South Africa tour of Sri Lanka, 2013

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The tour was initially supposed to include three Tests but SLC asked for those to be postponed to accommodate the Sri Lankan Premier League. South Africa and Sri Lanka last played against each other in January 2012. South Africa won a hard fought one-day series 3-2 at home, with Sri Lanka coming back to win the last two games. Fixtures

Dialog Series July 20, 1st ODI, Colombo July 23, 2nd ODI, Colombo July 26, 3rd ODI, Kandy July 28, 4th ODI, Kandy July 31, 5th ODI, Colombo August 2, 1st T20, Colombo August 4, 2nd T20, Hambantota August 6, 3rd T20, Hambantota

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South Africa squads South Africa ODI squad:

AB de Villiers (capt.), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan Mclaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

South Africa T20 squad:

Faf du Plessis (capt.), Farhaan Behardien, Henry Davids, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, David Wiese

[SLICKR392]

They've got a packed schedule like us.

[Cricashfaq]

This one will be an interesting series as it is happening in Sri Lanka... However, SOUTH AFRICA all the way!!!

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South Africa look for limited-overs rhythm

South Africa in July is not a time for rebirth. The country is caught in winter's grip - wind and rain sweep over Cape Town; weak, watery sunshine tries to warm things up elsewhere - and cricket will only be woken from its slumber when September ends. By then the new age would have begun. Russell Domingo would have completed his first assignment as head coach and the ODI and Twenty20 squads would have had their umpteenth makeover of the last two years. This one will be their defining redesign, or so we've been told, as they look to prioritise the 2014 World T20 and the 2015 World Cup. Domingo and captain AB de Villiers have been asked to give as much attention to the limited-overs squads as has been lavished on the Test one to restore their previous consistency and rewrite their major-tournament record by securing silverware. They have been told to start again, beginning with the five-match ODI and three-match T20 tour of Sri Lanka. "We're going to have to take a few steps back and do the basics bloody well," de Villiers said before the squad's departure from Johannesburg. "It's about us finding a rhythm as a team." As things stand, South Africa's one-day squad are out of sync. Some days the bowlers beat their drums perfectly but the batsmen cannot join in, on others the opposite happens. Pressure still infects them like an incurable illness, as was evident at the Champions Trophy. That tournament also revealed that the South Africa of old - who entered ICC events as favourites to win and regularly left with a reputation of being the best team not to - is a thing of the past. Last month they were far from the best team at the competition and got what they deserved as a result. The helter-skelter pattern of results leading up to the tournament did not inspire much confidence and they have now realised the value of how they did things before. "Everyone is tired of the word consistency because we talk about it so much but we need to play consistently in this series," de Villiers said. Removing uncertainty from their game will start with de Villiers. The captain has wavered as much as the game plans, from his decision on whether he will keep wicket full-time to his position in the batting order. Now he seems to have been forced on to stable ground. He will keep wicket, despite the presence of Quinton de Kock in the squad, and he will bat No. 4. "We played around with it because of particular circumstances but I think we'll be more consistent from now," he said. De Villiers also believes Domingo will enforce regularity throughout the shorter-format squads. The fluid state they existed in under Gary Kirsten was partly a result of a search for combinations and Domingo has promised to end the experimentation. Instead he will take what his predecessor found and polish it. Implicitly, Domingo has given an assurance he will not chop and change as much in order to give a group of players a sustained run and a chance to become accustomed to playing at the highest level. "Russell communicates very well and he will make sure everyone understands their role really well," de Villiers said. That means an end to the floating batting line-up, perhaps an end to the sometimes desperate-looking measures - like promoting Colin Ingram to opening the batting - and an end to de Villiers' constant changing of mind. "I've learnt a few lessons as captain and I am really looking forward to showing that on this trip," de Villiers said. He understands the burden he has to shoulder better than he did in the past; de Villiers is now ready to settle in as captain, wicketkeeper and No. 4 batsman, and has enough experience in all three to be uncertain any longer. His leadership emerged as one of the positives of the Champions Trophy, with him seeming more assured when directing proceedings in the field. He also identified the bowling as encouraging in the competition. "We were without Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, and people said that was our weakness but the way the youngsters stepped up was impressive." Morkel is back in the squad but Steyn continues to recover from the niggles he picked up in England, so it will be up to the bench strength to put their hands up again. So too the batsmen, who de Villiers expects much more from: "I am waiting for a few guys to take ownership of positions in the top order." South Africa's implosion in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy, and his own careless swipe, is one of de Villiers' worst memories but, as they have done before, the ODI squad have to move on from the hurt. De Villiers believes they can start in Sri Lanka as they address their weaknesses to begin a new era. "In that last Champions Trophy game against England, I can think of more than 10 things that we got wrong," he said. "In the big moments, we've got to play better." A three-week tour of Sri Lanka, taking place in the shadow of the Ashes, will not present many big moments that anyone will take much notice of or remember. But it could be the relative obscurity of this engagement that will allow South Africa time away from the glare to work on their game. The same applies to there being no Tests on the itinerary. The schedule is not South Africa's doing but it could be to their advantage because they will have a window to focus entirely on shorter formats. If the Champions Trophy is a measuring stick, that is exactly what they need right now.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-south-africa-2013/content/story/651435.html

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De Villiers Captaincy Timeline

May 2010: Takes over as limited-overs wicketkeeper on South Africa's tour of the West Indies June 2011: Named ODI and T20 captain under new management headed by Gary Kirsten October 2011: Misses first series as captain with a lower-back injury. Hashim Amla captains the team for ODIs and T20s against Australia January 2012: Records 3-2 ODI series win over Sri Lanka at home in first outing as captain July 2012: Takes over as wicketkeeper of the Test team following career-ending injury to Mark Boucher December 2012: Asks to sit out of T20s against New Zealand, citing need for rest. Faf du Plessis takes over January 2013: Returns to action in ODIs against New Zealand but hands the gloves to Quinton de Kock in order to focus on captaincy February 2013: Du Plessis named permanent T20 captain. De Villiers unveiled as opener in the shortest format as part of a new strategy March 2013: Takes back the wicketkeeping gloves for ODI series against Pakistan. Confirms treble role as captain, keeper and senior batsman July 2013: Departs for tour of Sri Lanka and confirms intentions to keep wicket in both ODIs and T20s. Also confirms position as opening batsman in T20s and No. 4 batsman in ODIs

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The South African cricket team arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday for a limited-overs tour of the island, which will see them play five ODIs and three T20 matches. The tour gets underway with the first ODI on July 20 at R. Premadasa Stadium. The ODI series will be split between the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy. The final two matches in the three-match T20 series will take place at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota, while the first T20 will be played in Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium. The ODI and the T20 series will all be day-night encounters played under lights.

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Sri Lanka Cricket employee(Technician) brutalized

An employee of Sri Lanka Cricket has been badly assaulted while carrying out his duties at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday evening, Ceylon Today learns. The employee, a technician, was initially locked inside the scoreboard where he was attending to repair work ahead of Friday’s first ODI between Sri Lanka and South Africa. He raised the alarm that he had been looked inside by signaling through an opening in the scoreboard. But instead of being aided out he was brutally assaulted by a security guard. Security at the Premadasa stadium is provided by Air Force personnel. Neither the victim nor his Sri Lanka Cricket superior officer had made any complaint fearing repercussions. While Air Force personnel man the Premadasa stadium, the Navy is stationed at the Pallekelle stadium and the Army at the Mahinda Rajapaksa stadium in Hambantota.

http://www.ceylontoday.lk/3-37720-news-detail-sri-lanka-cricket-employee-brutalized.html :nervous: Was the technician a member of LTTE ???

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Sri Lanka selectors hold back team selections for South African tour

The Sri Lankan selectors will on Tuesday (16) to name the stand-in captain for the first two ODIs against the visiting Proteas and the rest of the squad. The Lankan captain Angelo Mathews was banned for two ODIs in the West Indies for maintaining a slow over rate in their final against India at Port of Spain. The Lankan selectors delayed their meeting because the tour selector Pramodya Wickremasinghe was also with the team and they wanted his input, according to informed sources. There may be theories and different sentiments, but the Lankans’ team achievements in England at the Champion’s Trophy Tournament and the Tri-nation tournament in the West Indies were impressive and encouraging. In the Champions Trophy, the Lankans reached the semi-finals and in the Tri-nations the Lankan pipped the home team to meet India after ending up as the table leaders in the group stages. For a team which is going through a learning curve with a plethora of new faces, it was a good showing. At the same time, isn’t it an irony that in the championship semi-final and the tri-nations final the Lankans lost to the same foe – India! Even playing on home soil taking on South Africa is no mean task. Notoriously they may fail at the post at big tournaments, but where individual series are concerned they have thrived especially during the last decade. Having said that the Lankans did well in the last two engagements, there are certain adjustments that they could effect on their composition. Though there are structural changes in the Lankan team, they are still top heavy and over dependant on their stalwarts – T.M. Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath. Besides Malinga, the rest of the cricketers mentioned are on the bad side of their careers, but they are still performing way above the rest. The way Kumar Sangakkara is batting now is especially awesome. Just the way he walks on to the crease and starts building his innings and then tries to take the flock across the stream is great entertainment. The way Mahela dominates the opposition on occasions is still pure art. And the pundits of the game still call the duo the ‘monarchs of cricket in Sri Lanka’. For me skipper Angelo Mathews is still to mature as a captain. He must learn to keep his body language intact, swallow the bitter pill and then begin to plan for the fightback. He must get the maximum from the seniors, but he should learn how to guide the side on his own. The other glaring factor is that the young batsmen who are entrusted with a lot of responsibility are still shy of acting accordingly. For instance Dinesh Chandimal – the vice captain designate and the captain of the T-20 team for both tours performed well below par. At one point he stated that he missed the IPL in a bid to adjust his technique, but what we see and what he shows is that he still has huge flaws in his temperament as well. At the same time, do the Lankans have a death bowler in its larder? Now twice it was proven that young Shaminda Eranga is not the answer. As it is, Malinga also cannot be kept till the last. Among the young, in batting the only hope is Lahiru Thirimanne. Yet, he is a flight of stairs behind the confidence application of Sangakkara and Jayawardena. In short, Sri Lanka is not yet ready to let go of the aging seniors. The series against South Africa is confined to limited over matches. Is the Lankan attack ready to take on Amla and company? The South African squad does not have living legends among them. But, the squad is full of professionals who are trained like soldiers – ready to perform. The CSA selection convener Andrew Hudson said, “We are resting Dale Steyn as we have a very important and crowded Test season ahead of us and we want to be absolutely certain that, as the leader of our attack, he is properly rested and fit. Graeme Smith obviously could not be considered because of his long-term recovery process following surgery.”

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/sport-news/35334-cricket-sri-lanka-selectors-hold-back-team-selections-for-south-african-tour.html

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Slow pitches await Proteas in Sri Lanka

The Proteas embark on their tour of Sri Lanka tonight with the 2015 World Cup growing ever bigger on the horizon. After the disappointing end to their ICC Champions Trophy challenge, Russell Domingo’s young side have plenty to gain as they travel to a destination that has been a great source of frustration for them in recent years. The Test matches initially penned in for this tour were scrapped, in favour of a longer ODI series and the T20 fare. In some ways, that may be no bad thing. Sitting atop the Test tree, the Proteas seemingly don’t have a care in the world when they are in their traditional attire. It’s when they put on their pyjama outfits that things get out of hand, and especially on Sri Lanka’s feather-bed pitches. In the past 10 one-day internationals in Sri Lanka, the Proteas have just one win. To say that they have struggled to make an impression on the slow, low tracks in Colombo and Kandy is an understatement. Indeed, the islanders have even made strides in confronting the uncomfortable pace and bounce of South African conditions, as displayed in their tenacious Boxing Day Test triumph at Kingsmead in 2011. The Sri Lankans have found the means to be more competitive on the road. To be a factor in the ICC showpiece events, the Proteas will have to adjust their game plan and do the same. The challenge for the Proteas will be keeping the Sri Lankan bowlers, especially their slow merchants, in check on pitches that will be tailor-made for the hosts. The emergence of Rangana Herath, who is already recognised as one of the game’s best slow bowlers, has given Angelo Mathews’ side a measure of control, while the guile of Lasith Malinga, with both new ball and old, has always been a great source of concern for the opposition. As it is, South Africa will confront a side in decent form. Their sensational 161-run spanking of the game’s in-form side, India, in the tri-series in the West Indies was highly impressive, with Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene in the runs and Herath, predictably, amongst the wickets. Jayawardene, who reached 400 one-day appearances in their one-wicket loss in the final, may well have to take over the reins for the first two matches against the Proteas, as Mathews has been suspended due to a slow over-rate. The five-match ODI series, as well as the trio of T20 matches that follow, will also be another test of skipper AB De Villiers’s own capability to multi-task. At times during the Champions Trophy, the game seemed to get away from him, and his batting didn’t provide the spark that has come to be expected in the shorter formats. There are still those who believe that De Villiers should be fielding, and leaving the glove-work to the young Quinton de Kock. Up to now, De Villiers has stubbornly refused to ease his workload. But if his lean patch with the willow continues, calls for him to relinquish the gloves will gain greater volume. To compound the task ahead for De Villiers’s side, they will have to meet these demons without the considerable backbone of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn. The absence of Smith was expected, and the continued void left by Kallis suggests that future ODI plans may have to be made without the all-rounder in mind. But the loss of the talismanic Steyn will be a tough pill for De Villiers to swallow. The likes of Chris Morris and Ryan McLaren made encouraging progress at the Champions Trophy, but they are yet to attain the presence that Steyn has. The Lankan middle-order, crammed with a wealth of talent and experience, will be licking their chops in anticipation. In many ways, then, a month in Sri Lanka will provide just the kind of acid test that the Proteas require

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/proteas/slow-pitches-await-proteas-in-sri-lanka-1.1546490

[Sidhoni]

Do they have anyone other than Peterson as a spinner? They are gonna need another specialist in Sri Lanka

[CoverDrive]

Do they have anyone other than Peterson as a spinner? They are gonna need another specialist in Sri Lanka

Imran tahir

[Debutant]

Imran tahir

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Do they have anyone other than Peterson as a spinner? They are gonna need another specialist in Sri Lanka

Tahir, Peterson and phangiso are the three spinners in the squad. Duminy can bowl spin too

[Sidhoni]

Imran tahir

:hysterical:

[cowboysfan]

4-1 to lungans if they play on tracks which assist spin.

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Chandimal to lead SL Board Presidents XI

Dinesh Chandimal will captain the Sri Lankan Board President's XI against the touring South Africans on Wednesday, ahead of what may be his first match as ODI captain against South Africa on Saturday. As the vice-captain of the national team, he could be in line to take the reins from Angelo Mathews, who has been suspended from the first two ODIs courtesy an over-rate offence. Chandimal is Sri Lanka's Twenty20 captain, but his ODI form has been poor in the last 16 months - he has averaged 18.19 and hit only two fifties in 28 matches. He was dropped from the limited-overs sides during the latter part of 2012, though he retained his place in the national squad, and has been granted an extended run in the XI after assuming the vice-captaincy in February. Although he is viewed as a future leader, a promotion to acting captain may not be automatic, in light of recent results. Both Dimuth Karunaratne, and Angelo Perera, who are in contention for ODI debuts in the series, will also play in the warm-up match, as will Thisara Perera, who was dropped from the national squad for the West Indies tri-series. South Africa play five ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals during their three-week tour. President's XI squad:

Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Mahela Udawatte, Angelo Perera, Sachithra Serasinghe, Chaturanga de Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Vimukthi Perera, Madura Lakmal, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ashan Priyanjan

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South Africa have scored 271/6 after winning the toss against Sri Lankan Board President XI in the only practice ODI game they will play on their tour of the Island nation. Backed by a brilliant 100 ball 92 by Duminy and good contributions from Captain De Villiers, Du Plessis and Peterson, South Africa have managed to put up a decent score at the Colts Cricket Ground in Colombo. You can follow the match here: http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-south-africa-2013/engine/current/match/651779.html

[StriKe]

Why morkel bowled only three overs?

[namasteji1]

South Africans won by 73 runs