MALINGA DEFENDS SRI LANKA TEST RETIREMENT

Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga on Tuesday brushed aside criticism that he quit Test cricket to be able to make quick money from tournaments such as the Indian Premier League.

The injury-prone bowler invited controversy when he made himself unavailable for Tests during a forthcoming tour of England because of a knee injury, but continued to play in the lucrative Twenty20 competition in India.

Malinga announced his retirement from Tests last week, saying the injury prevented him from playing in the longest version of the game, and has since been under fire for picking club cricket over country.

"The Test retirement was never about money," Malinga, 27, told reporters in Colombo.

"I can't be a commentator, coach or umpire. But I can bowl well and get wickets. It's unfair to say money was the root cause of my decision," said the fast bowler, who is on a three-day return visit to Sri Lanka from India.

Malinga, the highest wicket-taker so far in the IPL with 16 scalps from six games, hoped his decision would allow him to play for at least four more years.

"My right knee is getting weaker each day. I have a long-standing degenerative condition that I need to carefully manage," he said.

"I love playing for Sri Lanka. It's my dream to play for my country. I'm not sure if my knee will inflame again."

Malinga said he was looking forward to playing the one-dayers and Twenty20s during Sri Lanka's tour of England, which starts next month.

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DILSHAN WANTS TO LEAVE IPL

Sri Lanka’s new skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan, one of the stars of the Indian Premier League, has said he wants to leave the event early to travel with the national team to England on tour.

Dilshan is keen to join the Sri Lankan squad when they fly to England on May 10, which means he would have to abandon his Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL side three weeks before the tournament ends.

Sri Lanka are set to play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international during the tour.

“Dilshan is keen to travel with the team, to try and create a bond as some of the senior players will be joining the squad a bit late,” Dilshan’s manager Roshan Abeysinghe told AFP.

Sri Lanka Cricket last week allowed its IPL players to stay on in India until May 18, rowing back on a request for them to return by May 5 to prepare for the tour.

Dilshan took over as skipper last week after Kumar Sangakkara quit following Sri Lanka’s defeat to India in the World Cup final in Mumbai earlier this month.

Dilshan has scored 105 runs from five games for Bangalore, who have won two of their six matches in the money-spinning Twenty20 tournament so far.

DARREN SAMMY SAYS THEY FAILED TO CAPITALISE ON GOOD START AGAINST PAKISTAN

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy rued his team’s inability to capitalise on the good start to post a par score as the hosts lost their second successive One Day International against Pakistan at St Lucia on Monday.

The 27-year-old medium pacer said that his side failed to capitalise in the key moments both in batting and bowling and this led to their seven-wicket defeat at the hands of the Men in Green. However, Sammy was happy that they were not totally rolled over as Pakistan took 47 overs to win the match.

“We could have tried to squeeze their batsmen more and when we batted we got a good start, but did not capitalise on it,” said Sammy. “We weren't rolled over today. We kept ourselves in the match right to the finish. There were moments when things could have gone either way, but we didn't make it happen.”

Sammy urged his side to find ways to come out of tight situations successfully. He insisted that they need to win the next game of the five-match ODI series in order to keep their prospects alive.

The West Indies batting line-up collapsed miserably against the Pakistan attack as none of the batsmen could cross the 30-run mark sans opener Lendl Simmons who struck a level-headed half century. Eight of the Caribbean batsmen failed to get past even 20. As a result, the hosts returned with a gettable score of 220 for 9 that was comfortably chased down by the tourists for the loss of just 3 wickets.

The home side was unable to post an impressive total in the opening One day International of the series as well as they made just 221 before Pakistan chased it down with more than 8 overs to go and 8 wickets in hand.

The visiting captain, Shahid Afridi was happy with the “discipline” shown by his team in Monday’s game and said that the reason behind their victories is that they are sticking to the game plan. He was also happy with the improved batting at the top of the order.

Pakistan lead the five-match ODI series by 2-0. The third match of the series will be played in Barbados on April 28, 2011.