Sports
Tharinda Ratwatte dazzles in Kandy’s 33-19 win over Police at rugby
By A Special Sports Correspondent
Kandy SC secured a hard fought 33-19 win over a fighting Police SC outfit in their Division 1 Inter-Club league rugby tournament match played at Nittawela grounds on Sunday (December 17).
Kandy SC had their memorable moments in the game in both halves. And their overall dominance was only checked during the brief periods in the game when they gave away three yellow cards; one in the first half and the other two in the second half. The winners were unstoppable in the first half, during which period they earned four of their five tries scored in the game. Tharinda Ratwatte was at his brilliant best for Kandy SC once again and scored a try each in both halves apart from the success he had with his kicking boots and defence work. The first half tries for Kandy came through the efforts of Dhanushka Ranjan, Dilshan Fareed, Tharinda Ratwatte and fourth off a rolling mail. The winners went into half time with the score reading 26-7.
If Police clicked in all departments and as a team it was in the second half where they earned two vital tries and also pressured Kandy to give away two more yellow cards and be down to 14 men. And most importantly Police crossed the Kandy goal line for the second time in the game early in the second half when Kandy were struggling after being down to 14 men.
Sachin Silva produced a smashing try for Police with the second half ten minutes old. And five minutes later seasoned hooker Dulanjana Wijesinghe produced Police’s third try after coming off the bench and changing roles from coach to player. His presence stirred some excitement but wasn’t enough to rally Police SC to find their way over the Kandy SC goal line for the fourth time in this game, which produced meat for spectators till the final whistle of referee Ishanka Abeyoon went.
Kandy sealed the game seven minutes from the end when Ratwatte scored again after smothering a kick and then taking the ball over the Police goal line.
On Saturday Army Sports Club produced thunder at ‘The Park Club’ grounds when they went down fighting to Havelocks SC 43-41 in a game which could have gone the other way if the kicks at goal came right for the soldiers. Army took the honours in the game largely because of a spirited second half rally during which they came back fighting with six tries. Army were trailing 33-7 at the ‘breather’.
Havies started off well dominating the first half and continued the momentum into the second half but were really tested in the second half with the unexpected performance by Army. Havies scored their points through six tries, five conversions and a penalty while Army responded with seven tries and three conversions. Skipper Azmeer Fajudeen dazzled for the host team with two tries while Lahiru Ratnayake, Sudharaka Dikkumbura and Lasantha Kumara touched down twice each to propel Army’s score at regular intervals.
Also on Saturday the fast improving CH & FC side beat Navy SC 34-14 in a hard fought game at Welisara. The winners collected their points through five tries, three conversions and a penalty while the sailors responded with two tries and two conversions.
On Friday at Longden Place hosts CR & FC downed a fighting Police SC outfit by 29 points to 5 with the Red Shirts collecting their points through five tries and two conversions. Police responded with a try.
An ODI between Canada and Netherlamds in King City Toronto on Tuesday was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. The fixture was part of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 competition, which is part of the qualification pathway for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The match was abandoned just 4.1 overs into the Netherlands innings after they had chosen to bat. They were 15 for 1, with Max O’Dowd the batter dismissed for a duck in the second over. The pitch had uneven bounce and the batters were struck several times during the short passage of play.
On June 12, four days before the abandoned match, the ICC had issued a statement saying the pitch at King City that was used for an ODI between USA and the Netherlands on June 8 had been given an “unsatisfactory” rating and one demerit point.
“This was a pitch that fell below the standard expected for this level of cricket,” match referee Phil Thompson had said about the surface for the USA-Netherlands match. “Both captains expressed disappointment with how it turned out, and the match officials assessed it as ‘very poor’. The inconsistent bounce created challenging and potentially unsafe playing conditions. Taking all factors into consideration, I believe the pitch merits an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating.”
According to the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process, pitches that get an “unsatisfactory” rating will be given one demerit point, while an “unfit” pitch rating will result in three demerit points for the venue. Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period, and an accumulation of six demerit points will result in the venue being suspended from hosting international matches for 12 months (12 demerit points will lead to a 24-month ban).
(Cricinfo)
Joshua Da Silva and Amir Jangoo have earned recalls to West Indies’ squad for the two-match World Test Championship series at home against Sri Lanka starting later this month, while the two Josephs, Alzarri and Shamar, are back after missing the tours of India and New Zealand late last year because of injuries.
Trevin Imalch had kept wicket when West Indies last played Test cricket, in New Zealand last December, but Da Silva, 33 Test matches old, has returned after scoring 996 runs across the last two seasons of the West Indies Championship. Imlach, who failed with the bat in New Zealand with a total of 81 runs across six innings – after scoring 33 runs in his only Test in India – has been named captain of a West Indies Select XI to play the Sri Lankans in a tour match in Coolidge from June 18 to 21. Roston Chase will continue to captain the Test side.
West Indies vs Sri Lanka Tests
Jangoo, dropped after only one Test appearance, in Multan in January 2025, where he scored 0 and 30, has returned to the side following a fruitful WI Championship in which he scored 411 runs in seven innings. He finished second on the scorers’ table there, only behind Da Silva, who scored 413 in seven outing. The highlight of Jangoo’s season was the 203 not out he scored for Trinidad & Tobago against Leeward Islands
The pair of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, meanwhile, last played Test cricket during the home series against Australia in mid-2025.”Every Test series is an opportunity for us to grow as a team and strengthen our identity,” Darren Sammy, the head coach, said in a Cricket West Indies statement. “Sri Lanka are a quality side, so we know we’ll have to be at our best, but we’re excited about the challenge ahead.”For us, it’s about playing with discipline, showing character when the game gets tough, and representing the West Indies with pride. The players have been putting in the work, and we’re looking forward to putting on a strong display for our fans across the Caribbean.”
Some of the squad members are currently participating in a high-performance training camp in Antigua, which began on June 12 and will run till June 22. The members of the Test squad who were also part of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka – West Indies lost the ODIs and won the T20Is – will join the camp on June 15. The Tests will be played in North Sound from June 25 to 29 and July 3 to 7.
“This is a key component of our preparations heading into the series, providing players and coaches with valuable time to enhance and improve the skills we want to see sharpened, based on the areas we need to focus our attention on when facing this opponent,” Sammy said about the camp. “It also gives us the opportunity to put clear objectives and plans in place for the conclusion of the summer against Pakistan.
“Additionally, the four-day warm-up game prior to the series provides the chance for some of our Test hopefuls to play in high-intensity action and create the avenue for more competition within the squad ahead of the upcoming and future series.”
West Indies are currently bottom of the nine-team WTC table, having lost seven of their eight games in the ongoing cycle.
West Indies squad for Test series against Sri Lanka
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