London, Monday: The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) should only overturn on-field decisions when there has been a “clear and obvious” error, according to one of football’s leading international rules officials.

VAR has proved highly controversial since it was introduced into the Premier League this season. A particular source of concern has revolved around offside calls.

Last weekend saw Norwich, Brighton, Sheffield United, Wolves, Brighton and Crystal Palace all have goals disallowed by marginal VAR rulings amid doubts over whether the available technology is accurate enough to make such fractional calls.

Players and managers have also questioned whether the system should not be used to reverse an on-field decision that appears correct to the naked eye, a view that received support on Monday from the general secretary of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) -- the sport’s ultimate rule-making body.

Lukas Brud, while not addressing specific incidents in English football, said IFAB guidance advises VAR should only be used to correct clear errors also applied to offside.

“Clear and obvious still remains -- it’s an important principle,” Brud said in comments reported by the British media.

“There should not be a lot of time spent to find something marginal.

“If you spend minutes trying to identify whether it is offside or not, then it’s not clear and obvious and the original decision should stand,” he added.

Wolves captain Conor Coady was frustrated when his side were denied what seemed a legitimate equaliser just before half-time against runaway league leaders Liverpool on Sunday when Pedro Neto’s effort was chalked off because wing-back Jonny was deemed to be offside in the build-up.

Wolves eventually lost 1-0 at Anfield and Coady told the BBC afterwards: “A lot of people are going to tell me that they have come to the right decision and they might have. But what is it, an armpit that’s offside, or a toe, or something like that?”

Meanwhile Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was annoyed after VAR denied his side a goal against champions Manchester City -- the fifth time it has happened to the Blades this season.

“Yet again we had another goal disallowed by VAR,” he said.

“That’s about eight or nine over the weekend, this is not a situation helping the game.”

Even City manager Pep Guardiola, whose side won 2-0, said VAR was “a big mess”, with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss adding: “Hopefully next season it can do better.”

But the introduction of VAR into Scottish football cannot come quickly enough for Glasgow giants Rangers.

Sunday saw Steven Gerrard’s side win 2-1 away to arch-rivals and reigning champions Celtic as they moved to within two points of the Scottish Premiership leaders.

Gers boss Gerrard’s lone criticism of referee Kevin Clancy centred on the official not sending off Celtic defender Christopher Jullien in added time in an incident that saw Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos see red for a second yellow card.

Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson, while insisting he was not criticising referees, said Monday the pace of the modern game made it “extremely difficult to make split-second calls with the degree of certainty required”. AFP

The Sri Lanka Junior Open Golf Championship 2019 will take place from January 6 to 8 at the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) sponsored for the 12th consecutive year by Prima Sunrice Bread.

The event, one of the most prestigious in the junior golf calendar, will once again be categorised into four age groups: 15-18 years (Gold Division), 12-14 years (Silver Division), 10-11 years (Bronze Division) and nine years and under (Copper Division).

The committed sponsorship of junior golf by Prima has been invaluable to the Sri Lanka Golf Union in promoting the sport islandwide and this year witnessed increased participation of youngsters from the Kandy, Anuradhapura and Nuwara Eliya regions. The popularity of the sport is growing rapidly thanks mainly due to the focused development programs being carried out by Sri Lanka Golf Union to propagate the sport at the grass root level islandwide. This initiative was the brainchild of the Junior Sub Committee of Sri Lanka Golf as a means to identify the nation’s young golf talent with a view to nurturing and developing them for future national and international representation.

Reigning junior boys champion Vinod Weerasinghe will be unable to defend his title as he is currently training in the USA. Vinod, the top ranked junior has won this prestigious event thrice. His absence will throw this year’s tournament wide open to the younger talent such as S. Dhuwarshan (Nuwara Eliya), Aroon Aslam (Kandy), Nirekh Tegwani and Yannik Kumara of Colombo International School.

Last year’s junior girl’s winner Taniya Minel Balasuriya however will once again be defending her title but will face stiff opposition from the rising star, 16 year old Kayla Perera of Ladies College. It should be a toss-up on the day between these two for the girl’s title will largely depend on which of these talented youngsters steady their temperament and are able to hold their nerve under pressure.

The Algama brothers Reshan and Keshav, Thejas Rathis Kanth, C. Dharaniyan from Nuwara Eliya and K. Danushan and Shanal Binuksha from Colombo have been identified as exciting emerging talents, and this event should provide them the ideal opportunity to showcase their skills in the divisional junior categories.

The three rounds of the championship will be used as preliminary rounds for selecting one boy and one girl for the British Junior Open to be held in July 2020.

The prize giving ceremony is scheduled to be held on January 8 at 4 pm while the title sponsor of the tournament Prima Sunrice will provide nutrition for the players during the event.

Sri Lion Sports Club (SLSC) is providing an immence service to Sri Lankans who are resident in United Arab Emirate expanding their club activities from 2020.

The club officials revealed that they are planning to compete in the Inter Club Rugby league in Sri Lanka in the future. Speaking to Daily News Kelum Sujith founder president of SLSC, said that they are a well known sports club in UAE and earlier they started this club for the purpose of sports activities among Sri Lankans who are working in the UAE and at present they are taking part in national tournaments in the UAE.

He further said “Sri Lions is a registered organization and will continue to benefit the Sri Lankan community by doing various events and we want to bring glory to our motherland, ”.

we are providing a platform for talented men and women from Sri Lanka to take part”. Also he said “We have Cricket Rugby , Badminton Football Carrom and Netball League teams.

In those lines, we took part in the 50th edition of the Dubai Rugby 7s tournament. It was a moment of pride for our Sri Lions team to take part in this tournament and was an even greater pride as we won the Gulf Men’s’ Open Tournament Trophy”.

“We are planning to expand our Sports activities in Sri Lanka as well, we have community based club and doing so many community services in Sri Lanka and in the future we are planning to take elite athletes from Sri Lanka and give them international standard training. Its will help them to achieve top places in the International arena. He said”

“The beauty of our organization is that Sri Lions, a legitimate club which has dedicated itself to help strengthen the name of Sri Lankans in the UAE, our main goal is to build a Club House in the UAE for the Sri Lankan community and to form another new sports club in Sri Lanka to do for sports and community events and to bring honour to our motherland”.

Rahula College Matara and Lyceum International school Nugegoda emerged boys and girls champions at the ‘A’division of the Under 11 Inter school Badminton Tournament conducted by the North Western Province Badminton Association held at Kurunegala Welagedera Indoor Stadium and Boyagane Army Indoor Stadium recently.

The tournament conducted during three days with record number of 104 schools divided A to E sections competed for the championships . The tournament was successfully organised by the Norrh Western Province Badminton Association with the support of Sri Lanka Badminton Association

.Matara Rahula team defeated St Sebastian Moratuwa team to win the ‘A’ division championship while Lyceum Nugegoda beat Musaeus College Colombo to win the ‘A’ division women’s champions . Sri Lanka Badminton Association Vice President Parakrama Basnayaje was the Chief Guest and gave away the awards while senor officials of the North Western Province Badminton Association also graced this occasion .

Electronic sports or esports for short is quite possibly the fastest growing sport of the decade. Its meteoric rise is due to the sheer volume of players and spectators who have access to the variety of games available.

Sri Lanka has been a hub for esports in South Asia, in terms of progress and innovation. Esports was recently recognized by the national Olympic Committee as an official sport in Sri Lanka. The committee has also signed a partnership with the pioneers of esports in Sri Lanka, Gamer.lk, to launch international esports events in the country.

Phoenix GaminG is one of the oldest and most popular gaming clans in the country consisting of the largest collection of titles and has also seen many of their players holding positions in internationally hosted tournaments.

Phoenix GaminG can proudly say that they are the first clan in Sri Lanka to be incorporated. They are now a registered limited liability company and officially an esports organization.

Director of Phoenix GaminG, said, “We’re extremely happy with being able to register as a legal entity. We existed for more than a decade as a nonprofit organization and now it’s time to expand our revenue channels. The aim of this is to be able to provide a wage structure for our top players & build a training facility for professional esports players. We’ll keep striving to achieve these milestones and be a benchmark for the other clans to follow and grow esports in our country”.

Major Anura Tennakoon of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry Regiment receiving the award for overall champions at the Army Para games 2019 from K D S RuwanChandra - Secretary Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. Also, in the picture (from left) - Lt Gen Shavendra Silva -Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Maj. Gen. Nirmal Dharmaratne - Deputy Chief of Staff and Chairman Army Para Sports Committee, Brigadier Raja Gunasekera CEO Laya Leisure and Secretary Army Para Sports Committee.

Rifleman, GGS Galahitiyawa of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment, receiving the runner-up award for Archery from Indika Walpitage - Vice President - Network Operations and Service Assurance, Dialog Axiata PLC. Brigadier Roland Bogodawatte, Vice Chairman Army Para Sports Committee is also present.

Corporal Paranamanne EMRS of the Gajaba Regiment, receiving the runner-up award for Sitting Volleyball from the Commander of the Army, Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva.Also, in the picture (from left), Maj Gen Nirmal Dharmaratne Deputy Chief of Staff and Chairman Army Para Sports Committee and Brigadier Raja Gunasekera CEO Laya Leisure and Secretary of Army Para Sports Committee.

 They contest cricket’s biggest prizes on the field, but members of the ICC ODI Team of the Year are agreed on one thing – the role of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in their development.

Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Rashid Khan, Mustafizur Rahman and Ross Taylor all honed their craft in the tournament and now walk the field of ODI cricket as kings.

After an era-defining ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2019, and ahead of this month’s renewal of the U19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, top stars say the competition made them the players they are today.

Nearly 12 years on from captaining India to victory at the U19 Cricket World Cup, Kohli is the top-ranked ODI batsman in the world with 43 centuries to his name in the format.

Kohli steered a side featuring Ravindra Jadeja and Manish Pandey to overall victory in Malaysia, leading by example and making a superb hundred in the group stage against West Indies.

Less predictably, then-19-year-old Kohli gave his medium pace a successful airing, snaffling a vital two for 27 including the wicket of captain Kane Williamson in the semi-final win over New Zealand.

True to form, Kohli relished testing himself against the best young players in the world.

“The ICC U19 World Cup was a very important milestone in my career,” said Kohli, who made 235 runs at an average of 47 in 2008.

“It helped us get a good platform to build on and make our careers from thereon, so it holds a very important place in my mind and heart. It is very important to understand and respect the opportunity it provides to you.

“I remember playing against Kane (Williamson). He was someone who always stood out in the team, his batting ability was very different from the other players who were around.

“It is good to know that so many people from that batch, like Kane and Steve Smith, have played for their respective countries.”

Stokes’ ability to shape games and tournaments in England’s favour shone through at the 2010 U19 Cricket World Cup, where he appeared alongside fellow Men’s Cricket World Cup winners Joe Root and Jos Buttler.

Just as he pulled England back from the brink to win last summer’s Cricket World Cup, Stokes strode to the crease at 60 for four in the final group game of 2010 against India and took matters into his own hands.

The all-rounder peeled off 100 from 88 balls, including six sixes, to lift England to a total of 246 that they successfully defended and gave them a flawless group stage record in New Zealand.

It’s an innings that still sticks in the memory of Root, who feels the tournament played a crucial role in the development of a world-beating generation of English one-day cricketers.

“We didn’t get off to the best start in that India game but Ben played one of the best innings I’d ever seen for a player of that age,” said Root.

“It was on the first world stage you can play on – he made a brilliant hundred and we ended up winning the game against the tournament favourites, which was fantastic and great to be a part of.

“It was a launchpad for me and I played in a squad with a guys who are still in the team now, like Ben and James Vince.

“To play alongside players like that, learn from them and watch them develop, to then go back and play against them in county cricket, meant we were always pushing each other to get better.”

Four years on and the modern bowling phenomenon that is Rahman was unleashed by Bangladesh on ICC tournament play for the first time in the UAE.

The left-arm quick, nicknamed ‘Fizz’, put in place the building blocks of his reputation with three for 24 against Namibia and then three for 11 against Canada as Bangladesh won the Plate Championship.

Mustafizur credits the U19 World Cup with helping him make a record-breaking start to international cricket, becoming the tenth bowler in the history of ODIs to take five wickets on debut, against India.

“It wasn’t the best event in terms of results,” reflects Mustafizur. “But it was a stage to show my skills and the tournament really helps you to get accustomed to international cricket.

“When I made my T20I debut the next year against Pakistan, and then ODIs against India, I was ready to accept the challenge of playing against world-class teams and the U19 World Cup helped me a lot in understanding what was expected at that level.

“This tournament gives aspiring cricketers a taste of things to come and those who go on to make it to international cricket find it easier to adapt to the demands if they have the experience of an U19 World Cup behind them.”

Ross Taylor, the first Kiwi to reach 20 ODI centuries, first served notice of his talent back in 2002 in a U19 Cricket World Cup on home soil.

The tournament was graced by future stars in Dwayne Bravo, Hashim Amla, Shaun Marsh and George Bailey and won by an Australia side spearheaded by Cameron White and Xavier Doherty.

For Taylor, who skippered New Zealand, the tournament did nothing short of confirm cricket was the life for him.

“Whenever you represent your country and at whatever level it is, it’s always a special thing and even more to do so in your own country in front of family and friends,” said Taylor.

“I was fortunate and humbled to captain the side against all of the best young players in the world.

“It was nice to give you that hunger and drive to want to play at the next level.

“To go to a tournament like that at such a young age – I was 17 – meant I think it reinforced that this is what I wanted to do in life.” – ICC

Sewmina Priyamal of Basilica College Ragama made twin tons against Veluwana MV Colombo in their fixture of the ‘Singer Trophy’ Under 19 inter Schools Cricket tournament at Ragama on Wednesday.

Carey College Colombo beat Sripalee MV Horana by 4 wickets at Horana. Other matches were drawn.

•  At Dombagoda (Match drawn)

Royal Colombo: 335/7 decl. (267/5 o/n) (112.5) (Ishiwara Dissanayake 68, Kavindu Madarasinghe 66, Sadisha Rajapaksha 63, Prashan Kalhara 50 n.o., Kaushan Kulasooriya 33, Tithira Weerasinghe 21, Kavindu Pathirathne 20, Kushan Madusha 3/61)

Mahinda Galle: 165 (80.3) (Rashmika Madushanka 53, Kavinu Lakshan 23, Kaushitha Kodituwakku 20, Prashan Kalhara 3/14, Gishan Balasuriya 3/42, Sonal Amarasekara 2/25)

•  At Dehiwala (Match drawn)

Shastrananda MV Dehiwala: 250 (72.5) (Haritha Niranjan 62, Gayan Lasantha 48, Isuru Chamara 23, Vishma Anjula 22, Prasad Dilruksha 20, Sasith Paliyaguru 3/69, Kavinda Sandaruwan 2/7, Sithira Heshan 2/35) and 126/8 (40) (Nadeepa Lakshitha 62, Sasith Palliyaguru 2/31, Ravindu Devinda 2/9, Abdul Hasim 2/14)

Lalith Athulathmudali MV Mt. Lavinia: 245 (68/3 o/n) (78.2) (Thuwan Shehan 69, Sisira Heshan 40, Ravindu Devinda 22, Haritha Niranjan 4/35, Vishwa Anjula 3/70)

• At Horana (Carey Colombo won by 4 wickets)

Sri Palee Horana: 98 (39) (Dinuka Wanniarachchi 28, Nadishka Nayanamal 27, Viranga Yeshan 3/6, Vinuga Dinsitha 3/12) and 210 (52/2 o/n) (57.1) (Supun Jayasena 47, Himansa Nawanjana 40, Janith Dhananjaya 25, Adeepa Dilshan 34, Nadishka Nayanamal 24, Dinura Wanigasekara 6/94, Suhail Noor 2/36)

Carey Colombo: 200/9 decl. (64) (Dinura Wanigasekara 100 n.o., Mohommed Nabim 48, Dinura Wanigasekara 28, Viranga Yeshan 21, Dinuka Wanniarachchi 3/55, Rishan Kavishka 2/20, Sadeepa Dilshan 2/36) and 109/6 (46.1) (Lithika Damsith 41, Dinura Wanigasekara 24 n.o., Aveesha Weerarathne 20, Dinuka Wanniarachchi 4/43)

• At Ragama (Match drawn)

Basilica Ragama: 400/9 (95) (Sewmina Priyamal 118, Dilesh Chamodya 64, Kanishka Dilhara 42, Nethuka Kalsara 3/91, Vimukthi Bandara 2/63) and 207/7 decl. (33.3) (Sewmina Priyamal 104, Dilesh Chamodya 29, Kanishka Dulhara 27 n.o., Kavindu Dulanjana 6/61)

Veluwana Colombo: 141 (47.1) (Dilana Misisara 28, Dunara Madhuwantha 21, Shashin Madusha 3/19, Damindu Hiruhan 4/25) and 72/5 (18) (Dunara Madhuwantha 30, Thenuka Randula 2/13, Damindu Hirushan 2/19). YK

London, Wednesday: Mikel Arteta got everything he asked for in his first win as Arsenal manager with a rampant first 45 minutes from the Gunners earning a 2-0 victory over Manchester United at the Emirates.

Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored the goals to secure just a second win in 16 games.

Arsenal started the game three times as many points off the top four as the relegation zone, but a first home win in 87 days hauls Arteta’s men up to 10th and within four points of United in fifth.

“I am very pleased with the performance, I’m even more pleased with the result,” said Arteta after his third game in charge. “Everything I wanted to see on the pitch, I saw tonight.”

There were signs of encouragement for Arsenal in Arteta’s home debut against Chelsea on Sunday when only a late collapse saw a 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 defeat.

However, this time the hosts saw the game through as a dismal United performance raised fresh questions over their chances of finishing in the top four.

“At the moment we are suffering to maintain that level of intensity of the first halves,” added Arteta.

“That will come, but as well I really liked the resilience they showed. I liked to see them suffer together.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men were again shorn of Paul Pogba, who faces another month out after an operation on a troublesome ankle injury that has kept him out for the majority of the season.

Pogba’s absence is still evident in United’s inability to create when denied the chance to counter-attack and they failed to recover after falling behind early on.

“After they scored the first goal, it seemed like they got loads of energy,” said Solskjaer.

“They were the better team. They were aggressive, they regained the ball and it was hard to get the ball off them.” AFP

SYDNEY, Thursday - A flu-like bug that has ripped through the New Zealand squad ahead of the third test against Australia forced captain Kane Williamson and batsman Henry Nicholls to miss training for the second successive day on Thursday.

Tom Latham, who took the captain’s press conference in the absence of Williamson, said left-arm spinner Mitch Santner had also been affected by the bug but he was hopeful all three would be fit to play when the test got underway on Friday.

“It’s up in the air at the moment but a couple of the boys are a bit crook unfortunately,” Latham told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). “They’re going to have today off as well as yesterday, so fingers crossed tomorrow they’ll be right to go. “I think it’s flu-like symptoms, I’m not 100% sure,” he added. “It’s gone around the team a little bit, which isn’t ideal, but they’re resting up today and hopefully they’ll be good to go.”

New Zealand were beaten heavily in the first two tests of the three-match series but the loss in particular of world class batsman Williamson would be a major blow to their hopes of putting in a good performance to close out the tour.

Latham, however, thought it would have to be a very serious illness for his captain to miss the match.

“I think it will take a lot,” he said. “He’s obviously a great leader amongst this group and he’s passionate about this group so if there’s any chance of him playing, even if it is a small chance, I’m sure he’ll play.” Santner was under pressure for his place in the side in any case after taking 1-250 over the first two tests and his illness makes it even more likely that off-spinner Will Somerville will play his fourth test.

The 35-year-old former accountant, who knows the SCG well after playing for New South Wales for four years until 2018, was called into the squad this week.

New Zealand have only one extra batsman in the squad but Latham said the presence of a few all-rounders would make the position easier if Williamson and Nicholls were unable to play.

“Obviously if we lost those guys it would be a little bit disappointing but .... whatever side we end up playing, we’ve got the backing of the whole group that it’s the right team to do the job,” he said.

“We haven’t necessarily played our best brand of cricket since we’ve been over here and the guys are really excited to go out there over the next five days and try to put in a good performance.”

Australia likely to be unchanged, says Paine

Australia are unlikely to play a second spinner in the third test against New Zealand and will probably field the same team that beat the tourists in Melbourne last week to seal the series, captain Tim Paine said. The Sydney Cricket Ground is the only spin-friendly test venue in Australia and uncapped wrist spinner Mitchell Swepson was added to the squad to offer the option of a second slow bowler along with Nathan Lyon.

“We’ll have a look in the morning,” captain Tim Paine told reporters on Thursday.

“It’s likely we’ll go unchanged but it’s still a possibility when we see that wicket tomorrow morning that we’d go for another spinner.” Top order batsman Marnus Labuschagne’s part-time leg-spin, which has earned him 12 wickets in 13 tests, offers Paine another option if Australia decide

to stick with one specialist spinner and the SCG wicket turns towards the end of the match.

Big wins in Perth and Melbourne have given Australia an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series going into the Sydney test, which starts on

Friday. – Agencies

Club rugby resumes after the Christmas weekend with CH and FC and Police SC battling it out in the Dialog Inter-Club Rugby League at Police Park today.

Both teams have secured a win each against Navy SC.

Police are likely to field the same team that played against Kandy SC last week but their strength is foreign player Emosi Vunvosa. He has been the top performer for Police so far this season and also played a crucial role for them last season as well.

On the other hand CH who have recruited Rajeev Perera as their forwards coach are keen to impress and add more wins under their belt.

CH skipper Rohitha Rajapaksa said that recruiting Rajeev saw an improvement in their performance against Navy. “We are also planning to add more upcoming players to our squad rather than considering the big names. So for the game against Police we have decided to include Kingswood’s Hirushan Perera. Apart from him, it will be the same team that won against Navy.”

Police will be favoured to win due to their overall strength but CH are stopping at nothing to put up a good fight and turn the game in their favour.

Twenty-four wickets fell for 194 runs on day one of the ‘Singer Trophy’ Under 19 inter-schools cricket match between Maliyadeva Kurunegala and Gurukula Kelaniya at Aarons Country Club Cricket ground Bulathsinhala yesterday.

Maliyadeva made 93 and were 43-4 in their second innings at the close. Gurukula Kelaniya were shot out for 58 in their first innings.

RESULTS:

•  At Panadura: St. John’s Panadura won by 5 wickets.

Asoka Vidyalaya: 160 (66) (Methsindu Pasandul 76, Kusal Gunawardanan 22, Sumudu Udara 3/21, Thuruwan Perera 4/34) and 135 (49.1) (Sahan Vimukthi 51, Kusal Gunawardanan 22 n.o., Thuruwan Perera 6/47, Sumudu Udara 4/38)

St. John’s Panadura: 171 (128/6 o/n) (45.4) (Ashan Dilhara 64, Malith Fernando 43, Lakshina Sasindu 30, Janula Indusara 6/48, Umesh Madushan 2/24) and 128/5 (21.2) (Manuppriya Karunarthne 54 n.o., Sachin Dhananjaya 29, Vihanga Shanilka 3/28, Rahul Chandrasekara 2/58)

•  At Pelawatte: Match drawn.

St. Aloysius Ratnapura: 164 (47.3) (Anshika Methsara 38, Nandun Malape 27, Thumuditha Chiranjaya 26, Vihara Attanayake 20, Avishka Lakshan 6/26, Chatura Bandara 3/61) and 216 (63.1) (Vihara Attanayake 101, Isuru Sampath 34, Avishka Lakshan 4/72, Chatura Bandara 3/68, Sachindu Lakshan 2/41)

Royal Moneragala: 201 (159/9 o/n) (57) (Avishka Lakshan 82 n.o., Ishan Chanaka 24, Sachindu Lakshan 23, Sahan Tharaka 4/46, Vihara Attanayake 2/18)

DAY ONE SCORES

Matches will be continued today on day two.

•  At Bulathsinhala: Maliyadeva Kurunegala: 93 (36.5) (Praveen Nimesh 3/25, Rashmika Mewan 2/14, Thushara Madushan 2/19) and 43/4 at close (17.4) (Praveen Nimesh 2/16)

Gurukula Kelaniya: 58 (23.2) (Brian Karunanayake 5/32, Jayamin Muthukumarana 4/14)

•  At Kandana: St. Sylvester’s Kandy: 176 (46.1) (Kasun Edirithilake 62, Maleesha Silva 30, Charith Rajaguru 28, Nimsha Wijesinghe 23, Senash Fernando 5/56, Pramod Rajamunendra 3/33, Sihina Sithumina 2/26)

De Mazenod Kandana: 170/4 at close (46) (Nimna Fernando 61 n.o., Saliya Jude 40 n.o., Ruvin Fonseka 27, Lester Jayaweera 24)

•  At Police Park Kandy: Sri Rahula Katugastota: 129 (39.4) (Dilshan Arambegedara 43, Dhanajaya Bandara 34, Chamudika Abeyratne 3/28, Anul Seneviratne 2/14, K. Kevin 2/21, Navodya Weerasekara 2/35)

Kingswood: 150 (50.2) (Mahasen Ranasinghe 46, Dilmith Dissanayaka 30, Janith Kodithuwakku 4/35, Lahiru Wijeratne 3/28, Dilshan Arambegedara 3/29)

•  At Anuradhapura: P. de S. Kularatne MV Ambalangoda: 130 (96.3) (Tharindu Harshana 28, Ravishan Nethsara 26, Charitha Chiranjeewa 24, Laknesh Savinda 4/47, Yohan Chathuranga 2/20, Sachintha Sandeepa 2/30) vs Anuradhapura Central
•  At Jaffna:Kegalu Vidyalaya: 130 (60.5) (Pulasthi Athapattu 60, A. Abishek 4/12, T. Vinojan 2/35)

St. John’s Jaffna: 72/3 at close (16) (N. Sawmiyan 27, Ayesh Tharaka 2/22)

•  At Matugama: Homagama Central: 173 (58.1) (Sajith Chathuranga 77, Tharusha Thathsara 20, Shakila Priyashan 4/51, Lasindu Shehan 3/38, Uvindu Harshitha 2/30)

C.W.W. Kannangara Central Mathugama: 123/5 at close (35) (Ushan Maheepala 64, Kavishka Madushan 28, Chamiith Navoda 3/27)

•  At Poregedara: St. Thomas’ Kotte: 231 (70.1) (Tharushka Asel 56, Tharin Gimhan 40, Kevin Ranger 36, Malindu Perera 21, Ashen Chamuditha 21, Vihanga Pathirana 6/67, Chathuranga Ekanayake 3/42)

President’s Maharagama: 28/2 at close (7.3)

•  At Balangoda: S.Thomas’ Bandarawela: 166 (50) (Savith Bassnayaka 75, Mohommed Mafaz 26, Rasindu Dilshan 4/39, Lalantha Vishwajith 4/37)

Ananda Maithreya Central Balangoda: 203/4 at close (41) (Sankanath Vishwameth 71 n.o., Lithija Kalhara 67, Rasindu Dilshan 30) - (YK)

Wadduwa Central College beat Anula Vidyalaya Nugegoda by 2 wickets in their final round fixture of the ‘Singer Trophy’ Under 19 inter-schools cricket match at Wadduwa.

Defending champions Devapathiraja College Ratgama beat Ratnawali Balika Vidyalaya Gampaha by 41 runs at Ratgama.

RESULTS

•  At Ratgama:Devapathiraja won by 41 runs.

Devapathiraja: 148/5 (25) (Umasha Thimeshani 58, Shikari Nuwantha 46, Kaveesha Dilhari 15, Rashmi Silva 2/28) Ratnawali Balika Vidyalaya: 108/7 (25) (Sanduni Nisansala 52, Nethmi Nimthara 12, Imesha Dulani 2/13)

• At Wadduwa:Wadduwa Central won by 2 wickets.

Anula Vidyalaya Nugegoda: 79 (19.3) (Tharushi Sanjana 5/16, Inushi Fernando 3/13) Wadduwa Central: 80/8 (24) (Janadi Anali 2/9) - (YK)

CAPE TOWN, Thursday - The complexity of the transformation process in South African cricket, amid a desire for a racially diverse team that better represents the country, will again be highlighted on Thursday as selectors pick their side for the second test against England.

South Africa’s previously all-white cricket team has changed dramatically over the last three decades but there remains a quota target in team selection to redress the imbalances from the country’s apartheid era.

At least two black players and another four from South Africa’s mixed-race and Indian communities must play but last week’s first test had two new white players capped while another is expected to debut on Friday in the second test at Newlands.

The quota target fell short by two players in Pretoria after Temba Bavuma suffered a hip injury and was replaced by debutant Rassie van der Dussen, who now looks to retain his place as the No. 5 batsman while Bavuma battles with his fitness.

Dwaine Pretorius was chosen to fill the all-rounder’s berth in the side, ahead of Andile Phehlukwayo, who has played in four tests and 52 One Day Internationals.

Fulfilling the quota requirements while fielding a competitive team has long been a sensitive issue but after a poor 2019, returning to winning ways looks to be the immediate priority of the four selectors, two of whom are black.

Sunday’s first test win arrested a run of five successive defeats but came in tandem with criticism about too many whites in senior roles in and around the team after the recent shake-up of Cricket South Africa. At the top of the order, coach Mark Boucher has already said Pieter Malan will most likely make his debut on Friday in place of Aiden Markram, who had surgery this week on a broken finger, which could fuel further controversy.

Keegan Petersen, who is of mixed-race, was called to replace Markram in the squad but Boucher said: “For us to go messing around with the opening position wouldn’t be clever. “Pieter Malan has done a lot of good work over a long period of time. It’s his home ground. At the moment, we are swinging towards having a straight swap for the opening batsman.2

“We understand transformation and we understand we need to do a lot of hard work on a lot of players, especially all-rounders,” Boucher added.

Archer, may miss test

England paceman Jofra Archer may miss out on second test against South Africa after skipping bowling practice at Newlands on Wednesday.

Archer, who took six wickets in the first test defeat at Pretoria including 5-102 in the second innings, did bat in the nets and took part in fielding drills but a sore right elbow kept him from bowling. A decision on the 24-year-old would have to be made just before the start of the test on Friday.

He had been a doubt for the first match after suffering from the virus that swept through the England camp on their arrival in South Africa but recovered in time to play in the 107-run defeat.

For the first time on tour, England’s entire 19-man squad were at practice on Wednesday including spinner Jack Leech, who has suffered the longest from the flu bug.

Leech could come into contention as a spin option for England in the Newlands test.

“Fingers crossed we’ve beaten the illness.

"It was nice to have everyone here and training together today,” said wicketkeeper Jos Buttler on Wednesday.

“We start the new year afresh. We’ve had a lot of things thrown at us since the start of the tour but we know it is no excuse for how we performed (in the first test).”

– Agencies

Cricketers from both Australia and New Zealand wore black armbands on day one of the third Test in Sydney in honour of the fire and emergency personnel who have been dealing with fires across the country over the last few weeks.

Tim Paine, the Australia Test skipper, said the Sydney Test was an opportunity to provide a distraction to the people affected by the fires. “At times, for us, it’s important to look outside the bubble that we live in as international cricketers,” he said.

“The way we look at it is it might be an opportunity for us to provide a distraction for people and a bit of happiness if we can by playing a brand of cricket that Australians are proud of.

“We speak about one of the things being humble and showing some humility, so as I’ve said before, our thoughts certainly go out to the people that have been affected by it. The firefighters have been the real heroes of this summer. They’re taking on some extreme risk and putting themselves in some pretty [dangerous] situations.”

The hazardous fires have affected thousands of people in New South Wales, with the state declaring an emergency for the third time in as many months. Cricket Australia have declared that if the smoke from the fire reaches the Sydney Cricket Ground, they will pull the players out of the field.

“We won’t be putting the players’ health at risk, nor will be putting the health of match officials or fans at the match, or our own people, our own employees, at risk,” said Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia chief executive.

“That’s something we’ll be monitoring consistently throughout the five days’ play. “This is quite a unique situation. But we’re as confident as we can be that we’ve got the right expertise around us and that good judgment will be exercised and the safety of everyone at this great ground will be put first … Really, we need to be treating this like rain delays.”

Former heavyweight boxing champion Leon Spinks, who was hospitalised last month in a serious condition, is suffering from prostate cancer, his wife Brenda said on Thursday.

Spinks, 66, an Olympic Gold medallist in 1976 best known for a memorable upset victory over Muhammad Ali two years later in a world heavyweight title fight, was battling for his life in a Las Vegas hospital last month.

“It’s going to be a long road and a lot of work,” Brenda said in a statement to USA Today. “But we are bound and determined for the champ to make a comeback.”

The report says the cancer has spread to Spinks’ bladder. Brenda said that he has returned home and will undergo cancer treatment on an outpatient basis. – Agencies 

The Champion, Colombo European Team with Randeer Rodrigo (Former WPC Councillor), Shantha Fernando (Former Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha councillor Rienze Walles (Former National Football Player and K. Sribawan (tournament organizer). Picture by Joseph Pins – Wattala Special correspondent     

Colombo European FC emerged champions of the recently concluded Under 14 Seven a Side Football Tournament organised by Wattala Rienze Walles Football Academy and sponsored by Wattala Randeer Rodrigo Foundation in collaboration with Wattala Shantha Fernando Foundation.

Colombo European FC beat Kandana FC by 1-0 in the final after defeating. Young Silver FC. Wellewatta in the semi finals on their way to the final.

But Young Silver FC Wellawatte beat Renown SC Kotahena for Third Place. Mohamed Shiyam of European FC was adjudged as the Best Player of the tournament while Shevan Dhanajaya of Kandana FC was adjudged as the Best Goalkeeper. Wattala Rienze Walles Academy Football Team was awarded as the Bet disciplined Team of the tournament.

SLC Major T20 Inter-Club Cricket tournament conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket will start today The 26 Club teams will be divided into four groups in the first round. Champion and runner up 8 teams from 4 groups will advance to the quarter final round. First round will end on 15th January. Quarter finals will be held on 17th January. Semi finals will be held on 19th January and final will be played on 21st January at SSC.

12 Matches will be played today at six venues

Group ‘A’: Moors SC, Galle CC, Colts CC, Panadura SC, Baduraliya CC, Bloomfield C & AC, Unichela SC

Group ‘B’: NCC, Tamil Union C & AC, Saracens SC, SSC, Navy SC, Police SC

Group ‘C’: Army SC, Chilaw Marians CC, Negombo CC, Air Force SC, Kurunegala YCC, Kalutara TC

Group ‘D’: CCC, Ragama CC, Lankan CC, BRC, Ports Authority CC, Kandy Customs SC, Nugegoda S & WC

(YK)

Lyceum International School, Wattala beat Galahitiyawa Central College, Ganemulla by two wickets in their inter school first eleven cricket match worked off at Wattala.

Batting first visitors were all out for 99 runs and in reply homesters made 176 runs with Tuwan Haseem scoring 50 runs and Minsara Sandeepa captured 5 for 16 runs and in their second essay Galahitiyawa Central scored 197 runs with Gavindu Sathsara scoring 53 runs and Duleetha Geethanjana bagged 5 for 73 runs. Set to make 121 runs for an outright victory Lyceum scored 123 for 8 with Sandaruwan Chinthaka claiming 5 for 65.

Galahitiyawa Central– 99 in 38 overs – Denuwan Silva 23, Pasindu Fernando 2/19, Duleetha Geethanjana 3/9, Methush Lakshman 3/17 and 197, Gavindu Sathsara 53, Buddhika Thamesh 21, Neluka Dilshan 26, Esanda Sithum 21, Duleetha Geethanjana 5/73, Methush Lakshman 3/39, Ryan Perera 2/38

Lyceum International– 176 in 43.3 overs – Hansaja Bandara 45, Tuan Hassim 50, Sandaruwan Chinthaka 4/72, Minsara Sadupa 5/16 and 123/8 – Damitha Pawan 47, Mithush Lakshman 21 n/o, Sandaruwan Chinthaka 5/75

A group of 52 sports stars who have brought honour and fame to the Sri Lanka Air Force with their performances at the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) held at Kathmandu, Nepal were felicitated by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force Air Marshal Sumangala Dias during a ceremony held at SLAF Headquarters on December 29, 2019.

A total of 251 medals won by Sri Lankan players including 40 gold, 83 silver and 128 bronze medals at the South Asian Games while Sri Lanka Air Force men and women players obtained 41 medals including 5 gold, 14 silver and 22 bronze.

This felicitation ceremony was organized at the initiative of the Commander of the Air Force Air Marshal Sumangala Dias in view of felicitating and encouraging sportsmen and women.