LONDON, Sunday - Only Jonny Wilkinson, as a 24-year-old who had just landed the last-gasp drop goal that spectacularly won the 2003 Rugby World Cup for England, could immediately think: “Oh well, can’t top that, my career’s going to be all downhill from here.”

Only Wilkinson could, when asked in a news conference during that tournament if he was “turning into a basket case”, ponder, then give a long and reasoned answer suggesting that, all things considered, he probably was.

Only Wilkinson could look back at a career where he won 97 England and Lions caps, scored 1,246 test points, won the Six Nations four times, won the Premiership with Newcastle, won the European Cup twice and French league with Toulon, and say “That’s nothing”, explaining that the best part of his time as a professional was how he developed as a person by having to deal with injury adversity.

Few sportsmen could surely ever have worked more obsessively to be the best he possibly could, but having achieved greatness, few could have struggled so much to deal with the expectation, much of it internal, that came with it.

In the most bald terms, Wilkinson, who turns 41 on Monday, was right with his instant reaction in Sydney 17 years ago. His superb drop-goal, off his wrong foot having previously missed three other attempts in the match, was, and remains, the pinnacle not just of his career, but of the entire history of English rugby.

He did appear in two further World Cups, reaching the final again in 2007 and quarter-final four years later (he also played in the 1999 tournament) but his career was also a story of relentless pain and damage - both physical and mental.

He had surgery on his ankle, neck, shoulder, knees and bicep. At one point he says he suffered 17 separate injuries in a four-year period, including the neck injury that kept him on the sidelines for 10 months.

Those repeated setbacks sent him into a spiral of agonising frustration and depression, which, combined with his ceaseless self-flagellation in the pursuit of perfection, threatened to see him walk away from the game when he still had much to offer.

Only once he moved to the south of France with Toulon did Wilkinson appear to become more comfortable with himself and learn to keep something of a lid on his inner demons.

– Agencies

Former Sri Lanka captain and one of the most elegant batsmen in cricket history Mahela Jayawardene during a crisis management meeting at Temple Trees with the country’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has not done anything to develop school cricket for the past 15 years.

Obviously, Mahela’s claim has started a new debate in Sri Lankan cricket fraternity. Many have backed Mahela’s exposure, while others have opined against it.

Asanga Seneviratne who served Sri Lanka Cricket as vice president and interim committee member from 2012-16 had closely worked with school cricket, finding the much needed sponsorship and providing technical input.

Here is Asanga Seneviratne’s view:

“As a past Interim committee member and Vice President of Sri Lanka Cricket from 2010-16, we hosted two World Cups and entered 3 World Cup finals and won one. I am rather surprised at Mahela’s statement regarding school cricket. Sri Lanka has the finest junior cricket program in the world. This 100 year+ legacy is continued with the dedication and sacrifices of many, who mostly go unnoticed and are almost never recognized or compensated adequately. During my tenure, the work conducted to support, improve and sustain school cricket was substantial and a priority for Sri Lanka Cricket.

We allocated approximately 15% of our annual budget for junior cricket development and infrastructure every year. In addition, full time professionals were employed to monitor the progress carefully.

Given below are some of the activities and work carried out to support Junior Cricket at that time.

1. Allocated funds for district, provincial and National junior National team programs and development. Over 35 full time paid specialist coaches were on the pay roll and 3 senior personal overlooked the process as Senior Coaches – Anura Tennekoon, Roy Dias and Srinath Fernando.

2. Allocated Rollers, Clay bags, Boundary ropes, Covers, Material bags (including bats), Matting and scoring fees for schools that had made requests.

3. Allocations for schools to develop infrastructure and grounds and side pitches and providing curators.

4. Under 15, 17 and 19 Provincial/Zonal tournaments

5. Initiated Plans to build 4 Provincial Center’s of Cricket Excellence, now in operation.

6. Women’s under 19 All Island (district) Tournament inaugurated.

7. Under 15 & 17 Nation squad training and under 19 National team tours and home internationals with full time coaches and support staff every year. (We had a policy and conducted a minimum of 3 tours per year for under 19 and A teams at that time)

8. Max Cricket academy and Surrey Village managed and operated for junior cricket. Built first turf wicket in Jaffna.

9. Signed agreement to develop infrastructure (including lights) at Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC). All the big schools encounters are being played on this ground.

10. Special High Performance training at the National Academy at Khettarama International Stadium for junior National pool under senior National coaches – Jerome Jayaratne, Champaka Ramanayake, Ruwan Kalpage, Piyal Wijetunge, Roger Wijesooriya, Sumith Warnakulasooriya and Roy Dias.

All these details and more are available in the Cricket Board ExCo meeting minutes and documents that can be accessed.

This unfounded criticism has come about by a group of former cricketing legends, who have played just a minor role after their high profile retirements to contribute in any meaningful manner to Sri Lanka cricket. Schools cricket in the country is in an extremely healthy state and is competitive as ever.

Saying this, indeed, as stated by Mahela, there are some shortcomings in the system as well. Hopefully he and his former teammates will now get into the system and lead the way to do the work necessary and not just offer plans that no one will follow. I believe some of these matters raised will never completely be solved, unless local government and businesses understand the importance of sport in a children’s life and work hand in hand with the different associations to provide pathways and investment.

You cannot expect the Cricket Board to do more than what they are already doing with the funds and resources available since at the time I was involved 60-70% of our earning were paid out to the National and Club players and very little was left to do anything more than what we were already doing. The failures of the National team in the recent past (the crux of the matter and one of the reasons for the outburst) are not in anyway the fault of our schools cricket system! At any given year, we have at least 20 -30 top class players coming out and another 50-100 already in the clubs, who with the proper backing could step up.

The selection of National Cricket teams in the recent past has been diabolical to say the least. The retirement of legends almost all at the same time (Murali, Mahela, Sanga, Dilshan) would leave any team/country in a quandary. In any team, the marquee players play a major role and control proceedings in team selection and succession and more so during his period. Players who were backed to carry on the mantle have failed miserably and this is one of the reasons Sri Lanka cricket is in a total mess.

Hopefully they have learnt from these experiences and it should now be a priority to get them into the national set up and get their experience and expertise to get us back on track. Giving their learned opinion and sitting on the sidelines won’t cut it. This of course means they need to sacrifice their million dollar contracts and deals and once again serve Sri Lanka cricket. Will they be willing to do that? Your guess is as good as mine!

Old Rajan S.U. Mendis, one of the finest sportsman produced by Dharmaraja College, Kandy in the mid-sixties had represented the school in Cricket, Soccer and Athletics and received the highest award ‘Dagoba’ for all three sports.

He was the goalkeeper of the school soccer team. Six feet, three inches tall Mendis opened bowling at school with T.B. Kehelgamuwa. Mendis captained the College cricket team in 1964 and led them to victory over Prince of Wales, Zahira, Ananda, Nalanda, Richmond and St. Anthony’s they were defeated by Trinity College, Kandy.

Mendis was a bright student who won the Gold Medal for being the ‘Best Student’

of the School in 1964. He entered the University of Peradeniya Faculty of Engineering in 1966 and continued Athletics and played Cricket, Soccer and Rugby. He started rugby in the campus and he had a safe pair of hands and he could kick 40 to 45 yards with both feet. He was selected to the university rugby team and later joined the National team in 1969. He was the second Rajan to be selected for the National rugby team after C.S. Fernando. In 1969 he was selected as the Best Sportsman of the University of Peradeniya and was elected as the President of the Sports Council.

When Mendis was the captain of the school cricket team his team mates were Ananda Jayasundera, N.K.B. Angammana, P. Mangalaratne, Harold

Ranasinghe and Upananda Jayasundera to name a few. After Mendis there were some Rajans who represented Sri Lanka in the National rugby team namely Daya Jayasundera, Hemantha Yatawara, Ajantha Samarakoon, Indrajith Bandaranayake to name a few. Mendis joined the Sri Lanka Air Force in 1971 and served till 1983 and joined Air Lanka as Manager of Production, Planning and Control. At the request of his wife he

migrated to Canada and worked as Air Worthiness Specialist in the Canadian

government for 20 years before calling it a day in August 2015. He is blessed with two children, a son and a daughter and leads a retired life in Canada.

NEW DELHI, Monday - Balbir Singh, who won three Olympic hockey golds for India and became one his country's biggest sporting heroes, has died at the age of 95, his family said Monday.

Singh was in teams that won the Olympic title in London in 1948 and Helsinki in 1952 and led the side that won in Melbourne in 1956. His five goals in the 6-1 defeat of the Netherlands in 1952 remain a record for an Olympic final.

India beat the former colonial power Great Britain 4-0 in the 1948 final which came only a few months after his country's troubled independence.

Singh scored two of India's goals at Wembley stadium and became one of the biggest stars of the Games. "I was on top of the world," he said later. "It was very special to beat the former rulers in their country."

Singh was also the manager of the Indian side that won the 1975 World Cup. "He was a hard task master," said Ajit Pal Singh, who was captain of the 1975 team.

"I still remember how he imbibed, self belief and unity which helped us to win," Pal Singh told Press Trust of India news agency. Singh was one of the key figures in India's golden era of hockey dominance. The men's team have not won an Olympic title since their eighth gold at the 1980 Moscow Games.

Singh had been in hospital after suffering three heart attacks in recent weeks.

– AFP

LONDON, Monday - Zola Budd fears her running career will be defined by one of the Olympic Games’ most controversial moments, one that may unfairly detract from an incredible talent who still holds records unbeaten for almost four decades.

Budd’s clash with Mary Decker while an inexperienced 18-year-old at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles remains the most talked about moment of a career that drew plenty of press attention, at times bewildering for a teenager plucked from Apartheid South Africa and fast-tracked to run for Great Britain.

Those ghosts have long been laid to rest for Budd, who now resides in Myrtle Beach in the United States and until last year was the head cross country coach at the Coastal Carolina University.

The Daily Mail newspaper had campaigned for Budd, who had an English grandfather, to be handed British citizenship after she emerged as a teenage prodigy.

“Looking back, that was the worst decision of my life to run those Games,” Budd tells Reuters.

“It was way too early in my career, I did not have enough experience running races at that level and I was still very young coming from South Africa.

“Emotionally I was not ready for an event like the Olympics, especially with the political upheaval and all the pressure around that.”

Budd’s story made her a target for the tabloids, but when she clashed with home favourite Decker in the 3,000-metres at the 1984 Games and the American tumbled to the floor, the youngster became a household name around the world. Opinion remains divided over the incident, but Budd was in front of Decker in the leading pack when their legs became entangled and according to race officials was not to blame. Decker, who later conceded there was no malice in the incident, could not continue after her fall, and Budd faded to finish seventh.

“At that time there was nothing else happening with the Russians (USSR) not competing at those Olympics, so the American media had to find something to hype up the Games,” Budd says.

“Obviously me and Mary (as favourites) was a good story for them. The whole incident went overboard in the press.

“I felt then that even if I had won the gold medal, it wouldn’t have mattered because I would still be branded an outcast. I couldn’t win either way, so for me the 1984 Games were a lose-lose situation.”

But Budd rebounded and had the best years of her career in 1985 and 1986.

“People think my career ended after 1984, but I then won the World Cross Country Championships twice. “I raced with Mary on quite a few occasions, and she helped me run all my best times. I don’t want to be defined by ‘84, but I think it is what people mostly remember.”

Budd later competed for South Africa in the 3,000-metres at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but having been laid low with tick bite fever in the build-up, she failed to qualify for the final.

She still holds junior world records in distances ranging from the mile to 3,000 metres some 35 years after they were set.

– Agencies

LONDON, Monday - Soccer players will be able to tackle in close-contact training, and boxers spar with partners, in the next step towards Britain’s elite athletes returning to live sport after the COVID-19 lockdown, guidance published on Monday said.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) guidance spelled out the second part of a five-stage framework to enable athletes to get match fit before any top level competition resumes.

“Stage Two training can be described as the resumption of close-contact training where pairs, small groups and/or teams will be able to interact in much closer contact,” it said.

Examples given include close quarters coaching, combat sports sparring, team sports tackling and the sharing of technical equipment such as balls, gloves and pads.

“The progression of training into Stage Two is vital to prepare fully for the return of competitive sporting fixtures in many sports,” added the document. “Close contact training is required to replicate match formations and conditions, so that the sport-specific demands can be placed on the body, mind and senses.”

NEW DELHI: Tax exemption for future global cricket events in India has once again become a bone of contention between the BCCI and ICC as the former gears up to host the 2021 T20 World Cup and 50-over showpiece event in 2023.

The ICC and BCCI have had a long standing feud on tax exemptions since the 2016 World T20 in India. An ICC spokesperson said that both parties are trying to reach an amicable solution.

“The ICC and BCCI have been working in partnership to address the issue of tax exemptions for ICC events that is a requirement of the host agreement signed by all parties at the beginning of the cycle in 2015 and this work is ongoing,” the spokesperson told PTI.

“There are certain timelines within the agreements that we collectively work towards to ensure we can deliver successful world class events and continue to invest in the sport of cricket.”In addition to this the ICC Board agreed clear timelines for the resolution of the tax issues which we are guided by,” the spokesperson added.

While the outgoing ICC chairman Shashank Manohar and chief executive Manu Sawhney have been in constant touch with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, the BCCI top-brass didn’t like the tone of mail sent by the parent body’s legal head Jonathan Hall.

Hall, in his mail, has written about the BCCI not adhering to timelines on committing to tax exemptions as per the agreement.

“The tax structure is not decided by the BCCI but by the Indian government. It is our government that decides whether exemption will be possible or not. For the record, Formula One also wasn’t given tax exemption,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.

Prior to 2016 World T20, the BCCI got tax exemptions for global events, as stated in an earlier documentation of the erstwhile Committee of Administrators (COA).

Normally, the ICC seeks exemption on excise duties for importing TV production equipment and ticketing. But in this case, Star Sports, which also has the BCCI’s home match rights, has a set up in India. This had been the bone of contention during 2016 Word T20 also and that matter is up for hearing in the ICC tribunal.

“We understand that as the nomination process of new ICC chairman starts on Tuesday, suddenly there has been a flurry of communication. You can be rest assured that T20 World Cup in 2021 and 2023 ODI World Cup is going nowhere.”

As far as timeline is concerned, we had told ICC that unless lockdown is lifted, we can’t have discussions with government officials,” the influential member said.

Even an ICC Board member said that discussions should be on to find a plausible solution as the first deadline for tax exemption was December, 2019.

The tax issue finds mention in a COA document of July 6, 2019, when the BCCI legal team was asked to get in touch with a British law firm as legal cases pertaining to ICC falls under the UK law.

– PTI

The authorities must not postpone the T20 World Cup in haste since the showpiece event is the best product to highlight cricket once activities resume, Pakistan head coach and chief selector, Misbah-ul-Haq has said.

Misbah said though logistics is a huge challenge due to the prevailing circumstances, the authorities must deliberate enough before arriving at a decision.

“The logistics of hosting 16 teams is not easy but the authorities should give it time and wait for a month or more before taking any decision,” Misbah said in an interview to YouTube channel, Cricket Baaz. “Everyone wants to see the T20 World Cup. It would be the best product to highlight cricket once activities resume internationally.”

Misbah also said that their upcoming tour to England will not be easy for either the players, coaches or anyone as circumstances are not ideal for cricket.

“But there is a feeling of depression right now all over the world because of this Covid-19 problem and with sports suspended there is no entertainment. People want to move on so I think we must give it a try,” he said.

Pakistan and England Boards have discussed a tour by the green shirts from July to play three Tests and three T20 matches in bio-security environment.

“The idea is to first have one to one training then increase the number of players to groups. We need to get together and train to be prepared for a comeback to cricket. It is not going to be easy also getting used to new rules like not applying saliva sweat to shine the ball. I am hoping a three-week camp in Pakistan and then more practice in quarantine in England should get the players prepared,” Misbah pointed out.

The Pakistan coach had no doubt the players will face difficulties adjusting to the new laws and bio-security environment. Misbah confirmed that former captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed would be the second wicketkeeper in the touring squad after Rizwan.

“We will be taking a group of 25 to 27 players to England because we can’t ask for replacements and we all have to be together from start to end so that no one catches the virus,” he said.

“Yes it makes sense to take two keepers on this tour because where will we find a replacement in those conditions. Sarfaraz is obviously our choice.” The Pakistan head coach to a question insisted he had no personal motive in seeing Sarfaraz ousted as captain and player from all three formats.

“I felt that as time progressed Sarfaraz was feeling more pressure more so because of his own form which was suffering. It was a decision to give him a break so that he could rest and make a strong comeback,” he said. I am happy to see that he has worked very hard on his fitness and game. He is very much in our plans.”

Misbah also insisted that pace bowlers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Aamir’s exclusion from central contracts had nothing to do with their decision to quit red ball cricket.

“They were not given contracts because the board has decided to reduce the number of players given contracts to make it more competitive and we felt that we needed to give some incentive to the younger players,” said Misbah.

“The two are very much in our plans until the 2023 World Cup. They are still playing white ball cricket and don’t forget they are two T20 World events before 2023. They figure in our plans and will play when required.” – PTI

Sri Lanka rugby stalwart Policemen Nizam Jamaldeen has been promoted to the rank of Senior Superintendent.

One of the top rugby place kickers, he was a record breaking goal kicker and played for the Police and country. He was attached to former Prime Minister Ranil Wickemasinghe’s security and is currently with his security division.

Jamaldeen was one time big boss of the Sri Lanka Rugby Referees’ Society and one of the few referees who had public acceptance. He was also an IRB Referee.

He is a product of Isipathana College where he learnt and polished his rugby and later enrolled at the Police department where he excelled in goal kicking. His goal kicking from any position helped both Issipathana College and Police to win several games. He joined the Police force in 1985 and was a regular member of it till 1995.

He contributed over 100 points every season and once slammed a personal best of 248 points.

Jamaldeen had the rare honor of representing Sri Lanka in five Asiads and several international Sevens tournaments. His best performance for the country came at the 1990 Rugby Asiad held in Colombo, when he fired across three 40 metre penalties in the opening game against Hong Kong, where Sri Lanka went down fighting.

In the next game against Chinese Taipei, he fired across a penalty and added the extra points to the solitary try scored to give Sri Lanka a historic 9-6 win.

As a coach, he gave his best for St. Joseph’s College and later for Royal College. His two sons Arshad and Aaqil played for Royal College. Aaqil is currently a knowledgeable referee.

LONDON, Monday - The coronavirus may have struck shortly before the English cricket season was due to start but it threatens to have major implications for the game worldwide.

English officials still believe they can fit a full international programme of three-Test series against both the West Indies and Pakistan, as well as one-day internationals with Australia and Ireland, into a season that won't start until July 1 at the earliest.

But there is now an expectation matches will have to be played behind closed doors, in the short-term at least, as a way of stopping the spread of COVID-19.

That would, however, still allow the England and Wales Cricket Board to honour lucrative broadcast contracts and avoid the nightmare scenario of a completely wiped out season that could cost the organisation £380 million ($463 million).

Below AFP Sport looks at the key issues confronting cricket amid the pandemic.

WILL TEAMS GO ON TOUR?

-- West Indies and Pakistan, two of crickets less well-off major teams, have both made encouraging noises about touring England, subject to health concerns and appear to ready to factor a 14-day quarantine on arrival in Britain, because of UK government regulations, into their planning.

Matches are set to be played at 'bio-secure' venues such as Hampshire's Ageas Bowl or Old Trafford that have onsite hotels.

"We are trying to get to England early July so that we can get the quarantine done," said Pakistan Cricket Board chief executive Wasim Khan.

Australia were meant to play three Twenty20s and three one-day internationals in July but may delay their visit to later in the season after seeing how the West Indies and Pakistan series pan out.

"Obviously we won't jeopardise the safety of the players," Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.

"But the best test of that is the West Indian and Pakistan tours of England before we're due to tour. We hope they go off without a hitch."

WHAT WILL CRICKET LOOK LIKE?

-- Even if a rescheduled series between England and the West Indies starts in July, the game itself will look very different.

Not only will there be no spectators but wicket celebrations such as 'high fives' are set to be banned according to International Cricket Council guidelines issued last week.

Umpires have also been instructed to wear gloves to minimise the risk of infection, with bowlers no longer handing their cap and sweater to officials for the same reason.

Another 'interim' measure, which still requires approval at a June vote, would see bowlers banned from using saliva to shine the ball to aid swing, although they will still be allowed to apply their own sweat.

Travel restrictions could see two umpires from a home nation stand in a Test for the first time since 1994 when the ICC started moving towards neutral officials to counter accusations of bias.

The ICC's cricket committee also said last week each team should be awarded an additional DRS review per innings.

Meanwhile, Chris Broad, the only Englishman on the ICC's elite panel of referees, may have to officiate in matches involving his son Stuart, the England fast bowler.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE T20 WORLD CUP AND IPL?

-- An ICC board meeting on Thursday May 28, could see the men's Twenty20 World Cup, due to held in Australia from October 18, postponed. Problems over flying in 16 teams to Australia may be reason enough to delay the event by a year.

That would allow the already postponed franchise Indian Premier League, the world's wealthiest T20 competition, to go ahead in its place.

Manoj Badale, a part-owner of the Rajasthan Royals, told the London Daily Telegraph last month: "No IPL (in 2020) would be a big $600 million loss for the global cricket economy."

South African director of cricket Graeme Smith has called for India's Sourav Ganguly, a fellow former Test captain, to become the next ICC chairman.

The Proteas, hard hit by the low value of South Africa's rand, hope to host a three-match T20 series against India in August.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR WOMEN'S CRICKET?

-- The women's game was riding the crest of a wave after a crowd of over 86,000 in Melbourne saw hosts Australia beat India in the final of the T20 World Cup in March, shortly before global sport went into lockdown.

But Clare Connor, the ECB's managing director of women's cricket, has accepted her side of the game may have to be sacrificed completely in order for more lucrative men's matches to go ahead this season.

But there are hopes a series with South Africa could still take place in September. – AFP

MUMBAI, Sunday - A recommendation banning the use of saliva to shine a cricket ball when the sport resumes after the novel coronavirus shutdown is only a temporary measure, Anil Kumble, the chairman of the International Cricket Council’s Cricket Committee, has said.

Cricketers have used the age-old method of shining one side of the ball with a combination of saliva and sweat to help bowlers generate more movement in the air as it travels towards the batsman.

However, as part of efforts aimed at minimizing the risk of spreading the virus, the governing body’s cricket committee has recommended the ban on using spit.

“We have been very critical and we have been very focused on eliminating any external substances coming into the game,” former India leg-spinner Kumble said on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected. “This is only an interim measure and as long as we have hopefully control over COVID in a few months or a year’s time then I think things will go back to as normal as it can be.”

Australia quick Pat Cummins has said cricket’s lawmakers should approve the use of an artificial substance to shine the ball if the ban on saliva was enacted, while compatriot Josh Hazlewood has said it would difficult to police such a ban.

– Agencies

Sri Lankan police have detained international cricketer Shehan Madushanka on a charge of possessing heroin, officials said yesterday.

Madushanka, 25, who took a hat-trick of wickets on his international debut in 2018, was remanded in custody for two weeks by a magistrate.

He was carrying just over two grams of heroin when detained in the town of Pannala on Sunday, a police official said.

Madushanka was stopped while driving with another person in a car during a nationwide coronavirus curfew, police said.

The right-arm pace bowler took a hat-trick against Bangladesh on his one-day international debut in January 2018. He also played two T20 matches against Bangladesh in 2018, but has not played an international since due to injuries.

The scorecard wormhole starts innocently enough. You are daydreaming of a match, pull it up and spot a player you didn’t realise was in the team. Curiosity takes over. When did he debut? What did he average? And his great aunt played Test cricket before the war? I wonder what her average was … and, so it goes.

That’s how it went for me last month, on the 90th anniversary of the first Test triple ton - Andy Sandham’s 325 in 1930. Who played in that game? Much to my delight Wilfred Rhodes, in his 58th and final appearance aged 52.

Next, naturally, I clicked on Rhodes’s debut, an astonishing 31 years earlier. And what do you know, that Ashes match at Trent Bridge in 1899 was both WG Grace’s final Test outing and Victor Trumper’s first. Mind blown. Yes, in that moment, I was frustrated that Rhodes did not continue a few months further into 1930 to play against Don Bradman when he hit his first triple – missing the chance to link the defining careers of The Don and The Doctor – but you can’t have it all.

I found myself similarly delighted last year when listing players from the 1990s still padding up. Of particular interest was finding out that Marcus Trescothick made his bow in 1993 under the captaincy of Chris Tavaré, who started his own lengthy career in 1974. When tweeting this upon Trescothick’s retirement, Test Match Special’s master statistician, Andrew Samson, told me he could go one better: Suwanji Madanayake, who started in 1991, was still at it.

Indeed, he was again this year. In February, Samson noted that the Sri Lankan was the first cricketer since Eddie Hemmings to have a career extending beyond 28 years – the latter playing from 1966 to 1995. He added that Madanayake became one of 16 players to play first-class cricket before the age of 17 and also after 44. Grace was also one of those; Fred Titmus the most recent.

Except that Madanayake did not begin before his 17th birthday. This is the first point the charming left-arm spinner – the same bowling discipline as Rhodes – clarified with The Spin when we contacted him. Many years ago, a website recorded his birth year as 1974 and it stuck. He was actually born in 1972 and turns 48 in August. When walking out at Kandy on that November morning, bowling to Aravinda de Silva, the Soviet Union was still six weeks from collapsing. There were dreams of higher honours, quite reasonable ones if not for Muttiah Muralitharan. When his long period at the top finally ended in 2008, Rangana Herath, another left-arm tweaker, got the nod as the younger of the pair during that transition. “All of my clubmates ask why I didn’t play in the national side,” Madanayake laments. “Rangana had his chance and fulfilled his target and I was unlucky.”

But to view Madanayake’s career as unfulfilled misses the mark. Instead, this is a man who cherishes the game and savours being able to talk about Kumar Sangakkara’s days as the young fella in his dressing room. Or turning out in the same team as the man with the most initials to ever play the game: ARRAPWRRKB Amunugama. This gratitude extends to his thanks to the bank that has let him put cricket first over the 24 years of his employment.

All told, he has played first-class or List A cricket for some 14 teams in Sri Lanka across those 29 years. Adding clubs in England and Australia, where he has been an enthusiastic import, that number swells to “about” 30. “It is demand,” he says in the best traditions of the touring pro. “When you are performing well, the clubs ask you to come. They are good offers. That is why I move.”

Madanayake’s most productive spell as an overseas player came in England, from 2007 to 2011. Across those five seasons, primarily in the Liverpool league, he claimed a ridiculous 335 league wickets while collecting more than 2,700 runs for good measure, including a haul of 794 in 2010. For Ormskirk, Maghull, Wigan, Ipswich and Barlaston, he utterly dominated. Why not stay put at one place? “I was getting old, so I had to take the offers.”

It still rankles Madanayake that four seasons – between 2013 and 2016 – do not count towards his first-class numbers because Sri Lanka Cricket reclassified the division he was playing in. Instead of 133 matches and 371 wickets (at just 21.9 apiece!) he calculates that this should be more like 200 and 500 with a best of eight for 45. But this didn’t dissuade him: he has turned out for four top-flight teams since, also finding time for a couple of Australian seasons as recently as 2018.

He bamboozled them there, just as he did the English clubbies a decade earlier, with his “magic ball”. Yes, after decades in the nets, he has a mystery delivery – like every wily twirler. “It comes into the batsman to hit their pads or bowl them. It looks like a leg spinner but it’s not. It’s a surprise.”

Madanayake’s celebrations remain as enthusiastic as a pup, for there is nothing he enjoys more than duping a batsman not even half his age. “They look fit but don’t use their brains. Without a brain, you can’t play the game.”

In the short term, he has a job to do: keep Kalutara Town in the top flight with four rounds still to play post-Covid. If they drop? Simple, he’ll find another home.

Samson says the last player to play into their 50s was another Sri Lankan, Somachandra de Silva, finishing at 52 in 1995. The most recent regular Englishman was Ray Illingworth when returning to captain Yorkshire in 1982 and 1983. Madanayake believes he can “easily” join this club in 2022 after breaking the 30-year barrier next November. “The kids ask why this old dog is still playing, but the clubs need my experience.”

As for English cricket, Madanayake is not finished either. In fact, he wants me to tell prospective clubs that he is ready to serve, both as a bowler and a coach – earning his level two ECB badge in the past. “I have vast experience there,” he says.

“There is a lack of spin in England because they don’t know how to spin and grip the ball in those conditions. I did it – my stats show that. So, I can teach the kids.” On the available evidence, those clubs should form an orderly queue.

– theguardian

Doing away with reset scrums and eliminating “upright face-to-face” tackles would significantly reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, according to a new study by World Rugby.

The governing body also advises making a change of jerseys and headgear at half-time compulsory, banning huddles on the pitch and outlawing spitting. Players washing their hands and face with soap for 20 seconds and frequently changing balls during matches have also been proposed.

Eliminating reset scrums would be the most significant move, however, and one that would be welcomed by many given the delays they can cause.

The findings will be put to World Rugby’s executive committee this week to consider any temporary law guidelines which would be adopted by the unions at their own discretion. At the very least the study – which examines transmission risk via saliva and sweat – is likely to lead to a clampdown by referees on the time it takes to reset scrums as well as upright tackles.

The study states that eliminating reset scrums would lead to a 30% reduction in “high-transmission risk exposure time”, having identified second-rows and props as the playing positions most at risk.

Based on guidelines from the World Health Organization that define high-risk transition as players being within one metre for 15 cumulative minutes, World Rugby has found that the average exposure time for second-rows and props is 13.4 minutes and, significantly, reset scrums account for 3.6 minutes. In total, scrums are identified as making up 50% of high-risk exposure time during an 80-minute match.

World Rugby has long since been attempting to rid the game of upright tackles, having identified them as a key contributor to head injuries. Tackles when the defender went into contact upright and with force were found to be the most dangerous in a study that led to World Rugby introducing its high tackle framework before last year’s World Cup. The new study states that removing upright tackles from the game would “decrease the frequency of high-risk exposure events by 20%”. Premiership clubs intend to continue with their tender process for coronavirus testing kits despite the government stating testing is not mandatory before returning to contact training in its “step two” guidelines.

Last week, after a Professional Game Board meeting, it was decided that Premiership clubs would not return to individual training – step one of the government’s guidelines – for at least two weeks. It is understood that a number of clubs had concerns over the cost of testing – around £20,000 a week – particularly if players had to be taken off furlough without a resumption date set but the latest announcement is not being taken as approval to begin training without a testing regime.

It is understood the hold-up before returning to step one is in part due to the stringent protocols being compiled by the RFU’s chief doctor, Simon Kemp. They include that players must not use public transport to travel to training, that balls must not be shared or passed in training and that no food can be consumed on site. – theguardian

Kandy has produced plenty of sportsmen and among them are the Yatawara family who have made a name for themselves.

For example, Udaya Yatawara is known to be a fine sportman having excelled in Cricket, Rugby, Football and Athletics at Dharmaraja College, Kandy. He is known to be a top quality all-rounder in cricket, having represented the school from 1979 to 1982, played Rugby and participated in Athletics too winning school colours in all three sports. Dharmaraja College has produced many top-notch cricketers and in 1981-82, Udaya seemed to have really revelled, making over 900 runs, averaging over 50 per innings. While in the cricket team during his heyday Udaya really excelled in fielding and Kandy had fine fielders like Lalith Wijeratne, Bernard Perera etc.

There was a contest in 1981 for the selection of the Best Batsman of the year in Kandy at St. Anthony’s grounds and there was Duleep Mendis, Susil Fernando, Sidath Wettimuny, Ranjan Madugalle and some others and in that contest Udaya Yatawara’s outstanding fielding helped him for the highest haul of catches. After leaving school, Udaya played for Kandy Cricket Club in ‘A’ Division cricket as an opening batsman from 1983 to 1988 and also for George Steuarts in Mercantile Cricket. He turned out to be a great success and they were able to win many tournaments. While cricket took pride of place in his sporting career, Udaya did not forget Athletics and Football and he encouraged young sportsmen to improve their interest in sports. A Public Schools coloursman in Athletics, he was a prominent participant in the Mercantile Sector. Udaya was the President of the Old Boys Union of Dharmaraja College, Kandy (Colombo Branch).

Sports goes a long way in the family as Udaya’s elder brother Hemantha received the highest award ‘Dagoba’ at Dharmaraja College for Rugby, Hockey and Athletics. He was attached to the Police as an Inspector and played rugby for Police and the country as well. The other brother Saman, also a sportsman was attached to the Police and ended his career as Deputy Inspector General.

He has 6 brothers in all. Hemantha, Saman and Udaya played for the 1st fifteen rugby team of Dharmaraja College in 1980 which was captained by Hemantha and the team coach was Lanil Tennakoon.

LONDON, Tuesday - Paul Gascoigne’s tears in Turin captivated a nation and once they had fallen in love with the prodigiously talented but delicate England playmaker, they could never take their eyes off him, no matter how painful it was to keep looking.

“Part of his genius, part of his magnificence is the fact he is so vulnerable,” said Gary Lineker in 2015 documentary film ‘Gascoigne’ on the life of the mercurial midfielder.

Lineker was the one who fired a 23-year-old Gascoigne a warning upon returning home after being England’s stand-out player at the 1990 World Cup in Italy: be careful.

As ‘Gazza’ turns 53 today, enjoying some rare respite in what has been a turbulent and often tragic life, it is fair to suggest he did not take Lineker’s advice seriously. Alex Ferguson had made it his mission to sign Gascoigne from Newcastle United after seeing him torment his Manchester United side, the youngster’s confidence summed up by knocking the ball through an opponent’s legs and patting him on the head.

But Gascoigne instead chose to sign for Tottenham Hotspur, who offered to buy his mother a house, his father a car and his sister a sunbed.

Gascoigne has admitted regretting not joining Ferguson, who may have kept him on a tighter leash than at Tottenham, where he indulged in London’s night life and claimed he once brought an ostrich to training.

Then again, the cruel fate of Gascoigne’s career hinged just as much on bad decisions as terrible injuries, beginning with shattering his knee in the 1991 FA Cup final.

He was never the same player from then on, and he suffered another serious knee injury in a Newcastle nightclub later that year, then ripping his ankle in training with Lazio in 1994.

Perhaps his most productive spell came with Rangers, where he was idolised for leading the team to back-to-back league titles.

Yet even at his best, he still managed to land himself in trouble, receiving death threats from the IRA following a goal celebration which stoked tensions with Glasgow’s Catholic population.

If one moment could sum Gascoigne up, though, it was his majestic goal at Wembley against Scotland at Euro 96 and the iconic celebration which mocked the media furore over his binge-drinking in Hong Kong before the tournament.

His England career came to a sad end when he was excluded from the 1998 World Cup squad and in a rage trashed coach Glenn Hoddle’s hotel room.

Gascoigne’s much-publicised drinking spiralled out of control soon after when he ended up in a rehabilitation centre.

His troubles escalated following his retirement from football in 2004 which he said “ripped the heart out of me”. Gascoigne has also been treated for drug addiction, paranoia and depression. Last year he revealed he had pellets sewn into his stomach to prevent him from drinking.

“I know how to stay sober and I know how to relapse. I’m good at both,” he said in 2015.

“I’ve been close to death twice, I’ve managed to pull through and sometimes I haven’t, it’ll be like that for the rest of my life.”

Gascoigne’s fraught battle with addiction did not diminish his contemporaries’ reverence for him, however.

“He was the best I ever played with. He was genuine and honest but he was absolutely crazy,” former England team mate and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer told ChronicleLive in 2016. Wayne Rooney added in the 2015 film: “He is probably the most exciting English player I’ve seen and certainly the best.”

– Agencies

Sanjeev Gupta, a life member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, has challenged Sourav Ganguly’s continuation as Board of Control for Cricket in India president.

In an email to Ganguly and other officials on Sunday, Gupta has said that the BCCI rulebook disbars anyone from functioning as president once he has been nominated to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board.

Ganguly, having been included in the ICC Board as BCCI representative soon after attending its meeting on March 28, has emerged as a contender for the soon-to-be vacant post of ICC chairman. Gupta states that according to Rule 14(9) of the BCCI constitution “it is amply clear that as soon as you are nominated to ICC, your post as BCCI president will get vacated automatically forthwith”.

A BCCI official, however, dismissed Gupta’s objection.

“The clause should come into effect only if an office-bearer is elected to the ICC. Otherwise the BCCI will be forced to nominate someone other than an office-bearer, which will be ridiculous,” he said.

MELBOURNE, Tuesday - The World Anti-Doping Agency says the COVID-19 pandemic may have harmed the fight for clean sport and that “additional targeted testing” was being planned to eliminate gaps as competition resumes.

Athletes have expressed concern about reductions in testing for banned substances and urged clarity from authorities about the validity of test results during the global sports shutdown.

WADA, in a Q+A document for athletes posted on its website late on Monday, said it was monitoring closely where levels of testing had been reduced altogether.

It also said it was in close contact with anti-doping organisations to find the best ways of being effective during this period. “When the sporting landscape returns to a certain normality, these ‘gaps’ in testing will be addressed cooperatively through additional targeted testing especially given that intelligence-gathering and investigations continue,” WADA said. “Placing public health above the needs of the anti-doping system means that there may be impacts on the fight against doping in sport. “However, there is significantly less training being carried out and significantly fewer competitions taking place.”

WADA said doping control samples continued to be stored for future analysis and, with the help of the athlete biological passport, some samples collected post-COVID-19 might reveal doping that occurred during the shutdown period.

“WADA is also evaluating what has worked well and what has proved challenging for anti-doping in these unprecedented times,” the agency added.

“To that end, WADA is establishing a ‘strategic testing’ working group in order to learn from this experience and see how the anti-doping system may be strengthened further by this experience.”

– Agencies

Reshan scored 1026 runs in 14 outings with three centuries and 4 fifties and an average of 43.5.

His top score was 129 against Galahituyawa Central.

Johnian’s can boast of producing two players who passed the 1000 runs for the season including their skipper Ashan Dilhara who scored 1097 runs. The first was Jude Ashoka.

Due to Covid-19 their Big match and the one dayer against Panadura Royal was postponed.

Reshan’s all round performances throughout the season enabled the Johnians to reach the quarterfinals of the Singer under 19 division two 2-day cricket tournament.

They beat Vidyartha College, Kandy by an innings and 17 runs at Panadura.

He commenced his cricket career at St. John’s from under 13 and played for the 15 and 17 teams.

He won the Best Player’s Award for under 17 from Kalutara District and last year he passed the 700-run mark.

His coaches have been Eranga Gunaratne, Vikum Jayasinghe, Vinosh Perera, Ranasinghe Godabeddage, Nalinda Dissanayake and present coach Chathuranga Nalaka with his assistant Manoj Niroshan.

The match against Vidyartha was dominated by skipper Ashan Dilhara who captured a match bag of ten wickets for 59 runs.

The school team is well supported by the Principal Harshana de Silva and Master-in-Charge of cricket Mr. Lenora along with Old Johnians Christopher Fernando, Ruwan Asela, Daminda Peiris, Charitha Buddhika and members of the Past Cricketers Association.

How Reshan has fared in this season:

vs. Piliyandala Central 44 & 9, vs. St. Mary’s 5 & 68, vs. Rahula, Matara 4 & 31, vs. Kalutara Vidyalaya 76 & 123 n.o,, vs. Asoka College 43 & 22, vs. Tholangamuwa Central 102, vs. Christ King, Ja-ela 0, vs. Henagama Central 0, vs. Taxila Central 45 & 32, vs. P. de S. Kularatne 32 & 0, vs. Kegalu Vidyalaya 24 & 93, vs. Galahitiyawa Central 17 & 129, vs. St. Sebastians’ Katuneriya 22 & 23, vs. Vidyartha (2-day game) 25,.

MELBOURNE, Tuesday - Australia paceman Mitchell Starc has never been a huge fan of the pink ball but would welcome the prospect of bowling it against India in a day-night test over the home summer.

India declined Australia’s offer to play a day-night test during their last tour in 2018/19 but board president Sourav Ganguly said in February they had agreed to one in the upcoming four-test series.

“I think absolutely a pink ball test in this series against India is a great thing,” left-armer Starc told reporters in a video call on Tuesday.

“The fans love it, it creates a different aspect of the contest. I think bat and ball are a lot closer together.

“India have obviously played a pink ball test at home so they’re not completely foreign to it.

“I guess in terms of the advantage if you like, we do have a good record at home with the pink ball.

“It’s no different to us going to India and they’ve got the advantage there.”

Australia have won all seven day-night tests they have played and Starc’s prowess with the pink ball has been key.

Though wary of it encroaching on traditional red-ball day tests, Starc has taken 42 wickets at an average of 19.23 with the pink ball against an average of 26.97 in all tests. The 30-year-old also said he was concerned the International Cricket Council’s recommendation to ban the use of saliva to shine the ball when the sport returns after the coronavirus shutdown would hand batsmen a big advantage. Bowlers needed some help to get the ball to swing if saliva was banned, he added.

“Kids aren’t going to want to be bowlers because as we saw in Australia over the last couple of years, there were some pretty flat wickets and if that ball’s going straight, it’s a pretty boring contest,” he said.

– Agencies