Volunteers needed for Cricket World Cup 2011 in Sri Lanka
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The World Cup Secretariat in Sri Lanka will be accepting applications for volunteers for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The secretariat is seeking to fill 150 positions in Hambantota, Pallekele and Colombo.
"We are targeting school leavers, University students and graduates, as well as experienced corporate workers. Regional recruitment drives and walk-in interviews will be organized between 9th and 20th December 2010," according to Shevanthi Fernando, Volunteer Manager at the World Cup Secretariat in Sri Lanka.
"Interviews and selection will be done from mid December. There are limited slots we encourage interested individuals to apply early. Suitable candidates will be selected on a first come basis, based on their alignment to our requirements."
Application forms will become available over the coming days via Sri Lanka Cricket's website: www.srilankacricket.lk
Labels: Cricket, Sri Lanka, Volunteers
posted @ 3:15 PM,
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Sri Lanka World Cup Secretariat's inefficiency
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
There are serious concerns over Sri Lanka’s venues for the 2011 Cricket World Cup and if they will be ready in time, after journalists were given a tour of the construction at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo yesterday, ahead of the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies, starting today.
R. Premadasa Stadium right now is well behind schedule and is not going to meet the ICC’s deadline of 30th November, by which period all construction should be complete.
Incidentally, not too long ago, Sri Lanka’s World Cup Director, Suraj Dandeniya, claimed that Sri Lanka’s venues were "ten days ahead of schedule," but nothing could be further from the truth as the ICC guidelines demand the following: "…deadline date for the completion of all stadia construction work to be 30th of November 2010 and all playing facilities to be match-ready by 31st of December 2010."
A media release sent out by Sri Lanka Cricket said construction of the venue will only be complete by 31st of December and appears to admit that Sri Lanka Cricket has broken ICC guidelines.
Although the reconstructed R. Premadasa Stadium has several new stands, not a single one of them has been complete as of now and none of them are going to be ready before the November 30 deadline and Sri Lanka could be rebuked strongly by the ICC for these serious delays.
In a state of panic, Sri Lanka Cricket was quick to issue a media release yesterday, but at the same time was concerned that photographers were taking pictures of the half finished stadium.
Labourers were putting finishing touches to the dressing rooms yesterday while other important locations such as the Match Referee's Room, Commentator's Boxes and the Press Box were incomplete and some of these facilities were temporarily shifted elsewhere.
Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket may as well close down the venue for public access as there is not a single stand where spectators can witness the game from and the safety of everyone entering the venue remains a huge concern.
Yesterday, players and team officials were seen struggling to get to practice nets through muddy narrow roads and with the venue in such a state, the teams would have found it extremely difficult to concentrate on cricket.
R. Premadasa will host the most number of games as a World Cup venue. Seven matches will be played there including a quarter-final and a semi-final encounter and with the World Cup just 87 days away, the organisers seem to be running out of time to complete construction.
Nishantha Ranatunga, the controversial Secretary of the Interim Committee, on a few occasions has spoken of corporate governance at Sri Lanka Cricket. Corporate Governance for him seems to be appointing the Chairman’s nephew as the Director of the World Cup Secretariat. Today, the highest paid individual at Sri Lanka Cricket is Suraj Dandeniya - - the nephew of the Chairman of the Interim Committee -- who is the Head of the World Cup Secretariat in Sri Lanka.
There’s another nephew of the Chairman working at the World Cup Secretariat for another large salary and various other individuals were recruited on the recommendations of the Ministers, Secretaries of Ministers and so on.
The only person with any qualification working at the World Cup Secretariat is Sriyan Samararatne, a respected former Air Force official.
The delay in construction is the latest setback in an administration that is struggling to lift itself.
Duleep Mendis, the affable former Captain was told to vacate his position a few months back and wasn’t even given a farewell after the stalwart served the game for over three decades in various capacities at Sri Lanka Cricket, with resounding success as well.
A request by national Captain, Kumar Sangakkara, to reinstate Chandika Hauturusinghe as a coach of the National Team too has not been considered favourably.
More shockingly, it has been revealed that the board officials have asked the country’s Under-19 cricketers to throw away their wickets during an ODI game in England after the board had made a mess of travel arrangements. With these actions, cricket officials in Sri Lanka gave a first-hand experience to young cricketers on how to throw a cricket match. As a result, Sri Lanka missed out on a golden opportunity to record a series win in England.
Despite hiccups such as these, officials like D. S. de Silva and Nishantha Ranatunga have carried on in their capacities as their political clout seem to be standing in good stead. But little do the politicians who back them realise that officials such as de Silva and Ranatunga are doing irreparable damage to the sport.
Labels: ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Sri Lanka
posted @ 10:50 AM,
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About Sri Lanks
Saturday, October 2, 2010
When the noted writer Sir Arthur C Clarke made his home in Sri Lanka in 1956, he claimed the island jewel of the Indian Ocean was the best place in the world from which to view the universe. The author of 2001: A Space Odyssey passed away in 2008, but no doubt the futurist would have logged on to Google Earth to gaze back at his island home from an online universe. And concealed in the sky-high imagery of this teardrop-shaped nation, he would have recognised an amazing diversity for somewhere so compact.
Fringing the coasts is an array of gently arcing golden-sand beaches, now making a comeback after the devastation wreaked by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Zoom closer to spy the giant tanks (artificial reservoirs) built by the first Sinhalese rulers around the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Pollonaruwa. In the Hill Country, a layer of cotton wool clouds obscures the view, mirroring the misty mornings travellers often experience in this area of waterfalls and verdant tea plantations.
To the northwest, a gossamer-thin land bridge almost connects fragile Sri Lanka to the modern juggernaut that is India. Two and a half decades of civil war reinforces this bridge to Tamil Nadu is as much cultural as geographic.
Irrespective of their cultural background, Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim locals will welcome you with pride. Pride in their criminally underrated cuisine, pride in their national parks and wildlife, and – especially – pride in their national cricket team. Whether you’re a humble three-wheeler jockey or a British-trained lawyer or doctor, the sport that frequently stops the nation is always worthy of discussion. How will the boys do in the upcoming series against New Zealand? Will the country be ready to host the World Cup in 2011? And have you seen how much that opening batsman from Kandy is earning in the new Indian Premier League?
Faced with funding a war and weathering a global financial crisis, Sri Lanka’s proud population has been doing it tough for a few years. But equipped with a stellar combination of scenery, culture and history, a growing focus on sustainable tourism and (hopefully) a more settled society, Sri Lanka is firmly back on the radar for curious travellers seeking unique experiences.
Labels: Sri Lanka
posted @ 11:35 AM,
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Muralitharan to Have ICC Cricket World Cup Stadium Named after Him
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sri Lanka’s top off spinner may play on his own turf, literally as Sri Lanka plan to name one of the stadiums being built for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 after him.
The stadium being built at Pallekele in Kandy district will be named after their son of the soil, Muttiah Muralitharan. It will be known hereafter as the Muttiah Muralitharan International Cricket Stadium.
The best part is that Murali could well be in action himself when the World Cup comes around as he has made himself available for the Sri Lankan squad should they require him.
Sri Lanka are due to play in one of the three matches scheduled in the course of the World Cup: Pakistan v New Zealand on March 8, Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe on March 10 and Pakistan v Zimbabwe on March 14.
Labels: Muralitharan, Sri Lanka, Stadiums
posted @ 11:44 AM,
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Suriyawewa Stadium, Hambantota, Sri Lanka
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Built for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, Suriyawewa Hambantota International Cricket Stadium is the biggest cricket stadium in Sri Lanka measuring 200 meters x 200 meters. In the photo, for the first time since construction began, teams representing Hambantota and Matara played a friendly match on the new pitch in early July, 2010. Suriyawewa Hambantota International Cricket Stadium will host it's first international match when Sri Lanka play Canada on 20 February, 2011 during the ICC World Cup 2011.
posted @ 11:04 AM,
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Sri Lanks Cricket
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sri Lanka Cricket Interim Committee with D. Somachandra de Silva as President and Nishantha Ranatunga as Secretary and the new members will be celebrating their first anniversary, and can be proud of what they have achieved.
When the new Interim Committee took over the reins of administering the game, they did so with determination and with the will to do things for the game and all that it stands for.
Looking back on the 12 months that have passed they can pat themselves on a job well executed and performed.
In taking strike on unfamiliar territory, they had the blessings of the sports loving President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
This gave them the strength and the courage to step out and put the game on a fast pitch.
“Gamata Cricket” is the credo of President Rajapaksa and the IC is working hard to take the game to the villages where there is untapped potential.
It is said that those who dare win.
The IC piloted by former leg spinning all rounder and national captain D. Somachandra de Silva and another all rounder cricketer Nishantha Ranatunga dared and stepped out like all top batsmen with commitment and dedication to get on top and score for the game.
It is said that stones are thrown on trees that bear fruit. Likewise the IC attracted their fair share of critics.
But what was admirable in the IC was that they continue to ignore the critics and do a job that they had been installed for.
Very soon the 2011 World Cup will be at our door step and the IC has left no stone unturned to see that every thing will be tops when the umpires call play here. Hambantota and Pallekelle will have two stadiums to international standard. Kettarama is being refurbished.
When these stadiums are complete, they will look a picture and will have the necessary facilities to conduct any international tournament even a high profile one like the Indian Premier League.
Once the Pallekelle stadium is completed the Hill Capital can boast of having a stadium to international standard.
Kandy has over the years given great cricketers to the game and the present Captain Kumar Sangakkara and vice captain Muttiah Muralitheran hail from there.
Here are the achievements of the Interim Committee in brief-
* The number of contracted players have been increased to 75 from 25.This has spurred the younger cricketers to knock on the door for national representation.
* Ten new practice pitches have been constructed at Kettarama.
* The proposed high performance centre will greatly assist cricketers and will provide accommodation for outstation cricketers. It will consist of eight indoor practice wickets and a swimming pool.
* At an international event held at the Taj Samudra, fifty Sri Lankans who had done their bit for the development of cricket in the country were felicitated.
* For the first time in international cricket Sri Lanka was ranked number two in the Test rankings and was in line to create history if they beat India.
* Had they beaten India they would have been the best team in the Test scene.
* Thanks to the unstinted efforts of the chairman and members of the Interim Committee there will be a surfeit of cricket with inbound tours by Pakistan and New Zealand and India for a triangular. Sri Lanka toured India and played three Tests and a series of one-dayers.
* Sri Lanka toured Bangladesh for a triangular followed by the World T20 in the Caribbean and the ground breaking tour of the US where two Twenty20 games were played with New Zealand.
* The future cricketing calendar for the country looks wonderful and cricket lovers are in for good times.
* New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka will soon play a triangular. In November the country will host the West Indians for a Test series and a one day bash.
* Sri Lanka will tour Australia in October followed by the all-important World Cup in 2011.
* It is great that the ICC has asked Sri Lanka Cricket to conduct the next Twenty20 World Cup in 2012.
* This is because there are plenty of international stadiums available and the ICC is happy that the game and the administration is in safe hands and is on the right track.
* So the Interim Committee can sit back and pat themselves on a job perfectly executed. X
posted @ 10:59 AM,
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Asia Cup to World Cup
Friday, June 25, 2010
M.S Dhoni said “Asia cup will be a great preparation opportunity for India’s 2011 cricket world cup campaign” at the outset of Asia Cup 2010. Seems as if the Indian brigade have taken it rather seriously as they made the most of this opportunity & given nation a faint hope of 2011 Cricket World Cup. The manner in which they crushed Srilanka to reclaim their lost authority in last league game was relieving to say the least.
Having pulled off easy victory over Bangladesh & a cliffhanger with Pakistan, Indian team displayed great show with bat & bowl to such an extent that even the lankan tigers failed to make any mark. The Indian team made all the right moves & srilankans who until now were looking dangerous surrendered meekly in final of Asia Cup 2010. Having lent an embarrassing defeat to the Indians just two days ago, Srilankans seem to got complacent & lost the plot very badly in the final.
India posting 268/6 in 50 overs challenged Srilanka to conquer it under the flood-lights. Srilanka in reply was never allowed to even a decent start as M.S Dhoni filled the inner ring with strategic field placements. Even singles were dried as the young Indian put an impressive & one of their best fielding effort in recent times. The bowlers kept bowling a tight line & took the advantage of strong breeze sweeping through the ground. Srilankan chase tottered as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals & no substantial partnerships building whatsoever in their innings. Nuwan Kulasekara & Chamara Kapugedera gave a tiny shimmering hope to the srilankan camp during batting powerplay but Ravindra Jadega eventually struck gold by getting Kulasekera stumped by M.S Dhoni. Eventually Srilanka were bowled out in the 45th over as India went to win by 81 runs.
Smiles spread across the Indian camps as they won deservedly the Asia Cup 2010 in 15 years. With Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar Sehwag & Yuvraj Singh set to return to the Indian camp, the 2011 cricket world cup seems a possible dream for team India now. They do have a few chinks in their armor but with still time to go they would be looking to plug them up & give the nation a more bigger occasion to celebrate in the coming year. #
Labels: Asia Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, India, Sri Lanka
posted @ 11:42 AM,
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The Squads
Thursday, June 24, 2010
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, Ravichandran Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt (vice-capt), Imran Farhat, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman.
Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Muttiah Muralitharan (vice-capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Farveez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chanaka Welegedara, Lasith Malinga, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Thilina Kandamby.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo.
Labels: Asia Cup, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Players, Squads, Sri Lanka, Teams
posted @ 4:19 PM,
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India, Sri Lanka Before Asia Cup Final
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara warned that his team would “hit the ground running” against India in Thursday’s Asia Cup final at Dambulla.
“A final is a final,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“Winning an Asia Cup especially at home would be a special thing.
“It’s going to really inspire us and we are going to hit the ground running and really try and win it.”
India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, meanwhile, insisted his team was not under any added pressure despite being beaten by the hosts by seven wickets in their final pool match.
“As a cricketer you see it as just another game,” he said.
“There is no point thinking it as a final. We are playing against Sri Lanka, that’s it.”
Dhoni demanded more consistency from his bowlers.
“I think they have done decently for us in patches,” he said.
“It will be really good to win a few games where you put 240 or 260 on the board and win.
“You can’t all the time expect your batsmen to score 280 or more and make you win the game.
“It will be good if we can do that. But then again our strength has been batting. We are a side that relies more on our batting than our bowling.”
Sri Lanka, who had never batted under lights in their previous two matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh, invited India to bat first earlier this week.
“It was another step towards challenging ourselves to get a bit better and a bit tougher,” said Sangakkara, whose team are aiming for a hat-trick of Asia Cup wins after winning in 2006 and 2008.
Teams
India (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Kartik, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha.
Sri Lanka (from): Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralidaran, Farveez Maharoof, Thilina Kandamby, Chanaka Welagedera, Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv. —AP
Labels: Asia Cup, India, Sri Lanka
posted @ 4:16 PM,
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Asia Cup vs FIFA
Monday, June 14, 2010
By Sulakshana
The biggest sporting event of the year literally kicked off this week taking the undiverted attention of all sports lovers world wide. But this does not mean that the other sports are put on hold. The Asia Cup is clashing head on with FIFA.
The Asia Cup first played in 1984 is seen as a one day international tournament where the Asian cricket teams meet each other to prove the best in the continent. It is a platform where some of the strongest international cricket teams in the world such as Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan battle for one trophy.
The most popular sport in southern Asia at least is undoubtedly- cricket. However, football is also making an impact on the continents sports fans and the clash of the Asia Cup with the Football world cup may mean that viewers will have a hard time choosing one.
Given the public frenzy over the FIFA World Cup, Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi is of the opinion that fans would give the upcoming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka due attention.
Talking to media persons before leaving for Sri Lanka for the quadrangular one-day tournament starting June 15, Afridi said he believes that fans would tune in to the cricket matches amidst the madness for football.
“Football is huge, but I hope after the 90 minutes of excitement (of a World Cup game) fans will give cricket its due attention and follow the Asia Cup,” The News quoted Afridi, as saying.
Afridi said that while his team will also be following the football World Cup, the prime attention would be on cricket.
“Like millions of Asians I also follow football and my favourite team is Brazil, so like my team mates I will follow World Cup matches as and when we have time, but the focus remains the Asia Cup,” he said.
Afridi also said he is hopeful of good results in the Asia Cup.
“We have all trained really hard and we see the Asia Cup as the first part of our preparations for the 2011 World Cup so this is a important tournament for us,” he said.
The captain’s statement reflects the attitude of most Asian countries where football is idolised nearly as much as cricket. The popularity of cricket in each country is directly proportional to the strength of that countries cricket team. Another factor that helps cricket to retain its throne is the fact that no South Asian team is taking part in FIFA. However, sports fans are more into good quality sports rather than seeing their own team play.
The Asian football teams have always been overshadowed by the more sponsored and publicised cricket teams and this may be the reason why the region has no strong football team yet to give a challenge to the westerners as they are doing with cricket.
This years Asia Cup is hosted by Sri Lanka who has appeared in every final match of the Cup since it was initiated, and will see the participation of the best teams in the region as well as budding new teams such as Afghanistan.
The tenth Asia Cup will be played from June 15-24 in Dambulla, in central Sri Lanka, about 150 kilometres northeast of capital Colombo, coinciding with the month-long FIFA world cup, which kicked off in South Africa this Friday.
Labels: Asia Cup, Cricket, FIFA, Shahid Afridi, Sri Lanka
posted @ 11:01 AM,
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ICC World Cup 2011 and Pakistan’s Security Situation
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Despite perennial concerns over security issues on the Asian subcontinent, it was selected to host the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. The four Asian Test-playing nations- Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka- are scheduled to host matches in that tournament. The recent terror attack against the Sri Lankan team and ICC officials in Pakistan has left the short term future of Pakistan in doubt.
No longer can it be said that terrorists in Asia do not attack sportsmen. Sri Lanka and India have had terrorist strikes in recent time. However, the 2009 terrorist attacks in Pakistan advanced the fears of cricket playing nations significantly. If the security officials in Pakistan could not protect one team in a bilateral series, how can they host multiple teams at the same time?
Also, the attacks in Pakistan affect the other hosting nations as well. Proximity and recurrent conflict would result in the fear of contagion as far as terrorist activity goes. The ICC is likely to review the ability of Asia to host the 2011 World Cup as a result. Given that India is such a major force in world cricket, it is not going to be an easy decision for the ICC. However, safety is a critical concern and is likely to have more weight than India’s economic considerations.
2008 Champions Trophy was shifted from Pakistan because of security concerns. These security concerns existed long before the attacks against the Sri Lankan cricket team in a bilateral series. Extending this logic, it is clear the chance of the tournament even being held in Asia may be under threat.
The integrity of a World Cup event involving Pakistan as a host may also be heavily compromised. In the 1996 World Cup, the West Indies and Australia forfeited matches played in Sri Lanka because of fear of attack. In the 2003 World Cup, New Zealand forfeited a match played in Nairobi for the sake of safety.
The forfeitures had limited impact on the 1996 World Cup. However, New Zealand’s 2003 forfeiture ensured that Kenya scraped through the group stage with bonus points. Kenya went on to reach the semi-finals on the back of that forfeiture- a result that ultimately undermined the quality of the tournament. The ICC is likely to factor this into the hosting conundrum, especially with the ‘old establishment’ (England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) having security fears.
The forfeitures had limited impact on the 1996 World Cup. However, New Zealand’s 2003 forfeiture ensured that Kenya scraped through the group stage with bonus points. Kenya went on to reach the semi-finals on the back of that forfeiture- a result that ultimately undermined the quality of the tournament. The ICC is likely to factor this into the hosting conundrum, especially with the ‘old establishment’ (England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) having security fears.
The attack against the Sri Lankan team has put Asia’s hosting of the 2011 World Cup in serious jeopardy. One of the ramifications of that attack is that cricketers are no longer safe in Pakistan. Even Asian cricketers are not safe. With the 2009 edition of the IPL being moved to South Africa and Bangladesh not hosting any teams in the short term – it seems unlikely that the third-largest sporting even will be hosted on the Asian subcontinent. There are still two years left, but the deep scars left by the 2009 assault of Sri Lanka’s cricketers will be difficult to ignore.
Author: Andre V
Labels: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Security, Sri Lanka
posted @ 11:12 AM,
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