Sri Lanka

7:02 AM ET Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka’s relatively new captain, doesn’t ride players hard, doesn’t tear them down for taking aggressive options, and when criticism is required, he ensures it’s constructive. Perhaps this is all a bit sappy, but it is the feedback from several members of this Sri Lanka dressing room. Thisara Perera spoke

3:47 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Sri Lanka have won another Test, their third in a row chasing a tough score. Their captain dug in for a tenacious fourth-innings hundred. The victory has yielded 60 Test Championship points – an excellent start to their campaign in that competition. Away from Tests, they have comfortably won

2:16 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Sri Lanka offspinner Akila Dananjaya has been reported for a suspect action for the second time in ten months, and will now have to undergo a biomechanics assessment in the next 12 days. If he fails this assessment, Dananjaya stands to be suspended for a year – the ICC’s

7:37 AM ET Before his 122 in the fourth innings of this Test, Dimuth Karunaratne had not hit a hundred in over a year. Although the team had won in South Africa earlier this year, he had not personally contributed much during that series. This had grated. So had the fact that in between his

11:12 AM ET Although Sri Lanka only have 135 runs to get, with all ten second-innings wickets still in hand, acting coach Rumesh Ratnayake is adamant the game could still slip away from his team. History would suggest Ratnayake is right to be wary. Only on four previous occasions has a target greater than the

9:34 AM ET Sri Lanka may have whitewashed South Africa in February, but their most recent Test series at home brought a 3-0 defeat at the hands of England. Though the hosts’ spinners were expected to dominate the England batsmen, the opposition top order batted aggressively, and found ways to put up daunting totals. A

3:46 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Former captain Dinesh Chandimal has been recalled to Sri Lanka’s squad for the first Test against New Zealand in Galle from August 14, after being left out of the tour of South Africa earlier this year and then the World Cup because of poor form. Niroshan Dickwella, the wicketkeeper-batsman who

3:00 AM ET Sri Lanka Board President’s XI 323 for 6 (Gunathilaka 98, Samarawickrama 80, Priyanjan 56*, Ajaz Patel 5-41) v New Zealanders New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel claimed 5 for 41, as his fast-bowling teammates toiled, of the first day of the tour match in Katunayake. Making a claim for places in the

11:39 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Sri Lanka cricket has installed Rumesh Ratnayake as interim coach for the Test series against New Zealand, as they attempt to sever ties with head coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Hathurusingha has been under substantial pressure in 2019, with Sri Lanka’s sports minister in particular suggesting that the team is not

5:56 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Dinesh Chandimal and spinners Akila Dananjaya and Dilruwan Perera have returned to the Sri Lanka Test squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand starting August 14 in Galle. Uncapped batting allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya and fast bowler Asitha Fernando were also named among the squad of 22 that will

2:30 PM ET In many ways, this was a low-octane bilateral series. It came on the heels of the World Cup. There was no major hype around it beyond Lasith Malinga‘s retirement. There was a sense of fatigue around Bangladesh’s performance, and they were missing their best player in any case. But, despite all that,

3:00 AM ET Big picture The margin of defeat may have been large, but Bangladesh Captain Tamim Iqbal was optimistic in his analysis of the first ODI. “I thought the wicket was really good, 310 [314] I felt was a decent score. At half time we were happy, because I thought we came back strongly.

1:51 PM ET ESPNcricinfo staff The ball is curling late. It had come down straight for nearly 80% of the pitch. But then, suddenly, as if by magic, it started swinging in. The batsman is in trouble. He tries to block it but ends up losing so much of his balance that he basically falls

10:45 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff “Maaali, Maaali, Maaali, Maaali”. Colombo was roaring. There were cardboard cut-outs of the man all over the place. And he was right in the middle with a white ball in hand and an endless supply of batsmen to feast on. Lasith Malinga was as good as he ever was playing

4:15 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Former Sri Lanka seamer Nuwan Kulasekara has retired from international cricket with immediate effect. Known for his ability to swing the new ball both ways, the 37-year old exits as Sri Lanka’s third-highest ODI wicket-taker among seamers behind Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga, with 199 scalps in 184 matches. Kulasekara,

11:21 AM ET Madushka Balasuriya Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Lakshan Sandakan and Lahiru Madushanka have missed the cut, as Sri Lanka announced their finalised squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh which starts on July 26. As such there will be six changes to the squad that travelled to England for the World

10:05 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka and spinners Akila Dananjaya and Lakshan Sandakan, who all missed out on World Cup selection, have been recalled into the 22-member ODI squad for the three-match series against Bangladesh. Suranga Lakmal, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardena and Jeffrey Vandersay – who were a part of the squad

12:47 PM ET Madushka Balasuriya Sri Lanka Cricket is likely to completely overhaul the national team’s coaching staff following the side’s upcoming home ODIs against Bangladesh. The move, which had been mooted for some time, was all but confirmed after local media reported that Sri Lanka’s sports minister had demanded the resignation of all members

12:22 PM ET Madushka Balasuriya The talent is there, Sri Lanka are just missing the application. The players need to show more mental toughness in pressure situations. Sri Lanka must ensure there’s better depth of talent going forward, and give their players the confidence to play a fearless brand of cricket… Sri Lanka’s chief selector

11:25 AM ET Going into their final round-robin match, Sri Lanka may be out of semi-final contention, and yet, there is a strong argument they have surpassed expectations at this World Cup. Ranked ninth in ODIs ahead of the tournament, they have won half the matches they’ve played so far, beating England, West Indies and

3:00 AM ET Sri Lanka 338 for 6 (Avishka 104, Kusal Perera 64, Thirimanne 54*, Holder 2-59) beat West Indies 315 for 9 (Pooran 118, Allen 51, Malinga 3-55) by 23 runs As it happened It’s around this time in a World Cup that teams whose campaigns haven’t turned out too well start to consider

11:26 AM ET Softer than marshmallow, slower than a tortoise, Sri Lanka’s middle order has had a poor tournament. Across five team innings, Sri Lanka have five half-centuries, but two each are from openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera. Nos. 4-7, in 20 combined innings, have contributed only one fifty: Angelo Mathews’ unbeaten 85 against

12:27 PM ET In both their wins so far, Sri Lanka’s bowlers have bailed the batsmen out. Defending 187 against Afghanistan, then 233 against England, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep and company sent down intense spells, and prised points out of the closed fists of their opponents. Sri Lanka know, though, that if they are to

Mar 18, 2019 ESPNcricinfo staff England women 188 for 4 (Jones 54, Winfield 44, Beaumont 43, Priyadharshani 3-45) beat Sri Lanka women 187 for 9 (Madavi 42, Hartley 3-36, Shrubsole 2-21, Marsh 2-42) by six wickets England women eased to another comfortable victory in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Hambantota, chasing down a

3:00 AM ET Sri Lanka 232 for 9 (Mathews 85*, Avishka 49, Kusal Mendis 46, Wood 3-40, Archer 3-52) beat England 212 (Stokes 82*, Root 57, Malinga 4-43, Dhananjaya 3-32) by 20 runs As it happened Lasith Malinga conjured a vintage spell, part-time offspinner Dhananjaya de Silva struck three times in nine balls, Angelo Mathews

1:02 PM ET Alan Gardner in Leeds So far in this World Cup, Sri Lanka have been following the English blueprint. Unfortunately, it is not the one that has made the host nation one of the favourites to lift the trophy; rather, they appear to have channelled the spirit of various England campaigns between 1996

  shares Joe Root celebrates with Chris Woakes after taking the wicket of Shimron Hetmyer © Getty Images Big picture After the deluge of rain, the flood of sixes. This World Cup has had to battle the elements, as well as some lop-sided contests, but England fired things up in Manchester with their record-breaking performance.

12:01 PM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Sri Lanka team manager Ashantha de Mel has complained to the ICC about the “unfair” pitches he feels Sri Lanka have had to play their matches on, as well as the less-than-ideal training facilities and accommodation. The ICC has strongly denied the accusation that there has been favouritism. Although their

  shares Bangladesh v Sri Lanka Match abandonedAs it happened The Brizzle drizzle has eaten into two full cricket matches this World Cup © IDI via Getty Images For the second-day running, the 2019 World Cup witnessed a no-result that forced Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to walk away with one point each. This is the

  shares Sri Lanka batting coach Jon Lewis talks to the press © AFP Angelo Mathews has batted 11 balls at this World Cup, and made a grand total of zero runs. Kusal Mendis has faced all of three deliveries, getting out to two of those, and hitting a streaky two past slip off the