Sports
Batters give India women opening-day honours against England women
Impressive debuts from two young players at opposite ends of the experience spectrum led India to an impressive first-innings total on the opening day of their Test against England.
Satheesh Shubha representing her country for the first time, and Jeminah Rodrigues, playing her maiden Test after 113 white-ball appearances for India, both scored half-centuries on an accommodating pitch in Navi Mumbai as India posted 410 for 7, the second-highest total by a team on the opening day of a women’s Test behind England’s 431 for 4 against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1935, having bowled their opponents out for 44.
By midway through the first evening session of this four-day fixture, the hosts’ run rate hadn’t dipped below 4.5 per over. Yastika Bhatia and Deepti Sharma, with three Test caps between them heading into the match, also racked up fifties and each played roles in key partnerships – Bhatia with Harmanpreet Kaur, who fell agonisingly short of her half-century in a strange yet familiar run out, and Deepti with Sneh Rana.
Shubha’s selection was a surprise. She hardly played for Railways this season amid a lack of opportunities after moving from Karnataka, but was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL. And the 24-year-old left-hander gave more than a glimpse of what her franchise can expect as she eased to 69 off 76 balls, coming in at No. 3 with her side 25 for 1 after they chose to bat.
Smriti Mandhana, dropped on 5 by Tammy Beaumont running back from short leg to catch a top edge that ballooned straight up in the second over, managed just 17 before she chopped onto her stumps off Lauren Bell. Kate Cross then sent Shafali Verma’s off stump cartwheeling with a delivery that moved away just enough to beat the bat, leaving India 47 for 2.
But then Shubha and Rodrigues settled into a 115-run partnership that not only steadied the innings but kept the home side scoring at an impressive rate, the 23-year-old Rodrigues finding the gaps seemingly at will as Shubha looked right at home. When the latter cut Cross through backward point with ease, using the pace of the ball for one of her 13 fours, a half-century was just one more stroke away. She produced that three balls later, driving so sweetly down the ground it looked like she had been doing this forever.
Heather Knight couldn’t cling onto a sharp chance to her right at slip that would have given Sophie Ecclestone her first wicket of the match when Shubha was on 51. That was the last ball before lunch and the India duo picked up where they left off after the break until Ecclestone broke through to remove Shubha, who picked out Nat Sciver-Brunt at short midwicket.
Rodrigues forged ahead, bringing up her fifty with the first of two fours in three balls, a beautiful off-drive off Bell. Back-to-back boundaries off Ecclestone followed next over for Rodrigues, driven through the covers and swept fine, but she eventually fell to Bell in a moment of indecision that left her neither playing forward nor back and bowled between bat and pad.
Bell put down a sitter to let off Bhatia on 15, her top edge off Charlie Dean looping up but going through Bell’s hands as she ran in from mid-on. Bhatia and Harmanpreet’s union for the fifth wicket was unbroken on 71 at tea, India having scored 125 runs in the afternoon session.
They bettered Shubha and Rodrigues’ stand by one off the same number of balls (146) before Harmanpreet was run out right when she should have had an overthrow to bring up her half-century. Having pushed the ball towards covers, she set off but had to turn back. As Danni Wyatt hit the stumps direct with an underarm throw, Harmanpreet’s bat got stuck in the pitch just short of her crease. The dismissal went from the realms of bizarre to ignominious given that she had been run out in a similar way in India’s T20 World Cup semi-final loss to Australia in February.
Bhatia produced some wonderful drives and rammed home her authority on the innings with the first six of the match, pulling Lauren Filer over deep-backward square leg to bring up her fifty. But Bell made up for her earlier mistake when she held a catch at mid-on to give Dean the wicket she should have had earlier and send Bhatia on her way.
Rana was off the mark immediately, turning Dean through fine leg for four on the next ball and she settled into a 92-run partnership with Deepti, who produced nine fours and an emphatic six off Ecclestone over wide long-on. England’s bowlers lacked penetration and their tiring fielders were left to rue those missed chances. Then Deepti brought up her third fifty from as many Test matches with a four off Bell through square leg late in the day.
That was before Sciver-Brunt ripped out Rana’s leg stump, and Pooja Vastrakar negotiated a tense final over from Ecclestone as the opening day of the first women’s Test hosted by India since 2014 and England’s first on these shores since 2005 ended up very much in the home side’s favour.
Brief scores:
India 410 for 7 in 94 overs (Satheesh Shubha 69, Jemimah Rodrigues 68, Yastika Bhatia 66, Harampreet Kaur 49, Deepti Sharma 60*, Sneh Rana 30; Lauren Bell 2-64) vs England
(Cricinfo)
The India and Zimbabwe women’s teams are all set to play an international fixture against each other for the first time when Zimbabwe tour India for white-ball fixtures this October.
The tour comprises three T20Is and three ODIs and will be Zimbabwe’s first visit to India; India are yet to tour Zimbabwe for bilateral fixtures.
The three T20Is will be played in Raipur on October 16, 18 and 20, and the ODIs are on October 23, 25 and 28 in Baroda.
The fixtures were announced by the BCCI on Wednesday, along with two home series for the India A women’s side against Australia A in September and England A in December. Both those series comprise three T20s, three List A games and one multi-day fixture.
The India Under-19 women’s team will also host Sri Lanka U-19 in June and July for three T20s and three 50-over games, and England U-19 in November and December for five T20 fixtures.
The Australia A men’s side will tour India for two multi-day fixtures and three one-dayers in September and October, while the Australia U-19 side will visit India for two multi-day fixtures and three one-dayers also in September and October.
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Fast bowlers to get more opportunities as new format introduced for Under-15 Division I tourney
The Inter-Schools Under-15 Division I cricket tournament will be conducted under a revamped format this year, with organisers shifting the focus back to limited-overs cricket while introducing new rules aimed at promoting fast bowling.
The tournament, organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA), will see only the top-tier Division I competition played in a 50-over format. Meanwhile, Division II and Division III matches will continue under the one-day, four-innings structure.
SLSCA Secretary Saman Hettiarachchi said the changes were made following consultations with experts from Sri Lanka Cricket, with a clear objective of providing greater opportunities for pace bowlers.
”We opted for the limited-overs format for Division I in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket. The lower divisions will copete in the innings format as we have observed matches ending early without utilizing the full quota of overs,” Hettiarachchi told ‘The Island’.
A key feature of the revised rules is the compulsory allocation of overs for fast bowlers. In a full 50-over innings, a minimum of 20 overs must be bowled by pacemen. Additionally, during the first 10 overs, at least eight overs must be delivered by fast bowlers. If an innings is reduced to 30 overs or fewer, at least six of the first eight overs must be bowled by pace.
”It was made mandatory to give more opportunities to pacemen,” Hettiarachchi explained.
Meanwhile, the official draw for the Division I tournament has been released, featuring 70 teams divided into 16 groups from Group A to Group P for the preliminary round. Each team is guaranteed multiple matches during the opening stage.
Defending champions St. Joseph’s College headline Group A, where they will meet Nalanda College, Dharmapala College, St. John’s College, Lumbini College and De La Salle College.
With traditional cricketing powerhouses spread across the groups, it will be interesting to see how the first round pans out in the new-look tournament.
Under 15 Division I Tournament First Round Groups
GROUP A
St. Joseph’s College, Colombo
Nalanda College, Colombo
Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya
St. John’s College, Nugegoda
Lumbini College, Colombo
De La Salle College, Colombo
GROUP B
D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo
S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia
Presidents’ College, Kotte
Wesley College, Colombo
Carey College, Colombo
Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya
GROUP C
St. Anthony’s College, Wattala
St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa
Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Kottawa
St. Peter’s College, Colombo
C.W.W. Kannangara MV, Colombo
Ashoka College, Colombo
GROUP D
St. Benedict’s College, Colombo
Royal College, Colombo
Gurukula College, Kelaniya
Lyceum International School, Wattala
Bandaranayake MMV, Gampaha
St. John’s College, Panadura
GROUP E
De Mazenod College, Kandana
Isipathana College, Colombo
Christ King College, Ja-Ela
Thurstan College, Colombo
Ananda Shastralaya NS, Kotte
St. Joseph Vaz College, Vennappuwa
GROUP F
Mahanama College, Colombo
Piliyandala MMV, Piliyandala
Ananda College, Colombo
Sri Jayawardenapura NS, Kotte
Presidents College, Maharagama
St. Thomas’ College, Kotte
GROUP G
Wadduwa MMV, Wadduwa
Sri Sumangala College, Panadura
Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa
Moratu Vidyalaya, Moratuwa
Revatha College, Balapitiya
Royal College, Panadura
GROUP H
Dharmaraja College, Kandy
St. Mary’s College, Kegalle
Kegalu Vidyalaya, Kegalle
Kingswood College, Kandy
Vidyartha College, Kandy
Ibbagamuwa MMV, Ibbagamuwa
GROUP J
Maris Stella College, Negombo
Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala
Harischandra College, Negombo
Maliyadeva Adarsha MV, Kurunegala
Galahitiyawa MMV, Ganemulla
Sandalankawa MMV, Sandalankawa
GROUP K
St. Anthony’s College, Kandy
St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy
Trinity College, Kandy
Royal College, Polonnaruwa
St. Thomas’ College, Matale
Jaffna Hindu College, Jaffna
GROUP L
Sri Pangnananda MMV, Raddoluwa
St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala
St. Mary’s College, Chilaw
Sri Sumangala NS, Wariyapola
St. Peter’s College, Negombo
St. Xavier’s College, Marawila
GROUP M
Devapathiraja College, Rathgama
St. Aloysius College, Galle
Holy Cross College, Kalutara
Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda
Kalutara Vidyalaya, Kalutara
Vidyaloka College, Galle
GROUP N
Mahinda College, Galle
Tissa MV, Kalutara
Rahula College, Matara
Debarawewa NS, Debarawewa
St. Thomas’ College, Matara
Meepawala Amarasuriya MV
GROUP P
St. Servatius’ College, Matara
Richmond College, Galle
Sri Devananda College, Ambalangoda
Karandeniya MMV, Karandeniya
P. De S. Kularathna MV, Ambalangoda
President’s College, Embilipitiya.
by Reemus Fernando
With the success the seven MCA men’s cricket tournaments have achieved, the Executive Committee of Mercantile Cricket Association (MCA) have decided to give Women’s Cricket in Sri Lanka a boost by introducing a hard ball Women’s Cricket Tournament for the corporate sector.
With the international recognition women’s cricket has gained at present, it is no secret that there still are many talented lasses aspiring to reach the zenith of the game.
Even with the measures Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) the game’s governing body through the Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) have taken to promote girls cricket in schools, a considerable number of talented players, specially in the provinces do not have an opportunity to be recognized.
It is the MCA’s belief that with the introduction of a MCA Women’s Cricket Tournament, the corporate sector will be encouraged to field teams, and in doing so will give a hand to talented lasses and school leavers by providing them with employment as well as the opportunity to realise their aspirations in the Women’s Cricket arena.
At present in addition to the seven major Men’s tournaments the MCA organise the
Mercantile Six-a-Side tournament, the Over-40 Sixes competition, the 20×20 league, and the esteemed MCA Inter Academy Invitational tournament,
As an initial step, the MCA will be conducting a Women’s six and side soft ball cricket tournament for the corporate sector teams on Saturday 23rd May 2026 at the Mercantile Cricket Association grounds.
For further information please contact Chamara on 0759592488 or Prasad 0759809777.
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