Sports

Joe Root’s bid for World Cup form thwarted by Headingley abandonment

Published

3 years ago

2023/09/21

Priyan

Covers on as rain falls at Headingley (pic Cricinfo)

Joe Root’s bid to rediscover his 50-over form ahead of next month’s World Cup was thwarted by rain, as the first ODI between England and Ireland at Headingley was abandoned without a toss.

Root was added to England’s squad for this match at his own request after scores of 6, 0, 4 and 29 against New Zealand, and trained indoors on Monday and Tuesday. He has only played 16 ODI innings since the 2019 World Cup, scoring three half-centuries and no hundreds, but England are not overly concerned about his form.

He is unlikely to stay with the squad for the second ODI at Trent Bridge on Saturday, and is instead expected to rest, in keeping with his team-mates in the World Cup touring party. “I think he’s going to rest now until the World Cup”, Zak Crawley, England’s stand-in captain, said. “I’m not certain: if he wants to have a bat, that’s his decision.”

England fly to India next Wednesday and will play warm-up fixtures against India and Bangladesh in Guwahati, before travelling to Ahmedabad ahead of the World Cup opener against New Zealand on October 5. Root is nailed on to start the tournament at No. 3 and will be backed to rediscover the form that saw him finish the 2019 tournament as their leading run-scorer.

Rain showers meant that the scheduled 12pm toss was pushed back, but the rain had largely stopped by 1.30pm, barring a brief shower at around 2.15pm. The umpires repeatedly inspected the ground, but a saturated patch around the take-off area at the Kirkstall Lane End meant the ground was deemed unplayable.

Yorkshire sold around 10,000 tickets for this fixture and gave around 4,000 more away to local schools and clubs. Many of the fans who turned up greeted news of the abandonment – which arrived at 4.50pm – with boos; half an hour after umpires Mike Burns and Adrian Holdstock called the game off, the ground was bathed in sunshine.

“I was very disappointed that we didn’t get a game on,” Crawley said. “It was just the run-up at this end, really. It wasn’t fit for play, and I think that was probably right in the end. It was very wet and would have churned up if we’d played on it. It wouldn’t have been fit for the bowlers.”

“It was covered up, the bit that was wet,” Crawley added. “This time of year, it doesn’t dry as well as at other times of the year. We were unlucky with the weather leading into the game and then there was rain all this morning as well. I’m not sure there’s any more the groundsmen could have done: they worked very hard to try and get the game on.”

Yorkshire confirmed that all ticket-buyers will be refunded in full. The club did not make officials available for comments on the abandonment, but tweeted: “We would like to thank all of our ground staff for working incredibly hard today to try and get the game on.”

England were due to hand ODI debuts to at least two players, having selected a second-string squad for this series in order to allow their World Cup travelling party some time off. The two remaining fixtures are at Trent Bridge on Saturday and in Bristol on Tuesday.

(Cricinfo)

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Sports

India to host inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in February

Published

8 hours ago

2026/09/3

Priyan

The Brabourne Stadium hasn't hosted an international game since December 2022 [BCCI]

The inaugural six-team Women’s Champions Trophy has been moved from Sri Lanka to India, and will be played in Mumbai and Vadodara from February 14 to 28 next year.

The Brabourne Stadium and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium will host the T20 tournament. Despite losing the hosting rights because of government interference in their cricket board, Sri Lanka will still be part of the tournament, having qualified after being in the top six of the T20I rankings on the July 6 qualification cut-off date. Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa are the other teams.

According to a media release, the ICC assessed three candidates – Bangladesh, India and South Africa – against its established host evaluation criteria before recommending India as the replacement host on Wednesday.

The Brabourne Stadium hasn’t hosted an international game since December 2022, when India women hosted Australia for a T20I series. It hosted the first-ever season of the WPL in 2023 and also a few matches in 2025. Vadodara, meanwhile, has hosted WPL matches in 2025 and 2026.

The Champions Trophy was due to be Sri Lanka’s second ICC event in two years after they also co-hosted the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup with India. The six participating teams will compete in a round-robin league, with the top two sides advancing to the final on February 28.

The SLC is under interim administration, called the Transformation Committee, which was put in place by the Sri Lankan government and will oversee major board changes including those to its constitution. The ICC does not recognise politically appointed administrations and SLC representatives have not been at ICC board meetings since the Transformation Committee was put in place.

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Mendis, Nissanka return for England white ball series

Published

18 hours ago

2026/09/3

Sahan Weerasooriya

Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka return to the side after missing India Tests due to injuries.

by Rex Clementine

Prolific batsman Pathum Nissanka and white-ball captain Kusal Mendis are back in the fold after being named in Sri Lanka’s ODI and T20 squads for the six-match tour of England later this month.

Both Mendis and Nissanka missed the recent Test series against India through injury. Nissanka was recovering from wrist surgery, while Mendis suffered a hamstring injury during the LPL. It was the first major injury setback for the wicketkeeper batter, who has been a fixture in the Sri Lankan side for more than a decade.

Interestingly, Charith Asalanka has returned to the leadership group as vice-captain. Asalanka was stripped of the captaincy in both white ball formats earlier this year and subsequently fell out of favour with the selectors. His elevation suggests that the experiment of grooming Kamindu Mendis as the all-format vice-captain has, for the moment at least, been shelved.

There are, however, a few concerns heading into the tour. Kusal Mendis and Dushmantha Chameera have not featured in the ongoing domestic tournament, leaving them short of competitive cricket. Chameera’s lack of preparation will be particularly concerning given the fast bowler’s lengthy history of injuries. Pathum Nissanka did turn up for NCC though during this week’s T-20 competition but didn’t make an impact.

The inclusion of 28-year-old leg-spinner Sachindu Colombage in the ODI squad has also raised a few eyebrows.

While Sri Lanka’s T20 game remains a work in progress, their ODI fortunes have taken a significant turn for the better. The side has found consistency and made rapid strides, underlined by automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. It is a marked contrast to the build-up to the 2023 edition, when Sri Lanka were forced to travel to Zimbabwe and negotiate the qualifying tournament to earn their place at the World Cup.

Sri Lanka will begin the tour with the T20 series, with Southampton hosting the opener on September 15. The teams then travel to Cardiff and Manchester before the ODI leg gets underway at Chester-le-Street. Headingley will stage the second ODI, with the tour concluding at The Oval.

The Sri Lankan squad will leave for London on Saturday, September 5, giving them ten days to prepare for the six-match white-ball assignment.

ODI squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Kusal Mendis (captain), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Sachindu Colombage, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka.

T20 squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Lahiru Udara, Kusal Mendis (captain), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Nuwan Thushara and Binura Fernando.

Sports

Sampath, bowlers steer Golden Green Plantations to title

Published

18 hours ago

2026/09/3

Sahan Weerasooriya

MCA Premier League Champions 2026 Golden Green Plantations

MCA – ABANS PREMIER LEAGUE 2026

A skipper’s innings of 70 runs off 89 balls by T M Sampath and a four fer by Hesham Madushanaka and two wickets by Upul Hettiarachchi helped new comers to the MCA cricket arena Golden Green Plantations defeat David Pieris Group of Companies by four wickets in the final of the MCA-Abans Premier League 2026 and become the first winners of the ‘Abans Challenge Trophy’.

Electing to bat first David Pieris Group of Companies were restricted to 147 runs in 39.3 overs. Santhush Gunathilake who opened innings topped the score card with a fluent 53 off 50 balls with seven fours and a six. Asitha Wanninayake chipped in with 31 off 59 balls. Heshan Madushanka captured four wickets for 11 runs.

Chasing 148 to win, skipper T M Sampath scored 70 runs off 89 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes before being stumped off the bowling of Dilanka Auwardt, with score on 122/5. Shammu Ashan and Mohamed Shamaz shared a 25 run partnership to equal the scores at 147/6 and Shammu Ashan scored the winning runs with a four.

The Golden Green Plantation Team led by T M Samapth comprised, Heshn Madushanka, Malith Mihiranga, Mohamed Shamaz, Randika Mihiranga, Upul Httiarachchi, Dhanuja Induwara, Gimadu Malkam, Sammu Ashan , Vikum Sanjaya and Johan Pathirana

With only four teams entering the prestigious MCA Premier Leaguethis year, DFCC Bank secured third spot having a slightly better run rate over Nawaloka Hospitals and were unlucky that the opportunity for securing a spot in the final was washed away as qualifier 2 was abandoned on two consuecutive days due to rain.

Player of the Final T M Sampath of Golden Green Plantations receives his trophy from Sajith Athapaththu Chairman of the MCA Social, Bar and Restaurant Committee

Special Awards:

Best fielder of the Final :

Dhanuja Induwara of Golden Green Plantations [3 catches and 1 runout]

Best bowler of the Final:

Heshan Madushanka of Golden Green Plantations [4 wickets for 11 runs]

Best batsman of the Final:

Santhush Gunathilake of David Pieris Group of Companies [53 runs off 50 balls]

Player of the Final ;

T M Sampath of Golden Green Plantations [70 runs and 1 wicket]

Best bowler of the Tournament:

Tharinda Nirmal of David Pieris Group of Companies [13 wickets in 4 innings]

Best batsman of the Tournament: