Mahela Jayawardene mulls legal action after TV remark
World Cup Group A, Colombo (R Premadasa Stadium):
Pakistan 277-7 (50 overs) bt Sri Lanka 266-9 (50 overs) by 11 runs
Sri Lanka vice captain Mahela Jayawardene is considering legal action in response to commentary which implied he was guilty of match-fixing.
A state television broadcast suggested Jayawardene deliberately played badly for financial gain in Saturday’s cricket World Cup defeat by Pakistan.
Jayawardene said his lawyer was drafting a letter to “get to the bottom” of the accusation.
The allegation was also levelled at batsman Thilan Samaraweera.
Sri Lanka lost the game against Pakistan by 11 runs, with Jaywardene scoring two runs while Samaraweera scored one.
A commentary the next day on Sri Lankan state TV network, ITN, written by the editor of a state newspaper, Mahinda Abeysundara, said a businessman had bet about 18,000 dollars on a Pakistan victory, and that there had therefore been what he called a “chorus to change the game”.
The commentator then remarked: “We just think Mahela and Thilan may have changed the game”.
The commentary was accompanied by slow-motion extracts from the match, sad music, and blurry shots implying financial impropriety.
Leaving comments on sites such as Facebook, Sri Lankan fans have expressed outrage at the broadcast.
One said: “How dare you tell that Mahela and Thilan are betrayers … this is so disgusting”.
Another called the coverage “shameless”.
Sri Lanka will face Kenya at the cricket World Cup on Tuesday.
BBC – By Charles Haviland
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It is not a match fixing issue, however it is the inability of Mahela Jayawardena to face Shohaib Akthar.
I am Sure, Some pepls are trying to put presour on our best playes doing such thing. our cricketer are very good
Facts are, MJ is not a consistent dependable batsman and a few Pakistan players were on the dock in the past for corruption, known as ‘match fixing’. MJ and TS had let the country down. They certainly could have played much better. Had they got 15 runs between them the outcome would have been different.It is difficult to prove whether they accepted bribes. ITN report only voiced gossip but did not state it as fact.
my dear friends,we have to accept the pakistani were the better team and they show how to be pation and win the game.MJ was very unlucky,otherwise at the moment he is one of best batsman in the world.
There he is, the LTT sleepr Mr Pillayan, commenting on the Sinhala Buddhist SL Cricket teams’ (unfortunately, it includes one Kallathoni self seeker) performance.
Mr Pillayan, the SL Cricket Team is the best in the World. It has World class players (except for the self seeker; ask Shane Warne about the self seeker who got most of his wickets from the lower order Bangaladeshi batsmen) and always play to win.
Your brothers in the Indian and Pakistani teams are the corrupt match fixers.
You have forgotten the the valiant Sinhala Buddhist Soldiers who laid down their lives to retrieve your relatives from the clutches of the Sun God; this enables you to watch Cricket on TV in wonderful Sinhala Buddhist land.
It is time these guys are repatriated to Kanimoli land where they came from in “thoni”s in the stealth of the night. When you reach there you can cheer Dhoni and company and the billions they are making playing cricket and leave us in peace. Take the spin champion also with you when you are going there.
Former Pakistan players had been in the dock for ball tampering. They have been fined this time for bowling slow overs in their match with SL, which they barely managed to win. This does not prove they are the better team. It proves they will play every dirty trick in the book to win. Our boys played a gentlemanly game. So their honour is intact. Kudos to them!
Herath of JVP is fishing in troubled waters, in having a go at Vimasuma programme of ITN, as it had always been anti-JVP and pro-UPFA developmental work for the masses. Vimasuma did not state categorically that MJ accepted bribes. But hinted someone had placed a huge bet, Rs 20 million, that Pakistan would win. The man who placed the bet was cocksure. Vimasuma asked the question, WHY?