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Sri Lanka board plans action against Grant Flower over 'bio-bubble breach'

Sri Lanka board plans action against Grant Flower over 'bio-bubble breach'

SRI LANKA'S cricket board is planning disciplinary action against batting coach Grant Flower following allegations that he breached a bio-secure bubble during an England tour, cricket sources said in Colombo on Thursday (15).

Sri Lanka's preparations for a home series against India were disrupted when Flower, 50, tested positive for Covid-19 on his return to the national team on July 6.


Three Sri Lankan players, including vice-captain Kusal Mendis, were sent home early after they left the team's bio-secure hotel for a night out in Durham ahead of the first one-day international.

Official sources said Sri Lanka Cricket will investigate reports that Flower also breached the Covid-19 restrictions.

"An inquiry will be held after he (Flower) recovers fully," a board source said. "There are allegations that he also breached the bio-secure bubble."

Media reports said the board was also unhappy with the performance of Flower, a former Zimbabwe Test player who is under a contract until the end of the year.

Sri Lanka are eighth in the Test team rankings and ninth in one-day formats and team morale is reportedly low. The players have been at loggerheads with the board over new performance-linked contracts.

The board has brought in local coach Dhammika Sudarshana as a temporary replacement for Flower for three one-day games and three Twenty20 matches against India starting on Sunday (18).

The matches have been postponed by five days to July 18 following positive tests by Flower and a team's data analyst.

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THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

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THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

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Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

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After a lifetime of chaotic stage antics, searing vocals, and defining an entire music genre, Ozzy Osbourne is officially calling time on his career. On Saturday, the 76-year-old rock legend will headline his final concert in Birmingham, his birthplace, alongside the original members of Black Sabbath, the band that started it all.

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