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Mathews unhappy for lack of test matches for SL
Former skipper Angelo Mathews is unhappy with the amount of Test cricket Sri Lanka are scheduled to play in 2023.
Sri Lanka is only due to play five Test matches this year, with two Tests in New Zealand, one Test at home against Ireland – a side not involved in the World Test Championship – and two Tests in Pakistan.
By contrast, their white-ball schedule is full, with 11 ODIs, six T20Is, the Asia Cup and the Cricket World Cup locked in for the remainder of the year.
However, they can still qualify for the 2023 World Test Championship final at the Oval provided they defeat New Zealand 2-0 in their ongoing series and Australia avoid defeat to India in the final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Mathews said: “[It’s] unfortunate that we are not playing too many Test matches this year – it’s as few as five. We are coming off a long layoff; the last Test was six months back.
“Everyone’s talking about Test cricket dying, but we’re not doing any good for Test cricket playing only five Tests a year. Hopefully, we’ll get more matches this year. Five feels like not enough.”
The World Test Championship table perfectly illustrates the unequal distribution of red-ball internationals. England, for example, has played 22 matches during the 2020-23 cycle while Sri Lanka has only played 10.
The majority of series which count towards the Championship is only two matches. However, the big three – Australia, England and India – frequently play four or five-match series against one another.
West Indies international Jason Holder recently expressed his grievance with the lack of Test cricket for nations outside the big three, commenting: “The way world cricket is going now, apart from the big three, every team is barely even playing Test cricket.”
ශ්රී ලංකාවට ටෙස්ට් තරග නොමැතිවීම ගැන මැතිව්ස් නොසතුටෙන්
2023 වසරේ ශ්රී ලංකාව ක්රීඩා කිරීමට නියමිත ටෙස්ට් ක්රිකට් ප්රමාණය පිළිබඳව හිටපු නායක ඇන්ජලෝ මැතිව්ස් නොසතුට පළ කර තිබේ.
ශ්රී ලංකාව මේ වසරේ ක්රීඩා කිරීමට නියමිතව ඇත්තේ ටෙස්ට් තරග 5ක් පමණක් වන අතර, නවසීලන්තයේදී ටෙස්ට් තරග දෙකක්, අයර්ලන්තයට එරෙහිව එක් ටෙස්ට් තරගයක් – ලෝක ටෙස්ට් ශූරතාවලියට සම්බන්ධ නොවන කණ්ඩායමක් – සහ පාකිස්තානයේ ටෙස්ට් තරග දෙකක් ඇත.
ඊට වෙනස්ව, ඔවුන්ගේ වයිට්බෝල් කාලසටහන පිරී ඇති අතර, එක්දින තරඟ 11 ක්, T20I තරඟ හයක්, ආසියානු කුසලානය සහ ක්රිකට් ලෝක කුසලානය වසරේ ඉතිරි කාලය සඳහා අගුලු දමා ඇත.
කෙසේ වෙතත්, ඔවුන්ට තවමත් 2023 ඕවල් ක්රීඩාංගණයේ පැවැත්වෙන ලෝක ටෙස්ට් ශූරතා අවසන් මහා තරගයට සුදුසුකම් ලැබිය හැක්කේ ඔවුන් දැනට පවතින තරගාවලියේදී නවසීලන්තය 2-0ක් ලෙස පරාජය කළහොත් සහ ඕස්ට්රේලියාව බෝඩර්-ගවස්කාර් කුසලානයේ අවසන් තරගයේදී ඉන්දියාවට පරාජයෙන් වැළකී සිටියහොත් පමණි.
මැතිව්ස් මෙසේ පැවසීය: “[එය] අවාසනාවකට අපි මේ වසරේ වැඩිපුර ටෙස්ට් තරඟ ක්රීඩා නොකිරීමයි – එය පහක් වැනි සුළු ප්රමාණයකි. අපි දිගු දොට්ට දැමීමකින් ඉවත් වෙමු; අවසන් ටෙස්ට් තරඟය මාස හයකට පෙරය.
“හැමෝම කතා කරන්නේ ටෙස්ට් ක්රිකට් මැරෙන එක ගැන, නමුත් අපි ටෙස්ට් ක්රිකට් වලට කිසිම ප්රයෝජනයක් කරන්නේ නැහැ වසරකට ටෙස්ට් තරග පහක් පමණක් ක්රීඩා කරනවා. බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා, අපිට මේ අවුරුද්දේ තවත් තරඟ ලැබේවි. පහක් මදි වගේ දැනෙනවා.”
ලෝක ටෙස්ට් ශූරතා වගුව රතු-පන්දු ජාත්යන්තර තරඟවල අසමාන ව්යාප්තිය මනාව විදහා දක්වයි. නිදසුනක් වශයෙන්, එංගලන්තය 2020-23 චක්රය තුළ තරඟ 22 ක් ක්රීඩා කර ඇති අතර ශ්රී ලංකාව ක්රීඩා කර ඇත්තේ 10 ක් පමණි.
ශූරතාවලිය සඳහා ගණන් ගන්නා බොහෝ තරඟාවලි තරඟ දෙකක් පමණි. කෙසේ වෙතත්, විශාල තිදෙනා – ඕස්ට්රේලියාව, එංගලන්තය සහ ඉන්දියාව – නිතර තරඟ හතරක් හෝ පහක් තරඟාවලියක් එකිනෙකාට එරෙහිව ක්රීඩා කරයි.
බටහිර ඉන්දීය කොදෙව් ජාත්යන්තර ජේසන් හෝල්ඩර් මෑතකදී විශාල ත්රිත්වයෙන් පිටත ජාතීන් සඳහා ටෙස්ට් ක්රිකට් නොමැතිකම සම්බන්ධයෙන් සිය දුක්ගැනවිල්ල ප්රකාශ කළේය: “ලෝක ක්රිකට් දැන් ගමන් කරන ආකාරය, විශාල තිදෙනා හැරුණු විට, සෑම කණ්ඩායමක්ම යන්තම් ටෙස්ට් ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩා කරන්නේ නැත.”
இலங்கைக்கு டெஸ்ட் போட்டிகள் இல்லாததால் மெத்யூஸ் மகிழ்ச்சியடையவில்லை
இலங்கை அணி 2023ல் விளையாடவுள்ள டெஸ்ட் கிரிக்கெட் போட்டி குறித்து முன்னாள் கேப்டன் ஏஞ்சலோ மேத்யூஸ் அதிருப்தி தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
நியூசிலாந்தில் இரண்டு டெஸ்ட் போட்டிகள், அயர்லாந்திற்கு எதிராக உள்நாட்டில் ஒரு டெஸ்ட் – உலக டெஸ்ட் சாம்பியன்ஷிப்பில் பங்கேற்காத ஒரு அணி – மற்றும் பாகிஸ்தானில் இரண்டு டெஸ்ட் போட்டிகள் கொண்ட இலங்கை இந்த ஆண்டு ஐந்து டெஸ்ட் போட்டிகளில் மட்டுமே விளையாட உள்ளது.
இதற்கு நேர்மாறாக, அவர்களின் ஒயிட்-பால் அட்டவணை நிரம்பியுள்ளது, 11 ODIகள், ஆறு T20Iகள், ஆசியக் கோப்பை மற்றும் கிரிக்கெட் உலகக் கோப்பை ஆகியவை இந்த ஆண்டு முழுவதும் பூட்டப்பட்டுள்ளன.
இருப்பினும், 2023 ஆம் ஆண்டு ஓவலில் நடக்கும் உலக டெஸ்ட் சாம்பியன்ஷிப் இறுதிப் போட்டிக்கு அவர்கள் இன்னும் தகுதி பெற முடியும், அவர்கள் நியூசிலாந்தை 2-0 என்ற கணக்கில் தங்கள் தற்போதைய தொடரில் தோற்கடித்து, பார்டர்-கவாஸ்கர் டிராபியின் இறுதிப் போட்டியில் இந்தியாவிடம் தோல்வியைத் தவிர்க்கலாம்.
மேத்யூஸ் கூறினார்: “[இது] இந்த ஆண்டு நாங்கள் அதிக டெஸ்ட் போட்டிகளில் விளையாடாதது துரதிர்ஷ்டவசமானது – இது ஐந்து போட்டிகள் மட்டுமே. நாங்கள் நீண்ட ஆட்குறைப்பில் இருந்து வருகிறோம்; கடைசி டெஸ்ட் ஆறு மாதங்களுக்கு முன்பு நடந்தது.
“எல்லோரும் டெஸ்ட் கிரிக்கெட் அழிந்து வருவதைப் பற்றி பேசுகிறார்கள், ஆனால் நாங்கள் டெஸ்ட் கிரிக்கெட்டுக்கு ஒரு வருடத்திற்கு ஐந்து டெஸ்டுகள் மட்டுமே விளையாடுகிறோம். நாங்கள் இந்த ஆண்டு அதிக போட்டிகளைப் பெறுவோம் என்று நம்புகிறோம். ஐந்து போதாது என்று உணர்கிறோம்.”
உலக டெஸ்ட் சாம்பியன்ஷிப் அட்டவணை சிவப்பு-பந்து சர்வதேச போட்டிகளின் சமமற்ற விநியோகத்தை மிகச்சரியாக விளக்குகிறது. எடுத்துக்காட்டாக, 2020-23 சுழற்சியில் இங்கிலாந்து 22 போட்டிகளில் விளையாடியுள்ளது, இலங்கை 10 போட்டிகளில் மட்டுமே விளையாடியுள்ளது.
சாம்பியன்ஷிப் தொடரில் பெரும்பாலானவை இரண்டு போட்டிகள் மட்டுமே. இருப்பினும், பெரிய மூன்று – ஆஸ்திரேலியா, இங்கிலாந்து மற்றும் இந்தியா – அடிக்கடி ஒன்றுக்கொன்று எதிராக நான்கு அல்லது ஐந்து போட்டித் தொடர்களை விளையாடுகின்றன.
மேற்கிந்தியத் தீவுகளின் சர்வதேச வீரர் ஜேசன் ஹோல்டர், பெரிய மூன்று நாடுகளுக்கு வெளியே உள்ள நாடுகளுக்கு டெஸ்ட் கிரிக்கெட் இல்லாதது குறித்து தனது குறையை சமீபத்தில் வெளிப்படுத்தினார்: “உலக கிரிக்கெட் இப்போது நடந்துகொண்டிருக்கும் விதம், பெரிய மூன்று அணிகளைத் தவிர, ஒவ்வொரு அணியும் டெஸ்ட் கிரிக்கெட்டை கூட விளையாடுவதில்லை.”
Football
Quarter Finals Set for Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025 – Four Epic Battles Await!
After weeks of intense group-stage action across the island, the Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025 – 1st XI School Football Challenge Trophy now heads into its Quarter Final stage with eight of the country’s top school football teams set to battle for a place in the semi-finals.
The group phase produced thrilling matches, dramatic finishes, and moments of pure school football passion, and now the competition reaches its knockout phase where every goal — and every mistake — will count.
🏆 Quarter Final Line-Up
Quarter Final 1
Zahira College, Colombo 🆚 Vaddakkachchi Central College
📅 5th November | ⏰ 8.30 AM | 📍 City League Grounds
Zahira College, one of the tournament favorites, will look to continue their dominant form against the spirited Vaddakkachchi Central College, who impressed in their provincial campaign to earn a historic spot in the final eight.
Quarter Final 2
Kalutara Muslim Central College 🆚 Gateway College
📅 5th November | ⏰ 11.00 AM | 📍 City League Grounds
Unbeaten so far, Kalutara Muslim Central College will face the technically disciplined Gateway College in a tactical showdown that promises end-to-end action.
Quarter Final 3
St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 🆚 Royal College, Colombo
📅 5th November | ⏰ 1.30 PM | 📍 City League Grounds
A Colombo classic awaits as Royal College step into the quarter finals following a protest decision that eliminated Aligar Central College. St. Joseph’s, Group C leaders, will aim to maintain their strong run in what is expected to be a fierce and emotional derby encounter.
Quarter Final 4
Hameed Al Husseini College 🆚 Darussalaam College
📅 5th November | ⏰ 4.00 PM | 📍 City League Grounds
Two of the most passionate teams in the competition collide in the day’s final fixture. Expect a physical, high-tempo contest as both sides chase their dream of a semi-final berth.
🎥 LIVE COVERAGE
All four matches will be broadcast live on Sri Lankan Sports TV, giving fans across the nation a front-row seat to witness the best of Sri Lankan school football.
The Lifebouy Ball Blaster 2025 continues to deliver on its promise of promoting youth football, sportsmanship, and school pride, powered by Lifebuoy Bodywash — encouraging young athletes to play clean, play strong, and play fair.
Football
Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025: Quarter-Final Lineup Shapes Up with Thrilling Group Stage Battles
The Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025 has reached the most exciting stage yet as teams battle for quarter-final glory.
In Group B, Kalutara Central College has stamped their authority with 2 wins from 2 matches, boasting a flawless defense and an impressive +2 goal difference. The battle for the second spot is wide open between Royal College and Alighar Central College, both on 3 points and looking to secure their place in the knockout rounds. Maris Stella College has unfortunately bowed out after a tough group stage.
Meanwhile, Group C promises drama in the final match between St. Patrick’s College and St. Joseph’s College. A win for Joseph will see them top the group, while Patrick could sneak into the quarter-finals with a narrow 1-0 victory. A draw would favor Joseph’s qualification on goal difference.
The quarter-finals, scheduled for 5th November at City League, will feature the following fixtures:
- Q1: Zahira College, Colombo 🆚 Vaddakachchi Central College – 8:30 AM
- Q2: Kalutara Central College 🆚 St. Joseph’s College / St. Patrick’s College – 11:00 AM
- Q3: Gateway College/ St. Joseph’s College 🆚 Royal / Alighar – 1:30 PM
- Q4: Hameed Al Husseinie College 🆚 Darussalaam College – 4:00 PM
Fans can expect high-octane football and edge-of-the-seat action as Sri Lanka’s brightest school football talents compete for the prestigious Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster Trophy 2025. Stay tuned to Sri Lankan Sports TV for live coverage, match updates, and exclusive interviews.
Football
Group C Still Up for Grabs as Four Teams Eye Quarterfinal Spots in Lifebuoy Ball Blaster 2025!
The Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025 Schools Football Championship Group C stage remains finely poised — with all four schools still in contention to reach the quarterfinals. With Gateway College having completed all their matches, the final fixtures will decide the fate of St. Benedict’s, St. Patrick’s, and St. Joseph’s Colleges.
Current Standings:
| School | M | W | L | D | GS | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway College | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 |
| St. Benedict’s College | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| St. Patrick’s College | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 1 |
| St. Joseph’s College | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
Gateway College – Top for Now 🟢
Gateway College leads with 5 points after finishing all their group-stage matches. Their unbeaten record gives them a strong edge, but their qualification still depends on the final two matchdays. They’ll be watching closely as St. Benedict’s and St. Patrick’s fight for crucial wins.
St. Benedict’s College – Advantage in Hand ⚪
With 4 points from 2 games, St. Benedict’s College holds the upper hand. A victory in their next match will guarantee a quarterfinal spot, potentially as Group winners. A draw could still be enough, but a defeat would leave them vulnerable to a late surge from the other two schools.
St. Patrick’s College – Still in the Race 🟡
With 1 point from 2 games, St. Patrick’s still has a chance to qualify — but only if they win the remaining match. They’ll also need to improve their goal difference, currently at -1, to stay competitive in case of a tie on points.
St. Joseph’s College – A Must-Win Situation 🔵
After losing their opening game, St. Joseph’s College faces a do-or-die scenario. With two matches left, the Josephians must win both — and by convincing margins — to stay in contention for a top-two finish. Anything less will end their campaign.
Qualification Scenarios:
- 🏆 If St. Benedict’s wins next match: Gateway and Benedict’s advance.
- 🤝 If St. Benedict’s draws next match: Gateway likely through; second spot open between Benedict’s and Patrick’s.
- ❌ If St. Benedict’s loses: St. Patrick’s or St. Joseph’s could qualify by winning their remaining games.
The Group C showdown promises edge-of-the-seat drama as school football’s finest battle for survival in the Lifebuoy Ball Blaster 2025. Every point counts — and one mistake could end a dream run.
Stay tuned to Sri Lankan Sports TV for live coverage, photos, and exclusive post-match reactions from the players and coaches.
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