He has been an international cricketer for barely nine months, and has only played as many ODIs, but great expectations are already being thrust upon Kusal Mendis. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has labeled Mendis the future of the national side.Hes going to be a big player for us, Mathews said of Mendis, who scored his second consecutive half-century in Wednesdays 82-run win over Australia. Hes going to be the future of our batting. If he keeps going like this he will do wonders for the Sri Lanka team and I wish him all the very best. It was a fantastic knock today.Mendis half-century in the second ODI at Khettarama was the quickest of Sri Lankas three fifties, despite Sri Lanka having lost both openers cheaply. It was also his fifth fifty in his nine ODIs so far - one having come in Dublin, two in England, and now two at home against Australia.Mendis was particularly good at the end of the Powerplay, as Australia attempted to sneak in an over from one of their part-timers. Travis Head saw Mendis hit the first two balls of his spell for four, before the batsman struck two more boundaries and a three to complete 19 runs off the bat in that 10th over.Mendis early attack on Head created problems for Steven Smith, who resorted to bowling Aaron Finch, partly because Head was proving expensive in conceding 41 from four overs. Mathews said there had been no particular plan to score quickly off Head, and gave a glowing appraisal of Mendis approach.Hes just very positive, Mathews said. Especially after losing a couple of wickets in quick succession, the way he went out there and the way he batted was brilliant. Not too many people do that - you take a bit of time and settle in and take a look at the wicket. But hes just going out there and playing with a lot of freedom. Hes just a different kind of player.Mendis is just one of several young players who have produced encouraging performances during the Australia tour. The latest to impress is 23-year-old left-arm spinner Amila Aponso, who took 1 for 27 in his first ODI on Sunday, and claimed the games best figures of 4 for 18 in Wednesdays second ODI.Not all the spinners bowled very well out there, apart from Amila Aponso - in the first game as well as this game, Mathews said. Hes bowled in these two matches like hes played internationals for a long time. Hes just landing it on the spot and keeping it pretty simple - just bowling it there and letting the ball do the rest. Hes been turning a few and sliding a few. Its been extremely difficult for the batters.More experienced players also contributed to the 82-run victory as Mathews scored 57 and claimed two wickets while Thisara Perera took 3 for 33. Also in the runs again was Dinesh Chandimal, who narrowly missed out on the Sri Lankan record for most ODI fifties on the trot, when he was given out on review for 48 to end the streak at six half-centuries.Chandimals been tremendous for us in the Test series and also in England, Mathews said. Hes matured. Hes also playing with a lot of responsibility - as a senior. Hes anchoring the innings and thats what we want from him. Him batting at No. 4, we want him to bat until the 46th over, so that guys like Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka can go out there and play with a lot of freedom. In our batting line up myself and Chandimal have to take the responsibility to let the youngsters play with freedom.With young players now winning matches for Sri Lanka, it is the oldest man in the ODI side that has now been placed under pressure. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 39, collected scores of 22 and 10 in the first two games, and the selectors now may consider dropping him in order to make way for players who could conceivably play in the 2019 World Cup. However, Mathews defended Dilshans recent performances.No matter how experienced you are, it doesnt mean you will play well all the time, Mathews said. You can get unlucky and get out. I got out cheaply in the last game as well. Though Dilshan failed in this match, others played well and won it. We trust that he will play well in the future. Air Jordan 4 Wholesale . PETERSBURG, Fla. Air Jordan 12 Wholesale . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- There was rain and wind, bright sunshine and gloomy clouds.Even green water.For the first time since 1992, Olympic diving was held in an outdoor facility, exposed to whatever elements -- both natural and man-made -- got thrown its way.The athletes, for the most part, seemed to adapt just fine to the ever-changing conditions.The weather conditions are always a factor when its outdoors, but its definitely still great to be able to compete outdoors for a change, said Melissa Wu of Australia. When the conditions are bad, everyone is sort of in the same boat anyway. I guess it comes down to who handles it best on the day, which is pretty much what diving is anyway. Its a real mental game.While there were some surprises along the way -- windy conditions were a big factor when a reigning world champion from powerhouse China was knocked out in the preliminaries of mens 3-meter springboard -- the results have largely followed pre-Olympic expectations.China dominated the competition again, going into Saturdays final event, mens 10-meter platform, with six of the seven gold medals.Its a nice change-up to have it outside, American Jessica Parratto said. Obviously, Rio is a beautiful place and its hot out, so its nice. Theres all kinds of weather conditions we could have, but you just have to stay focused and know that youre doing the same five dives that youve always been doing and just try not to be distracted by the elements.He Chao couldnt cope when strong winds whipped up during the springboard prelims. He balked on a pair of dives and finished 21st, one year after winning the world championship in Russia.I prepared for four years for this competition and to end it like this, I feel very disappointed, he said. It was the wind that really affected the start of my dive. We didnt train in these kinds of very windy conditions before at all.This is the first truly outdoor Olympic competition since the Barcelona Games, when diving was held at the stunning pool atop Montjuic, with its dazzling backdrop of the city below.In 1996, swimming and diving were staged at a pool in Atlanta that wasnt enclosed but did have a roof. The last four Olympics were all held inside, and the 2020 Tokyoo Olympics will feature a new indoor aquatics facility.ddddddddddddorld governing body FINA griped about the open-air facility less than a year before Rio, arguing that changing weather conditions may influence not only the athletes performances, but more importantly their health and safety. FINA did not respond to a request for comment on its assessment of the diving competition with the end of the games approaching.There was talk of putting a temporary roof over the pool, but those plans never materialized as financially strapped Rio struggled just to get all its venues completed. At least pool was already in place, having been built for the 2007 Pan American Games.In addition to wind, the divers had to compete in light rain one day, but that didnt seem to cause any major problems. Amazingly, the biggest issue was apparently caused by human error, suddenly turning the water green in both the diving well and a larger, adjacent pool used for water polo and synchronized swimming.The bigger pool eventually was drained and filled with clear water from a practice pool, but the divers had to compete for several days in the unusual conditions. Eventually, venue workers were able to clean the water up for the final days of the competition, but not before one practice session was canceled and several divers had a few laughs. Abby Johnston of the United States dubbed it the swamp, while Germanys Patrick Hausding posted a picture on social media in which he and his teammates had tinted themselves green.I knew it was going to be an interesting Olympics, different from some of the others, American Kristian Ipsen said. Theres a lot more variables you have to deal with in comparison to an Olympics that is indoors. But overall, I felt like everyone dealt with it very well.There was even an added benefit to diving outdoors.You can get a nice tan, Parratto said. You cant beat that.---AP Sports Writer Beth Harris contributed to this report.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry ' ' '