Sports
Memorable rugby wins and a death at home
By A Special Sports Correspondent
The third round of inter-school under 19 league rugby tournament matches became very competitive and the winners except Royal had to struggle before prevailing and earning their bonus points.
Isipatana, S. Thomas’, St. Peter’s, Zahira and D.S. Senanayake earned memorable wins; throwing open the tournament and making predictions hard as climbing the greased pole. Isipatana produced a dazzling 28-18 win against St. Joseph’s at Longden Place; remaining unbeaten and also showing signs of producing more sparks as the season progresses.
The game that produced a thriller was the one between Wesley and D.S Senanayake which the latter won thanks to an overwhelming performance by both the forwards and the three quarters. The match winner for D.S.S was Jayatu Rajaratna who scored a hat-trick of tries. The game turned out to be a ding dong battle and Wesley came back strongly in the second half with their forwards and their ruthless driving maul. But the fast-running Rajaratna was too good for Wesley, who were shattered with his brilliant running and powerful play.
Another game that predicted a close contest was the one between Royal and Vidyartha, but the Colombo lads stuck to basics and allowed their free flowing style of rugby to do the rest. The winners collected their points through seven tries and six conversions. Vidyartha suffered a heavy defeat and even had injuries to a couple of players. This is the price one pays in Division 1 Segment A rugby where the stakes are high in terms of prestige and glory. The solitary points for the losers came off a drop kick or field goal. Royal are one of the most competitive sides this season and despite the defeat at the hands of St. Peter’s in their first outing the Reid Avenue boys have bounced back and are expected to finish on a high this season.
A S. Thomas’ College player makes a power run in the team’s inter-school under 19
league rugby tournament fixture against Kingswood which the former won 28-17 at
Mount Lavinia.
Isipatana lived up to expectations in their match against Joes; chalking up a thumping win and also earning a bonus point. There was a heartwarming issue associated with this match where Heshan Randimal of Isipatana played in the game despite the passing away of his mother. The lad played for his schools while people, friends and close relatives were paying their last respects to his late mother at the funeral. These types of incidents are rare in rugby or any sport, but for Isipatana it is not the first. In 1992, if this writer remembers right, Piyum Prashantha also played in a rugby final for Isipatana at the time there was a death in the family. This player’s deceased parent wanted the boy to play rugby at all costs and this was the very reason that motivated him to make himself strong and turn up for the match. This could have been the same reason why Randimal too played in the team’s match last Friday. Most often mothers- more than fathers -are the die-hard supporters of their sons who play rugby.
S. Thomas’ huffed and puffed before winning their match against Kingswood; the latter not being able to capitalize on the Thomain Red card and being reduced to 14 players. St. Peter’s made a strong presence in their match against Dharmaraja at Bogambara winning 34-7. Zahira rattled Science with the rousing display of rugby at Maradana before taking the game away from their opponents with a 24-8 win.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports to establish the proposed National Higher Performance Centre for atletes.
India opener Shafali Verma has received an official reprimand and a demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second T20I against Zimbabwe on Sunday.
Shafali, an ICC release said, breached Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match.”
It was Shafali’s first offence in a 24-month period.
The incident occurred in the 12th over of Zimbabwe’s innings when Shafali threw the ball into the ground in frustration after dropping a chance at mid-off offered by Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano off Sree Charani.
Shafali admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee GS Lakshmi, which meant there was no need for a formal hearing.
Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50% of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.
India currently lead the three-match series 2-0 with the third game to be played on Tuesday evening. The T20Is will be followed by three ODIs in Vadodara from October 23.
(Cricinfo)
A total of 146 players will be competing for 27 available slots in the WPL 2027 mini auction on October 28 in Kochi. Of these, England batter Sophia Dunkley and Australia captain Sophie Molineux are the only two players who have listed themselves at the maximum base price of INR 50 lakh.
The auction pool has 119 Indian players, including 22 capped and 97 uncapped players, with 20 slots available for Indian players. The overseas pool has 27 players – 14 capped and 13 uncapped – including six from Associate teams, with seven slots available.
G Kamalini (released by Mumbai Indians), Kiran Navigre (released by U P Warriorz), Heather Graham and Jess Jonassen have registered at the second-highest base price of INR 40 lakh, while a total of 30 players have registered at INR 30 lakh.
Among the notable absentees are West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin, who was released by UPW, and Australia legspinner Alana King, who was released by Delhi Capitals. Lizelle Lee, who was DC’s highest run-scorer last season, has also not listed herself after being released by the franchise.
What the teams look like going into the auction
Only two English players – Dunkley and Kira Chathli (INR 10 lakh) – have registered for the auction, with several others, including Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Alice Capsey, Dani Gibson, Lauren Filer and Linsey Smith opting to skip the WPL next year.
Cricinfo has learned that England are likely to play three T20Is in Sri Lanka in early February, which will clash with the final week of the WPL. While the ECB is likely to allow players to stay in India to complete the tournament, most players have instead chosen to prioritise their international commitments ahead of the Champions Trophy later that month.
The relatively low salaries on offer at the WPL are also understood to be a factor in many English players deciding not to register, with most internationals earning significantly more to play in the Hundred (up to £190,000 last year) than the highest permitted base price in the WPL of INR 50 lakh (£40,000 approx).
Molineux was part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru [RCB] title-winning squad in 2024, and had bagged 12 wickets in ten games at an economy rate of 7.31. She was retained by RCB for the 2025 season but a knee injury ruled her out of the season. Dunkley, meanwhile, played for Gujarat Giants [GT] in 2023 before opting not to register for the 2024 season. She went unsold in the 2025 auction.
Among the premier internationals who have listed themselves for INR 30 lakh are Australia allrounder Grace Harris (released by RCB), Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, South Africa left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba and South Africa allrounder Chloe Tryon.
UPW, who released nine players, will go into the auction with the biggest purse of INR 3.75 crore.
[Cricinfo]
Import and Export (Control) Regulations No. 08 of 2026
Draft Bill of the Public Private Partnership Enterprises Act to be gazzetted
Amendment of the Ayurvedha Act No. 31 of 1961
Cabinet nod to amend the Sri Lanka Development Administration Institute Act No. 9 of 1982
Establishment of the National Higher Performance Centre
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