7 Icon players appointed to each Provincial team

Kalutara Vidyalaya skipper Pathum Nissanka was at his brilliant best as he pummeled 221 runs off just 109 deliveries to steer his side to an easy win by 245 runs over Amarasuriya Vidyalaya, Meepawala in their U-15 division 1 cricket encounter played at the Kalutara Esplanade recently.

Sri Lanka were at the receiving end of brilliant batting and the fury of Mother Nature as Pakistanandnbsp; piled up runs with ease on a rain curtailed second dayandrsquo;s play of the second cricket Test here at the SSC ground yesterday.

Nadaraja Thangaraja emerged as the first winner of the inaugural Pin Fernando Grand Prix golf tournament at the end of participation for one year.

It was also the week where the well known former England skipper and current commentator Tony Greig made his Cowdrey lecture where he stressed on the importance of the spirit of cricket than the money the world could earn off it. He was also critical of the Indian attitude and one of the areas Greg hit out was Indiaandrsquo;s refusal to use the DRS in the cricket they play.

What a year for Trinity College. Early in the year the cricketers did proud their esteemed Institution when they bagged the Schools League Under-19, Knock out Trophy, Big Match win against St Anthonyandrsquo;s after 25 years and the T-20 championships.

Sri Lanka will press hard for an inaccessible 2-0 lead when they take on Pakistan in the second of the three match Test series starting today at the SSC ground.

After registering a morale-boosting victory over CH and FC 42-10 over the weekend, newcomers to the inter club andldquo;Aandrdquo; division league rugby tournament Upcountry Lions are looking forward to making a memorable debut.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday that more than 100,000 tickets for the ICC World Twenty-20 to be staged between September 18 and October 7 in Sri Lanka have been sold with the majority grabbed by locals.

Three new meet records were established and two records were equalled at the end of first session on day three at Western Province Athletic Championship 2012 held at the Sugathadasa Stadium Colombo yesterday.

A third row forward, Tongan born New Zealander Palatasala Palupe has been enlisted by CR and FC ahead of their traditional match against Havelocks in the inter-club league rugby championships at Longden Place today.

His spirit was destroyed just as he reached double figures in age but the vast ocean that snuffed out the lives of his parents also brought him new life and hope.

Matches featuring Sri Lanka, semi-finals and final in big demand

Sri Lanka completed a comfortable 209 runs win with a day to go despite a resilient second innings fight back by the Pakistanis to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series which would be best remembered for the atrocious umpiring as well as Kumar Sangakkaraandrsquo;s unbeaten 199 at the Galle International Stadium yesterday.andnbsp;

Kumar Sangakkara and Alastair Cook have made impressive gains in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen which were released on Sunday after the completion of Sri Lanka-Pakistan and England-West Indies series, and the Ireland-Australia ODI that was washed out on Saturday in Belfast.

D.P.Wannithilake and M.Y Dulanjali shone as best male and female athlete of the John Tarbet Junior Athletic championship concluded at Peopleandrsquo;s Ground Embilipitiya yesterday where four new meet records were set.

Newly formed Upcountry Lions registered their first win in the inter-club andldquo;A andrdquo; division league rugby tournament when they posted a 42-10 victory over CH and FC in a one-sided match at Maitland Crescent last evening.

Pakistan coach Dave Whatmore yesterday called for the mandatory use of the Decision Review System (DRS) with or without the hotspot technology in order to avoid bizarre on-field umpire decisions but refrained from commenting on the controversial umpiring in the match.

A late second half rally and some good forwards play by Kandy helped them to overcome a spirited Police outfit by 25 Points (1 Goal, 3 Tries, 1 Penalty) to nil win in their league rugby encounter which concluded at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium yesterday.

After seven sessions of complete dominance, first with the bat and then with some excellent seam and spin attack aided by the horrors of umpiring decisions, Sri Lanka refused to go for the kill, as they puzzlingly decided to bat a second time despite a commanding 372 first innings lead on day three of the first Test here at the Galle International stadium on Sunday.

A bubbly Sri Lankan in Britain, a crusader for under-privileged children and homes for the aged, has been picked to carry the Olympic torch on July 17, ten days before the London Games commence.

Did Sri Lanka win the ODI series against Pakistan or did the visitors lose it? Judging by the manner the two games ended I will not be surprised to find Pakistan supporters carrying the latter view. Though personally I would want to think that Sri Lanka won two remarkable victories virtually coming from behind when everything was against him.

Kumar Sangakkara was stranded a run short of claiming his ninth double century, his third against Pakistan after Saeed Ajmal curtailed Sri Lankaandrsquo;s run feast on a deteriorating Galle pitch on Saturday.

A rattled Isipathana outfit did not want to surrender to defeat that easily as they fought back with determination to force Royal into submission with a late burst in their Singer inter-school league rugby encounter at Longdon Place yesterday.

Hundreds of Trinity fanatics in the best of spirits with euphoria of a glorious win, stormed out of the Royal College Complex as the Royalists left the arena of school rugbyandrsquo;s best battle to date, this season with a superb first half.andnbsp;

Former captains TM Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara hit centuries, while skipper Mahela Jayawardane cashed in with an unfinished half century to help Sri Lanka reach a formidable 300 for 2 after electing to bat on day one of the first Test against Pakistan at the Galle International Stadium yesterday.

Former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, S. Skandakumar, a gentleman par excellence, delivered a masterpiece straight from his heart that captivated his audience at the Sri Lanka-UK Society Birthday Banquet for Her Majesty the Queen at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo on June 17.

Table leaders Navy will learn today if they are good enough to cast their sights on the countryandrsquo;s premier rugby crown when they scrum down against the Fijian-flavoured Army team in their A division inter-club rugby match at Police Park.

Medal winners at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships are in for a major bonanza as the Sports Ministry says it had decided to provide houses for the two gold medal winners in addition to the cash rewards that were promised.

Sri Lanka will look to arrest their dismal Test record during the last three years when they taken on inconsistent Pakistan in the first of the three match Test series starting today at the propitious Galle International Cricket Stadium.