SLC Junior High

Yesterday at around noon, Mahela and Kumar Sangakkara become victims of another vicious attack by the play ground bullies. The bullies threw their toys on the floor and chucked their lunches into the sandbox.

Mahela and Kumar had been so looking forward to their chicken sandwiches but had to go home in tears.

When the PTA meeting was called to find out why these two are being bullied so much, Mahela's rich dad and mommy showed up in raging anger.

They asked the rest of the parents "Why are you abusing our son ? Just because he is the captain of the cricket team it does not mean you can bully him like this.

He is a very sensitive boy and his feelings have been deeply hurt."

When a heckler made a comment about the size of Mahelas eyebrows, Mahela started weeping and cried out for his mother.

At this point, Kumar's father stepped in "Listen here, I am Kumars father and I am a very important man and I know more big words than Kumar, so you will listen to what I say.

Our boys just want to play cricket for their country in a peaceful manner. Why are you sending them bouncer after bouncer like this. It is wrong..". As his voice got groggy and eyes started to well up, his wife put a loving arm around him and his son and asked who ever it was to own up.

It was then that Rex's dad stood up.

"Ok fine, it was my son. But you know why no body likes your son?"

"You say he is the captain of our team but we found out he has been secretly playing for the team across the road"

"Has he no sense of loyalty or does he only care about maximising his profit making opportunities". said Rex's dad.

"My son bullied your son and I'm proud of it.". Rex stood up at this point, beaming.

The rest of the parents yelled "Amen to that !!".

Kumar and Mahela clung to each other, sobbing uncontrollably, snot and drool wetting their tight fitted t-shirts.

"Please just leave us alone...we just want to play cricket....sob...we only wanted to make some money...is that so wrong..sob..sob...".

"It was Arjuna who told us we could play for the other team".

It was then that, Jabba the hut, Arjuna's dad, said "My son said no such thing ! How dare you little rich rascals accuse my son !"

Someone throws a chair at Jabba the hut, which bounces off his belly and hits Rex square in the face. Who throws a rotten tomato at Kumar and Mahela.

A fight breaks out...

Thus ends another day at SLC Junior High.

by DamithS


+/- Expand Post

Players speaks out on SLC - IPL conundrum

Arjuna's comments against the players' sports agents, and his suggestion that the SLC will eventually be the sole representative of all national players has not gone down too well with the players.

Secretary of the Sri Lanka Cricketers Association (SLCA) Graeme Labrooy termed this move as a direct intervening by the SLC on the players’ fundamental rights.

“It is the choice of the individual players to ascertain as to who is to be his manager. Managers for various sportsmen have been around for well over the past four decades handling various aspects of their careers. Some sportsmen even have their own media managers,” he said. - Sunday Times

Labrooy stated that the job of the sport's agent was to market the player and also ensure the player has financial income long after the player's days as a national sportsman has ended. “For this, every single sportsman has the right to choose his own manager,” said Labrooy.

In another twist to the story Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara were part of a press conference in which the players spoke out in regards to an article published by the local press. Some quarters in the media claimed the players duped the public and the sports minister in claiming the SLC was aware of their 3 year IPL contracts when they agreed to the tour of England. The SLC claiming no knowledge of a 3 year deal subsequently issued a press statement which claimed the players had only received a 1 year no objection certificate to take part in the inaugural season of the IPL.

"Yes, we were auctioned (with IPL) for three years. We were auctioned at a certain price and every single player who played in the IPL signed a three year contract," said Sangakkara. - PTI

Sangakkara made it clear that the SLC knew of the 3 year contract with the IPL but the players only sought clearance for 2008 as they were only bound by annual contracts with Sri Lanka Cricket.

"The SLC knew that we had signed a three-year contract, but our contract with the SLC are yearly contracts," Sangakkara said on Thursday.

"I was very perturbed by what went on in these months as a player. You always try as player to stay away from controversy, to do what is right and to play our cricket in peace," he said.

"But there was an article in a newspaper under the heading 'did the country's top cricketers dupe the public and the government'. (The article also published the letter written by Jayawardene and the SLC)."

"There are certain things that we can ignore and take and even though we worry about it basically (we are) not making any comments. But we may be accused of misleading the public and the government of Sri Lanka. I think it is time to clear that," Sangakkara said. - PTI

by Hilal Suhaib

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

Kumar Sangakkara's surgery successful

Posted by Hilal

Bipin Dani of CricketNext reports Kumar Sangakkara's surgery performed by Dr Gregory Hoy today in Melbourne Australia was successful.

A few excerpts below, the full news report can be found here.

"He was cheerful and not nervous while being taken to the operation theatre," Sangakkara's wife Yuhali said from the hospital.

"This is the first surgery he is undergoing," she added.

+/- Expand Post

[Video] Kumar Sangakkara 144 Vs India | 2008

By Hilal



A 6 hour knock filled with elegant yet innovative stroke play bought Sangakkara his 17th Test match century. His knock of 144 consisted 14 boundaries.


+/- Expand Post

[Video] 3rd Test, Day 2 | Sri Lanka Vs India 2008

Click here for video

Sri Lanka 251 for 6 (Sangakkara 107*, Vaas 47, Zaheer 2-57, Harbhajan 2-81) lead India 249 by 2 runs


+/- Expand Post

[Video] Interview with Kumar Sangakkara

by Hilal



Kumar shares his thoughts on the new review system at the end of the 2nd day's play.



+/- Expand Post

[Video] 2nd Test, Day 2 | Sri Lanka Vs India 2008

Click here for video

2nd day
Bulletin - Harbhajan four keeps match poised
Sambit Bal - Sublime Sehwag on a different plane
Jamie Alter - Spinning it right
Plays of the day - Shots, drops, and spankings
Audio - Sanjay Manjrekar: Sehwag playing without preconceived notions
Gallery - Harbhajan reins Lanka in

(Headlines from Cricinfo.com) +/- Expand Post

[Video] Kumar Sangakkara 96 (84) Vs Basnahira North | Sri Lanka Inter provincial Cricket 2008

Kumar Sangakkara paved the way quite dashingly for his team's second successive win in the tournament. Kumar with a brilliant knock of 96 off 84 balls took his team to an imposing 296 for 5.

Click here for video

Scorecard

+/- Expand Post

[Video] Sri Lanka VS Bangladesh | 9th Match, Super Fours Asia Cup 2008

1st Session


2nd Session


9th Match, Super Four: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Karachi - Jun 30, 2008
Sri Lanka 332/8 (50 ov); Bangladesh 174 (38.3 ov)

Scorecard (Courtesy Cricinfo)



+/- Expand Post

[Video] Sri Lanka VS Pakistan | Asia Cup 2008 Super Four

1st Session

2nd Session

Click Post title above if no video is visible

8th Match, Super Four: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Karachi - Jun 29, 2008
Sri Lanka won by 64 runs.

Scorecard (courtesy Cricinfo) +/- Expand Post

[Video] A chat with Sangakkara ahead of Match 6 | Asia Cup 2008

Pre match interview with Kumar Sangakkara during the Asia Cup encounter between Sri Lanka & UAE. Courtesy ESPN/STAR & ATN CricketPlus.

+/- Expand Post

[Video] Sri Lanka VS Bangladesh | Asia Cup 2008 - 3rd match Group A

3rd Match, Group A: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Lahore - Jun 25, 2008
Sri Lanka won by 131 runs.

Scorecard (Courtesy Cricinfo)

+/- Expand Post

[Video] Classic catches | Kumar Sangakkara Vs England | 2007

From England's 2007 ODI tour to Sri Lanka. +/- Expand Post

[Video] Kumar Sangakkara, Bret Lee & Shane Watson singing "Tell Me Why"

Click the Title above if no video is visible

The party started at around 1.00 am. This is the list of all the players who attended....
Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth, Darren Lehman, Kaif, Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Sangakkara, Munaf Patel, Aamir Sohail, both Pathans.

The video you are seeing is Brett Lee after 5 hours of starting an impromptu concert. All the guys were so good when taking pictures of them. - Courtesy pasla27 +/- Expand Post

Light at the end of the transit tunnel | Kumar Sangakkara

There is no doubt that Sri Lanka's recent one-day form is a source of concern. We have grown accustomed during the past decade to being a competitive international team, but since the World Cup last year the winning habit has proved frustratingly elusive with 12 defeats in 20 results.

However, any concern must be tinged with a clear understanding that we are a team in transition - Writes Kumar Sangakkara for Cricinfo Magazine.

+/- Expand Post

Be positive even in defeat | Kumar Sangakkara

As sportsmen you have to be positive, even in defeat. And this week we have been able to reflect back on the 1-1 series draw with West Indies and pick-out a few silver linings. However, sadly, those silver linings cannot erase the frustration of having shared a series we should have definitely won.

In my book this Sri Lanka team should have won 2-0 against West Indies. They have some quality players but as an overall group we should have been stronger. And having taken a 1-0 lead we should definitely have closed out the series. Unfortunately, in Trinidad, the basic truth is that we were outplayed.

Mid-way through that Test I believed we would win. Indeed, on the final day I also thought we would defend the 253-target and win. However, we lost our grip on the game during a crucial third morning, losing too many wickets against the new ball in our second innings.

Personally, I was extremely disappointed. First, I was involved in a run out - a criminal offence in such a tight game. Second, surprised by some extra bounce, I guided the simplest of catches in the gully. It was a poor stroke and with hindsight I was guilty of not taking greater time and care over constructing my innings.

Mahela's dismissal was also crucial. He was the victim of an unplayable delivery in the first innings, but he was still our form man in the second dig. We desperately needed him to spend some time in the middle. His second unfortunate dismissal, an inside edge onto the stumps this time, was a serious blow.

We started the second innings with a plan to bat four to five sessions. We realized the new ball would be a danger period. But we also knew that batting should become much easier afterwards. However, by the time it got easier half the side were back in the hutch. We lost too many wickets too quickly.

We still had a chance to clinch the game, though, thanks to Thilan Samaraweera's superb hundred, one of the best innings I have seen. He came into the second innings under huge personal pressure on what was a comeback tour. To bat like he did with us in such disarray was a huge show of character and hunger. To win, however, we needed to be faultless in the field. We were far from that. With the new ball, despite a couple of early wickets, we were guilty of giving Ramnaresh Sarwan too many scoring opportunities, helping him establish himself at the crease. We also missed a couple of half chances.

All credit to Sarwan, once started he batted beautifully. He stayed positive throughout, albeit helped by our ill-discipline, and his shot selection was excellent. He was troubled by Vaasy - the shining light of the series for us - who alone amongst the quick bowlers was able to maintain a tight line and length, and by Murali throughout, but he also played them skilfully and hung on in there.

It's not the first time that Sarwan has played well against us. During two home tours he has been a major thorn in our sides. I think this reflects the fact that his game is ideally suited to the kind of conditions we've played each other. His game was learned on the slow, turning surfaces of Guyana, similar conditions to what we Sri Lankans are used to.

The key to handling Sarwan is to tie him down, bowl one side of the wicket and make him search for runs. He is patient but he likes to see the ball disappear to the boundary. Vaasy exploited this expertly in the first Test. But in Trinidad the bowling unit could not create the same level of control.

"Some people were surprised by Sarwan and Chanderpaul's survival against Murali for so long on a fourth day pitch. I don't think you can read too much into that.

They both looked to be struggling against him to me, and they were helped by the docility of the pitch. If anything, Murali was forced to try perhaps a little too hard because the support at the forthcoming was not consistent."

As I have said, despite the loss, there were crumbs of comfort with some fine individual performances. Malinda Warnapura looked the part in Guyana and for a while in Trinidad. Michael Vandort batted sensibly and resolutely. Thilan produced a gem of an innings and generally showed how gutsy he is. Dilshan and Chamara batted beautifully together. Thilan Thushara can look back on a great first Test. As a team, I think we can be encouraged by those individual performances. I think we have a decent team structure now in Test cricket and we are gelling more and more. Both the openers and the middle order seem to be developing and there are bowlers emerging to support the injured trio we had to leave at home.

Straight after the Test, after one day's rest to reflect back on the game, we quickly had to switch gear and focus for the ODI series. This is a completely different challenge with a new team and game plan. After two losing ODI tours against England and in the CB Series in Australia, this is a chance to start rebuilding. We have some new faces and I hope some of them can make an impression this week. +/- Expand Post

Kumar Sangakkara | This is Cricket

Kumar's official website to be launched soon! Launch date to be announced.. stay tuned.. +/- Expand Post

Kookaburra Sports Wallpaper | Sangakkara & Jayasuriya

Found this beauty on the Kookaburra (Pronounced Cook-uh-bar-ra) website both Sanath and Kumar have endorsed Kookaburra's range of products throughout their illustrious careers.





800 x 600
1024 x 768
1280 x 1024

Images courtesy Kookaburra


+/- Expand Post

Sangakkara defends Koertzon

Colombo (PTI): Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara has jumped to the defence of under-fire umpire Rudi Koertzen, saying the players should be humble enough to accept a few wrong decisions and get on with the game.

The South African umpire came in for criticism after he wrongly adjudged Indian batsman Rohit Sharma out caught behind in the tri-series match against Sri Lanka in Australia, which was washed out.

Shocked by the decision, Sharma remained at the crease for some time before walking back to the dressing room. Although TV replays supported Sharma, the dissent cost the young batsman 10 per cent of his match fee as fine.

"If the umpire makes a decision, whichever way it goes, we should be humble enough to accept that and play cricket. If they do make mistakes, you get on with the game," Sangakkara said.

"We as players have to realise it goes both ways, no one's perfect, the players make mistakes at certain times and we don't really help the umpires out," he added.

Sangakkara, who was himself a victim of a Koertzen shocker three months back, appealed for the catch even though bowler Muttiah Muralitharan had not shown much enthusiasm.

Defending the appeal, Sangakkara said, "The only reason I appealed was because I heard a noise and I thought the batsman nicked it."

Terming the current lot of umpires as the best in the game, Sangakkara said "... If there's greater confidence between players and officials, we can have less misunderstandings as possible.

Courtesy The Hindu.

+/- Expand Post

[Video] Stumped off a fast bowler!

Brian Charles Lara Stumped: Sangakkara Bowled: Vaas



+/- Expand Post