SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS

(JUNE 2021)

Compiled by Victor Melder

Following a tense meeting held at the Taj Samudra Hotel, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Officials and the national team have reached a favourable decision, ahead of the England series. The players had reportedly agreed to sign the tour declaration and participate in the T20 series to be held in England. Sri Lanka’s tour of England was cast into serious jeopardy after the players expected to be selected refused to sign the tour contracts offered by Sri Lanka Cricket. This was a part of the men’s cricketers’ ‘larger resistance to LSC’s new annual contracts scheme’, which they believed lacks transparency and does not adequately compensate senior players. Nearly 38 players, including Captain Kusal Janith Perera signed a statement refusing to sign the tour contract, on the grounds that there were problems with the transparency of the ratings system devised by SLC. “In addition, the players have decided they will not sign the contracts until players who have performed well in past years are looked after fairly,” the statement said. The new contracts scheme had been drawn up primarily by the technical committee headed by Aravinda de Silva and SLC’s new director of cricket Tom Moody. A decision was reached today, however, that the team will, in fact, tour England, on the condition that the issue pertaining to their annual contracts will be resolved after the completion of the tour. “The players have suggested a clause seeking for transparency to be given at the end of the tour, which has been proposed to Sri Lanka Cricket, or some form of undertaking that the sheets of assessment will be disclosed to the players once they return, and in the event of an issue, for a model on performance and fitness to be devised,” the lawyer representing Sri Lanka’s national cricket team, Nishan Premathiratne said. (Ceylon Today, 9.6.2021)

The touring Sri Lankan’s opening match against Kent (50-Over) of the touring Sri Lankans tour of England, to have been played at St Lawrence’s Ground, Canterbury, was postponed.

The touring Sri Lankan’s match against Sussex (20-Over) of the touring Sri Lankans in England, to have been played at the County Ground, Hove, was postponed.

England beat the touring Sri Lankans by 8 wickets (with 17 balls remaining), in the first T20 match, played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Scores:

Sri Lanka – 129/7 in 20 Overs (Shanaka 50, K. Perera 30, Rashid 2/17, Curran 2/25, Livingstone 1/9)

England – 130/2 in 17.1 Overs (Buttler 68, Roy 36, Chameera 1/24, Udana 1/30)

Player of the Match: Jos Buttler (England)

England beat the touring Sri Lankans by 5 wickets (with 11 balls remaining), D/L Method, in the second T20 match, played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Scores:

Sri Lanka – 11/7 in 20 Overs (Mendis 39, K.Perera 21, Udana 19no, Wood 2/18, Rashid 2/24, Curran 1/8)

England – 108/5 in 16.1 Overs (Livingstone 29no, Billings 24, Roy 17, Curran 16, Hasaranga 2/20)

Player of the Match: Liam Livingstone (England)

England beat the touring Sri Lankans by 89 runs, in the third T20 match, played at The Rose Bowl, Southampton. Scores:

England – 180/6 in 20 Overs (Malan 76, Bairstow 51, Livingstone 14, Chameera 4/17, Fernando 1/26)

Sri Lanka – 91 in 18.5 Overs (B.Fernando 20, O.Fernando 19, Dickwella 11, Willey 3/27, Currran 2/14)

Player of the Match: Dawid Malan (England)

Player of the Series: Sam Curran (England)

England won the 3-match series 3-0

Sri Lanka Cricket has suspended Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka after the three admitted to breaching the team’s bio-secure bubble in Durham. The three are being flown home immediately from the tour of England, but it is understood that the series is not in any jeopardy at this stage. Overnight, a video had emerged showing Mendis and Dickwella out in a public place. Gunathilaka was not seen in the video, but the three are believed to have stepped out together. The touring players had been told categorically that they were not allowed to go towards Durham’s City Centre, but that is exactly where the trio have admitted to have gone, according to SLC officials. In the video, shot from a vehicle, Mendis and Dickwella are seen looking around the square. Although both players have their masks handy, neither is wearing them. It is as-yet unclear whether the three players had any contact with others within the bio-secure bubble upon their return from the excursion. “The players have been suspended pending a full inquiry, but have confessed to having gone out,” SLC vice-president Mohan de Silva said. “They are being recalled from the tour with immediate effect.” Early indications from the SLC are that the board is viewing the breach as a serious offence. This breach of Covid-19-related health protocols, and the consequent suspension, will substantially weaken a Sri Lanka side that had already been struggling on this tour. All three players were likely to be in Sri Lanka’s first-choice XI for the first ODI on Tuesday; with Avishka Fernando ruled out with a quadriceps injury, Sri Lanka have a very limited batting group available to pick from. The team was already facing criticism for their woeful performance in the T20Is, where they were swept 3-0. None of the three had been good in the three matches. Mendis scored 54 across three innings, Gunathilaka made a total of 26 in three, and Dickwella hit 14 runs in his two outings to go with a barren run behind the stumps. They will now likely be subject to substantial criticism over their off-field behaviour. (Daily News, 28.6.2021)

England beat the touring Sri Lankans by 5 wickets (with 91 balls remaining), in the first ODI match, played at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street. Scores:

Sri Lanka – 185 in 42.3 Overs (K.Perera 73, Hasaranga 54, Karunaratne 19no, Woakes 4/18, Willey 3/44)

England – 189/5 in 34.5 Overs (Root 79no, Bairstow 43, Ali 28, Chamera 3/50, Karunaratne 1/39, B. Fernando 1/50

Player of the Match: Chris Woakes (England)

ODI Debut: Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Praveen Jayawickrama (all Sri Lanka)

Match Points: England 10, Sri Lanka 0.