导出博客文章In a week in which there has been mild consternation in Australia about the
state of the Galle surface, Angelo Mathews has made no apologies about what the
visitors can expect at the SSC: It will turn again, he said - get used to
it.With the islands ground curators directly employed by the board, Sri Lanka
has long catered pitches to the teams needs. Against India last year, surfaces
at the P Sara Oval and the SSC had seam and bounce, as it was hoped those
qualities would enhance Sri Lankas chances of winning (as it happened, India won
both matches).Against teams from further afield, and particularly Australia,
tracks are made to spin, spin, spin.Australias cricketers have focused almost
solely on their own performances. But it is clear that reports in the Australian
press about pitch doctoring in Galle, have prompted indignation within the Sri
Lankan team.We had to work really hard to win those two games, Mathews said. We
played better cricket than them. Im hearing that the Aussies have not played
good cricket, and the wickets were poor - I mean, come on, youve got to grow up.
We play on the same wicket. Theyve got spinners and weve got spinners. Theyve
fought really hard, but its just that our spinners have bowled extremely well.
Our spinners have exploited the conditions and bowled better than them. Credit
should go to the whole team, the way theyve worked extremely hard.Home-team
advantage appears to be increasingly sought in Test cricket. Over the past two
years, Sri Lanka has played on pitches in Christchurch and Hamilton that were so
thickly layered in grass, they were almost indistinguishable from the remainder
of the square. The pitch at Headingley, in May, had been another green top. And
often forced to tour temperate climates in their early summer (thanks largely to
economic considerations), Sri Lanka have also been made to play in the colder
foreign venues, like Dunedin, Leeds and Chester-le-Street, to cite three
examples from the past eight months.The SSC surface has lately ceased to be the
wellspring of runs it has been in the past, and on the eve of the Test, appears
at least as dry as the pitch at Galle. Sri Lanka have already confirmed their
triple-spin attack - with allrounder Dhananjaya de Silvas offspin in support -
will be set loose in the third Test as well.Its going to be a turner once again,
Mathews said. SSC has traditionally been a very good, batting-friendly wicket.
But in the last few games against South Africa and Pakistan, it did take a lot
of turn. We hope that it will take a lot of turn again from day one, and we hope
that it will be a spinners paradise.On the batting front, the series win - and
possibly some good catching - has bought openers Kaushal Silva and Dimuth
Karunaratne another opportunity. Sri Lanka has recently become the most
difficult country in the world to score runs as an opener, but Sri Lankas
incumbent pair has nevertheless fallen short of the teams expectations. So far
in this series, neither Silva nor Karunaratne has scored more than seven, in
four innings apiece. Still, given their history of better performances overseas,
Mathews said he and the selectors would grant them another chance.What the
management and selectors think is that we can give opportunities to players who
we believe can deliver, Mathews said. When it was tough in England, Kaushal
fought really hard and showed his character. After two games, we dont want to
throw a character like him away.Dimuth didnt score runs in England, but he had
got a big hundred in New Zealand and he showed his character there as well.
Hopefully, he can deliver and everyone will get through that rough
patch.Dhananjaya de Silva had been one of the standout openers in first-class
cricket this year, but as he is already settling in at No. 7, no other obvious
opening candidates have presented themselves either. Mathews said the decision
to retain Silva and Karunaratne had been made with a view to forthcoming foreign
tours as well.If we have guys who have scored heavily outside the team, we can
consider replacing the openers - but that has not happened, Mathews said. We
have got to keep in mind that the South African series is coming in a few months
time. We believe that this set of players can go to South Africa and do well.
They are talented, and if they are given opportunities, they can come
good.Mathews now has the opportunity to effect perhaps the most high-profile 3-0
whitewash for any Sri Lanka captain. They have three other 3-0 results, but
those came against weaker Zimbabwe and Bangladesh teams, and a modest West
Indies outfit propped up by mountains of Brian Lara runs. A whitewash against
the worlds top-ranked team will likely be remembered fondly for years to come.We
are extremely excited at the prospect, Mathews said. Weve trained harder than we
had over the past two weeks, because we want to win it 3-0. Everyone is all
geared up, and we havent taken the foot off the gas.
Stitched Jerseys . Miller reached
right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining
in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the
Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals.
Cheap NFL Jerseys . Jeff Green scored
13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point,
second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since
Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with
Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season.TORONTO - Five-time world
hockey champion France St-Louis has joined the Canadian team staff for the 2014
Sochi Olympics. St-Louis was named an assistant chef de mission for the Games,
joining chef de mission Steve Podborski and assistant chef Jean-Luc Brassard.
"What an extraordinary occasion this is for me, an opportunity to be part of the
Olympic Movement — something that I have believed in for many years," St-Louis
said. "It is going to be an honour to work alongside two incredible individuals
like Steve and Jean-Luc. I know how important it is for our athletes to be
prepared both physically and mentally in order too achieve their desired
objectives and this is exactly what I aim to deliver.dddddddddddd” St. Louis was
a member of the womens hockey team that won silver at the 1998 Nagano Olympics,
and was captain of the team from 1992 to 94. She was also a competitive lacrosse
player. "If we want to become the best Olympic nation in the world, we need to
gather the best-qualified Canadians to help lead our athletes and coaches," said
Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut. St-Louis has been teaching
physical education at the Cegep du Vieux-Montreal, a post-secondary school that
supports excellence in sports. ' ' '
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