Malinga grateful to IPL for his cricket comeback

The charismatic Sri Lankan fast bowler, Lasith Malinga, felt disappointed by his country’ s board when he was not looked after well and did not get treatment after his knee injury, which could have finished his career.

Malinga claims that it was only because of the Indian Premier League (IPL) he was able to come back to the cricket fields again.

He sustained an injury in early 2008, which kept him out of the game, and, he was unable to play for Sri Lanka until August, 2009 and he pretended that could have been the end of his career.

He appeared in the IPL in 2009, got back his confidence by gaining rhythm and was able to grab 18 wickets representing Mumbai Indians. His performance brought him back in the limelight and he was selected to represent his country again.

"Because of the IPL I got a chance to come back to the national team", he said at a media conference in Colombo. "After the injury nobody looked after me and I was not offered a contract. The 2008 interim committee did not care for my well-being. But thanks to the IPL I didn't lose anything but I improved my cricket a lot. I'm saddened the way I was treated but not disappointed".

Malinga has announced his retirement from Test cricket and will be concentrating on the shorter versions of the game for IPL and his country. Earlier, Sri Lanka’s cricket board had asked all their players participating in the IPL to report back in preparation with the forthcoming tour of England.

Quite a few players left back as Malinga continued playing in IPL and informed the Board that he will be available for One Day Internationals (ODI) and T20 matches.

He reiterated that he was fit enough to play Test cricket but it will take a long time to recover if he suffers an injury again, while it is easy to recover if he gets an injury in an ODI or T20 match.

"My doctors in Australia had said that mine was a rare type of injury and that I would not be able to play again. But thanks to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's private physician, Dr Eliyantha White, who treated me, I was able to play for the national team again.

Malinga responded to undue criticism going on in the news that he was declining to play for Sri Lanka, as there was more money involved in IPL. He stressed that the retirement from Test has nothing to do with money, as he wants to concentrate on shorter phases of cricket and don’t want to grab an injury again, which can put him away from the game forever.

He has taken 101 wickets in Test cricket, 127 in ODIs and 35 in T20 cricket, while representing his country and he is only the third player to pocket 100 wickets for Sri Lanka in Test cricket after Muttiah Muralitharan (800) wickets and Chaminda Vaas, who has grabbed 355 wickets.

Malinga commented that it was a matter of great honour to play for his country and he anticipates a dedicated performance in the 2012 T20 World Cup and the ICC World Cup 2015.

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ALASTAIR COOK AND JAIK MICKLEBURGH GIVE A SOLID START TO ESSEX AGAINST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

Centuries from Alastair Cook and Jaik Mickleburgh put Essex into a very dominant position against Northamptonshire in a County Championship Division Two match, at the County Ground Northampton in England. The visitors ended day-one of the four-day match at 345 for the loss of just six wickets.

Essex’s captain James Foster chose to bat first after winning the toss, as the pitch was conducive for the batsmen. He expected his team to post a big first innings total, in order to pressurise the home team.

However, the start to the visitors’ innings wasn’t an ideal one. Opening batsman Billy Godleman was unable to make an impression, as he was sent back to the pavilion early in the match, scoring just four runs. His opening partner Cook was joined by the team’s first-drop Mickleburgh and the pair took the game away fromNorthamptonshire.

Both batsmen played sensible cricket and didn’t play a single reckless shot in the innings. They put together a massive partnership of 258 runs for the second wicket, guiding their team to 264.

The marathon partnership finally came to an end, as the Essex’s first-drop was dismissed after scoring a ton. He managed 112 runs in his innings off 205 balls with the help of 15 fours and one big six. His wicket brought England’s player Ravi Bopara at the crease, who constructed a half-century stand with Cook.

The left-handed opener was dismissed after playing a brilliant innings of 155 runs from 235 balls. He struck 20 fours in his superb knock and showed no mercy for the bowlers of the opposition.

Bopara looked good in the middle, but was unable to make the most of the start he got to his innings. He was dismissed after scoring 31 runs off 64 balls, hitting three fours and one six.

Two more wickets fell before the close of play, as Matt Walker and David Masters were sent back to the hut. They scored five and zero before getting out. Mark Pettini and the Essex captain were unbeaten on eight and five respectively when the final session of play was over.

Although the day belonged to the visitors, there was some fresh air for the Northamptonshire bowlers towards the end of the final session’s play. Essex lost four wickets for just 11 runs and the momentum shifted towards the hosts in the final few overs of the day.

Veteran Sri Lankan seamer Chaminda Vaas was the pick of the bowlers for his team, taking three wickets in the innings. He got good support from Jack Brooks, who sent two batsmen back to the pavilion.

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