Peoples Sportsperson of the year 2011 - Sanath Jayasuriya

Master Blaster Sanath Jayasuriya recently won the ' Peoples Sportsperson of the year 2011 ' award.


Nominated Names:

1.Sanath Jayasuriya
2.Kumar Sangakkara
3.Muttiah Muraitharan
4.T M Dilshan
5.Susanthika Jayasinghe


Winner : Sanath Jayasuriya


For more details click on Peoples awards official website and Nielsen Official website release.

Why Jayasuriya & Vaas are essential for World Cup 2011

With the dawn the New Year, players of all countries contesting the 2011 World Cup are hard at practice. The countries have named their provisional squads of 30 players, from which the selectors will pick a squad of 15 by January 15 according to the rules of the International Cricket Council.

The Sri Lanka 30-member squad is being put through their paces by the coaches comprising Trevor Bayliss, Stuart Law, Champaka Ramanayake and Ruwan Kalpage.

Bayliss and Law are concentrating on the batting techniques, while Ramanayake and Kalpage are watching the bowling and fielding drills.

The squad is made up of tried and tested players who have been in the constellation of either Test, one-day or Twenty20 cricket. So there is not much to correct in them except the fine tuning of techniques for the Tests and the psychological finesse that goes with the terrain.

Talking situations

No doubt the preparations within the training squad should include discussions on various scenarios that range from the strategies of our teams and those of our opponents, from the type of wickets the curators will prepare and those that they will not prepare, from the quality of bowling to aggression of batting and …of course in these times of the effects of global warming, the vagaries and impacts of the weather.

Having played the game and being involved in writing about the game for over four decades, and having followed the failures and successes of our cricketers, we make bold to hazard a guess of the likely squad of 15 should be for the 2011 World Cup. We do so with all due respect to the selectors led by former batting great Aravinda de Silva, Ranjit Fernando, Amal Silva and Shabir Asgerally who when they sit to pencil the final squad will do so with none to fear.

Their target is to pick the squad that will deliver and bring the big prize in one-day cricket home. They have been in selection game before and are thick skinned enough to receive bouquets or the brickbats that await them after selection with equanimity. These selectors are gentleman of repute and neither fear nor favour affects them.

Arm chair critics

The brickbats will come from arm chair critics many of whom may not have handled a bat or know neither a chuck from legitimate delivery. And so thick skins and a sense of humour is what the Selectors and Sri Lanka Cricket led by D.S. de Silva need.

The selectors have made it known that they will look for the complete team. Translated, this means that they will mix youth with experience. With the World Cup not a pitch for the timid, there is no substitute for experience.

That is where the experience of Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas is essential. The selectors are all men of honesty and great integrity and who knows what it is to play a straight bat. Like in a team where only 11 can play, the ICC rules require that they name only 15. They would love to name more. But it is 15 and that’s it!

So here we go and here’s our 15. Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Matthews, Thisara Perera, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitheran, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekera, Ajantha Mendis, Malinga Bandara, Lasith Malinga.

The one player we would have loved to include was Dinesh Chandimal. But with only a squad of 15 allowed, it was with great reluctance that we had to leave him out of our radar.

J and V essential

Jayasuriya and Vaas are essentials in the team. They have been in World Cups and finals before and know the frying pan heat that exists and are the ideal foam and hoses to douse the fire.

Jayasuriya need not allow the political tag that he is carrying worry him. As usual he will have the green-eyeds baying for his ouster. Cricket is a different ball game and he has the all round experience and the talent to prove his worth, value and necessity in the team.

Jayasuriya has been tops at training. He has shown that age has not slowed his reflexes nor dimmed his enthusiasm and hunger. He is performing every drill like he did a decade ago and is looking ferocious like a lion in hunger and waiting to pounce and devour. He must be let loose.

Chaminda Vaas too has shown that he has not lost his ability, although he has slowed in pace. He is now concentrating on line, length and movement and pushing batsmen into the run drought zone. His batting skills have improved tremendously and he has shown an opening batsman’s flair in recent times.

Different stroke

The choosing of the final eleven to take the field we leave that to those who will have to execute a different stroke which will be no easy task, because they will be on a sticky wicket. However the playing eleven will be known, only after a look at the wicket. If it is a green top then it is obvious that Sri Lanka will go in pace heavy. If it is a dry strip, then it will be spin-heavy.

However everything will depend on the winning of the all important toss. What ever the playing eleven, if skipper Sangakkara has luck with the toss everything could be fine. But losing the toss could put us in a tricky situation. Sub continent pitches are notorious for assisting spin. With this in mind Sri Lanka will go in with spin reducing the pace battery. Sri Lanka will be playing most of their matches on home soil. With this being the case, with the home advantage of preparing the wickets, although there is no written law, it is likely that the curators will concentrate on wickets assisting spin. The home team must take advantage when preparing pitches. We have the world’s best spinner in Muttiah Muralitheran and the other spinners in the squad are equally good and the opposing batsmen will not find it easy coping with them.

With final 15-member squad picking time nearing all eyes will be focused on the four-member selection panel waiting to see the squad that they will toss out to carry Sri Lanka’s challenge in winning the biggest one-day cricket prize the 2011 World Cup. We have made our informed guess and prediction, but like all should, we shall take the selectors’ decision with grace as we have confidence in their collective wisdom. We wish them well.

(Source)

Jayasuriya, Murali among greatest - Clive Lloyd

Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd has named two Sri Lankan veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan as candidates to form the greatest One Day International team of all time.

Dashing left hander Jayasuriya and legendary off spinner Muralitharan both members of the 30 members World Cup squad are slotted in the opening and spin category respectively to form the greatest One Day International team of all time.

The other Sri Lankan players who are included in the list of players are Aravinda de Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Chaminda Vaas.

The International Cricket Council's official website is asking supporters from across the globe to select their choice of the greatest One Day International match and team of all-time to mark the 40th anniversary of ODI cricket.

In his Greatest ODI Team of All Time, Lloyd believed quite a few West Indies players would make the cut. "Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall, would be some of the contenders for sure."

Lloyd named some of the candidates for the team: Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralidaran, Daniel Vettori, Sanath Jayasuriya, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, Javed Miandad, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist and Wasim Akram. "I would love to lead a side like this. It will be dream come true. If I cannot lead, then there is no one better than Imran Khan for the job,"

As ODI cricket celebrates its 40th anniversary in January 2011, Lloyd went down memory lane about his side which is rated the best ever in cricket history.

"I think the approach we had, showed the way. We played quite a few shots and enjoyed our cricket. I am sure some of the teams picked it up from there. Sri Lanka certainly did with Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana in 1996.

'It was our thinking that shots must be played and the paying public must be entertained. That is the reason the crowds enjoy watching one-day cricket," said Lloyd.

Lloyd acknowledged that one-day cricket has changed quite a lot since his time at least in terms of batting.

"At least now they are playing a lot more shots. Now they innovate a lot. You have the Dilscooop, the reverse sweep, slog sweep and a lot more. That's what crowds want, entertainment. All this makes one-day cricket exciting," added Lloyd.

Lloyd calls one-day cricket the greatest innovation for the sport.

He was part of the early years of the format in the 1960s in England when it was played on Sunday afternoons between a select side called International Cavaliers and retired and current county cricketers.

"Whoever thought this format up deserves credit. As the craze grew everybody realised it was a bonanza. It started off as a 40-over game, went to 60 overs and we even played 55 overs a side in county cricket. It (ODIs) has improved the standards of fielding, raised tactical awareness and also brought in innovation."

Lloyd was also part of the other key moment in history when World Series Cricket (WSC) brought in new things like day-night cricket, white ball and coloured clothing in the late 1970s. "We have to thank Kerry Packer for these things.

He was instrumental for that. We owe him a great debt of gratitude," said Lloyd.

So dominant was Lloyd's side in that era that it made the final of the first three ICC Cricket World Cups with absolute ease and even won two of those editions (1975, 1979).

All-round fear by evergreen Sana‎th

Penetrative bowling from paceman Nuwan Pradeep and veteran Sanath Jayasuriya helped Bloomfield beat Saracens CC by 51 runs in their SLC Premier limited overs cricket tournament Tier match worked off at Reid Avenue today.

Bloomfield: 209 in 46.3 overs (S. Jayantha 53, P. Jayawardena 27, C. Silva 48, M. Ranasinghe 2 for 28, L. Dias 3 for 32, E. Gangoda 2 for 11.)

Saracens CC: 158 in 38.2 overs (A. Suranga 35, E. Gangoda 19, D. Randhika 48 n.o, N. Pradeep 5 for 30, S. Jayasuriya 3 for 15)

Jayasuriya will be considered as a specialist batsman for WC 2011 - Aravinda

Chairman of National Selectors Aravinda de Silva stated that his committee will weigh more on experience when naming the final squad of 15 players for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.

The national selectors on Monday named a 30 member preliminary squad in preparation for the World Cup and it will be pruned down to 15 by the first week of January next year in keeping with the ICC regulations.

Strong combination

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be worked off from February 19 to April 2 and will be co-hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Aravinda de Silva a member of the 1996 World Cup winning team said that all players in the preliminary 30 member squad have justified themselves to be in this position as they look to form a powerful combination of youth and experience.

Specialist batsman

He said that veteran Sanath Jayasuriya will be considered as a specialist batsman and experienced left arm seamer Chaminda Vaas as an opening bowler. However their selection for the final 15 member squad will depend on how well they could balance the team.

De Silva regretted the fact that they missed out a great opportunity of seeing some of the players in action who were earmarked for the probable final squad following the postponement of the five match one day international series against the West Indies.

As a result they were forced to consider the past performances and the international experience of some of the players before naming them in the preliminary 30 member squad.

De Silva stressed the importance of the players having some exposure at international level ahead of the World Cup and said that Sri Lanka Cricket are exploring the possibilities of playing at least a couple of matches against Bangladesh.

Training sessions

He noted that with no competitive cricket at the moment the players have organized a series of training sessions both at day and night at all World Cup venues namely Hambantota, Pallekele and R Premadasa International Stadium.

No passengers

De Silva further noted that there will be no passengers in the final 15 member squad and each player will need to play a specific role given the occasion.

He recalled an example how Upul Chandana even as 12th man played a decisive role on the field during the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal match against England.

Chairman national selectors also believed that the final 15 member squad should include a variety of players who are capable of turning around the game during different match situations.

(Source: Dailynews.lk)

Jayasuriya, Vaas in list of WC 2011 probables

Sri Lanka has picked veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas in a preliminary squad for next year's World Cup.

Sri Lanka Cricket released a list of 30 players on Monday, of which 15 will be selected for the final squad.

If selected, Jayasuriya will be playing in his sixth succesive World Cup. The dashing opener took the world by storm in the 1996 edition, when he along with Romesh Kaluwitharana took the opposition bowlers to the sword during the field restrictions. Jayasuriya was declared the player of the tournament on that occasion.

Out of favour medium pacer Vaas has been a useful contributor for the Lankans over the years and at 36 will be hoping to feature in yet another World Cup.

List of probables:

T M Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Taranga Paranavithana, Lahiru Thirimanna, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardena, Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedara, Angelo Mathews, Tissara Perera, F. Maharoof, Jeewan Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Hearth, Malinga Bandara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dilhara Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad, Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Wellagedara, Nuwan Pradeep, Thilan Thushara

Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas included in World Cup final thirty

Sidelined veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas have been included in the World Cup final thirty which the Sri Lanka Cricket has to forward to the ICC by the 10th of this month, the Sunday Times learns.

Vaas, the 36-year-old left arm seam bowler who had a brilliant stint with Worcestershire during the English summer this year, was a strong contender for a comeback with the slacking fast-bowling arsenal in the local stores.

Vaas who has 400 international one-day wickets to his credit played his last ODI against India at the R. Premadasa Stadium on August 8, 2008 and has been overlooked since. Vaas was a member of the 1996 World Cup winning Sri Lankan squad.

He played his first ODI also against India in Rajkot way back in February 1994. The other veteran, Sanath Jayasuriya, is a champion of 444 ODIs and has scored 13,428 runs in 432 innings and was named the Most Valuable Player at the 1996 World Cup which Sri Lanka won.

Jayasuriya made his ODI debut against Australia in Melbourne on December 26, 1989 and played his last ODI against India in New Delhi on December 27 2009. A left arm orthodox spinner, Jayasuriya in his 444 appearances bagged 322 wickets with his best being 6/29 against England. In his last stages with the national team he was used more as a stock left arm spinner and a lower middle order batsman.

The Sunday Times exclusively revealed that both Vaas and Jayasuriya were back at training with the Lankan squad in September 2010. From the very inception both cricketers made it very clear of their intentions of being a part of the 2011 World Cup squad.

Meanwhile, the selectors have named a probe-in-the-dark squad of sixteen for the first two one-day Internationals against the West Indies to christen the Sooriyawewa Stadium on Thursday and Saturday. 
Still trying to get their final combinations ready for the World Cup 2011, the selectors have left out their champion match winner Muttiah Muralitharan, thus depriving the legend some much-needed match practice.

The top heavy Lankan batting line up has been cushioned with the inclusion of dependable Thilan Samaraweera, but the unproven talents of Chamara Kapugedera and Chamara Silva have been persisted with while futuristic Dinesh Chandimal has been sidelined again. However the inclusion of Samaraweera should take a lot of pressure off the shoulders of Dilshan, skipper Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena, a batsman who has been going through a lean patch lately.

Once again, the lower middle order has been beefed up by Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera. One also wonders how leg-spinning batsman Jeewan Mendis could fit into the final XI in these two games with the top seven reading Tharanga, Dilshan, Sangakkara, Mahela, Thilan, Angelo and Thisara Perera who has more than proved his worth with some telling contributions in the recent past.
Jeewan also may not be opted only as a bowler as the selectors have put their faith on Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herat and Suraj Randiv.

The three seamers in the side are Nuwan Kulasekera, Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando. Nevertheless the selectors have left a door open for themselves by naming the squad only for the first two games.

(Source)

Jayasuriya & Namal: Two MPs to bat for ICC Cricket World Cup

MPs, Namal Rajapaksa and Sanath Jayasuriya were present for the opening of the ticket reservations for the ICC Cricket World Cup which was announced at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota yesterday.(Source)

Sanath and Mahela make an appearance at Zig Tech Reebok event

September 29, 2010: It was a celebrity event for footwear giant Reebok when Sri Lankan cricketers Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayewardene made an appearance at the launch of their newest shoe ‘ZIG TECH’ at their flagship Maitland Crescent store on Tuesday.

Unveiling the new shoe and trying it on themselves, the cricketers thanked Reebok for their commitment to enhancing the standards of cricket in Sri Lanka by ensuring the team has the exact requirements necessary for peak performance.

Other cricketing Reebok brand ambassadors in the Asian region are M.S. Dhoni, Rahul Dravid and Shoaib Malik.

Sanath, Vaas off to the Caribbean

Batting maestro Sanath Jayasuriya and veteran all-rounder Chaminda Vaas are among hosts of Sri Lankan ex-cricketers who will represent Sri Lanka at the four-nation CLOBI Cup World Master’s Cricket Tournament to be held in Barbados, West Indies.

The tournament, a brainchild of Cricket Legend’s of Barbados is aimed at brining the legends of cricket together for the purpose of providing a world class, exciting and entertaining tournament to Barbados, the region and the world. All matches will be played at the Kensington Oval, formerly known as Pickwick Cricket Club.

The one-week event will commence on October 30 while the finals is to be played on November 5. 

Sri Lankans legends will be up against the likes of Mohammed Azharuddin and Javagal Srinath from India, Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe from England and Courtney Walsh, Courtly Ambrose and Carl Hooper from West Indies. Former Sri Lanka skipper Marvan Atapattu will captain Sri Lanka legends team.

Though Sri Lanka is yet to finalize the team, players Romesh Kaluwitharana, Upul Chandana, and Indika de Saram have all confirmed their participation for the tour.

-