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Official ICC Test and ODI Ranking
- Test - 4th
- ODI - 7th
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Miscellaneous
Highest Totals in International Cricket : - Test - 952/6 vs India
- ODI - 443/9 vs Netherlands
- Twenty20 - 260/6 vs Kenya
- By SRI LANKA
IPL or Eng Tour?
This is all the debate these days…
The English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) recently announced the schedule for Sri Lanka’s tour to England in 2009. It had been finalized only couple of days back by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, Arjuna Ranatunga and was said to fill the void created by ECB’s cutting down of ties with Zimbabwe cricket. Incidently, this tour clashes with the schedule of next season’s Indian Premier League(IPL), which a majority of Sri Lanka’s star players are part of. So, if the Eng. tour was to go ahead as planned, it would only leave 10 days for the players to play for their respective teams in the IPL. Thus, it has given rise to the question, as to whether to play for the Eng tour over IPL or play for IPL over Eng tour?
There are many sides to this story. From the players’ side, they are contracted to the IPL for 3yrs and also the Eng tour was unexpected. They had planned to play for IPL next season as there was no international committments and they would prefer the IPL over the Eng tour. They also complain that they were never consulted before finalizing the tour. Given the higher financial benefits of the IPL, and the relatively low pay for the SL cricketers, it seems justifiable on their part to prefer playing for the IPL.
On the other hand, the ECB has taken maximum use of a depleted SL Cricket (Board) to fill their void of the itinery. This tour was not there in the 2009 itinery for SL, it was created out of no where. But, it would help SL Cricket get out of the current bankruptcy. At the same time, it needs to be said that although the board is not required to consult players before they finalize tours, in this particular tour SL Cricket could well have done that, because they were aware that a number of players are contracted to the IPL and it would run concurrently. But, because Ranatunga had equalled the IPL to a sort of instant “maggie noodles” during the IPL, this doesn’t seem that surprising. In that case, though, it is ‘yet another’ poor administration effort on his part.
SL cricket fans are somewhat different to most other nations. We have not seen them throw stones at their cricketers, no matter how humiliatingly they may lose. It is a national obligation for cricketers to be committed to their international cricket schedules. As SL cricket fans we would love to see that our beloved cricketers pay back. Of course, personally, I’d love to see international cricket over IPL any day, no matter how exciting it may be. This, therefore, becomes a testing ground for patriotism. Which tournament would the cricketers go with - proudly representing Sri Lanka at the England tour or play Twenty20 for a higher pay at the IPL ?
On a lighter note, I’ve seen some blaming the IPL for this fiasco. Well, what we must understand is that IPL has both the good and bad, and it cannot be blamed for everything happpening. Furthermore, its administrators have never demanded the players to give the IPl priority ahead of their international commitments. Last time, we saw both Australia and WI play for some matches and leaving India early to play in the test series in WI. Also, if the players were to play for IPL and the tour was to go ahead as planned, it would look like a joke to have an under-par team sent to England - with a new captain, wicket keeper, etc.
The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national cricket team representing Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1975, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test playing nation. The Sri Lankan team transformed themselves from the underdog status to a major cricketing nation during the 1990s. The team went on to take 1996 Cricket World Cup beating Australia in the finals, and becoming the World Champions. Since then, the team continued as a major force in international cricket, with ups and downs in certain periods. The Sri Lanka team did well to reach the finals of 2007 Cricket World Cup but lost to Australia in a rain affected match to become the runners up. The batting of Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva (retired), backed up by the bowling of Muttiah MuralitharanChaminda Vaas among many other talented cricketers has led to the successes of Sri Lankan cricket during the last 15 years. It is administrated by Sri Lanka Cricket. and
World Cup Records by Sri Lanka
- Highest team total - 398/5 against Kenya in 1996.
- Highest partnership(runs) - 183 for the third wicket by Sanath Jayasuriya(115) and Mahela Jayawardene (82) against West Indies in 2007.
- 183 for the third wicket by Asanka Gurusinha (84) and Aravinda de Silva (145) against Kenya in 1996.
- Most number of runs - Sanath Jayasuriya (1165) in 38 matches.
- Highest individual score - Aravinda de Silva (145) against Kenya in 1996.
- Most number of matches played - Sanath Jayasuriya (38).
- Best individual bowling - 6-25 by Chaminda Vaas against Bangladesh in 2003.
- Most number of dismissals (includes wicket-keeping)- Kumar Sangakkara (32) in 21 matches.
- Most number of wickets - Muttiah Muralitharan (53) in 31 matches.
- World's only bowler to take four wickets in four consecutive balls - Lasith Malinga against South Africa in 2007.
- First Sri Lankan bowler to take a World Cup Hatrick - Chaminda Vaas against Bangladesh in 2003.
- World's only bowler to have taken a World Cup Hat-trick in the first three balls of a match - Chaminda Vaas against Bangladesh in 2003.
