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Hashim Amla is wary of a Sri Lankan backlash, and expects South Africa to show the same dogged intent as they did in Paarl in East London

Firdose Moonda in East London13-Jan-2012There comes a point in a series when there is nothing but pride to play for. That is usually when a team has disintegrated as much as is possible, or when the games are dead rubbers. Neither of those situations actually exist in the ongoing contest between South Africa and Sri Lanka, but already it feels like pride is all Sri Lanka have to lean on as they enter the second match.Paarl is a place Sri Lanka would like to strike off the map. The number between 42 and 44 will become an unmentionable for them. Humiliation is an easy word to write or say, but a painful one to experience.South Africa know all about being embarrassed and although they are now the ones inflicting the blushes, there is a sense of pathos about the way Hashim Amla spoke of Sri Lanka’s woes. “If a similar thing had happened to us, we would be quite motivated to put in a better performance,” Amla said at Boland Park, ahead of the second ODI. “So taking that into account, we know that Sri Lanka will come back firing – as they did in the Test matches. They are a proud team with a lot of heritage, so we’re not going to take them lightly.”For a team to bounce back from a thrashing is to be expected, especially when there is hardly any room for them to get worse. For a team to keep the momentum going after handing out a thrashing is tricky.Historically, this is the juncture at which South Africa tend to slack off. Only recently have they started admitting to it, and captain AB de Villiers had previously stressed that it is something they will address seriously in this series. “The most important thing will be the attitude that we bring to the game,” Amla said. “With a very convincing victory, the mood in the camp is good and we hope to continue that [winning].”Amla was central to the victory, as his century set South Africa up for a total of over 300. His three-figure knock also showed that he probably performs better without the extra burden of leadership. Amla captained in de Villiers’ absence in the previous series against Australia and had scored 24, 0 and 52. “Not being captain, there is a lot less on your plate,” he said. “I just tried to take things simply and when you get a partnership going, it’s always easier to score.”Jacques Kallis was the dominant partner in a 144-run second-wicket stand with Amla. As Kallis accumulated with ease, Amla was allowed to take his time to build his innings. “In situations like that, it is important to put emphasis on the partnership rather than on personal runs,” Amla said. “As the partnership progressed, I found my feet and started scoring more freely.”By the time Kallis was dismissed, in the Powerplay, Amla had hit a good rhythm. With de Villiers, he took 91 runs off the next 12 overs, to take the game away from a weary Sri Lankan attack. “AB is a phenomenal player, he reads the situation very well,” Amla said. “He took the game to the opposition. Sometimes, it becomes a tendency not to score as quickly when you lose a wicket but his awesomeness came through.”On a pitch that had some uneven bounce and started off slow and low, South Africa batted like they were walking on a velvet carpet. Their intent did not subside with the ball and the bowlers battered the Paarl strip to create extra bounce. Amla expects the same in East London, which is also known to be a placid surface. “We’ll still bowl with a lot of intent but you have to be adaptable to these kinds of games.”The team may have to do without Amla soon, as he is awaits the birth of his first child. His wife, Sumayya, is due “any day now”, and he has made arrangements to take a break from the series when the baby arrives. Amla is due to play in East London but may not make it to Bloemfontein, which will leave South Africa in a tricky position at the top.Amla is the in-form opener with Graeme Smith struggling. The former captain has not scored an ODI hundred since 2009 and has only made one half-century in his last 14 innings. Robin Peterson may be used in a makeshift role or the selectors could use the opportunity to blood a youngster like Richard Levi. The only other concern for South Africa is in the reserves.Rory Kleinveldt, who has not played for the national team since a World T20 match in 2010, will have to wait to make his comeback. A quadricep injury has ruled him out of the rest of the series.

A round-up of the first day’s play of the seventh round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2011Group ATamil Nadu’s S Badrinath was given an award for playing his 100th first-class game•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Eighteen wickets tumbled on the opening day between Railways and Saurashtra in Delhi, and at the end of it Saurashtra were well placed to take the first-innings lead. On a sharply turning track, Saurashtra were shot out for 175 after choosing to bat, with Ashish Yadav taking 4 for 35 for Railways. The visitors had made a steady start, with the openers adding 59, before ten wickets fell for 112 runs. Wicketkeeper Sheldon Jackson top-scored with 39.When they batted, Railways crashed to 71 for 8. They had got to 18 without damage before losing four wickets for no runs. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled unchanged from the Pavilion end after replacing seamer Sandip Maniar in the fourth over of the innings, took three of those wickets and finished the day with 6 for 22. Mahesh Rawat was the only Railways batsman to show some application, using his feet well and stepping down the track several times to kill the spin. He remained not out on 31 at stumps.First-class cricket returned to Shimoga after 32 years, and Stuart Binny marked the occasion with his second rescue job in as many games. His unbeaten 86 airlifted Karnataka from 171 for 6, after their top order fell apart against Uttar Pradesh in relatively easy batting conditions. Binny, aided by Sunil Raju, steered them to 300 for 7, leaving the game even after a see-saw day. Read the whole report here.Thirty-one years after his namesake took five wickets on first-class debut for Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium, medium-pacer Balwinder Sandhu repeated the feat and dealt a blow to Punjab’s hopes of securing a quarter-final berth. Sandhu struck with his third delivery in first-class cricket and, along with Kshemal Waingankar, ensured Mumbai did not suffer from the absence of the experienced Aavishkar Salvi, who left the field clutching his side in his second over. Read the whole report here.A solid performance from Rajasthan’s top order gave them a strong platform for a formidable first-innings total against Orissa in Jaipur. After getting sent in to bat, Rajasthan lost Aakash Chopra early but Vineet Saxena, who is coming off a hundred against Saurashtra, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar made half-centuries and added 139 runs for the second wicket. Both batsmen were dismissed in successive overs with the score on 158, but Robin Bist and Rashmi Parida steered Rajasthan to 209 for 3 at stumps.Group BAshok Dinda’s five-wicket haul helped Bengal curb Baroda’s strong start and reduce them to 284 for 9 in Vadodara. Baroda only need first-innings points to secure a quarter-final berth and they were on course for a formidable total after being asked to bat. After they lost Anupam Gupta early, Aditya Waghmode and Rakesh Solanki scored half-centuries to lead Baroda to 145 for 1.Dinda dismissed both set batsmen and cut through the middle order, reducing the home team to 222 for 6. He then broke a 56-run partnership for the seventh wicket before Sourav Ganguly struck twice in the only over he bowled to leave Baroda on 278 for 9. Three wickets had fallen for no runs. Dinda ended the day with figures of 5 for 96.Gujarat’s bowlers made short work of Haryana’s batting line-up, dismissing them for 207 in Surat. Medium-pacer Mehul Patel took 4 for 59, and he was supported by Ishwar Chaudhary and Ashraf Madka, who took 3 for 50 and 2 for 23.Haryana had made a steady start after choosing to bat but lost their way from 59 for 1. Sunny Singh top scored with 69 but had no support from his team-mates, none of whom passed 30. Gujarat then lost their captain Parthiv Patel off the first ball of their innings, but Priyank Panchal and Niraj Patel steered them to 46 for 1 by stumps.Both teams squaring off in Chennai are already in the quarter-finals and it was Tamil Nadu that had the better of the first day against Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh had chosen to bowl, a decision that did not pay off – though the opening pair of T Sudhindra and Ishwar Pandey extracted a bit of movement off the pitch – as all the Tamil Nadu top-order batsmen got starts and three of them converted it into half-centuries to help them reach 294 for 4 at stumps.M Vijay and Kaushik Gandhi made 83 and 80, while Dinesh Karthik was unbeaten on 60. Vijay and Karthik were both in positive in their approach as Tamil Nadu had at least a half-century stand for each of the first four wickets, ensuring MP’s successes were few and far between. Vijay crafted some crackring drives, while Karthik peppered the straight boundary. S Badrinath, who was playing his 100th first-class game, meanwhile, hit the only six of the day before falling for 32 at the stroke of tea. The visitors used as many as eight bowlers and Amarjeet Singh had the best figures – 2 for 79.

The 2023 edition will start on Feb 9; PCB and PSL franchise owners discuss possible auction-plus-draft plan for building teams

Umar Farooq02-Sep-2022The PSL is looking to hike its salary cap as it begins to deal with the impact of the two new cash-rich T20 leagues on the circuit – the ILT20 and the SA20. The PCB has also proposed a hybrid model of a draft plus an auction to acquire players for the upcoming season, though ESPNcricinfo understands that the franchises are looking for more clarity about that before taking it on board.After a PSL governing council meeting on Friday, the PCB announced that the 2023 season of the PSL will start on February 9, and the final will take place on March 19. It had been anticipated that the PSL would start mid-February, and while the dates for the UAE’s ILT20 or the South African SA20 are not out yet officially, the earlier start means there might be a small overlap between the leagues.The PSL will also revert to using four venues, as was the case in the fifth edition in 2020. Last year, because of Covid-19, the league was played in two centres, Lahore and Karachi – Rawalpindi and Multan have been added as venues this time. The PSL began in January last year to make room for Australia’s tour of Pakistan in March, but the PSL has never begun earlier than the 2023 edition’s February 9 – the first season, in 2016, also began on February 9.Friday’s governing council meeting was the first in over nine months. The central talking point was the hybrid model for player selection. Some franchise owners disagreed with the change as it was based on allowing four retentions and four rounds of auction, with the remaining 12 players picked through a draft process. There is also a proposal to increase the salary cap from the current US$950,000 to US$1.5million, but the discussion around that didn’t take place after franchise representatives focussed on the structure of the auction and salary caps.Discussions on the change in the player-acquisition structure came about because Ramiz Raja, the PCB chairman, has previously said they need to “elevate the concept” of the PSL, and felt that an auction system could help the PSL rival the IPL. But ESPNcricinfo understands that the franchise owners have asked the PCB to share an estimate of the likely expenses of such a change.Playing at four venues, in any case, will increase their expenses, as well as the broadcast-production cost, which ultimately affects the bottom line for franchises in what is already a difficult time economically for Pakistan. Expanding the salary cap in that environment is not a straightforward task, as the main PSL revenue streams were all locked in last year for multi-year deals and franchises have their returns fixed from the central pool for the next three years. The board and franchises are expected to meet again in a week’s time to take discussions on the hybrid model and the salary cap further.

Match against Kent could have lost first-class status had offspinner taken the field to replace ill Gareth Batty

Richard Hobson at The Oval08-Jul-2019England Lions offspinner Amar Virdi, whose fitness levels have come in for criticism at Surrey this season, was denied a first appearance of the campaign on Monday after the ECB overruled their own cricket liaison officer in the nick of time on a matter of Championship regulations.Surrey and Kent agreed that Virdi could take the place of Gareth Batty on the second day of the Division One game at The Oval when Batty went down ill overnight. They had been given clearance at the ground by Steve Davis, the former ICC international umpire now employed by the ECB.But as Surrey resumed their innings, Davis began to have second thoughts and contacted Alan Fordham, the ECB head of cricket operations for clarification. Fordham returned a voicemail and Surrey were eight wickets down, with Virdi padded up ready to bat as last man, when Davis was told to alter his decision.Regulations say that players can only be changed in the event of concussion or a return from international duty. The game could have lost first-class status had Virdi taken the field, ultimately leading to a possible postponement and re-match.News was relayed to Virdi and Surrey with only minutes to spare and the scoreboard operator even put up his name, unaware, when the ninth wicket fell. The crowd assumed that Surrey had declared and matters were cleared up only when they took the field with neither Batty nor Virdi among the XI, Jade Dernbach acting as twelfth man.The switch represented another setback for Virdi, 21 this month. After missing the start of Surrey’s programme because of back trouble, appearances since have been restricted to the 2nd XI as he failed to convince head coach Michael di Venuto of being ready for a recall. Di Venuto even told members at a recent forum that Virdi might be lost to the game unless his fitness improved. Before play on Sunday, Virdi was conspicuously lapping the boundary rope after joining the team in morning drills.His tally of 39 Championship wickets last season was the best for an English-born spinner and he has won praise for the purity of his action, control and flight. He has been tipped to follow county colleagues Sam Curran and Ollie Pope into the full England side.Events on Monday morning might be mischievously placed in the context of conflict between Surrey and the ECB, not least over the new Hundred competition. Kent and Surrey acted in good faith, as did Davis, on the grounds that Batty had taken no part in the game. Furthermore, it represented a like-for-like replacement, one spinner for another. However, there is no doubt about it being outside the scope of regulations.A Surrey spokesman said: “Kent very kindly and to their great credit said that as Gareth had not participated in the game, Amar could step in. We thought that was that, then we were contacted by ECB to say it was outside competition regulations so it could not happen.”

The Australian allrounder takes over the role from M Vijay, who was appointed captain midway through the last season

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-20170:51

Quick Facts – Maxwell to be Kings XI Punjab’s 10th IPL captain

Glenn Maxwell has been named Kings XI Punjab captain for the tenth season of the IPL, which starts on April 5. The Australian allrounder takes over the role from M Vijay, who was appointed captain midway through the last season. Kings XI had dropped David Miller as captain in favour of Vijay after the side had lost five of their first six games in 2016.The move did not stop Kings XI from finishing last for the second successive season. Maxwell has never captained in the 338 matches he has played across formats and has been picked for the role ahead of Eoin Morgan, who led England to the World T20 final in 2016, and Darren Sammy, who captained West Indies to two T20 World Cup titles.Maxwell has had an underwhelming last two seasons in the IPL, managing 324 runs in 22 matches with only two fifties. In 2014, though, he had played a pivotal role – racking up 552 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 187.75 – in Kings XI’s run to their maiden final.In addition to a new captain, Kings XI will have a new second home this season, with Indore’s Holkar Stadium set to host three matches: on April 8 (v Rising Pune Supergiant), April 10 (v Royal Challengers Bangalore) and April 20 (v Mumbai Indians). The Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali will stage the rest of Kings XI’s home matches.

The incident in question happened on the opening day of the second Test when a racially offensive message was written on a fence inside the Bellerive Oval

Daniel Brettig in Hobart13-Nov-2016A spectator has been slapped with a three-year ban from attending any matches in Australia, and will also face court in Hobart after allegedly writing a racially offensive message on a fence inside the Bellerive Oval on day one of the Test.The message was reportedly directed at South Africa batsman Hashim Amla, and police have confirmed a 24-year old man from Longford in Tasmania’s north has been charged on summons.”Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania can confirm a crowd behaviour issue that occurred on day one of the Commonwealth Bank Test match against South Africa in Hobart,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.”Tasmania Police identified the person of interest through CCTV and witnesses in the area. Cricket Australia has issued the person with a three-year ban from any Cricket Australia match, nationally.”Cricket Australia takes a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour at any of our matches, which includes racial vilification.”Our message to any fan attending a match is that if you display anti-social behavior, you will be removed and risk being banned from any cricket match across Australia, as well as police action being taken.”Cricket South Africa also issued a statement on the matter: “We have been informed that the man has been formally charged and has been handed a three-year ban from the stadium.”From our point of view, it is disappointing and disconcerting because this is not the first act of racial vilification we have received while touring Australia over the years. It is unacceptable. There is absolutely no place for racial stereotyping and such offensive acts in society, let alone in sport.”We thank Cricket Australia and the authorities for dealing with the matter in a swift, professional and stern way and for carrying out the full might of the law.”

It’s an amazing life Lendl Simmons leads. One day he is lounging at his home in the Caribbean, watching the World T20 from afar then he is winning a semi-final

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai31-Mar-2016It’s an amazing life Lendl Simmons leads. One day he is lounging at his home in the Caribbean, watching the World T20 from afar. Then last Sunday Clive Lloyd, West Indies’ chairman of selectors, calls him immediately after Andre Fletcher has done a hamstring while West Indies slip against Afghanistan. Lloyd is simple and direct with Simmons: are you fit and confident to walk into the World T20 campaign as a replacement for Fletcher? Walk into the most important match West Indies have played so far in the tournament?Simmons gets his feet off the sofa in his home in Trinidad and tells Lloyd he is in. He lands in Mumbai on Tuesday to join the West Indies squad. He has taken two flights, flown across the continents and straightaway hit training. He must be weary, no?Little wonder then that the first questions Simmons is asked immediately after his match-winning performance deals with whether has he had enough sleep. Simmons smiles and assures every one that he had enough rest.”I was very rested for this game,” Simmons said before happily breaking down his sleep timetable in the short time he has been in India. “I slept on both flights. I came here and I slept the night. In the morning I had practice. After that I slept from 3-10pm. Slept again from 12pm-4pm. So I was very rested.”According to Simmons one big advantage he had was the familiarity with the venue, which is the home ground of Mumbai Indians, the franchise he plays for in the IPL. “I was coming here. I was to leave on Friday to come to Mumbai to get ready for the IPL. I saw it as an opportunity to come and get ready for the IPL as well. Seeing this is my home ground as well I know the conditions, think I read it well.”With his IPL experience and having watched Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni earlier in the evening, Simmons said he already knew what his plan was. “When I went out to bat I had a clear mind of what I wanted to do because we had a target to chase. But before the game I was a bit nervous. I was under a bit of pressure as the guys said I came here for a job. But in all it was good. We had a target to chase. And we got there.”Asked exactly at what point he felt West Indies had wrested control from India, Simmons’s surprising response was never. “At no point I thought that we had it under control because as when a wicket falls you never know,” Simmons said.But what made the chase easier for West Indies, Simmons revealed, was India’s “suspect” bowling. According to Simmons, in the absence of spin from the pitch and the reluctance of Dhoni to give the ball to his premier spinner R Ashwin, West Indies found it easier to find a way out despite the early loss of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels. “The bowling was suspect. They had Nehra and Bumrah, two fast bowlers, but not express pace,” he said.Right from the first day in India, West Indies have spoken about how each of the 15 players is a match-winner in the squad. How each one needs to take the responsibility to take over the responsibility if the other fails. So when Gayle was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah and Samuels erred in his shot selection, West Indies did not panic even as the Indian fans danced merrily imagining their team contesting for the crown against England at Eden Gardens on Sunday evening.”India will certainly be aware that is not a one-man show in this team because Chris Gayle did not get off tonight but we still managed to get over the line and it was a big total. Seeing that he did not perform and we were still able to put up a fight and win the game with balls to spare shows a lot of character from our players.”Simmons did have the customary word of caution going into the final that they could not be overconfident against England. But he was not shy declaring that there was more than one man in the dressing room who could stand up if the others failed. “Every one of our players is a match-winner in our team: Sammy to bat, Bravo to bat, Russell came in, he played his part, Ramdin still to bat. We have a lot of batting power and any total anyone makes we can chase it. We always back ourselves to chase totals.”Simmons’ voice is soft. At times you have to strain to hear him. In comparison to the other powerful batsmen in the team, Simmons is short, lanky, less muscular. But with bat in hand Simmons loses that softness. He can pack a punch and demolish bowling attacks without blasting the ball hard. On Thursday evening he quietly silenced the Wankhede faithful to their utter shock and despair. They had had come to watch Kohli. They had come to watch Dhoni. They had come to watch Gayle. They went back having watched a gem from Lendl Simmons.

Delhi have named first-class newbies Nitish Rana and Sarang Rawat in their squad to face Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2015Delhi have named first-class newbies Nitish Rana and Sarang Rawat in their squad to face Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy from October 8 to 11. Rana, a 21-year-old left-hand batsman, has played three List A and six Twenty20 matches, while Rawat, a 19-year-old medium-pacer, is yet to make an appearance at the senior level.They will replace batsman Yogesh Nagar and left-arm seamer Pawan Suyal from the team that played the opening game against Rajasthan. Ishant Sharma, who was first left out and then named in the initial squad despite saying he was only available for the second match, is back in the squad proper at the expense of Parvinder Awana, in a like-for-like pace-bowling switch.

Test victories do not come easy for an underdog striving to cause an upset, and Younis Khan capitalised on his reprieves to bury Zimbabwe’s chances with his fourth double-century

The Report by George Binoy06-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsYounis Khan and Adnan Akmal steered Pakistan out of trouble with a century stand•AFP

Margins of error are miniscule for an underdog striving to cause an upset in a Test, and Younis Khan capitalised on his reprieves to bury Zimbabwe’s chances with his fourth double-century. He set the hosts the challenge of making their highest total in the fourth innings, in a little over three sessions, on a wearing pitch, against an attack led by Saeed Ajmal. Battling for a draw, the more realistic objective, was demanding in itself.Zimbabwe had hope at the start of the day. Pakistan were 90 ahead and four down, and Tendai Chatara bowled Asad Shafiq in the first over. Another wicket in the next few overs would have exposed Pakistan’s tail just around when the second new ball was available. Younis, however, found reliable company in Adnan Akmal, whose career-best 64 was the larger contribution in their 118-run partnership that swung the Test.Zimbabwe had an early opportunity too, but they were left wondering what could have been if only they had taken it. On 83, in the first half-hour, off the first ball of the 76th over bowled by Hamilton Masakadza, Younis slashed and edged. Tino Mawoyo was not low enough at first slip, and the ball scurried between his legs.There were no more chances in the first session. The new ball was given to Chatara and Tinashe Panyangara, and though they were disciplined, the pitch was placid and there were no alarms barring the odd delivery that held its line to beat Akmal’s bat.Younis slowed down against the new ball, and he eventually brought up his century by flicking the last delivery of the 85th over to the boundary. He did not play another rash shot but soon began to score more briskly, while Akmal broke stretches of defence with the occasional boundary, including a reverse sweep.Zimbabwe did not go to pieces but the bite in their bowling was not as sharp and run-scoring was largely risk-free. At the end of the first session, Pakistan were ahead by180 and Zimbabwe had only one wicket to show for their morning’s effort.After the break, Younis and Akmal remained content with blocking. The first ten overs post lunch produced only nine runs and during that time Younis, on 117, slashed at Hamilton Masakadza once again, and once again he was dropped, this time by Malcolm Waller at gully. Pakistan’s lead had not yet got out of hand, but Younis ensured it did.Akmal brought up his third Test half-century and made 64, a personal best. He struck the first boundary of the second session, pulling Hamilton Masakadza, only in the 111th over. Younis, meanwhile, scored only three runs in the first hour but if his slow strike-rate was bothering him, there was no evidence of it. The key player in keeping the scoring down was Panyangara, who finished the innings with 14 maidens in 30 overs.The wicket, when it finally came, was via a run-out. No other mode of dismissal seemed likely and even this error was out of the blue. Both batsmen were guilty of ball-watching after Akmal played to deep point and turned for the second without looking at his partner. The partnership had taken the lead beyond 200.Pakistan had only scored 51 between lunch and tea and so when four wickets fell in a clutch – three to Prosper Utseya – Zimbabwe could have limited their target to around 250. Their bowlers, however, were tiring and Younis, batting with the last man Rahat Ali, began to open up. After passing 150, he began to slog sweep to the boundary and play the reverse of that shot too. And once he realised Rahat was making clean contact, striking several blows to and over the boundary, he didn’t bother with farming strike.The question remained about when Pakistan would declare and the longer they left it the more likely it seemed that Younis would be given the chance to score a double-hundred. Eventually, with ten overs remaining, Misbah-ul-Haq signalled from the dressing room that he had one more over. Three balls later Younis mowed one over the midwicket boundary and left the field with arms raised in triumph. His last-wicket stand of 88 with Rahat had set Zimbabwe a target of 342.The day, which had begun so promisingly, got worse for Zimbabwe. Their openers survived seven of the remaining eight overs unscathed but Saeed Ajmal spun one into Tino Mawoyo’s pads, trapping him plumb in front. Ajmal now has eight wickets in the Test, and has nine more tomorrow from which he can swell his tally.

Dilhara Fernando reported a suspicious approach to the Sri Lanka team management that was in turn reported to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), the Sri Lanka board has said

Cricinfo staff10-Sep-2010Fast bowler Dilhara Fernando reported a suspicious approach to the Sri Lanka team management that was in turn reported to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), the Sri Lanka board has said. The incident is among those reported by ESPNcricinfo to have taken place over the past year.The ACSU’s investigators met Fernando in May 2009, while in Sri Lanka to interview players regarding the terrorist attack on their team bus in Lahore earlier that year.”During their visit to Sri Lanka, Dilhara Fernando voluntarily reported a suspicious approach to the team management, and it was immediately referred to the ICC Anti Corruption Unit who in turn carried out a regulation interview with Dilhara,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement.Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain, said that Fernando “should be applauded for following the rules” and alerting the Sri Lanka authorities.The SLC said it hadn’t received any further communication regarding the issue. “The interviewing of players after the reporting of suspicious approaches is standard practice and the above-mentioned cricketer followed the correct protocol. The Anti-Corruption Unit then followed their normal protocol and launched an investigation. We can confirm that no further information has been provided to us with regard to this incident or player that necessitates any action or raises any concern.”ESPNcricinfo had reported on September 10 that possibly more than one Sri Lankan cricketer had been approached by suspicious persons on more than occasion over the last year and a half. One such instance happened during the World Twenty20 in England.