Category: Sports

Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – Alastair Cook hit a masterly 80 as England thrashed Sri Lanka by five wickets in the fourth one-day international here Wednesday to clinch their first series win in the subcontinent for 20 years. The 22-year-old left-hander shared a 110-run stand for the third wicket with Kevin Pietersen (63 not out) […]

COLOMBO, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – Stunned local media slammed “amateurish” Sri Lanka Thursday after they slumped to their first home series defeat to England since joining cricket’s elite in 1982.Sri Lanka, who became a Test nation in 1982, are due to travel to Australia for two Test matches starting on November 8.Paul Collingwood’s tourists […]

Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge is keen to bring back former captain Marvan Atapattu into the squad for next month’s tour of Australia, a ministry official said here Wednesday. “The minister hopes to see Marvan in the next few days to hear his side of the story. He is […]

LOS ANGELES, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) – Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones has been stripped of her gold medals from the 2000 Olympics and asked repay more than 100,000 dollars in prize and bonus money, said the United States Olympic Committee.Jones, who admitted in a US court last week to using performance-enhancing drugs, has returned the […]

Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka are mulling over whether to play star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in the must-win fourth one-day international against England here on Wednesday. The hosts, trailing 1-2 in the five-match series, will be tempted to field the 35-year-old, who has recently recovered from a bicep injury suffered while playing for […]

WHITE PLAINS, New York, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) – BALCO, the San Francisco lab that peddled performance enhancing drugs to athletes, continues to rock the sports world four years after it became a byword for cheating.Marion Jones, once the golden girl of US athletics, Friday pleaded guilty to lying to a federal agent about her […]

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) – Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad shared four big wickets as England ended a 25-year wait with a 65-run win over Sri Lanka in the second one-day international here on Thursday. The pace duo built on man-of-the-match Owais Shah’s superb 82 as England dismissed the World Cup runners-up […]

Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) – At least six Tamil Tiger rebels and three government soldiers were killed in fresh skirmishes in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Thursday. Fighting erupted at four locations along a de facto border separating the rebel-held territory in the Wanni region Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement. It […]

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) – Owais Shah hit a solid half-century under pressure to help England reach a respectable 234-8 against Sri Lanka in the second one-day international here on Thursday.Shah, Collingwood and Swann then batted sensibly to help their team cross the 200-mark. England were struggling at 61-4 after winning the […]

Oct 3, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former captain and opening batsman Marvan Atapattu is set to make a comeback after being overlooked for the World Cup, chief selector Asantha de Mel told AFP here Wednesday.“We want Sanath only in the one-day team,” he said. “We need his experience in Australia. He has the technique […]

NEW DELHI, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) – Ace Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and skipper Mahela Jayawardene have signed up for the new Twenty20 league in India next year, the cricket board said Monday.The two stalwarts head a list of eight Sri Lankan players who have penned deals with the Board of Control for Cricket […]

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) – Farveez Maharoof grabbed four big wickets as Sri Lanka posted an emphatic 119-run victory over England in the opening one-day international here on Monday. The seamer dismissed Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and debutant Phil Mustard in his opening four overs as England were bowled out for 150 […]