Sri Lanka Name squad for first two ODIs

Eighteen-year-old Avishka Fernando and leg-spinner Amila Aponso have been included in the Sri Lanka 16-man Squad for the five-match ODI series against Australia starting on Sunday in Colombo.

Avishka comes into the side on the back of some impressive performances in England where he scored back-to-back centuries against England Under-19 to lead Sri Lanka Under-19 to a 3-0 whitewash.

Amila had a strong run with the Sri Lanka Development Squad in South Africa. Both cricketers are from St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa.
Veteran opener T. M. Dilshan has also been recalled to play what will probably be his last ODI series for Sri Lanka.

Also included are spinning all-rounder Milinda Siriwardana and fast-bowling all-rounder Thisara Perera who missed out the ODI series in England.

Angelo Mathews will captain the squad. Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep will spearhead the fast-bowling attack while the spin attack consists of Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan and Seekkuge Prasanna.

Dhananjaya de Silva who had a stellar run with the bat during the Test series has also been included as a batting all-rounder. (Champika Fernando)

The Squad:
Angelo Mathews (Captain)
Thilakaratne Dilshan
Danushka Gunathilaka
Dinesh Chandimal
Kusal Mendis
Kusal Perera
Dhananjaya de Silva
 Milinda Siriwardana
Seekkuge Prasanna
Dilruwan Perera
Nuwan Pradeep
Lakshan Sandakan
Avishka Fernando
Amila Aponso
Thisara Perera

Kotahena family dies from suspected suicide

Three members of a family died and are believed to have committed suicide by consuming poison, Police report. 

Police said the 47-year-old man, his 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, were rushed to the hospital by neighbours, but died on admission to the National Hospital. They are residents of Wasala Road, Kotahena.

Dullas resigns As Matara District SLFP Leader

UPFA Matara District MP Dullas Alahapperuma announced that he will be resigning as the Matara District SLFP leader.

Alahapperuma, a key member of the 'Joint Opposition' supporting former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was instrumental in organizing the Jana Satana Paada Yathra from Kandy to Colombo.

A former Minister of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, he returned to Parliament topping the Matara District preferential votes in August 2015, with 105,406 preferential votes.

He said that he took the decision to resign from the SLFP leadership in Matara in opposition to the removal of Kanchana Wijesekara and Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena as party organizers.

Confiscated Rs.157.5 m does not belong to CSN

Carlton Sports Network Director Rohan Weliwita yesterday said that Rs.157.5 million said to have been confiscated last week does not belong to any director or shareholder of the company.

Rohan Weliwita while rejecting media reports that the sum of Rs.157.5 million belonging to CSN had been confiscated, yesterday said that he was made to understand by officers of the FCID that this money belongs to a company by the name of Amtrad Holdings (Private) Limited.

The full statement : Last week it was widely reported in the media that a sum of Rs 157.5 million belonging to the CSN channel had been confiscated by the governement.

However, the money said to have been confiscated does not belong to CSN. Nor does that money belong to directors of shareholders of CSN from its inception to the present. “I was made to understand by officer of the FCID that this money belongs to a company by the name of Amtrad Holdings (Private) Limited.

“Some media had mistakenly reported that one of the directors of Amtrad Holdings by the name of Rohan was my self. “This confusion has damaged the reputation that I built up over four decades as a media person and an artiste”.

Usain Bolt wins the 200m Men's Final

Usain Bolt ran to victory in what he says is his last Olympic 200m race this morning, but finished in 19.78 seconds, more than a half-second short of his own world record — the one he said he really wanted to break.

The field running far behind him through the drizzle — Andre de Grasse of Canada finished .24 behind and Christophe Lemaitre of France took bronze — Bolt was giving every ounce of effort, grimacing as he approached the line.

He glanced to his left to check out the clock just before he crossed. The time came up, and when Bolt saw it, he tilted his head back and yelled, stuck his hands wide open as if to say "Why?" then tore off the No.6 sticker that was on his right hip.

But the after-party was great, as usual. With chants of "Usain Bolt, Usain Bolt" ringing out, Bolt paraded around the track with his flag, reggae music blaring in the background, then dropped to his knees and kissed the track before giving his iconic 'Lightning Bolt' pose.

His record in his favourite race still stands, though, at 19.19. He set it in 2009 at the world championships, breaking the mark he'd previously set the year before (19.30) when he made his debut in Beijing.

"It's something that you work so hard for, so that when the moment comes, winning is just relief," he told the BBC. "Obviously so much could have gone wrong. So to win today, the feeling is one of relief.

"I wasn't happy with the time and my body did not respond to be down the straight. But I'm getting older, so I am pleased to get the gold medal. That is the key thing.

"I didn't feel any extra pressure because I don't pay attention to the media before races. I just focus on what I need to do. I came out here and I get the job done."

He continued: "I don't know about the 200m in the future. Next year at the World Championships it will likely just be the 100m, even though my coach keeps trying to convince me otherwise. But personally for me, I think this is the last time I will run the 200m."

Bolt, at 29 years and 363 days of age, surpassed Michael Johnson, (28 years and 323 days, in 1996) as the oldest gold medallist in this event. De Grasse added a silver medal in the 200m to his bronze in the 100m. It was Canada's first medal in this event since 1928, when Percy Williams won it.

ICC Test Bowler Rankings Herath jumps to fifth place

Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has returned to the top five of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after registering his seventh 10-wicket haul which helped Sri Lanka to win the third Test by 163 runs and the series 3-0.

Herath, 38, recorded figures of six for 81 and seven for 64 in the Colombo Test, which has helped him to move three places up to fifth in the latest rankings which were released yesterday.

This is Herath's highest-ranking since he achieved fourth spot following the Wellington Test against New Zealand in January 2015.

The bowlers' list is headed by England's James Anderson, who leads India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin by 12 points.

Dale Steyn, who will feature in the upcoming series against New Zealand, is third, 17 points behind the India off-spinner.

Colombo Test centurions Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva have also made significant gains in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen.

Chandimal rose six slots to reach 17th spot in a list which is headed by Australia Captain Steve Smith, while de Silva has shot up 30 places to 37th position.

Kaushal Silva, who scored 115 in the second innings, has also moved up nine places to 39th on the rankings.

For Australia, opener David Warner has gained one place to share ninth spot with New Zealand's Ross Taylor, while Shaun Marsh, who struck the first century for Australia on the Sri Lanka tour in Colombo, has jumped 13 places to reach 33rd rank.

(ICC)

Actor Roger Seneviratne before PRECIFAC

National Freedom Front (NFF) Western Provincial Councillor, Actor Roger Seneviratne was summoned to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) yesterday.

The accusation against him is that he used the Manager (Training and Development) of ...the State Engineering Corporation for a period of four years as his Private Secretary.

An official of PRECIFAC told Ceylon Today that Roger Seneviratne used the Manager as his Private Secretary from 2013 to 2015. This had been revealed in investigations carried out by the Police Investigations Unit of the Commission.
Seneviratne is a member of the NFF led by Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa.

PRECIFAC is engaged in carrying out investigations in connection to the Ministry of Housing and Construction, Engineering and Common Amenities which existed during the era of the previous administration.

The 21st Sumathi Awards 2016

Photographed by Anuradha Tharanga 
Amazing plus Photography
Sumathi Awards 2016 at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall