Sri Lanka named Dinesh Chandimal as captain for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa despite the fact that he has a charge sheet hovering above his head for refusing to take the field on the third day of the second Test against West Indies at St Lucia after the umpires had informed the team that he had been charged with ball tampering.

The hearing to determine Chandimal’s punishment for the charge will be held on July 10, two days before the start of the first Test against South Africa at Galle. The Lankan captain had already served a one-Test ban for ball tampering.

“We have named Dinesh as captain because at this stage he is free to play after having served a one-Test ban,” said chief selector Graeme Labrooy.

“We don’t know how the punishment for the second charge will be. We are hoping that he will be slapped with a penalty and not suspended from matches.”

The worst scenario for Sri Lanka will be if Chandimal is suspended from playing where the suspension can range between two to four Tests. In that event the selectors have taken the precaution of getting fast bowler Suranga Lakmal to captain the side.

LAKMAL’S POPULARITY AS CAPTAIN

Lakmal did an excellent job as captain leading the team to a series leveling win in the third and final Test against West Indies at Bridgetown by initiating early breakthroughs for his side that eventually ended up in a four-wicket win.

“Lakmal has the highest respect from not only his team members but from the entire squad of players,” said Labrooy. “If there is a popularity contest amongst the players Lakmal would easily run out the winner.”

Lakmal has been named vice-captain to Chandimal. This is the third series that he carries that tag having first being appointed for the tour to Bangladesh early this year and retaining it for the tour to West Indies.

Sri Lanka will gladly welcome the return of established opener Dimuth Karunaratne to the side. The southpaw had to forego the tour to the Caribbean after fracturing the index finger of his left hand at practice. However a tour to the Bangladesh as captain of the Sri Lanka A team where he came up with scores of 60 and 161 against Bangladesh A in the first four-day unofficial test at Chittagong last week confirmed that he had fully recovered from his injury as well his match fitness.

KUSAL MENDIS TO OPEN

The question here is who will open the batting with Karunaratne? In his absence Sri Lanka struggled with their opening combinations in the Caribbean trying out as many as four players in that position.

“We are looking at Kusal Mendis because the head coach feels that in subcontinent conditions he will be able to score heavily,” said Labrooy.

As a stop gap opener in the first Test against West Indies at Port of Spain, Mendis scored a century in the second innings, but reverted back to the middle order for the rest of the series when Mahela Udawatte was selected to fill that slot partnering Kusal Perera. Udawatte had a rather poor series scoring two ducks in four innings and has been overlooked for the South African Tests.

Former captain Angelo Mathews returns to the Test side having returned home after just one Test in the Caribbean to attend to the birth of his second child.

There are no newcomers to the rest of the squad with the exception of Kusal Perera and Rangana Herath being named subject to fitness.

“Kusal who suffered a side injury in the third Test against West Indies and Rangana who had sutures removed yesterday in the webbing between the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand will both undergo fitness tests on July 9 and 10,” said Labrooy who expressed confidence that they would pull through.

Sri Lanka play South Africa in the first Test at Galle from July 12-16 and second Test at SSC from July 20-24.

Thisaru Disnaka who reached the qualification standard for the forthcoming 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina has been reportedly neglected by the Sri Lanka Archery Association who want the athlete to participate in the trials.

Only two athletes, Thisaru Disnaka and Kavisha Dalpathado participated in the world archery championships in Argentina last year and Thisaru was selected among the best sixteen archers after his performance.

For the first time in the history of Sri Lanka archery a 15-year old boy has achieved such a milestone. He qualified and secured ninth place out of 78 archers from 48 countries.

The Ministry of Sports proudly welcomed Thisaru after his achievement but the current situation in the Sri Lanka Archery Association is that they will select participants only from the trials. An official told the Daily News said that the Sri Lanka Archery Association wants to shut out Thisaru for no apparent reason.

"Due to a personnel grudge this archer is facing an issue. We hope the Minister of Sports will take necessary action regarding this matter," he said. "We are wasting our youth resources because of sports politics and this is why Sri Lanka sport ends up in bad situations.”

President of the Sri Lanka Archery Association Brigadier Rajeewa Wickramasinghe said that so far five archers had reached the selection standard including Thisaru in the local trials and the final trial will be held in August.

Due to Thisaru Disnaka’s best performance in the World Archery Championship Sri Lanka received the quota to participate at the Youth Olympic in Argentine this year.

Former captain Angelo Mathews was named to lead the Sri Lanka Board XI alongside other Test batsmen Dhananjaya de Silva and Roshen Silva for the two-day warm-up match against the touring South African team commencing at P Sara Oval tomorrow.

Also named was discarded Test opener Kaushal Silva and Danushka Gunathilaka who has yet to secure a permanent place in the Test team.

Gunathilaka in fact has been named in the 16-member Test squad for the two-Test series and a good innings here would get him the nod to partner Dimuth Karunaratne in the opener’s slot. Gunathilaka who has appeared in three Tests for his country so far has failed to clinch a permanent batting spot in the side. In his last Test against West Indies at Bridgetown which Sri Lanka won by four wickets he made 29 and 21 in a low scoring night game.

Dhananjaya and Roshen have been included in an attempt to get them into form following a poor run in the Caribbean series.

Roshen averaged 14.16 with a top score of 48 while Dhananjaya who missed the first Test due to his father’s untimely death averaged 10 with a highest score of 17. Both of them are very much short of runs ahead of the South African Test series.

Mathews left the West Indies tour after playing just one Test to attend to the birth of his second child. He too is short of match practice having come out of injury for the Caribbean series only to return home early.

In the absence of Dimuth Karunaratne due to a finger injury Sri Lanka struggled to get a proper opening combination going in the West Indies series trying out as many as four batsmen to fit into the slot - Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Mahela Udawatte and Danushka Gunathilaka.

Kaushal Silva who was one time partner to Karunaratne but overlooked since October 2017 gets another opportunity to regain his place in the side following an impressive run in the domestic season.

Although the batting looks pretty strong the same cannot be said of the bowling line up which does not carry the same experience with Avishka Fernando and Asitha Fernando as the only bowlers to break into international cricket each having played in a solitary ODI.

SRI LANKA BOARD XI: Angelo Mathews (captain), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kaushal Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Roshen Silva, Minod Bhanuka (wk), Avishka Fernando, Kasun Madushanka, Lasith Ambuldeniya, Vimukthi Perera, Asitha Fernando, Reserves: Ashen Bandara, Vikum Sanjaya, Wanindu Hasaranga.

The UTE Engineering Pin Fernando Grand Prix 2018, July edition got underway at the RCGC, and entered its 3rd round with Navinda Ranga leading by 4 strokes from J M D Indika.

Sisira Kumara and B A Sanjeewa share joint 3rd place at 205, eight under par.

A special feature in this July Edition of the PFGP is that two of the four Sri Lankan Professional golfers, selected on the guidelines of the NOC and the MOS approved Selection Committee, Thangaraja and Mithun Perera are also playing alongside adding the extra edge to the competition of the National Amateur Golfers. Even though the two professionals are not eligible for the PFGP prizes sponsored by UTE Engineering, their participation is a boost and sharpener of form for all players.

Thangaraja and Mithun multiple winners on the PGTI (Professional Golf Tour of India), Lalith Kumara and Anura Rohana (Silver Medal winner at Seoul Asian Games 2002) complete the team selected to represent Sri Lanka at the Indonesia Asian Games 2018 in August.

Thangaraja is also 12 under par 201, alongside Navinda Ranga, whilst Mithun Perera is on 207, six under par after 3 rounds. B A Sanjeewa produced two stunning rounds of 65 & 65 to be 12 under par after the 1st two rounds and lead Thangaraja by 2 strokes, even after a stunning 63 (8 under par) second round by Thanga.

The top 20 Amateurs made the cut and the final round will conclude the UTE Engineering 2018, July edition of the Pin Fernando Grand Prix.

Leader board after 3 rounds:

201 – Navinda Ranga (67, 66, 68) (Thangaraja 69, 63, 69 - not in the PFGP)

205 – J M D Indika (68, 69, 68), 206 – G P Sisira Kumara (69, 67, 70) B A Sanjeewa (65, 65, 76)

207 – Mithun Perera (70, 68, 69) (not in the PFGP)

209 – N Amarapadma (70, 70, 69)

212 – G M Pradeep Kumara (75, 66, 71)

215 – T Akash (69, 72, 74)

218 – M U Chanaka Perera (74, 77, 67)

220 – U A Ranasinghe (66, 81, 73) Januka Dilshan (72, 73, 75).

Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday:Kraigg Brathwaite completed a seventh Test century as the West Indies turned the screws on Bangladesh on the second day of the first Test in Antigua on Thursday.

The Windies reached 271 for three in reply to the tourists’ first innings total of 43 at lunch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

They resume in the afternoon session with the phlegmatic opener unbeaten on 121 in partnership with Shai Hope (14 not out) and the home side already ahead by 128 runs with eight first innings wickets in hand.

Under no pressure to accelerate the game after Kemar Roach had led the pacers’ demolition of the tourists for their lowest Test innings total ever on day one, Brathwaite progressed at a snail’s pace on the second morning. He added 33 runs in two hours’ play with the West Indies advancing overall by 70 runs from their overnight position of 201 for two. Nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo was the lone casualty for the hosts as he was bowled by Kamrul Islam for 19 after yet again making an important contribution in support of the senior batsman.

Their third-wicket partnership was worth 52 runs and Brathwaite reached the century landmark along the way via a rare expression of aggression in slashing a short, wide delivery from Kamrul to the backward point boundary.

His innings of almost seven hours has so far occupied 289 deliveries, embellished with 11 fours. None of the Bangladeshi seamers have so far been able to come even close to replicating Roach’s outstanding effort on day one. AFP

[Brief scores]

Bangladesh 43 (Liton Das 25; K. Roach 5-8, M. Cummins 3-11)

West Indies 271-3 (K. Brathwaite 121 n.o., D. Smith 58, K. Powell 48; Mahmudullah 1-13

LONDON, Thursday: Marin Cilic suffered a shock Wimbledon second round exit as last year’s runner-up blew a two-set lead in his 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 loss to Argentina’s Guido Pella on Thursday.

When rain forced the tie to be postponed on Wednesday evening, third seed Cilic was leading by two sets against an unheralded opponent who had never won a match at Wimbledon before this year.

But the Croatian, who lost to Roger Federer in the 2017 final, collapsed once the match resumed on Court One and world number 82 Pella took full advantage to set up a third round clash with Mackenzie McDonald. - AFP

The Sapugaskanda Yoshida Swimming Acadamy Team left for Bangkok yesterday to participate in the "19th Phutanan Swimming Championship organized by the Bangkok youth Swimming Club to be held at the Bangkok Phutanan Bangna Stadium on Saturday and Sunday July 07 & 08. The team comprises Nine boys and two girls.

THE SWIMMING TEAM: Thanuja Janith (Captain) Rahal Niranjan (Vice Captain), Pasindu Gimhana, Pawan Chamikara, Ashen Aishek, Sithum Pehesara, Keshan Pasindu, Kaviraj Madushanka, Viraj Madushanka, Amaya Shaini and Rashmi Riyana.

Team Senior Swimming Instructor W. Thilak Ratnakumar also will accompany the team.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, Thursday: Bangladesh were sliding towards a massive innings defeat after the West Indies completely dominated the second day of the first Test match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Thursday.

After Kraigg Brathwaite’s seventh Test hundred anchored the West Indies first innings total of 406 to give the home side a first innings lead of 363, Shannon Gabriel compensated for a wicketless effort on the opening day with figures of four for 36 to reduce the visitors to 62 for six in their second turn at the crease by the close of play.

Routed for just 43, their lowest-ever Test innings total, in the first innings, the Bangladeshis still need another 301 runs just to make the West Indies bat again going into day three.

That looks an impossible prospect in conditions which are completely alien to them and in which the home side’s quartet of fast bowlers has revelled.

But for a no-ball delivered by Miguel Cummins in the last over of the day when he could have claimed the wicket of Mahmudullah, the West Indies would have had the option of requesting an additional half-hour at the end of the day to finish off the match.

It leaves Mahmudullah to resume on the third morning with wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan, although it will be merely delaying the inevitable given the struggles of the Bangladeshis in coping with the pace and bounce of their West Indian opponents in seamer-friendly conditions.

Jason Holder took the other two wickets, sharing the new ball with the fiery Gabriel in the absence of Kemar Roach, who initiated the demolition of the Bangladesh first innings with outstanding figures of five for eight but was troubled by what appeared to be a muscular strain at the back of his right knee during that effort.

He showed no discomfort though in an innings of 33 and a partnership of 58 with Shai Hope for the eighth wicket.

However the bulk of the batting effort for the West Indies was provided by the erstwhile Brathwaite, who occupied the crease for over seven hours – from before lunch on day one to just after lunch on day two – in compiling 121.

Hope ensured the West Indies middle-order didn't buckle completely.

Resuming at the overnight position of 201 for two with Brathwaite and nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo at the crease, they suffered a mini-collapse in early afternoon when losing three wickets for 16 runs.

That was the only period in the Test match so far when the Bangladeshis appeared to be holding any sort of initiative as spinners Mehidy Hasan and Shakib al Hasan posed significant challenges.

However Hope showed his class in an innings of 67 and by the time he was ninth out with the score at 400, the only question was whether or not the West Indies could have been as ruthless as in the first innings to finish the match inside two days.

Gabriel’s raw pace was too hot to handle for the Bangladesh top-order as he claimed the prized scalps of Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim and captain Shakib al Hasan to lift his tally of Test wickets in this Caribbean season to 24 in four matches.

Seoul, Friday: North Korea will play in a table tennis competition in South Korea this month, in the latest sign of warming ties between the Cold War rivals whose rapprochement owes much to sport.

North Korea, who competed in February's Winter Olympics in the South, will send a team for the Korean Open south of Seoul from July 17-22, the International Table Tennis Federation said.

"It is a proud moment for the ITTF to be able to support another sign of peace on the Korean Peninsula, by helping North Korea send a team to the Korean Open," said ITTF president Tomas Weikert.

North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics set the stage for a rapid improvement in relations with both Seoul and Washington, culminating in last month's summit between Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore.

The two Koreas, who are still technically at war, bonded over table tennis as long ago as 1991, when they joined forces for the world championships in Japan and won the women's team event.

At the world team championships in May, North and South Korea were due to face each other in the women's quarter-finals -- but they were given permission to form a joint team instead, losing to Japan in the semi-finals.

"The momentous unified team at the 2018 World Table Tennis Championships... showed the world that countries can find peace on a table tennis table," Weikert said in a statement.

Only this week, about 50 men and women basketball players from South Korea played alongside North Koreans in combined teams in the North Korean capital Pyongyang.

The two sides are also discussing marching together at the opening ceremony of next month's Asian Games, where they will field joint teams in canoeing, rowing and women's basketball.

AFP

Moscow, Friday: Russia will try to keep their unlikely dream alive on Saturday when the host nation face Croatia in their first World Cup quarter-final since 1970.

It has been an enchanted summer for the world’s largest nation as it hosts the biggest event in sport.

Russia’s once-hapless team have suddenly turned into giantslayers who dispatched 2010 champions Spain in the last 16 and are now seriously contemplating reaching the July 15 final.

The World Cup itself has been blissfully free of the hooligan battles and racist monkey chants that blighted Russian domestic league and international matches.

And President Vladimir Putin has managed -- if only briefly -- to stem the tide of Western media criticism by presenting Russia as a fun-loving and welcoming place.

“Many stereotypes about Russia have simply collapsed,” Putin told a group of high-profile former players at a Kremlin reception on Friday.

European bookmakers still expect Croatia and their elegant midfielder Luka Modric to prevail in the quarter-final in the balmy Black Sea resort of Sochi.

But Russia’s players are exuding a breezy confidence that comes from having avoided the fiasco many fans had initially feared.

“Even before the tournament started, we all knew we could reach the final,” said star midfielder Alexander Golovin.

“Now, we are seriously counting on it.”

Through gritted teeth

Few Russians agreed with Golovin when they entered the tournament as its lowest-ranked nation and without a win in eight months.

A thumping start in which Russia scored eight goals in wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt generated mostly surprise and relief.

A 3-0 loss to Uruguay that gave Russia the unenviable matchup with Spain was met with resigned shakes of the head from fans familiar with defeat.

But coach Stanislav Cherchesov worked up a rousing defensive effort against the Spaniards that pushed the match into extra time and eventual penalties with the score tied 1-1.

“You have to know how to suffer,” silver-haired midfielder Alexander Samedov said of the constant Spanish pressure.

“We showed that we could.”

A winning left-foot save from ‘keeper Igor Akinfeev produced the moment of magic that brought fans from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka pouring out onto the streets in astonished glee.

Cherchesov and the players know they have already won over the nation and secured their place in Russian football history.

The coach and his masterful moustache have turned into an internet meme that has come to symbolise Russians’ love affair with their team that has defied the odds.

They are the first post-Soviet team to either make it out of a World Cup group or win a knockout game.

The hosts have played their hearts out and are probably not as big an underdog against Croatia as they were in the game they just won.

A victory on Saturday would see Russia face either England or Sweden in only their second World Cup semi-final since 1966.

Not too many Russians are optimistic enough to look that far ahead.

Just 17 percent told a state pollster they thought Russia could actually win the entire tournament -- about the same number as the day after their Saudi win.

Yet seven out of 10 say they now are watching matches and the atmosphere has grown more electric by the day.

Akinfeev said the opening game crowd in Moscow’s intimidating Luzhniki Stadium resembled a polite audience listening to a “chamber orchestra”.

“Against Spain, the stadium breathed as one,” the new hero said. “We are nothing without their emotions.” AFP

London, Friday: Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will play no role in the upcoming three-match ODI series with England after undergoing surgery on a broken thumb, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said Friday.

The 24-year-old -- more a regular in the ODI team than the Test line-up -- broke it during the first of the two-match T20 international series with Ireland last week.

He has been replaced by Shardul Thakur for the ODI series -- the Indians are yet to name their squad for the five-Test series which gets underway in August.

“The all-India senior selection committee has named Shardul Thakur as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in India’s ODI squad,” the BCCI statement said.

“Bumrah underwent a surgery on Wednesday, July 4 in Leeds before returning to India.

“The surgery was successful and he will commence rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI medical team.”

India play England later on Friday in the second match of their T20 series with the tourists fresh from an eight wicket thrashing of the hosts.

The ODI series gets underway next Thursday at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

AFP

Los Angeles, Friday: Defending champion Katherine Kirk bounced back from the worst round of her pro career with a sparkling 62 on Thursday to seize the first-round lead at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

“Golf is funny,” the Australian veteran said shortly after matching the course with her 10-under effort.

“When you’ve played it as long as I have professionally you realize some days will be good and some will be bad.”

Thursday was good from the get-go as Kirk opened with birdies at 10, 11 and 12 on the par-72 Thornberry Creek course in Oneida, Wisconsin, quickly putting her second-round 83 at last week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship out of her mind.

She birdied seven of her first nine holes, then birdied three more coming in, hitting 14 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

“Obviously there are good vibes here and I have a lot of confidence on this golf course,” said Kirk, who won with a 22-under par total last year for her third LPGA title and her first in seven years.

“It just suits my eye. So with that being said, you can only play one hole at a time. That’s all I did today. I just stayed in the moment.”

South Korea’s Kim Sei-Young carded a nine-under 63 that included six straight birdies on her back nine.

Canada’s Brittany Marchand and American Megan Khang were tied for third on eight-under 64.

Khang enjoyed the ideal scoring conditions and the aggressive approach they allowed.

“I definitely knew that the course was gettable,” she said. “Just last year I think the winning score was 22-under. Definitely with the amount of rain we got we knew that we could go after some pins.

“I personally like to play aggressive,” added Khang, who has four top-10 finishes this year. “I think this will be a good week.”

In ideal scoring conditions, the average for the round was 69.58.

Emma Talley reeled off nine birdies in 10 holes from the second through the 11th, a spell that included six birdies in a row.

She admitted that half a dozen birdies on the trot briefly had her thinking of a 59.

“I was already counting in my head at one point, what do I have to do to shoot 59,” she said. “It kind of went downhill from there. I had never even played 13, 14 or 15 yet because it got rained out yesterday.”

After her birdie binge ended at the 11th, Talley parred six straight before a closing bogey.

“Thank goodness I had a good start,” she said. “The last few holes were a little rough.” AFP

BERLIN Jfriday: In the wake of their shock World Cup exit, Germany team boss Oliver Bierhoff has said Mesut Ozil should have been dropped over a pre-tournament scandal involving Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ozil, 29, is one of a group of senior players slammed for woeful performances in Russia as Germany finished bottom of their group to suffer a shock early exit.

At the World Cup, the Arsenal midfielder refused to comment about a controversial meeting on the eve of the finals with Erdogan which sparked questions about his loyalty to Germany.

Bierhoff admits it was a mistake to allow Ozil to stay silent as the controversy cast a shadow over the German camp.

“We have never compelled players in the German national team to do something, but always tried to convince them when it comes to certain things,” Bierhoff, Germany’s team director, told Friday’s edition of Die Welt newspaper.

“We did not succeed with Mesut. And in that respect one would have had to consider whether to refrain from playing him.” Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan, who both have Turkish roots, were booed by German fans in pre-World cup friendlies after posing for pictures with Erdogan. Manchester City striker Gundogan presented him with a signed club shirt on which he had written “to my president”.

Gundogan denied the meeting was politically motivated, but Ozil refused to comment and was the only member of the 23-man squad allowed to miss a media day at Germany’s pre-World Cup camp.

Bierhoff says he and head coach Joachim Loew should have seriously considered leaving Ozil out of the final squad for Russia.

“They fact that Mesut and Ilkay took the pictures did not bother the team so much, but the debate went on and, in retrospect, I would have tried to deal with this issue more decisively,” admitted Bierhoff.

Ozil was slammed on social media for woeful World Cup displays in the shock group stage defeats to Mexico and South Korea having been dropped for the last-gasp win over Sweden.

Bierhoff says Ozil’s silence was an issue “especially as we did not present ourselves as a team -- the energy that always made us strong was not there”.

AFP

HARARE friday: Glenn Maxwell paid tribute to coach Justin Langer after cracking 56 to help Australia beat Zimbabwe with a ball to spare in Harare on Friday.

Zimbabwe batted first and made 151 for nine wickets in their 20 overs, led by 63 from Solomon Mire.

In reply, Australia reached 154 when Matt Stoinis hit a boundary off the penultimate with five wickets down.

When Maxwell reached his first half century in a T20I since his hundred against England in Hobart in February, he gestured at his eyes. It was a reference to the work he and Langer have put in making sure Maxwell watches the ball.

“I’ve been doing a lot of work with JL recently, making sure I’m watching the ball as hard as I can,” Maxwell said. “I’ve been doing a lot of work with that in the nets, making sure I’m really concentrating. That’s all I’m thinking about at the moment. So that was just a little gesture towards him.” Australia’s middle order were made to graft early by Zimbabwe, who nipped out openers Aaron Finch and Alex Carey in the first five overs.

Australia took just 35 runs from the Powerplay and it wasn’t until Maxwell began to find the middle of his bat that they started to bring the scoring rate down.

Maxwell was particularly harsh on Zimbabwe’s spinners, collecting sixes off Malcolm Waller, Wellington Masakadza and debutant Brandon Mavuta to bring up a 34-ball fifty in the 17th over.

“It was probably just the timing of when they were bowling,” Maxwell said of his assault on Zimbabwe’s slow bowlers. “I’d got myself in and I’d faced 10 or 15 balls and was able to expand from there. The offspinner came on when I’d been out there for four or five overs, so that was the time for me to go.” Together, Maxwell and Travis Head, who made 48, put on 103 for the third wicket to steady Australia’s chase.

“It’s good batting with a guy like Heady, he takes a lot of pressure off you,” said Maxwell. “With the way he plays, he hits it in different areas and puts some pressure on the bowler. We’ve done it a few times, not just in T20 cricket but in one-day cricket as well.” The pair seemed to have made the match safe for Australia, but Maxwell’s departure, driving fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani into the hands of Elton Chigumbura at extra cover, sparked a late fightback from the Zimbabweans.

They took three wickets in three overs after getting rid of Maxwell to take the game into the final over, but Stoinis lifted the penultimate delivery over square leg to seal the match.

The challenging total set by the Zimbabweans was thanks mainly toMire, who made 63 off 52 balls and helped his team recover from the dismissal of Cephas Zhuwao from the first ball of the morning.

Together with PJ Moor he rebuilt the innings with a 64-run fourth wicket stand. Moor eventually fell for 30, chasing quick runs, but Mire brought up a 44-ball fifty in the 17th over.

Zimbabwe then lost four wickets in two overs on the charge at the death, with Andrew Tye once again starring with the ball, but reached a total which very nearly sparked an upset.

Australia’s win in this dead rubber provides a welcome confidence boost ahead of their clash with number one ranked Pakistan in Sunday’s final.

AFP

Two captains who have been caught and punished for ball tampering South Africa’s Faf du Plessis and Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal were of the opinion that they should get clarity on what sweets are allowed and what is not on the field of play when the two-Test series commences at Galle on July 12.

“It is important to say that I am not clear yet on that matter. My opinion on it is a lot straighter. They (the ICC) still haven’t said what is allowed and what is not allowed,” said du Plessis at the press conference held at the Movenpick hotel yesterday where the two teams are staying.

Du Plessis was found guilty of tampering with the ball using mints to alter its condition and fined 100 percent of his match fee in the day-night Test against Australia at Adelaide last year.

Chandimal was fined 100 percent and banned for one Test for a similar offence using sweets taken from his pocket to alter the condition of the ball in the second Test against West Indies at St Lucia’s last month.

“Is chewing gum allowed or not? You can have mints in the mouth. Hashim Amla has said that he likes sweets in his mouth if you going to be a long time on the field. There is nothing wrong with it. For me I need clarity so I am looking forward to speaking to the umpires before the game to make sure we can get more clarity on the matter. I am sure Dinesh would want it as well,” said du Plessis.

“Before start of the match we want to have a chat with the umpires and get a clarification on what sweets we can carry in our pockets onto the field. We hope to get a clarification on it from the ICC match officials at the captains meeting,” he said.

Speaking further Du Plessis said: “Ball tampering is a serious offence. If you put something in your mouth and you shine the ball it’s not that serious. That’s my opinion. But if someone has the opportunity to try and do something with the ball the penalties that are there is going to make him think twice because you are going to miss a lot of cricket if you do that. As you have seen during the series against Australia things like that with the harsher penalties will be less in the game.”

Du Plessis agreed that there are inconsistencies with regard to ball tampering during bilateral series with emphasis being laid on exposing the visiting sides mistakes than the home country by television producers. “As a captain of any team you want consistency.”

CHANDIMAL IN BETTER FRAME OF MIND

Sri Lanka captain Chandimal who will know his fate whether he will be leading the side against South Africa after the second inquiry (for refusing to take the field) two days before the start of the first Test said that the incidents had not affected his preparations for the series.

“After that incident I appealed but I have to respect the ICC decision. It is tough as a human but I am now in a better frame of mind and I know what happened at that time,” said Chandimal.

“You face these kinds of challenges in cricket it is how you face them as a cricketer is the key. The team is in a good mental frame of mind having won the third Test against West Indies on difficult pitches. The players are confident of carrying that success into the South African series,” he said.

After returning from the West Indies the Lankan cricketers held their first practice session yesterday.

Batting coach Thilan Samaraweera was confident that with the Kookaburra balls that will be used for the series the Lankan batsmen will be able to face upto the South African fast bowlers.

“In the West Indies we got different conditions. I have toured West Indies twice and this time it was the hardest pitches we came across, in some areas of the pitches were bare patches and some areas had more grass it was more up and down,” said Samaraweera.

HANDLING REVERSE SWING

“The West indies series is totally different because of the Duke ball. We all know how the hard Duke balls behave. This is different conditions and we are using Kookaburra balls.

I think we can handle the South African bowlers. We have to give respect to the South African bowling side especially (Kagiso) Rabada, he is the most skilful bowler at the moment in the world for me. It’s a tough challenge we have to handle the reverse swing well in the series. If we do that this series will be exciting,” he said.

South Africa will be looking to have their premier fast bowler Dale Steyn up and running ahead of the Test series.

“He is back in the squad and looks good in the nets. It’s a case of getting his fitness back to where it needs to be in Test cricket. If we feel that he is ready to do that then he will play. Steyn has probably got the highest strike rate in the subcontinent amongst all the seam bowlers in the world,” said Du Plessis.

South Africa are confident that with their four-prong pace attack of Steyn, Rabada, Philander and Ngidi they can roll over Sri Lanka. “It is the skill sets that they represent. We got pace obviously and the ball in these conditions tend to reverse so when you have pace on your side generally the guys can take wickets. We also must understand the pitches; that’s why we have brought three spinners. We want to try and make sure that we have all areas covered.”

South Africa open their tour of Sri Lanka today with a two-day warm-up match against a Board XI at the P Sara Oval.

In the meantime Sri Lanka have brought in left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara as cover for the injured Rangana Herath who is expected to undergo a fitness test on the split webbing of his right hand he suffered during practice in the Caribbean that led to him missing the third Test.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD Friday: France became the first team to reach the World Cup semi-finals as goals from Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann gave them a deserved 2-0 victory over Uruguay on Friday.

It is the first time France have been in the last four since 2006 and sets up a mouth-watering clash against either Belgium or Brazil, who play later on Friday, in St Petersburg on Tuesday.

France took the lead in the 40th minute from the unlikely source of defender Varane, who glanced home a fine header from an Antoine Griezmann free-kick.

It was only the Real Madrid player's third goal for France and represented redemption for Varane, who was largely blamed for the goal which saw France lose at the quarter-final stage to Germany four years ago.

Griezmann, who counts several of the Uruguay players as close friends, scored a second in the 61st minute, but it was mostly due to a howler from La Celeste's goalkeeper, Fernando Muslera.

The usually dependable stopper flapped at Griezmann's 20-yard shot and agonisingly saw the ball float over the line.

It was Griezmann's third goal of this World Cup, but his first not from a penalty.

That goal secured the victory but did not end the drama in Nizhny Novgorod, as Uruguay's frustration boiled over in the 67th minute when Kylian Mbappe fell to the floor.

Uruguay's skipper Diego Godin gestured with the teenager to get up, then tried to pull him from the turf, sparking a melee which involved most of the players and saw French coach Didier Deschamps come onto the pitch to try to calm tempers.

France's victory was merited as it was they who had the bulk of possession and always looked the most likely to score.

They might have scored as early as the 15th minute when Mbappe mistimed a close header.

The lightning-quick Mbappe and Griezmann struck fear into the Uruguayan defence all afternoon.

In midfield, France's N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba snuffed out any potential threat posed by Uruguay.

The Sri Lanka national sevens rugby team under the leadership of former S.Thomas College Mount Lavinia and present CH and FC rugby player cum hardy third row forward Sudarshana Muthuthanthri will come out for the first time today against “Leopards Sevens” team from Congo at the Paris World Games in France and will be competing in Group A .

By taking part in this tournament the national sevens rugby team will gain necessary experience for the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia , which is due to take place in August. Sri Lanka will be one of the eight teams that will participate in this invitational sevens tournament in Paris, France that will kick off today.

The groups for the tournament are as follows:

Group A Sri Lanka Rugby Team Club HEC (France), Team Leopards Sevens (Congo),

Team Ocean’s Seven (France)

Group B Team Bagneux (France), Team Wolves 7 (Belgium),Team Tahiti Nui (Tahiti),

Team Kmer 7 (Cameroon),

The first day of the tournament today will see Sri Lanka Men’s seven’s rugby team take on “Leopard Sevens” team -Congo then “Ocean’s Seven” team - France and in their last match will take on “Club HEC” team from France respectively.

The top two teams according to the respective total points will automatically qualify for the semifinals which is due to kick off on day two on Sunday based on the group rankings, while the bottom two teams will play for the fifth/sixth place playoff on the same day.

Sri Lanka Men’s “Tuskers” fixtures are as follows:

Saturday 7th July 4, 2018

Sri Lanka v Leopard Sevens -

2.10 pm (SL time)

Sri Lanka v Ocean’s

Seven 6.10 pm (SL time)

Sri Lanka v Club HEC 8.50 pm

(SL time)

Shannon Gabriel completed his third five-wicket haul in five innings as the West Indies completed a crushing victory over Bangladesh by an innings and 219 runs just before lunch on the third day of the first Test in Antigua on Friday.

Wicketless in the demolition of the tourists for their lowest Test innings score, 43, on the opening morning, Gabriel started the wrecking job in the second innings with four wickets on the fourth evening.

He then bowled Kamrul Islam when play resumed to finish with five for 77 as the Bangladeshis were dismissed for 144 to hand the home side their largest innings victory ever in a Test in the Caribbean.

The ‘Singer’ Inter School rugby Sevens tournamrnt is due to kick off at the Royal sports Complex in Reid Avenue, Colombo today.

In this year’s tournament ‘Singer’ league champions Royal College, ‘Milo’ President’s trophy winners St. Peter’s College, league and knockout runners-up St. Joseph College and Isipathna College are vying for the cup championship along with Science College Mount Lavinia, which has a very good sevens team under the leadership of their nippy scrum half Hashan Madumadawa .

Last year the S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia outfit under the captaincy of winger Naveen Henakankanamage won the sevens cup championship for the second time in succession.

MOSCOW Friday : Harry Kane is leading the race for the World Cup Golden Boot as he bids to become the first England player to win the prize since Gary Lineker 32 years ago.

The clean-cut skipper is on the fast track to virtual sainthood in England, matching Lineker's tally of six goals from 1986 in just three matches in Russia to set up a quarter-final against Sweden.

Kane scored twice against Tunisia in England's first match in Russia and then bagged a hat-trick in a 6-1 romp against Panama.

Gareth Southgate rested Kane for the third group game -- a 1-0 defeat to Belgium -- but the Tottenham striker returned to score from the penalty spot against Colombia in the last 16.

In doing so the England captain became the first player to score in six consecutive England appearances since Tommy Lawton in 1939.

Gareth Southgate's side play the Swedes in Samara on Saturday, eyeing their first semi-final since 1990, a defeat against Germany in which Lineker played and scored.

London-born Kane insists it is lifting the World Cup rather than individual honours that remains his priority.