Romelu Lukaku before the red cards to settle an otherwise

At Pallekele, following an embarrassing 48 hours for Sri Lankas cricket administrators, Dimuth Karunaratne misses and angled ball, Kusal Mendis misses a straight one, Kaushal Silva edges to slip, and the cricketers themselves are perhaps beginning to feel embarrassed. By lunch, the team is 84 for 5. Soon thereafter, they are 117 all out.The Sri Lanka team has very many faults, but dishonesty is not among them. Several times already this year, Angelo Mathews has described performances as humiliating. Others have spoken frankly of their lean scores or unflattering figures. Some have publicly chastised themselves for costly drops.Usually, the team does not offer excuses for its state, except that before this particular game, there was a single point of difference. Asked about the relentless spate of injuries depleting his attack, Mathews called on the Sri Lankan system to raise its game. The coaches at the back-end have a big job to do, he said. If we dont have bowlers, we have to know how to produce them.Mathews will know, perhaps, that of the 15 top wicket-takers in this years first-class tournament, only one was a seamer. He will have played in plenty of domestic matches where quicks exist simply to take the shine off the ball, modest spinners waiting with twitching fingers for a chance to bowl on the biscuit-powder pitches. He will understand that batsmen coming fresh into his team will have faced little of the quality of fast bowling, or the pressure, international cricket will relentlessly subject them to.And though he himself may face down his flaws and freely admit mistakes, he should know that SLC officials - who have repeatedly shot down the opportunity to reform the domestic system, who this year nixed a plan to take the game meaningfully into the provinces, and who refuse to pay its first-class cricketers a living wage - do not have a track record of reflecting on their own gaping errors, of manfully owning up, or of speaking frankly when their own performances have not been short of humiliating.*****When Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup in 2014, supporters thronged to the open-top bus parade that brought the cricketers and their trophy to Colombo. Two months later, when the winning runs of the World T20 were hit, the capital broke instantly out into euphoric mayhem on a colossal scale.In 2016, the team has won only one match against Test-playing opposition, and passions have cooled. There were fewer fans staying up late to watch the team play in England than in 2014. Criticism has been plentiful, on the web and on the street.In response, SLC has spent money attempting to woo back its public. It has called repeatedly for support on social media. It has held an expensive World T20 farewell event in Colombo. It has devised new slogans, made promises to improve stadium facilities, and streamline ticket sales.Yet, none of this provoked as widespread or passionate a response from Sri Lankas fan base as the events preceding the Pallekele Test. When both the sports minister and an SLC official called Muttiah Muralitharans ethics into question, Murali launched a rapid counterattack, and hundreds of thousands of supporters joined his anti-establishment tirade. #isupportmurali began to trend on twitter. His interviews ran hot on Facebook, and his humanitarian record - perhaps the best for any recent cricketer - was widely invoked.Within hours, fans had decisively landed on the side of sense and modernity, seen through the establishments narrative, and rejected arguments roiled in pettiness and nationalism.*****Not more than three days after Australia arrived in the island, Mathews found himself seated in front of a microphone, metres away from Steven Smith. The pre-series chatter ahead of so many series - particularly those involving Australia - can vary from tense to downright nasty. Yet in his first public interaction with the opposition, Mathews had for Smith a smile and a compliment. We would like to welcome the mighty Australians, he said. More plaudits were freely given through the course of the press conference.Two weeks later, Mitchell Starc had charged that Mathews was under pressure after the abysmal tour of England, and still, in the pre-match press conference, Sri Lankas captain was sober and generous. You expect to be targeted when youre the captain, he said. Then he went on to praise Australias consistency. He drew attention to their No.1 Test ranking.That same morning, about five kilometres away, crickets Test mace - which ostensibly should be its premier award - was handed over to Smith in as small a ceremony as possible, upon SLCs behest. The ICC had flown over its CEO, and had designs to present the mace in a public event. But a big ceremony for the Australians will deflate our team, SLC had contended. And so, the presentation of the trophy Smiths men had reclaimed with skill, poise and resolve, in enthralling home tilts against New Zealand, was debased by the home boards insecurity, despite the fact that, to a man, Sri Lankas players understand they are facing the top-ranked side, and would have in recent weeks been made plenty aware of their opponents quality, by coaches and analysts.*****Over the past five years, Sri Lankan cricket has at times been transcendental. There was that incredible start to 2014, and the series win in England. There have been exquisite individual performances, and unforgettable Test finishes, like the one against Pakistan at Galle, when nervous thousands watched from the Fort while apocalyptic black cloud bore down on their fun.But for most of the past five years, Sri Lankas cricket administration has been consistently - almost uniformly - abysmal. Nishantha Ranatunga, the former secretary, has recently been in remand on charges of loosely-related fraud. Others in the board have lurched from crisis to crisis. Quality in domestic cricket has dived year-on-year, while almost every senior player recalls the better contests had in their youth, and calls relentlessly for change.Time and again, Sri Lanka Cricket has proved itself unworthy of administering the countrys favourite sport.It has proved itself unworthy of the team that collapsed for 117 at Pallekele.It has proved itself unworthy of the captain with a worsening record.It has proved itself unworthy of all Sri Lankas fans, who have tired of the politics, who have been disheartened by losses, who desperately await a reason to fall in love with cricket again. Custom College Jerseys .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Cheap College Jerseys . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. https://www.fakecollegejerseys.com/ . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. College Jerseys Black Friday . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Cyber Monday College Jerseys . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1.Chelsea striker Diego Costa could face retrospective action despite denying accusations of biting Evertons Gareth Barry during Saturdays FA Cup quarter-final at Goodison Park. The Spain international was shown a yellow card early on in a 2-0 defeat for a foul on Barry and in the 84th minute, the pair clashed again after Costa retaliated to a challenge by the former England international.Costa pushed his face into Barrys neck and motioned as if to bite, but appeared to withdraw at the last moment and then embraced his opponent, who did not react. Referee Michael Oliver pulled out a second yellow card, followed by a red, as the Brazilian-born forward was sent off for the first time in his Stamford Bridge career.Costas denial, and an admission of regret, came late on Saturday through a Chelsea statement, which read: Diego spoke to club officials after the game and expressed regret over his reaction to the challenge from Gareth Barry that led to his red card, but Diego was also very clear that he did not bite him at any point during that altercation.Barry was dismissed minutes later for a second booking in a separate incident. Costa (c) is shown a red card by referee Michael Oliver during the English The FA is waiting on a report from Oliver, who was confronted by Costa when he sent the player off, but officials have told Sky Sports News HQ they are aware of the incident and are looking into it.Oliver will submit his match report within the next 24 hours and any decision to charge Costa would be made by the FA on Monday.Guus Hiddink and Roberto Martinez both shrugged off questions about the altercation at their post-match news conferences. Costa and Seamus Coleman compete for the ball I try to be fair in my judgement, I havent seen it and it is difficult for me to say yes or no, said Hiddink. Without seeing, I dont want to give judgement on this.(Costa) was chased a bit in the game. They went after him. They knew it. It is within the rules.As a referee, you must protect the situation but knowing and feeling the atmosphere - then comes the moment that I would like to give judgement (on) but I havent seen it.Hiddink was asked whether Costa should seek help for anger management and jokingly made reference to the 2003 film of the same name. Costa (1st L) of Chelsea walks offf the pitch past Hiddink (2nd L) after the red card There are movies about that, I think, the Dutchman added.dddddddddddd One movie with Jack Nicholson. Maybe we go and watch it together.I like him still going towards the edge but you also have to take into consideration he was desperate to play today.It would have been better to rest him but it is not the type of game you rest players.It is all the combination; not fully physically fit and all the provocations and he has to take responsibility for the incident.Everton manager Roberto Martinez, who was grateful to two moments of brilliance from striker Romelu Lukaku before the red cards to settle an otherwise disappointing tie, played down the incident. Everton manager Roberto Martinez felt the referee was right to send off Costa and Gareth Barry My interpretation is I dont think it was a key moment. It was an emotional game and rightly so, said Martinez.Diego Costa had a fighting spirit and I would like to praise the referee. The sending-off of Costa was right.The sending-off of Gareth Barry was right and the referee never allowed those emotions to stop the fluency.Whatever happens with Diego Costa, I am sure the two players shook it off. From where it was, he moved his head towards Gareth Barry and I lost sight of that action.I thought it was a second yellow. It was a moment that didnt have an impact on the scoreline.Martinez rejected the suggestion his players had targeted Costa.It is part of trying to do an interpretation as you want, he added.We matched each other well. None of my players fell into the focus of losing the game. Also See: Lukaku double ousts Chelsea FA Cup talking points Arsenal v Watford preview Man Utd v West Ham preview ' ' '