posted June 27, 2000 08:58 AM            

The home side were outclassed in the first two Tests and even their captain Sanath Jayasuriya admits they are likely to struggle at the Asgiriya International Stadium here in Sri lanka's central hills.

"The Pakistanis are too good for us at the moment," he said. "Whatever we do, nothing is going our way, sometimes we are unlucky also."

Sri Lanka's much vaunted batting line-up faltered repeatedly in the first two Tests.

"The Pakistani fast bowlers are bowling superbly with the new ball as well as the old. We cannot afford to relax for a moment. Our batsmen are going through a very hard time," said Jayasuriya.

Sri Lanka have recalled Kumar Dharmasena, the right-armer who bowls fast off-breaks to boost a bowling line-up which was hit for 600 runs in the Galle Test, which finished last Saturday.

Dharmasena has been out of international cricket for almost two years, after the International Cricket Council (ICC) advisory body on illegal bowling found his action suspect.

Since then Dharmasena has undergone changes to his bowling action and two weeks ago the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka gave him the green light for selection. He replaces left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

Left-arm fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa returns to the side at the expense of Ravindra Pushpakumara. Zoysa, who has a history of back injuries, was rested from the second Test.

Sri Lanka may also blood a wicket-keeper batsman, either Kumar Sangakkara or Prasanna Jayawardene in place of the out-of-form Romesh Kaluwitharana.

The venue itself does not give the home country any encouragement. It was here that six years ago, Sri Lanka were shot out for their lowest-ever Test score - 71.

To make matters worse, the two bowlers responsible for the catastrophe were Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, still the spearheads of the Pakistan bowling attack.

The lethal pair have made life almost as difficult for the Sri Lankan batsmen in the present series.

Akram has nine wickets and Waqar 11. They are supported by Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood with four wickets apiece, and off-spinner Arshad Khan with nine.

With his bowlers on form, Pakistan captain Moin Khan has not had too much to worry about.,

"I think it is always easy for any captain when he has Wasim Akram in the side and young players like Azhar Mahmood and Abdur Razzaq," said Moin under whose leadership Pakistan has won their first Test series.

Moin took over the captaincy at a time when Pakistan cricket was going through a lean period, partly due to internal politics. But within three months he has turned the team into world beaters.

They narrowly lost the Test series in the Caribbean 1-0 and have won three one-day tournaments in a row at Sharjah, in the Caribbean and at Dhaka.

Moin said that they were going for a clean sweep of the series to erase the memory of the 2-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of Sri Lanka at home in March.

posted June 27, 2000 07:29 PM         

Cricket is an example of good sportsmanship,
where the playing of the game fairly is primary and winning is secondary(ideally)
something ranjan knows nothing of.

Our English team and all our county teams have pakistani/jamaican/sri lankan/banghaladeshi players and we steadily work towards better racial harmony in all other areas of our society. We have no room for unreformed racists and they will eventually die out. Ranjan lives in one of the m0st free societies on earth, he has freedom of speech, freedom to make money, freedom to travel, freedom to think your own thoughts . Something you wont get under prabananakan is any of the above.

posted June 27, 2000 10:40 PM            

I believe that the first Sri Lankan Test Match was played in Colombo with England. The first ever captain of the Team(I can't recall his name,Bandula Warnapura??) went to South Africa to play and banned for life. The second and my most favourite Captain Dulip Medis, Arjuna Ranadunga, Asanda de mel, Aravinda de silva group. But, over the years, we Tamil People in Jaffna was betrayed by you sinhalease in each and every way. This is why HONESTLY OUR HEARTS DOES NOT FEEL WE ARE BELONG TO SHRI LANKA, LION FLAG AND SINHALA CRICKET TEAM.

But, for the past 15 yrs or so, I have noticed something, in every matches, ALWAYS ONLY ONE TAMIL SELECTED TO PLAY BY YOU PEOPLE?

WERE THERE NOT MORE THAT ONE TAMIL CRICKETER QUALIFIED TO PLAY AT ONE TIME? WHY?

WAS IT A 15 YRS CO-INCIDENT? OR YOUR SYSTAMATIC OPPRESSION ON TAMIL PEOPLE?

posted June 27, 2000 11:31 PM            

BUT

posted June 28, 2000 09:03 AM            

You haven't answer to my simple question?

In 20 yrs of Shri Lankan Cricket Team history, why there were only ONE TAMIL SELECTED to play in every games played?

And also, always, just to fake us, you include a Tamil in the team and at the last minute of the play you take his name out and include another Sinhalavan. This has been the case in every matches until the phenominon called "Mutttiah Muralitharan"

WHY?

Just answer to my simple question?

posted June 28, 2000 09:38 AM         

Hey Ranjan do I detect a tinge of sadness in your tone? I feel for you. If Tamils have been discriminated against in an institutional way I must agree that fighting against it is fully justified. Ruling elites all over the world choose their own chums every time. But is this evil that is being perpetrated on the poor people of Sri Lanka the answer? No it is not. The cause of racial harmony has been set back a thousand years by this rankly evil conflict.

posted June 28, 2000 11:40 AM            

The reason there arn't many Tamils in the SL Cricket team is that Mr. Prabakaran has forced the Tamil people to play a different game of cricket, not with bat & ball, but with an M-16 and granades. Fortunately the Tamils who live among the Sinhalese were not effected by these 'games'. Sad, isn't it "Ranjan_Reborn"?

Also "Ranjan" you probably had problems with the sinhalese when you were in SL, but let me tell you- times have changed. Some of my very best friends are Tamils. If you were oppressed, consider it the doing of a small group of unruly people who are present in every culture.

I hope you reply to this message so that all of us can see who is right whereas this matter is concerned. And please don't answer in a racist fashion. You will only disgrace all the Tamils.

Regards to you "Ranjan" from a Sinhalese 17yr old- who tries to keep his eyes open to all.

posted June 28, 2000 06:19 PM         

Apart from Murali, following Tamil players have also been successful in making the Sri Lankan criket team (this list is just from the top of my head... I'm sure there have been many more Tamils).

Russel Arnold
Vinothen John
Sridharan Jeganathan
K.T.Francis
Mario Villavarayan
U. Karnain

Now according to your "argument" if you take these numbers as a percentage of the Tamil population to Sinhalese population, I think it is quite impressive. In any case, you cannot have a quota system for selecting sports teams. You get in according to your talent and skill. See what has happened to the latest South African sports teams because of the quota system imposed on them - their rugby and soccer teams have slumped because of some "ordinary" players who are forced into into the team because of their skin colour than their skill level.

Furthermore, if your argument is valid, how come Muslims in Sri Lanka are not bringing this up as well? I mean there are no muslims in the current Sri Lankan cricket team are there?

posted June 28, 2000 09:56 PM         

I tried to get the message accross to you that there is not much point in getting into a discussion with brain-dead Ranjan. However you folks keep doing it.

Anyway my 2 cents into cricket. We had lot of trouble support the ONLY TAMIL GUY in the team so that is more than enough.

WE ARE NOT AGAINST TAMILS WE ARE AGAINSTS TERRORISTS LIKE RANJAN.

posted June 30, 2000 04:02 AM            

lanka s's post was that admission to the team is based on talent and skill ... not to fill a quota that says 12.2% of the cricket team has to be Tamil because the population is divided as such ...