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**Official Tri-Series in Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka, South Africa, India)**
- Thread starter Jungle Jumbo
- Start date
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
Sanz said:@Silentstriker - You missed the sarcasm.
No, I realized you were being sarcastic, but your statement makes sense at face value. Terrorists do things that will have high impact (i.e headlines), but that does not make the city more dangerous overall than if it simply had a crime problem.
viktor
State Vice-Captain
Well, the weather has washed out the first two games, so it would have hurt the series regardless of how long it was.marc71178 said:
Anyway, I agree with you that the weather is a problem but as someone else pointed out, series have been played at this time of the year with some success.
Moving on, am looking forward to AA continuing his form in the WIndies and really locking down a place in the starting XI for the WC.
A brilliant piece by Charlie Austin as always on Cricinfo.
An investigation into South Africa's withdrawal
Sri Lanka searches for answers
Charlie Austin
August 18, 2006
Driving to work today in Colombo - without, sadly, traffic-free roads, armed commandos and bullet-proof windows - I passed the Nepalese football team en route to practice. Later on, stuck in traffic, I caught a glimpse of a Maldives team bus. South Africa are not the only team in town: during the next few days 2500 athletes and officials from eight nations will be participating in the tenth South Asian Games. None of the teams have left the island because of safety fears, and many in Sri Lanka believe South Africa shouldn't have either.
The cricket correspondent from The Daily News, a government newspaper, was in splendid form on Thursday, irking the South African camp with a headline that clamoured for attention: "South African cricketers chicken out - SHAME!" He went on to argue that South Africa were "making a flimsy excuse because they did not want to be beaten again" and that they should not be preoccupied with the safety of shopping malls when they were here to play cricket.
Some of the media accusations levelled at the departing South Africans may be wide of the mark, but the general sentiment is commonly held. Many feel that South Africa's pull-out was unjustified, a decision not backed up with credible evidence. Certainly Duleep Mendis, the chief executive of Sri Lanka Cricket, was not particularly understanding. "I was amazed at their decision," he told The Island newspaper. "What surprises me is that they were advised by a firm based in Dubai. This firm did not even come to Colombo to assess the situation."
Clearly, Sri Lanka Cricket are not going to accept the withdrawal without a fight for compensation. "What South Africa have done is to set a bad precedent and we want justice," Mendis said. South Africa's claims that their relationship remained rosy with Sri Lanka Cricket are nonsense. Sri Lankan cricket officials are fuming with the decision, and the process in which it was made. It didn't help that they appeared to have been the last ones to have been told, learning of the decision from the media.
The Tamil Tigers have never targeted tourists, let alone international sporting teams. Back in 1996 they publicly stated that they would not target visiting cricket teams and there is no evidence to suggest this stance has changed
The credibility of the evidence that South Africa's decision was based upon was not helped by the announcement in Johannesburg by Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, that the "clinching factor" was a threatening email from a group called the Tamil Tiger Youth League. To those in Sri Lanka, or those who know about Sri Lankan politics, this can be translated as: "The clinching factor was a threat from an organisation that no-one has ever heard of before." It could have been sent from a Hotmail account.
South Africa's own security experts and the ICC-commissioned security experts apparently concurred that "the players' safety could not be guaranteed". But what were the real risks? The Tamil Tigers have never targeted tourists, let alone international sporting teams. Back in 1996 they publicly stated that they would not target visiting cricket teams and there is no evidence to suggest this stance has changed. The two car bombs in Colombo during the past month have been tit-for-tat attempted political assassinations, not a terror campaign targeting civilians.
South Africa made the valid point that there was a small theoretical chance the team could be caught in a crossfire, but Sri Lanka went to the extent of agreeing that main roads in Colombo would be shut down and traffic-free. There were three waves of security cloaking the team hotel and no way of being caught-up in a car bomb. What was the security firm worried about? People, understandably, want to know.
Clearly, whatever was in the report was not communicated to all of South Africa's media because some seemed to be perfectly relaxed at Rhythm & Blues, a fun waterhole a short drive from the location of Monday's bomb. Like most people in Colombo, they realise that despite the recent increased tensions in the island, the city, reputed for its low violent crime rate, is far safer than many in the world at the current time, including a few South African cities.
The decision to pull-out has prompted many hypothetical questions. Would South Africa have withdrawn from an England tour in the aftermath of similar terror scares to those witnessed before the fourth Test against Pakistan? Will South Africa refuse to travel to Mumbai for the Champions Trophy after the dreadful bombings earlier this year? Will South Africa pull-out of a Pakistan tour if a group calling themselves the Al Qaeda Children's Group sent them a threatening email?
Of course, if South Africa's cricketers felt threatened - all the indications are that they were genuinely rattled by Monday's car bomb - then one can understand them wanting to go home. But the suspicion lingers that they were misinformed with the risks posed to them, which were exaggerated by security experts lacking a deep understanding of the conflict between the Sri Lanka government and the Tamil Tigers. The hastiness of the second, independent review adds to the suspicion.
The end result is that Sri Lanka Cricket, a cricket board that only 18 months ago was faced with a serious financial crisis, now expects huge financial losses from lost broadcasting and sponsorship revenues. This triangular series was one of the most profitable in their current broadcasting contract with Ten Sports and a bilateral series with India still leaves them with a huge hole in their accounts. In addition, the damage caused to the country's tourist industry will be significant. In such circumstances, it is understandable that Sri Lanka Cricket will now want some answers as they consider a demand for financial compensation.
Charlie Austin is Cricinfo's Sri Lankan correspondent
An investigation into South Africa's withdrawal
Sri Lanka searches for answers
Charlie Austin
August 18, 2006
Driving to work today in Colombo - without, sadly, traffic-free roads, armed commandos and bullet-proof windows - I passed the Nepalese football team en route to practice. Later on, stuck in traffic, I caught a glimpse of a Maldives team bus. South Africa are not the only team in town: during the next few days 2500 athletes and officials from eight nations will be participating in the tenth South Asian Games. None of the teams have left the island because of safety fears, and many in Sri Lanka believe South Africa shouldn't have either.
The cricket correspondent from The Daily News, a government newspaper, was in splendid form on Thursday, irking the South African camp with a headline that clamoured for attention: "South African cricketers chicken out - SHAME!" He went on to argue that South Africa were "making a flimsy excuse because they did not want to be beaten again" and that they should not be preoccupied with the safety of shopping malls when they were here to play cricket.
Some of the media accusations levelled at the departing South Africans may be wide of the mark, but the general sentiment is commonly held. Many feel that South Africa's pull-out was unjustified, a decision not backed up with credible evidence. Certainly Duleep Mendis, the chief executive of Sri Lanka Cricket, was not particularly understanding. "I was amazed at their decision," he told The Island newspaper. "What surprises me is that they were advised by a firm based in Dubai. This firm did not even come to Colombo to assess the situation."
Clearly, Sri Lanka Cricket are not going to accept the withdrawal without a fight for compensation. "What South Africa have done is to set a bad precedent and we want justice," Mendis said. South Africa's claims that their relationship remained rosy with Sri Lanka Cricket are nonsense. Sri Lankan cricket officials are fuming with the decision, and the process in which it was made. It didn't help that they appeared to have been the last ones to have been told, learning of the decision from the media.
The Tamil Tigers have never targeted tourists, let alone international sporting teams. Back in 1996 they publicly stated that they would not target visiting cricket teams and there is no evidence to suggest this stance has changed
The credibility of the evidence that South Africa's decision was based upon was not helped by the announcement in Johannesburg by Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, that the "clinching factor" was a threatening email from a group called the Tamil Tiger Youth League. To those in Sri Lanka, or those who know about Sri Lankan politics, this can be translated as: "The clinching factor was a threat from an organisation that no-one has ever heard of before." It could have been sent from a Hotmail account.
South Africa's own security experts and the ICC-commissioned security experts apparently concurred that "the players' safety could not be guaranteed". But what were the real risks? The Tamil Tigers have never targeted tourists, let alone international sporting teams. Back in 1996 they publicly stated that they would not target visiting cricket teams and there is no evidence to suggest this stance has changed. The two car bombs in Colombo during the past month have been tit-for-tat attempted political assassinations, not a terror campaign targeting civilians.
South Africa made the valid point that there was a small theoretical chance the team could be caught in a crossfire, but Sri Lanka went to the extent of agreeing that main roads in Colombo would be shut down and traffic-free. There were three waves of security cloaking the team hotel and no way of being caught-up in a car bomb. What was the security firm worried about? People, understandably, want to know.
Clearly, whatever was in the report was not communicated to all of South Africa's media because some seemed to be perfectly relaxed at Rhythm & Blues, a fun waterhole a short drive from the location of Monday's bomb. Like most people in Colombo, they realise that despite the recent increased tensions in the island, the city, reputed for its low violent crime rate, is far safer than many in the world at the current time, including a few South African cities.
The decision to pull-out has prompted many hypothetical questions. Would South Africa have withdrawn from an England tour in the aftermath of similar terror scares to those witnessed before the fourth Test against Pakistan? Will South Africa refuse to travel to Mumbai for the Champions Trophy after the dreadful bombings earlier this year? Will South Africa pull-out of a Pakistan tour if a group calling themselves the Al Qaeda Children's Group sent them a threatening email?
Of course, if South Africa's cricketers felt threatened - all the indications are that they were genuinely rattled by Monday's car bomb - then one can understand them wanting to go home. But the suspicion lingers that they were misinformed with the risks posed to them, which were exaggerated by security experts lacking a deep understanding of the conflict between the Sri Lanka government and the Tamil Tigers. The hastiness of the second, independent review adds to the suspicion.
The end result is that Sri Lanka Cricket, a cricket board that only 18 months ago was faced with a serious financial crisis, now expects huge financial losses from lost broadcasting and sponsorship revenues. This triangular series was one of the most profitable in their current broadcasting contract with Ten Sports and a bilateral series with India still leaves them with a huge hole in their accounts. In addition, the damage caused to the country's tourist industry will be significant. In such circumstances, it is understandable that Sri Lanka Cricket will now want some answers as they consider a demand for financial compensation.
Charlie Austin is Cricinfo's Sri Lankan correspondent
Dravid
International Captain
After waiting 5 days, we finally will get to see the opening ball of this series bowled. An interesting decision to make this a two day match. I didn't think the umpires would do this because its not what the limited over game is about. Sure you have 50 overs to bat and 50 overs to bowl but theres this huge rest both teams are going to get, and thats not what this form of the game is about. It's a one day game and it should be finished in one day.
What are your thoughts on this? Do any of you agree with the umpires?
What are your thoughts on this? Do any of you agree with the umpires?
adharcric
International Coach
I actually don't mind their decision. Sure, the idea of only getting 40 minutes of rest before getting back on the field goes down the drain ... but considering how desperate we are for cricket right now I think it's smart. Would you rather have a Twenty20 snuck into one day or a normal match spread over two days. I'm here to watch 50-over cricket so I'll take the latter.Dravid said:
Dravid
International Captain
The Wall won the toss and decided to bat first. And what everyone thought happened, Sehwag goes down the order and Sachin and Dravid will open. So happy to see Sachin back in action finally. And after much confusion over Pathans selection, it turns out he has been selected.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
Oh, finally, the series (or what's left of it) is on. Dravid opens the innings with Sehwag in the middle order, for some strange reason. I doubt if we'll see too much action here, since it looks dark above the ground.
EDIT: Bad light has stopped play. Just fitting, since this didn't look like it would be a good match.
EDIT: Bad light has stopped play. Just fitting, since this didn't look like it would be a good match.
Smudge
Hall of Fame Member
silentstriker said:
Good god, there's some self-serving tosh on this thread. South Africa had every right (as far as I'm concerned) to head home - take NZ for example. They've been in Sri Lanka TWICE when bombs have gone off (1986/7 and 1992) and once in Pakistan - as others have said, at the end of the day, it's only sport, and if I was on a sports tour and a bomb went off nearby, the first thing I'd be doing is working out how to get back home.
Call it weak, call it the easy way out. Or call it sensible.
These people suggesting South Africa are going home because they're in poor form are typical schoolyard bullies who like putting the boot in when a team is down. How about you use something other than a bomb blast to feed your little conspiracy theories?
dinu23
International Debutant
the LTTE is just trying to send a message to the Pakistani government :- "do not support the goverment of SL and do not provide weapons to them or else we will blast you to bits"Sanz said:
I'm glad SL have friends like pakistan, India. the co-chairs are just scarecrows. they just wait till LTTE explode some bombs then they just condemn it and that's it.
Jungle Jumbo
International Vice-Captain
Isn't it the monsoon season in the subcontinent? I recall several series in the early part of the Sri Lankan season being ruined by rain (Champions Trophy Final, Eng v SL ODIs). It's probably part of the fallout from an overcrowded calender.
IIRC aren't India supposed to be playing Sri Lanka before in World Cup in a triangular tournament? May as well just abandon the series, seeing as it's currently just serving as a rehabilitation session for Tendulkar.
IIRC aren't India supposed to be playing Sri Lanka before in World Cup in a triangular tournament? May as well just abandon the series, seeing as it's currently just serving as a rehabilitation session for Tendulkar.
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
Yea, no one heard of this group before.