Winners of the ICC Awards for 2007

Winners of the International Cricket Council (ICC) awards for 2007 which were presented at the Sandton Convention Centre here on Monday night:

Cricketer of the Year:
Ricky Ponting – Australia
Test Player of the Year:
Mohammad Yousuf – Pakistan
Emerging Player of the Year:
Shaun Tait – Australia
Captain of the Year:
Ricky Ponting – Australia
One-day Player of the Year:
Matthew Hayden – Australia
Women’s Cricketer of the Year:
Jhulan Goswami – India
Umpire of the Year:
Simon Taufel – Australia
Spirit of Cricket Award:
Sri Lanka

via Daily Mirror

Sri Lankan cricketers celebrate their series whitewash over Bangladesh

Sri Lankan cricketers celebrate their series whitewash and victory over Bangladesh by 39 runs during their third One-Day international cricket match in Colombo.

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Kumar Sangakkara plays down record talk

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Kumar Sangakkara humbly played down comparisons with batting greats after inking his name in the record books with a second consecutive double hundred against Bangladesh at the Asgiriya International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

Sangakkara became the sixth man in history to score back-to-back double centuries, joining Don Bradman and Walter Hammond among others, when he made an unbeaten 222 on the third day of the second Test.

"Its nice to be in that company for double hundreds but I think I’ve got a long way to go, when it comes to achievements and scoring runs. I’ve a lot more to do to really deserve that in Tests. I would say ’thank you’ for it and keep working hard," said Sangakkara. Vinod Kambli, Graeme Smith and Ricky Ponting are the others to have achieved the feat.

The double hundred last week was, he felt, a better innings, because "the key is to getting runs is when you are not feeling too comfortable, and not batting at your best.

"This double hundred was slightly more fluent than the one I got at the Sara Stadium. There was a bit more rhythm in this innings. I didn’t struggle as much as I did in Colombo. I still think I’ve a few things to iron out back in the nets when I go to Colombo so that I get everything down the way I want it to be," he said.

Sangakkara put together a massive 311-run partnership for the third wicket with his captain Mahela Jayawardene who scored 165. The union formed the base for Sri Lanka’s massive score of 500-4.

"It’s always nice to bat with Mahela because he scores really quickly. It opens up a lot more opportunities for me as well. We like batting together very much. We compliment each other in a way that our scoring rates also go up," said Sangakkara.

"The key today were the partnerships. The more partnerships you build, the more you can increase your scoring rate. We went out there first to consolidate and get a foundation for us to launch from. When we had that it got a lot easier for us to score. Our main game plan was to go out there bat the day," he said.

With a lead of 369 already, Sri Lanka is expected to declare overnight and get Bangladesh batting a second time tomorrow. "The pitch will offer a good deal of assistance to Murali. But the key would be to expIoit the new ball. There’s a bit in it if the bowlers hit the right areas and hit the seam," said Sangakkara.

Courtesy: © Cricinfo

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SCOPP and SLMM Discuss Routine Visit to Kilinochchi

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) discussed the ongoing visit of an SLMM delegation to Kilinocchi for talks with the LTTE Peace Secretariat which was part of the usual routine. SLMM monitors had been unable to visit Kilincochi in the past few months because of concerns relating security and because SLMM head Retired Maj. Gen. Lars Solberg had been out of the country, SLMM told SCOPP.

The meeting was part of the regular weekly sessions between SLMM and SCOPP. The two sides agreed that the meetings so far have proved fruitful and that the parties have been able to accomplish some positive work. This, in turn, will help both SCOPP and SLMM effectively counter negative press reports about their activities, the two sides said. The meeting was positive and helped pave the way for more flow of information and communications between the parties to the CFA via the SLMM.

SLMM informed SCOPP that it has added seven new members to its staff. Four of the seven will be based in the three districts of the Eastern Province as well as Vavuniya. It was decided last week that such an arrangement was desirable. A SCOPP representative will meet with the new monitors before they depart to assume their duties.

At the meeting the two sides discussed the importance of revitalizing the local monitoring committee meetings in the conflict affected six districts in the North and the East. In this regard, SCOPP Secretary General Dr. Rajiva Wijesinha stressed the importance of clear reporting from local monitors in order to get an accurate picture of the situation on the ground in those areas.

The reports of the local monitors in Mannar, who had been in Colombo last week to attend the SCOPP Mannar Community Group, were, for instance, particularly useful because of their objective account of the ground situation.

Both SLMM and SCOPP were pleased about the transparency of the regular weekly meetings and agreed to continue to inform the public about the progress the two sides are making.

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Sri Lanka’s squad for ICC 20 -Twenty World Cup

Sri Lanka’s squad of thirty players for the ICC 20 -Twenty World Cup which is scheduled to be held in South Africa this September.

However the selectors have once again omitted former skipper Marvan Atapattu who pulled out of the current series against Bangladesh from the squad while also overlooking new found opener Malinda Warnapura too. However the batsmen Jehan Mubarak and Michael Vandort who have not proved themselves in the shorter version of the game also has been given a chance to prove themselves. Avishka Gunawardena who also was kept in cold storage for a while also has been thought of for the initial squad.

The squad: Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, Dilruwan Perera, Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Avishka Gunawardena, Mahela Udawatte, T.M. Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Michael Vandort, Jehan Mubarak, Thilina Kandambi, Chamara Silva, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Ranga Dias, Dilhara Fernando, Ishara Amerasinghe, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Nuwan Zoysa, Akalanka Ganegama, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Muttiah Muralitharan, Hasantha Fernando, Malinga Bandara, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Gayan Wijekone, Upul Chandana and Dhammika Prasad.

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