LONDON: Applying saliva to shine one side isn’t the only way to make the cricket ball swing, according to the owner of ball-manufacturing company Dukes.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned the use of saliva to shine the ball in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

“I don’t see swing being a big problem in England,” Dilip Jajodia, owner of Dukes ball, was quoted as saying by the Guardian. “You have to have a balance between bat and ball otherwise the game is boring, we know that. But it’s not just the shiny surface or the rough side that causes swing, it’s the integrity of the ball.

“You don’t have to worry because with a ball constructed like ours you’ve got a good shape, a strong seam that acts as a rudder through the air and, because it is hand-stitched, it stays harder for longer,” he added.

The ICC committee had earlier noted that the risk of spread of the virus through sweat is ‘highly unlikely’ and ‘saw no need to prohibit’ the practice.

“They are not banning the use of sweat, so you run your hand over your forehead and, with the nature of the leather, a rigorous polish should get the grease moving enough to give a good shine,” Jajodia said.

Earlier, Australia speedster Mitchell Starc had stated banning the usage of saliva to shine the ball might tip the scale more in batsmen’s favour.

“That contest between bat and ball, we don’t want to lose that or get further away from that even contest. So there needs to be something in place to keep that ball swinging,” Starc told reporters in a video interview on Tuesday.

“They mentioned the other day that it’s only going to be there for a period of time and then once the world gets back to a relatively normal situation then saliva can come back into shining the ball.”

Selected sports Weight Lifting, Athletic, Kabbadi and Wushu national pools training will recommence from June 1 onwards according to the director of sports, Department of Sports Development I.P. Wijeyaratne.

Wijeyaratne said the Ministry of Sports and Department of Sports Development decided to re-start the national pool trainings for the respective sports with Health Ministry guidelines. All the guidelines were sent to the respective national federations three weeks before by the Ministry of Sports.

The 10-page guideline documents were issued by the Ministry of Health, he said.

Wijeyaratne further said that due to the prevailing situation in the country, the National Games will not be held until November or December.

“We have to discuss with provincials sports directors regarding the National Sports Festival and we are planning to meet all of them from the provincial level to take a final decision,” Wijeyaratne said. “We have already informed the postponement of the National Festival to the provincial sports directors and informed them that the Games have been postponed due to this reason.” “We also need to look at things like the possibility of directors coming to Colombo. You have to come from distant places like Jaffna. However we will discuss this as soon as possible,” he said.

Wijeyaratne further stated that they have planned the provincial tournaments to a finish before July 10, but with the situation in the country no one has been able to take part.

“Due to the pandemic globally affecting all the sports events were postponed but small countries were resuming their sports activities following strict health guidelines.

Cricket, Football and Rugby national pools are also due to resume training from the first week of June onwards.

The ICC on Thursday decided to defer its decision on the future of the T20 World Cup till June 10. The tournament is scheduled to be held later this year in Australia. The meeting which was held in Dubai was supposed to address the future of the event and other pressing concerns.

The ICC in its release said: “A number of board members had raised their concerns over this issue recently and felt it required immediate attention to ensure the sanctity and confidentiality of board matters in line with the highest standards of governance.

“There was unanimous agreement to immediately initiate an independent investigation led by the ICC’s Ethics Officer and supported by global experts. The board will be updated on this by the ICC CEO at its next meeting on 10 June 2020.

“The Board also requested the ICC management continue with their discussions with stakeholders in exploring various contingency options in light of the rapidly changing public health situation caused by the COVID 19 virus.”

West Indies are 'increasingly confident' their tour of England will take place in July after their players on Tuesday returned to training in Barbados.

Jason Holder and members of his team practised in small groups and West Indies chief executive Johnny Grave now expects the three-Test series behind closed doors at the Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford from July 8 to be confirmed by the end of this week.

'Based on the information we have everyone is getting increasingly confident the tour will take place this summer,' said Grave. '

We are in the final stages of discussions with ECB and we expect to hear from them shortly. 'Our next board of directors teleconference is on May 28 and if the tour is to take place as currently planned we would need to have their approval and support by then in order to select the players and get the charter flight logistics in place.'

Meanwhile Sportsmail understands England's three match 50-over one-day series against Ireland due to take place between the Test series against West Indies and Pakistan under ECB plans will now take place at Southampton rather than Manchester.

LONDON, Thursday - The Dutch Formula One Grand Prix at Zandvoort has been postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers said on Thursday.

The race at the seaside circuit would have been a home event for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the youngest ever Formula One driver and one of the sport’s most popular, and the country’s first since 1985.

The race had already been postponed from its May 3 date and the decision not to hold it this year means four of the season’s planned 22 races have now been cancelled - Australia, Monaco and France being the others.

Dutch Grand Prix sports director Jan Lammers said the possibility of holding the race behind closed doors had been looked into and dismissed as an option.

“We were completely ready for this first race and we still are,” he told the race website (www.dutchgp.com).

“We and Formula One have investigated the potential to hold a rescheduled race this year without spectators, but we would like to celebrate this moment, the return of Formula One in Zandvoort, together with our racing fans in the Netherlands.

“We ask everyone to be patient. I had to look forward to it for 35 years, so I can wait another year”.

Organisers said all tickets would remain valid for next year’s race.

The race had been sold out, with demand for the 300,000 tickets vastly exceeding supply as locals clamoured to see Verstappen, the only Dutch driver to win a Formula One championship grand prix, make his home debut.

A further six remain postponed with the sport hoping to reschedule some of them in the second half of the year but yet to publish a revised calendar.

Formula One hopes to start up in Austria with two races behind closed doors and in carefully controlled conditions from the weekend of July 3-5.

Zandvoort has spent 15 million euros on modernising its picturesque but outdated circuit, with two banked curves, in the dunes 25 km west of Amsterdam. – Agencies

LONDON, Thursday - There will be no domestic cricket in England until August 1 at the earliest, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Thursday.

The start of the English season had already been twice delayed by the outbreak of the coronavirus, but the previous start date of July 1 has now been pushed back another month by the pandemic.

England's postponed Test series at home against the West Indies, however, could still take place in July as Thursday's announcement by the ECB does not cover international matches.

And even though it will be left with a severely shortened season, the ECB said the "ambition remains to host domestic men's and women's cricket across England and Wales later this summer".

The Professional Game Group will now draw up plans for the restart of domestic cricket, with their proposals going to the ECB board in June.

Among the ideas the ECB said Thursday were being considered are regionalised groups in for the 18 first-class counties as well as allowing in small numbers of spectators to grounds in order to maintain social distancing -- although it is expected internationals in England this season will be played behind closed doors.

Non-televised domestic matches could be streamed live via club channels for county members and supporters.

Meanwhile the recreational game remains suspended, with the ECB looking to liaise with the British government on a possibly earlier return for lower-level cricket.

"Naturally we want to see cricket being played at every level," said ECB chief executive Tom Harrison in a statement.

"We remain hopeful of seeing both domestic and recreational cricket this season and planning with the PGG has allowed us to map a number of potential scenarios for domestic play.

"Whilst traditional formats of our competitions are the preference, we are not against exploring the unorthodox to ensure that we can return our players to the field.

"That can only happen though when it is safe, and we have said throughout this crisis that the safety and well-being of everyone involved in the game is our key priority." - AFP

LONDON, Thursday - The Premier League season is set to restart on June 17, three months after it was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, British media reported on Thursday.

No matches have been played since Leicester's 4-0 win over Aston Villa on March 9, with Liverpool just two wins away from securing the title.

Top-flight clubs voted unanimously on Wednesday to return to contact training and were meeting again on Thursday to discuss issues such as the restart date and the rebate to broadcasters.

The BBC reported that the first two matches would be Aston Villa v Sheffield United and Manchester City v Arsenal. Those matches are the two games in hand.

A full fixture list would then be played on the weekend of June 19-21.

So far, 12 people have tested positive for coronavirus after 2,752 tests across the Premier League.

Germany's Bundesliga resumed earlier this month and La Liga in Spain hopes to return from June 11, while a crucial summit between Italian football officials and the country's sports minister will be held later on Thursday.

Liverpool were 25 points clear of 2019 champions Manchester City when the Premier league was shut down, on the verge of being crowned English champions for the first time in 30 years.

Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City are in the relegation places. – AFP

MELBOURNE, Friday - Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts has downplayed the prospect of the Twenty20 World Cup going ahead in 2020, saying the October-November schedule was under “very high risk” due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Obviously, we’ve been hopeful all along that it could be staged in October-November but you would have to say there is a very high risk about the prospect of that happening,” Roberts told reporters in a video call on Friday.

“In the event that doesn’t happen, there are potential windows in the February-March period, October-November the following year. “And there are implications here for the ICC over a number of years. So there’s a lot of complexity for the ICC to deal with.” The International Cricket Council, the sport’s world governing body, has the final say over whether the Oct. 18-Nov. 15 event will go ahead. On Thursday, the ICC deferred decisions over the tournament until its next board meeting on June 10.

India’s cricket board (BCCI), which is set to host the following edition of the tournament in 2021, is keeping a close eye on developments as a postponement could open up a window for the Indian Premier League.

The lucrative franchise-based tournament, which was supposed to start at the end of March, had to be postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic and the BCCI faces a $530 million dip in revenue if the competition fails to go ahead.

The IPL’s move to an October-November slot could impact Australia’s scheduled T20 series with West Indies (Oct. 4-9) and India (Oct. 11-17) confirmed on Thursday, with a number of Australian internationals contracted to IPL teams.

Australia’s cricketers would need exemptions from CA to be excused from international duty and play in the IPL but Roberts declined to say whether CA would grant them.

“The question of the IPL will be addressed when a decision is made around the T20 World Cup, that’s the key influencing factor there,” he said.

– Agencies

PERTH, Friday - Relief and excitement are the overwhelming emotions for Afghanistan after Australia confirmed they would host them for a one-off test in Perth from Nov. 21, the chief executive of the country’s cricket board has said.

Uncertainty loomed over Afghanistan’s first ever test against Australia due to travel and other restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

However, Cricket Australia gave the day-night match the green light on Thursday when it announced its summer schedule headlined by a marquee series against India.

“There were rumours that this test match might not go ahead but it is a relief for us and our cricket fans that we have been given a confirmation,” Chief Executive Lutfullah Stanikzai told in an interview.

“The world in general – and the cricketing world in particular – may not be the same after the coronavirus but we have to move on and cricket has to return.”

Having had to postpone a tour of Zimbabwe next month due to travel restrictions, the importance of the match against the world’s top ranked test team was not lost on the Afghan board.

“It’s going to be a fantastic opportunity for our players’ development and in general for the development of Afghanistan cricket,” Stanikzai said.

“Everyone in the cricket world, especially in test cricket, looks up to Australia. It’s going to be a historic and memorable occasion for Afghanistan as a new cricketing nation to play Australia in a test match.”

The test newcomers, who were awarded the coveted red-ball status in 2017, will not be completely unknown quantities to Australian cricket fans.

Players such as Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have become fan-favourites in Australia’s Big Bash League with their fearless hitting and economical spin-bowling. While there may still be restrictions that affect how many fans, if any, can watch the test at the 60,000-seater Perth Stadium, Stanikzai said it was important to see the big picture. “The important thing is that the fans get an opportunity to see Afghanistan playing against Australia. Although it might be different, there might not be any spectators and so on ...

“We are hoping that by November the situation will improve and we will see good cricket between both countries.”

Afghanistan have played four tests to date, losing to India and West Indies and beating Ireland and Bangladesh. – Agencies

MELBOURNE, Friday - Australian cricket faces another round of cost-cutting to shore up finances hit by the coronavirus shutdown and no part of the game will be immune, board chief Kevin Roberts said on Friday.

Cricket Australia (CA) has already furloughed about 80% of its workforce, while state associations have also made deep staff cuts in recent weeks.

CA’s financial outlook has improved with India’s four-test tour, worth an estimated A$300 million ($200 million) in revenue to CA, set to go ahead in the home summer. But Roberts said the board was still facing an A$80 million (43.13 million pounds) shortfall due to COVID-19 and the high likelihood Australia will not be able to host the Twenty20 World Cup in October-November. “So we’re focused on delivering the best season as possible noting that the likelihood of significant crowds is very slim,” he told reporters on a video call on Friday. “Ordinarily that would deliver well over A$50 million in revenue to Cricket Australia.

“The T20 World Cup is a big question and that’s a factor of perhaps A$20 million and ... it’s likely that our biosecurity measures we need to put in place to deliver the season will cost in the order of A$10 million.”

Most CA staff remain furloughed on 20% pay until the end of June, while the board’s executive team have taken a 20% pay-cut. Roberts’ leadership amid the pandemic has been slammed by former players and media pundits, who have accused him of exaggerating the game’s financial problems. However, Roberts said further cuts were necessary to maintain investment in community cricket as much as possible. – Agencies

NEW DELHI: The 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka is still remembered for the magnificent helicopter shot by Mahendra Singh Dhoni that went for a six and won the trophy for the hosts at the Wankhede Stadium in?Mumbai.

But one more talked about moment of the match took place at the coin toss where some sort of confusion occurred between the two captains - Dhoni (India) and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) - due to the noise in the crowd.

Speaking in an Instagram Live chat with Ravichandran Ashwin on his latest episode of ‘Reminiscence with Ash’, the former Sri Lanka captain shed light on what exactly went down at the coin toss at Wankhede Stadium in that memorable match.

“The crowd was huge. It never happens in Sri Lanka. Once I had this at Eden Gardens when I could not talk to the first slip and then of course at the Wankhede. I remember calling on the toss then Mahi wasn’t sure and said did you call tail and I said no I called head,” Sangakkara said.

“The match referee actually said I won the toss, Mahi said he did not. There was a little bit of confusion there and Mahi said let’s have another toss of the coin and heads went up again,” he added.

“I am not sure whether it was luck that I won. I believe probably India might have batted if I had lost,” the former left-handed batsman further said.

Talking about not being able to win the trophy, Sangakkara said: “Whether we win or lose, we have this equilibrium on how to take a win or loss.

The smile hides a huge amount of sadness, of disappointment, of thinking of 20 million people back in Sri Lanka who had been waiting for this for so long, since 1996.

We had an opportunity in 2011, opportunity in 2007, then T20 opportunities in 2009 and 2012.”

LONDON, Friday - Alex Hales and World Cup-winner Liam Plunkett were both left out of a mammoth 55-man England training group announced Friday.

But 14 uncapped players were selected as England look to stage a full Test and limited-overs programme against West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia, despite the coronavirus delaying the start of their home season until at least July.

Among those recalled was David Willey, who lost his place in the one-day squad to Jofra Archer shortly before England won the World Cup for the first time last year.

Official squads will be named at a later date, with three Tests against the West Indies, set to be played behind closed doors at bio-secure venues such as Old Trafford in Manchester and Southampton's Ageas Bowl, first up for England this season.

The group will not train in one place, but with individual sessions across several county venues, that started with bowlers back in the nets last week, the only form of training allowed at present.

"It's really pleasing to be in a position to have players returning to training and a huge amount of work has been done by many to get us this far," said England and Wales Cricket Board performance director Mo Bobat, who helped England coach Chris Silverwood and the selectors compile the list.

"The pool of players will give selectors strong options when it comes to selecting squads across formats further down the line, as we move closer to our aim of playing international cricket this summer."

Nottinghamshire opener Hales was dropped shortly before last year's World Cup after it emerged he had tested positive for drugs.

There had been speculation that, with England likely to need separate red and white-ball squads, Hales might be recalled.

But England one-day captain Eoin Morgan dashed Hales' hopes on Wednesday when he said "it will take more time" for him to regain the trust of the squad.

Meanwhile, 35-year-old fast bowler Plunkett has not played for England since taking three wickets in the dramatic World Cup final victory over New Zealand at Lord's.

The ECB on Thursday pushed the start of the domestic season back until August 1 at the earliest but officials are determined to press ahead with a full, lucrative international programme amid fears a cancelled campaign could cost the board £380 million ($463 million).

England training group:

Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Dom Bess, Sam Billings, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Henry Brookes, Pat Brown, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Mason Crane, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Joe Denly, Ben Duckett, Laurie Evans, Ben Foakes, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Chris Jordan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, James Vince, Amar Virdi, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. - AFP

MANCHESTER, Thursday - The FA Cup final will be held on Aug. 1, the Football Association announced on Friday, after the Premier League said on Thursday that its season will restart on June 17.

The quarter-finals of the FA Cup will be held over the weekend of June 27-28, with the semi-finals earmarked for the weekend of July 11-12.

The FA said that the dates were “provisional” and dependent on all safety elements being in place for the games.

“We are pleased to agree the provisional restart date for the 2019/20 Emirates FA Cup,” said FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham. “The competition has been an integral part of the English football calendar for nearly 150 years and we’d like to thank the Premier League executive and clubs for their support in scheduling the remaining matches during this unprecedented time.” Bullingham emphasised the provisional nature of the proposed dates, adding that “the health and wellbeing of players, staff and supporters remains our priority”. The schedule for the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals (originally drawn on 4 March):

Leicester City v Chelsea, Newcastle United v Manchester City, Sheffield United v Arsenal, Norwich City v Manchester United – Agencies

LONDON, Friday - This year’s British and Australian MotoGP races have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers said on Friday.

The British Grand Prix was scheduled for Silverstone on Aug. 30 while the Australian round had been due at Phillip Island on Oct. 25. “We’re saddened to have to announce the cancellation of these iconic events after finding no way through the logistical and operational issues resulting from the pandemic and rearranged calendar,” Carmelo Ezpeleta, chief executive of the commercial rights holder Dorna, said in a statement. – Agencies

Cricket Australia on being asked about their preference if the 2020 edition of the T20 World Cup doesn’t go ahead, has said that it would want to hold the 2021 edition rather than getting hosting rights in 2022. The 2021 edition of the tournament is currently for India to host.

According to a report in The Australian, a letter from Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings was sent to ICC’s Financial and Commercial Affairs Committee on Thursday calling for the tournament to be shifted because of issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter was written in response to International Cricket Council asking Cricket Australia which options were preferable if the board is not able to host the tournament this year. Eddings has told ICC that it wants to host the event in late 2021 when India is scheduled to host the T20 World Cup and does not want the hosting rights for this year’s tournament to be shifted all the way back to 2022.

The ICC Board met via teleconference on Thursday with all agenda items deferred until June 10 following a discussion, led by Chairman Shashank Manohar, around the issue of confidentiality. At the board meeting, ICC was expected to finally decide on the fate of the 2020 T20 World Cup slated to be held from October 18 to November 15.

However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the possibility of hosting the tournament currently looks bleak.

Earlier, the IANS had reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not in the mood to exchange the hosting rights with Cricket Australia.

– IANS

LONDON, Friday - Fitness coach and mentor Wayne Richardson has had his hands full dealing with footballers' mental health issues in a period of unprecedented uncertainty during the coronavirus lockdown.

Richardson and his staff have spoken to about 150 players, from professionals all the way down to the grassroots during football's hiatus.

Players have reported a number of issues, from being unable to play PlayStation with their friends to a lack of training facilities at home, but there is a common thread.

"Commonplace from grassroots, academy, scholar to first-team, players are finding it boring," he told AFP by phone from his home in Manchester in northern England.

"'I cannot go to my girlfriend's, I cannot drive here or there, go to the shop.' We have to try and keep that in check and tell them it won't last forever."

Richardson set up his company, Richardson Sport, with Emma Hughes in 2010. His team including fitness coaches, nutritionists, psychologists and sports mentors.

Richardson, whose recent clients include Manchester United player Odion Ighalo, says uncertainty is rife among players, although some are now preparing for a return to action. "We work on some areas we don't usually spend a lot of time on, listening to their worries," he said.

"Some don't know if they will be asked to sign a new contract and we focus on 'are there other options for you like another career, further education?'"

The Professional Footballers' Association released figures earlier this month from a survey carried out during the pandemic that showed more than a fifth of current and former players had reported being depressed or had considered self-harm. Richardson himself experienced a profoundly upsetting episode in 2006.

He had spent hours talking to a footballer whose girlfriend had told him she was pregnant by somebody else. Richardson advised the player to take a paternity test.

"I received a text message off one of the guys (friend of the footballer) 'Wayne, he won't be in tomorrow'," said Richardson. "I will never forget this part -- 'x has been found hanged'. It just shows you don't know what is going on behind the scenes." Richardson said players also needed practical help. "They might have been offered new contracts and then got injured and the coach might have said unfortunately 'we don't know whether we can keep you on'," he said.

"That creates doubt for that player firstly in getting himself fit and what will happen next."

Richardson said one of the players he has talked to had plans to go to Scotland but the move hit trouble because two of the clubs who were interested had put their players on the government's furlough scheme.

Richardson, who previously worked in projects to tackle gang crime, grew up in the tough Manchester inner-city neighbourhood of Moss Side -- plagued by high unemployment and drug problems.

He overcame his family's scepticism that he would have a career in football and has worked with a number of high-profile clubs including Manchester City and Leeds United.

Richardson said having a career observing footballers up close had shown him that they have to deal with the same issues as everybody else "The amount of money they are being paid, everyone will always look at the negative side of football," he said.

"No matter what, they are all human beings, they still eat and go to the toilet and go through other daily routines we do. However, in the public's eyes they are in a privileged position." Despite all the help he can offer, Richardson is aware of the stark reality that this can only go so far. Speaking about the players he helps, he said: "He will shake your hand or hug you when he leaves but you can't control their life. Sometimes it is overwhelming dealing with everything and you can't save the whole world."– AFP

Champika Weeratunge, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Girls Cricket Association since 2012 and an Executive Committee member of the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association in 2010 is a very good organiser who has won the hearts of all the schools involved in girls cricket.

An old girl of Christ Church College, Baddegama she has participated in Elle and Athletics and excelled in Badminton at school. She was under 13 and under 15 singles champion and under 17 and under 19 doubles champion at the All Island Girls Schools Badminton tournaments. She was coached by an Indonesia’s Subian Thakur, who was invited by her school.

Although she was interested in cricket her school did not have girls cricket at that time and she witnessed all the International cricket matches and started reading books about the game. She did higher studies and got an external Degree (Bachelor of Arts) at the University of Jayawardenapura. After that she followed a course in Diploma in Education from the University of Colombo and is presently following the MA Degree at the National Institute of Education at Maharagama.

She is currently the Deputy Principal of CWW Kannangara Vidyalaya.

A second year player, right hand bat, right arm leg spinner and occasional wicket keeper of St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa, Dunith scored 1104 runs in 16 matches including two centuries and nine fifties with a highest score of 156 against St. Aloysius in the recently concluded inter school under 19 division one cricket season. Last season he scored 1127 runs.

Susil Fernando (1974/75), Suranga de Silva (1999/2000) and Oshada Fernando (2010/11) were the other Sebastianite cricketers to achieve this feat.

Dunith played for Sebs last year under Nuvanidu Fernando and this year his skipper was Janishka Perera.

He commenced his cricket career for Kalutara Vidyalaya in 2011 in the under 13 division one team and captained in 2013. The same year he notched up a century against Zahira College, Colombo. Representing the Fingara Cricket Club he helped them win the Nelson Mendis Trophy in the under 14 format. He played for the under 15 team in 2014 and 2015 and led the team. The same year he played for the Prima Cup representing Western Province South Outer. Noticing his talents Niroshan Bandaratillake advised him to take up to wicket-keeping.

As an under 15 player he played in the Big Match “Battle of the Mangoosteens” against arch rivals Tissa Central in 2015. He also played in 2016 and 2017 when he was the vice captain. He played for the under 17 team in 2016 and 2017 and he was awarded the Most Valuable Player for passing the 500-run mark with three centuries. His coaches at Vidyalaya were Sunil Saluwadana and Rumesh Rangana.

When he got through the G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination the then Principal Sarathchandra de Silva encouraged him to join a school where there were facilities. The former Rector of St. Sebastian’s College Reverend Father Ranjith Andradi took him to his school and in his first year he was a unanimous choice for the Sebs under 17 team. That year he scored 695 runs including two centuries and four fifties and Sebs was the runner up of the tournament. The following year he was selected to the first eleven team and passed the 1000-run mark and played in the Big Match against Cambrians. After a very successful season this year with 1104 runs under his belt he was unlucky to play in the Big Match against Cambrians as the corona virus has brought school cricket to a halt. If he had done so he would have played in five Big Matches in a row.

Dunith’s coaches at St. Sebastianites are Imal Boteju and his assistant Samith Fernando. He was very well supported by the Rector of the school Rev. Fr. Anton Ranjith, Prefect of Games Rev. Fr. Indunil Sampath and his assistant Rev. Fr. Samesh Anthony and Master in Charge evergreen Frank Cooray. The Sebs past Cricketers Association was a tower of strength to him and in addition Dr. Sunil Jeybalanage, Arosha Dias and Priyantha Sisira Kumara of Nawaloka Construction too helped him in numerous ways.

Dunith was selected for the Kandy Team as an opening bat and glovesman and later he played for Ragama CC in the division one tournament. He played for Moratuwa Sports Club in P. Sara Trophy in 2020 and scored a century and he also he played in the Premier Tournament for Baduraliya. He commenced his education at Kalutara Vidyalaya.

Cricket lovers of Kandy District Cricket Association paid tribute to P.L. Arthur Alwis, who was a great cricketer, coach and popular umpire and was also the first secretary of Central Province Cricket Association.

He was popularly known as “Kopi Alwis” and one of the most complex individuals to play the game. He passed away in 2004 at the age of 81, and this year marks his 16th death anniversary.

Alwis is a man who corrected many cricketers by teaching them how to bat, bowl, field and take up wins and defeats equally. He had the distinction of being the first centurion in the Dharmaraja-Kingswood Big match played in 1943 scoring 121 and capturing 9 wickets for 39 runs in the match to guide the Rajans to an innings and 152-run win. He was an outstanding sportsman from the hill country.

Alwis was the vice captain of the college champion cricket teams of 1941, 1942, 1943 and captain in 1944. This was an epoch making era of cricket for the premier school in the Central hills.

Alwis was also the football captain of Dharmaraja College, and was one of best centre forwards in the game. His father Paulus Alwis was a member of the Kandy Municipal Council and a great cricket promoter.

Alwis coached the Dharmaraja cricket team for over three decades and he produced a galaxy of cricketers. He formed the Old Rajans Cricket Club and entered the "Daily News" trophy tournament. He also founded the Kandy Cricket Foundation and led a team on a tour of India. Alwis’ name was synonymous with cricket at Dharmaraja for nearly five decades and his achievements and contributions are noteworthy. He was a firm believer of the school motto, "Attha hi attha no natho." That is, one has to seek one’s own salvation.

Later he turned out for Kandy United CC and the Central Province teams and also for Kandy Lake Club. He played a key role in the administration of the Central Province Cricket Association and at the time, there were no finances coming from the Cricket Board and they had to find their own funds to host visiting teams or conduct tournaments. He was also one time chairman of the Dharmaraja College Cricket Foundation established to uplift the standard of cricket at Dharmaraja College especially at the junior level where his expertise was much sought after.

Another achievement of late Alwis was that he was one of the first from Kandy to be enrolled as a member of the Association of Cricket Umpires of Ceylon in the sixties along with Aelian Weerasuriya and late A. Balasuriya. But this trio felt that Kandy should have a cricket umpires association of its own and went on to form the Central Province Cricket Umpires Association in 1967 at a meeting held at the Police grounds pavilion.

To the current generation, he is perhaps known as a colourful cricket player, coach and promoter. To the ones who have watched him bat, some swear that he was God’s gift to Kandy, a batsman so correct that as he planted his foot out and defended the smallest fly could not get through his defence. As an umpire he did a genuine job and as coach guided many cricketers to do well.

He was called “Kopi” because he was dark in colour like a cup of coffee.

LONDON, Friday - Williams revealed on Friday that they are considering selling the Formula One team after a multi-million pound drop in the company's financial results. The William Grand Prix Holdings group reported an adjusted loss of £13 million ($15.9 million) for the year ending 2019.

After posting a £12.9 million profit in 2018, Williams have responded to the blow by seeking new investment. A minority or majority stake will be offered to investors, along with the option for an outright buy-out.

"The WGPH board believes that the strategic review and formal sale process is the right and prudent thing to do in order to take time to consider a full range of options and put the Formula One team in the best possible position for the future," a Williams statement said. – AFP