attached here do not do justice to this history patch of green that has undoubtedly shaped the lore of Sri Lankan cricket in the orient.

Reference:
Singapore Cricket Club Publications
Ceylon Sports Club Publications

+/- Expand Post

[Video] Freak Streak

by Hilal



Kumar Sangakkara's recent article titled Freak Streak on Cricinfo and a chap named Fuddy inspired me to put this one together.

+/- Expand Post

I can't think of life without cricket: Sanath Jayasuriya

Posted by Hilal

Sri Lanka went on to win the Asia Cup and Jayasuriya's blitzkrieg capped him as the highest run-getter in the six-nation tournament. His statistics in the tournament were hard to ignore as he averaged 75.60 and had a strike rate of 126.00, scoring two hundreds and one fifty.

A few excerpts can be found below, the original article can be found here.

"There were a few things that I worked on after the Australian series early this year. It was the off-season and there were no domestic competitions, so I had a few sessions with the bowling machine and worked ever so harder on my physical fitness," he said.

His rich experience in cricket helped him take failure with poise as he worked his way to the side.

"When you are going through a bad patch, it's very important not to panic. There are so many factors that contribute to poor form and you just need to patiently work on them and the important thing is to revert to basics," Jayasuriya said.

"I regained my touch towards the end of the IPL and was happy to be part of the Asia Cup squad. It was a pleasant experience to win the tournament in Pakistan. We hadn't won any major competition in Pakistan since winning the World Cup," Jayasuriya remarked.

The left-hander says he is now looking forward to the upcoming five-match series against India that starts on Monday.

When asked what went wrong with the Indians in the Tests, Jayasuriya admitted being lost for words.

"It's hard to understand. They are such a strong batting side, for me the best in the world without any doubt. But Sri Lanka gave India no chance. They kept the pressure on and it's not easy when Ajantha (Mendis) and Murali bowl in tandem. I thought Sri Lanka had a good plan, which they executed to perfection. There was someone to rise to the occasion at every crucial point."

"But I am sure they (Indians) will bounce back. Sachin is a class act, Rahul and Sourav are quality players. The point is when you are having such a long career, like they have had, you are bound to have a poor series. It happens to all players in the world, but the problem here was all three of them struggled at the same time," Jayasuriya added.

The veteran also showered praise on young spinner Mendis who finished the Test series with a world record of 26 wickets.

"I am really happy for what Ajantha has done. He's come up the hard way and his rise to stardom is something of a fairy tale. He's a quiet kind of chap, who wants to keep improving. I have a particular liking for blokes who are the first to practice and the last to leave and Mendis is something similar. When you play at this level you need to keep working harder and improve your game every day," Jayasuriya said.

+/- Expand Post

Sanath back to hurt indians in ODIs

Posted by Hilal

During India’s disappointing outing in the Test series against Sri Lanka, one problem that they didn’t have to worry about was how to contend Sanath Jayasuriya. Having retired from Test cricket last year, Jayasuriya was busy hosting studio shows in Dubai during the Test series and his return to the side is sure to haunt Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Indian teammates, writes Rex Clementine for the Island.

"I don’t think there’s any complacency whatsoever. This is a new and young side and M.S. Dhoni has done well as a captain. We are aware that it’s going to be a tough contest and we need to play good cricket. We have done well and got the momentum and we need to continue in that manner," he told The Island yesterday.

"We had a good Asia Cup and we have done well in Tests. So the confidence is there and we have to be on top of our game in what’s going to be a keen contest," Jayasuriya added.

"I felt good after the Asia Cup and very happy to be back in form. I was not in the team and some people had faith in me and I am happy with what I did. But then again, everything is in the past and you need to do it all over again as a new series begins."

Jayasuriya said that he had a couple of days off after the Asia Cup tournament and has been involved in training with Sri Lanka ‘A’ team since. "I had one week off. Then started training as usual. The ‘A’ team was training and I was doing the routine training with Prabath Nissanka and Mario Villavarayan, the trainers appointed by the board."

+/- Expand Post

Walking down Sanath’s street

"Passing Matara and not going to Maha Maya Road, Kotuway Guda, would be the same as going to Agra and ignoring the Taj Mahal. The man responsible for placing this small town — off the road to Galle — on the world cricketing map is Sanath Jayasuriya.

Even without the postal address, it’s quite easy to find where the Sri Lankan batsman lived. Just take his name, and a busy shopkeeper leaves everything on hand and walks you half-way to the destination. A group of visibly tired school kids, heading home after class, take over the baton enthusiastically as the magic J-word is mentioned."

Sandeep Dwivedi visit the home town of Sanath Jayasuriya read more here.

+/- Expand Post