Sports
The Ashes; love story to lifetime memory
by Rex Clementine
There’s a buzz about the World Cup Qualifiers, yes, no doubt but the interest for The Ashes here in Colombo is quite big as well. The rivalry between Australia and England is legendary and has produced some of the best contests over the years. But how did we end up with this name – The Ashes. Here we explore.
The first Test match between England and Australia took place in 1877 at the MCG and after that five other series were played. In 1882, it all changed and the legend of The Ashes was born.
The previous summer, Australia had won in England for the first time and we all know about the mock obituary that appeared in a newspaper moaning about the demise of English cricket. But there was a punch line at the end of the obituary that said that ‘body will be cremated, and the ashes taken to Australia.’ That was the start of it all.
Monkey Hornby, the England captain had been replaced by Ivo Bligh. The new England captain ahead of the winter tour of Australia in 1882 had promised to regain the English ashes. The press asked his Aussie counterpart Billy Murdoch for a comment, and he said that he will defend the ashes.
Bligh’s England beat Australia 2-1 and the tourists were jubilant. That tour apart from the Tests also included several exhibition games. There was one such game at Rupertswood in Melbourne on the Christmas Eve. This was the estate owned by Sir William Clarke, who was the President of Melbourne Cricket Club at that time.
Lady Florence Morphy was present at this gathering. She had taken her perfume bottle, burnt the bails used for the game and put the ashes into it and had presented it to Bligh to mark the regaining of the ashes. This perfume bottle is the little urn that we see and popularly known as The Ashes.
Later that year, Bligh went onto marry Lady Morphy. The couple returned to England the following year and accompanying them was the urn or the perfume bottle with the ashes in it.
The urn was kept at Blight’s home in Kent and one of his last wishes was to present it to MCC after his death.
Lady Morphy did as her husband had requested and now the Ashes is at the MCC museum. The urn has become the symbol of The Ashes. There are replicas of the urn for sale at the MCC shop costing you 60 GBP (approximately Rs. 24,000) The urn, obviously 140 years old, is fragile and has undergone meticulous repairs. It has over these 140 years only made three visits to Australia.
Australia are the holders of the The Ashes having won at home last year with a comprehensive 4-0 win. It was a defeat that saw several heads roll in England. Sri Lanka’s present coach Chris Silverwood too lost his job as the Head Coach of England.
Ben Stokes’ attacking style suggested prior to the start of the series that England could regain the Ashes. But they were over aggressive – like that declaration at Edgbaston on day one – and are playing catch up. Nathan Lyon’s calf injury has in all probability ruled him out of the series. That could be a massive loss for Australia. Is that the defining moment of this Ashes?
Forced to follow on after being dismissed for 111 runs, Risinu Kithmuka scored an unbeaten half century to anchor St. Servarius’ batting line up to force a draw to their Under 19 cricket encounter against S. Thomas’ at Mount Lavinia on Friday.
The dogged knock facing 121 balls, helped the visitor post 93 for five wickets at close.
In a match dominated by the home team, Aaron David’s century was the highlight for S. Thomas’. They posted 269 for four wickets at close on day one and declared on the overnight score.
Meanwhile at Kotahena, Mevan Dissanayake top scored with 91 runs inclusive of eight fours and three sixes for St. Benedict’s to post 295 for 9 declared against Sri Dharmaloka Kelaniya.
Results
Thomians dominate against St. Servatius’ at Mount Lavinia
Scores
S. Thomas’ 269 for 4 decl. in 73.3 overs (Jaden Amaraweera 40, Avinash Fernando 50, Aaron David 100n.o., Reshon Soloman 56; Lasindu Ramanayaka 2/87)
St. Servatius’ 111 all out 54.4 overs (Risinu Kithmuka 26, Thathsilu Bandara 20; Minon Warnasuriya 2/14, Chamash Gunawardena 2/24, Shanil Perera 3/18, Reshon Solomon 2/09) and 93 for 5 in 36 overs (Risinu Kithmuka 51n.o.; Aaron de Silva 2/30, Shanil Perera 3/23)
Bens 295 for 9 decl., Sri Dharmaloka 87/2 at Kotahena
Scores
St. Benedict’s 295 for 9 decl. in 56.4 overs (Mevan Dissanayake 91, Vihanga Rathnayake 42, Yohan Edirisinghe 31, Ayesh Gajanayake 49; Sathindu Praboda 4/98, Tharusha Mihiranga 2/66)
Sri Dharmaloka 87 for 2 in 25 overs (Senuka Pehesara 40, Kaveen Deneth 40n.o.; Ayesh Gajanayake 2/27)
by Reemus Fernando
Pakistan marched into the final of the Under 19 Asia Cup with a clinical eight wicket win over Bangladesh in the rain-hit semi-final in Dubai, after a dominant bowling performance led by Abdul Subban set up a straightforward chase. The victory sets up a final clash against India, who won the first semi final against Sri Lanka earlier in the day.
Opting to field after winning the toss in the rain-reduced 27-overs-a-side contest, Pakistan made early inroads as Bangladesh slipped to 24 for 2 inside six overs. Captain Azizul Hakim offered brief resistance to steady the innings, but wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals.
Fast bowler Subhan was the standout with the ball, picking up four wickets to dismantle the middle order. From 55 for 2 in the 13th over, Bangladesh lost five wickets for just 38 runs, collapsing to 93 for 7. The lower order struggled to rebuild, and Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 121 in 26.3 overs, with no batter able to convert a start into a big score.
In reply, Pakistan’s chase was smooth. After the early loss of opener Hamza Zahoor in the first over, Sameer Minhas anchored the innings with a composed, unbeaten 69, ensuring there were no further hiccups. He struck six fours and two sixes as Pakistan cruised to 122 for 2 with 63 balls to spare.
With this knock, Minhas took his tournament’s tally to 299 to be the highest run-getter.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 122 for 2 in 16.3 overs (Sameer Minhas 69*, Usman Khan 27; Samiun Basir 1-17) beat Bangladesh 121 in 26.3 overs (Samiun Basir 33; Abdul Subhan 4-20, Huzaifa Ahasan 2-10)by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Vihaan Malhotra and Aaron George’s patient half-centuries helped India beat Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game and set up an U-19 Asia Cup final with Pakistan.
It was a game where the momentum kept changing hands. India had Sri Lanka at 28 for 3 after opting to bowl. Captain Vimath Dinsara and Chamika Heenetigala hit back with a 45-run stand, but Sri Lanka soon lost 3 for 11. A 62-run stand between Heenatigala and Sethmika Seneviratne followed, but India again turned it around in the final three overs.
In reply, India were 25 for 2 as Sri Lanka sniffed a comeback. But Malhotra and George added an unbeaten 114 runs in a partnership of two halves: the first 62 runs they added took 51 balls, while the next 52 came off 36 deliveries. It was Malhotra who swung the game India’s way when he went 4, 4, 6 off Dulnith Sigera in the 13th over. Malhotra reached his fifty off 35 balls, while George took 43 balls.
India’s win was set up after their bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 138. Kishan Singh and Deepesh Devendran struck early, while Vedant Trivedi’s direct hit ran Kavija Gamage out in the sixth over.
But Kanishk Chouhan struck twice in the 12th over, and Khilan Patel in the 13th, to force Sri Lanka to rebuild again. That brought Heenatigala and Seneviratne together. Seneviratne was the attacking of the two while Heenatigala, limping a little, was more patient. At 118 for 6 with three overs left, and with Seneviratne connecting it cleanly, Sri Lanka may have hoped to post 150. But just 20 runs amid two wickets in the last three overs applied the brakes on their scoring.
India will meet Pakistan in the final on Sunday.
Brief scores:
India Under 19s 139 for 2 in 18 overs (Vihaan Malhotra 61*, Aaron George 58*; Rasith Nimsara 2-31) beat Sri Lanka Under 19s 138 for 8 in 20 overs (Chamika Heenatigala 42, Vimath Dinsara 32, Sethmika Senevirathne 30; Henil Patel 2-31, Kanishk Chouhan 2-36) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
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