Sri Lanka national cricket team
Sri Lanka
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Test status granted | 1982 |
First Test match | v England at Colombo, February 1982 |
Captain | Mahela Jayawardene |
Coach | Trevor Bayliss |
Official ICC Test and ODI ranking | 4th (Test), 4th (ODI) [1],[2] |
Test matches - this year |
170 3 |
Last Test match | v Bangladesh at Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy 3rd Test,11-14 July 2007 |
Wins/losses - this year |
50/63 3/0 |
As of 13 August 2007 [3] |
The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national cricket team representing Sri Lanka. It is administrated by Sri Lanka Cricket.
The team first played international cricket in 1975. It was later accorded Test status in 1981, becoming the eighth Test nation. The Sri Lankan team of 1996 surprised everyone by performing exceedingly well in the 1996 Cricket World Cup and becoming the World Champions. Since then, the team has been viewed in a different light, especially the batting of Sanath Jayasuriya & Aravinda de Silva, backed up by the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan & Chaminda Vaas.
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History of Sri Lankan international cricket
Early years
Ceylon, as the country was known before 1972, played its first first-class match under that name against MCC at Nomads Ground, Victoria Park, Colombo in 1926-27, losing by an innings. [1] The team's first win came against at Dhruve Pandove Stadium in 1932-33. [2] The Ceylonese side competed in Gopalan Trophy games from the 1950s, through the change of name to Sri Lanka, well into the 1970s.
Test status and beyond
- Gained Test Status in 1981 and first played a Test Match in 1982
- Won the 1996 Cricket World Cup hosted by India/Sri Lanka/Pakistan
- Semi Finalists in the 2003 Cricket World Cup hosted by South Africa
- Runners up of the 2007 World Cup
Sri Lankan cricket's greatest moment undoubtedly came during the aforementioned 1996 World Cup, when they defeated the top-ranked Australian team in the Final. Sri Lanka's game style over the course of the series revolutionized One-Day International Cricket, and was characterized by ultra-aggressive batting in the first fifteen overs of the innings in order to take advantage of the fielding restrictions imposed during this period. This strategy has since become a hallmark of One Day International cricket.
Sri Lankan cricket supporters were once again overwhelmed with the team's tremendous performance at the NatWest Series, 2006. Although as a whole it missed its captain Marvan Atapattu and Muttiah Muralitharan; Sanath together with Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando and Farveez Maharoof played some fantastic innings. Sri Lanka's performance during the 5-0 whitewash, England's heaviest home defeat in 13 years, was, some sloppy fielding in a couple of games aside, consistently excellent. Sanath Jayasuriya was both the Man of the Match and Man of the Series. They also made the highest score in One Day International Cricket of 443 against The Netherlands in the following series.
Tournament History
World Cup | ICC Champions Trophy | Asia Cup | Australasia Cup | Asian Test Championship | Commonwealth Games | ICC Trophy |
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Trivia
- Sri Lanka is the only ICC Trophy winning team to have gone on to win the World Cup at a later date.
- Sri Lanka is the only team to have participated in every edition of the Asia Cup.
- Sri Lanka is the only host team to win a World Cup.
National Records by Sri Lanka (Country Specific)
Test Matches
- Highest team total - 952/6 (6 days) against India in 1997. (World Record)
- Highest aggregate of runs- Sanath Jayasuriya (6791) in 107 matches at an Average of 40.42.
- Most number of matches played - Muttiah Muralitharan (110).
- Most number of matches as captain - Arjuna Ranatunga (56) from 1989 to 1999.
- Highest individual score - 374 by Mahela Jayawardene against South Africa in July 2006.
- Highest partnership(runs) - 624 for the third wicket by Kumar Sangakkara(287) & Mahela Jayawardene(374) against South Africa in 2006 (also a World Record in Test and First Class matches).
- Most number of centuries- Aravinda De Silva(20) in 93 matches.
- Most number of half centuries- Arjuna Ranatunga(38) in 93 matches.
- Most number of dismissals(includes wicket-keeping)- Kumar Sangakkara(166 dismissals) in 64 matches.
- Most number of catches - Mahela Jayawardene (113) in 85 matches.
- Highest average(qualification 20 inns.)- Kumar Sangakkara (54.37)
ODI Matches
- Highest team total - 443/9 against Netherlands in July 2006. (World Record)
- Highest aggregate of runs- Sanath Jayasuriya (12,116) in 398 matches at an average of 33.12.
- Most number of matches played - Sanath Jayasuriya (398) (also a World Record).
- Most number of matches as captain - Arjuna Ranatunga (193) from 1988 to 1999.
- Highest individual score - 189 by Sanath Jayasuriya against India in October, 2000.
- Highest partnership(runs) - 286 for the first wicket by Sanath Jayasuriya(152) & Upul Tharanga(109) against England in July 2006.(also a World Record for a first wicket partnership).
- Most number of centuries - Sanath Jayasuriya(25) in 398 matches.
- Most number of half centuries - Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya (64) in 308 and 397 matches respectively.
- Most number of dismissals(includes wicket-keeping)- Kumar Sangakkara(229 dismissals) in 200 matches.
- Most number of catches - Mahela Jayawardene (118) in 245 matches.
- Highest average(qualification 20 inns.)- Marvan Atapattu(37.57).
- Highest number of sixes in a match - Sanath Jayasuriya(11). (World Record)
- Highest number of sixes in a career - Sanath Jayasuriya(242). (World Record)
Twenty20 Matches
- Highest team total - 260/6 against Kenya in 14th September 2007. (World Record)
- Highest wining margin - 172 runs against Kenya in 14th September 2007. (World Record)
Bowling Records set by Sri Lanka
Test Matches
- Most number of wickets - 700 by Muttiah Muralitharan at 21.33 in 113 matches.
- Best individual bowling - 9-51 by Muttiah Muralitharan against Zimbabwe in January 2002.
- Best bowling in a match - 16-220 by Muttiah Muralitharan against England in August 1998.
- Most number of 10 wicker hauls - Muttiah Muralitharan (20). (World Record)
- Most number of 5 wicket hauls - Muttiah Muralitharan(60). (World Record)
- Best average - 21.33 by Muttiah Muralitharan.
ODI Matches
- Most number of wickets - 455 by Muttiah Muralitharan at 22.68 in 297 matches.
- Best individual bowling - 8-19 by Chaminda Vaas against Zimbabwe in December 2001.
- Most number of 5 wicket hauls -Muttiah Muralitharan(8).
- Best Average - 22.68 by Muttiah Muralitharan.
- World's only bowler to take 4 wickets in 4 consecutive balls - Lasith Malinga against South Africa in March 2007.
- Only Sri Lankan bowler to have taken two ODI Hatricks in a career - Chaminda Vaas against Zimbabwe in 2001 and Bangladesh in 2003.
- World's first bowler to have taken 8 wickets in a ODI - Chaminda Vaas against Zimbabwe in 2001.
World Cup Records by Sri Lanka
- Highest team total - 398/5 against Kenya in 1996.
- Highest partnership(runs) - 183 for the third wicket by Sanath Jayasuriya(115) and Mahela Jayawardene(82) against West Indies in 2007.
- 183 for the third wicket by Asanka Gurusinha(84) and Aravinda de Silva(145) against Kenya in 1996.
- Most number of runs - Sanath Jayasuriya (1165) in 38 matches.
- Highest individual score - Aravinda de Silva (145) against Kenya in 1996.
- Most number of matches played - Sanath Jayasuriya(38).
- Best individual bowling - 6-25 by Chaminda Vaas against Bangladesh in 2003.
- Most number of dismissals (includes wicket-keeping)- Kumar Sangakkara(32) in 21 matches.
- Most number of wickets - Muttiah Muralitharan (53) in 31 matches.
- World's only bowler to take four wickets in four consecutive balls - Lasith Malinga against South Africa in 2007.
- First Sri Lankan bowler to take a World Cup Hatrick - Chaminda Vaas against Bangladesh in 2003.
- World's only bowler to have taken a World Cup Hatrick in the first three balls of a match - Chaminda Vaas against Bangladesh in 2003.
Miscellaneous information
- The world's Highest total in a Test match: 952-6 vs India
- The world's Highest score in a ODI match: 443-9 vs The Netherlands on the 4th of July 2006
- The world's Highest score in a 20-20 match: 260-6 vs Kenya on the 14th of September 2007.
- The world's Fastest ODI half-century was scored by Sanath Jayasuriya (17 balls).
See also
References
- ^ Ceylon v Marylebone Cricket Club in 1926/27. CricketArchive. Retrieved on 2007-05-06.
- ^ Patiala v Ceylon in 1932/33. CricketArchive. Retrieved on 2007-05-06.
External links
- Official Home of Sri Lanka Cricket
- Cric Info - Sri Lanka
- SL Cricket - A Forum for Sri Lankan Cricket fans to be