Connect with us

Sports

Campese’s rugby diary in Sri Lanka filled with special moments

Published

on

Australian rugby legend David Campese (second from left) presents the Matthysz Trophy to CR&FC skipper Suhuru Anthony after the CR&FC vs Havies rugby match played last Friday (Picture courtesy SLR Media)

By A Special Sports Correspondent

Australian rugby legend David Campese was here to boost the launch of the ‘Zahira Centenary Rugby Sevens’ which was held recently in Colombo. The Aussie rugby union player is no stranger to players and fans who followed the game in the early 1980s to the mid 1990s. That was the time when Australia was a dominant force in rugby; especially in the seven-a-side version of the game. There is a saying in rugby that those who play this sport will find a way to communicate even if the spoken language sets up barriers. Campese arranged many coaching workshops for coaches and schools during his stay here in the island. And most likely even if there was a communication gap due to the language issue Campese probably got his message across to coaches and those who attended these workshops because of this great camaraderie feature in rugby union.

Zahira College is celebrating 100 years in rugby this year. Campese played over 100 tests for Australia and 85 of them were as a wing three quarter. We remember those breathtaking runs by Campese when he played for Australia in the ‘Hong Kong Sevens’; when this event served as the biggest and only rugby attraction in the abbreviated form of rugby and before the IRB Rugby Sevens Series began and grew to have eight stops in selected cities in the world. In the 2023/24 rugby sevens series Hong Kong is the sixth stop with Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Singapore and Madrid being named as the other cities in the world with hosting rights for the ‘IRB rugby sevens’.

Campese spoke at the launch and remembered playing against the ‘Lilliputians’ from this sun kissed island in the Hong Kong Sevens. He recalled, during this speech, playing for Australia in the Hong Kong sevens in the years 1993, 1994 and 1995 and meeting Sri Lanka in the ‘pool stages’ of the tournament. Australia won the tournament in 1993. This writer remembers veteran sports writer T.M.K. Samat telling him about his work experience in newspapers in Hong Kong, where, once he had to work under an Australian editor-in-chief. According to Samat this editor had been a tough task master and on the day of the Hong Kong Sevens ‘finals’ he had reported on how Australia had done well to win the ‘Cup Championships’ and after that this editor had had a change of attitude towards him. There was a time when Australia and the Hong Kong Sevens were so interwoven as the ‘eventual champion and the trophy’. New Zealand and Australia were the driving forces in sevens rugby at that time and Fiji was a force just coming up.

We Sri Lankans loved his determined runs, the cunningness shown on the field and the quick thinking coupled with quick silver footwork that made him a sole match-winner despite rugby being a team sport. Campese was famous for that ‘goose step’-a hitch-kick motion-which often had defenders chasing him missing him and clinging on to thin air when tackles were attempted on him. So many others tried this goose step in rugby, but akin to McDonald’s pizza being ahead of the others in the same business, those who tried Campese’s footwork were found wanting because this move-copied by others- was either under or over cooked on the rugby field.

Campese has often got into trouble for speaking without rehearsing his words. Our own rugby legend and winger, the late Chandrishan Perera, once told this writer how Campese had run around him and beaten him for pace during the game of rugby. The Australian had even made a degrading remark targeting the Sri Lankan player. Perera had done the identical move in that game destroying Campese’s defence and then responded ‘now we are equal’. Perera said that players from other parts of the world show Asians respect when the latter are intelligent and skilled in the game of rugby union. For the record Perera and the present President of Sri Lanka Rugby Nalin de Silva were members of the ‘Bowl Championship’ winning team in the 1984 edition of the Hong Kong Sevens. The Sri Lankan rugby authorities managed to invite the Australian rugby legend last week as a special guest for the second leg of the annual rugby encounter between CR&FC and Havelock Sports Club-played for the Matthysz Trophy- at Longden Place.

Back to the launch of the Zahira Centenary Rugby Sevens and the coaching sessions that were held alongside these events we saw how respectful Campese was when he removed his hat when giving away certificates to successful participants. Did some of our ‘hat wearing’ coaches who participated in the rugby workshops show the same respect to this special guest when they came up to receive their certificates? This is a point to ponder at a time when the whole of Sri Lanka is demanding a system change; which many believe must start from the citizens themselves.

Campese speaking at the launch said that his achievement of playing 100 plus Tests in rugby can help him relate to the Zahira Centenary Rugby Sevens. He also emphasized on the importance of indentifying culture and history associated with a sport. He underscored that it would be hard to establish oneself in a sport if culture and history are absent. He said, “Rugby is a unique sport and everywhere you go in the world you will find a rugby club”. Here in Sri Lanka, however, he found a school that has a history in rugby spanning 100 years. Campese is sure to talk about his rugby experience in Sri Lanka all the way back to Australia!



Sports

Amin, bowlers leave West Indies Women’s World Cup hopes hanging by a thread

Published

on

By

File photo: Sidra Amin scored 54 in Pakistan's total of 191 [Cricinfo]

West Indies’ ODI World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after they slumped to a second defeat in three matches in the qualifier in Lahore. They were beaten by 65 runs by hosts Pakistan, who have moved to the top of the points table, and are undefeated in the event so far as they remain on track for the Women’s World Cup.

Both teams, though, still have to play unbeaten Bangladesh and win-less Thailand. West Indies, meanwhile, have to win their remaining two matches, and hope other results go their way to help them get to the World Cup.

After bowling Pakistan out for 191, West Indies would have felt their bowlers had done most of the hard work against a line-up that continues to struggle to build partnerships and score quickly. Pakistan had no half-century stands – their highest was 47 runs for the second wicket between Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin – and no one in their top five had a strike rate over 60. But a quality bowling attack and much improved fielding helped Pakistan defend what seemed a bowler-par total for the second time in the campaign.

Captain Fatima Sana led from the front, and after holding herself back until the 24th over against Scotland, took the new ball under lights in this game. Her first delivery was full and straight, and clipped the top of  Hayley Matthews’  back pad. As a result, Sana had her opposite number out for a first-ball duck. Matthews looked disappointed with the decision, but with no reviews at the qualifier, she could only trudge off.

The experienced Shemaine Campbelle was sent out ahead of Zaida James at No. 3 but was run-out for the second time in the tournament. Campbelle tucked a delivery from Sadia Iqbal on the leg side, and set off for a single, but didn’t account for Sidra Nawaz’s speed. Keeping wicket in place of Muneeba, who has been left to focus on her batting, Nawaz charged off to field the ball, and her direct hit caught Campbelle out of her ground.

Three overs later, West Indies had another mishap. Diana Baig appealed for an lbw against Jannillea Glasgow as the ball bobbled to slip. Glasgow and James took the opportunity to steal a run, but Nawaz was quick to see them hesitate and called for the ball while the umpire was still deciding on the appeal. Nawaz ran James out to leave West Indies at 29 for 3, but with Stafanie Taylor still in the hut. Taylor had taken ill in the field, and could not come out to bat until an hour and a quarter into the innings, or until West Indies were five down, whichever came first.

That is why Chinelle Henry walked out to bat at No. 5, and joined Glasgow. Henry slapped the first ball she faced for four, and hit two more boundaries in her first seven balls.

Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu was brought on in the 12th over, and dismised Glasgow and Henry in the space of three balls to all but end West Indies’ hopes. They were 54 for 5 when Taylor walked in, before she shared a 34-run sixth wicket stand with Shabika Gajnabi. Taylor started to look threatening when she hit Rameen Shamim back over her head for six but was caught by Muneeba at short fine leg, and West Indies had no senior batters left.

Sana came back to take two late wickets, and finished with figures of 3 for 16. She is now joint-second on the tournament’s wicket-takers’ list, and just behind Matthews, who has ten wickets. That will be scant consolation to Matthews, who had Gull Feroza out early and took 2 for 30 in ten overs in this match, given the state West Indies find themselves in.

Though their bowling was tight, and only Karishma Ramharack conceded above five runs an over, their batting has let them down. After finishing World Cup 2022 as semi-finalists, they could miss out on the 2025 edition altogether after losses to Scotland and Pakistan.

West Indies have two days off before their next match against Bangladesh, and will want to use that time to address their batting concerns, including whether to bring Qiana Joseph back into the XI. Pakistan, too, will have some worries about their batting. Muneeba laboured to 33 off 60 balls, and Amin took 86 balls to get to fifty, but they anchored the innings.

No other batter scored more than Sidra Nawaz’s 23, and the middle order’s inconsistency is something they will want to address in coming games. Pakistan play Thailand on Thursday, and then play Bangladesh in their final game on Saturday.

Should Pakistan qualify for the World Cup, their matches will take place outside of India, in accordance with the hybrid model agreed on by the BCCI and PCB earlier this year.

Brief scores:
Pakistan Women 191 in 49.5 overs (Muneeba Ali 33, Sidra Amin 54, Aliya Riyaz 20, Sidra Nawaz 23; Hayley Matthews 2-30, Afy Fletcher 2-39, Karishma Ramharak 2-55) beat West Indies Women 126 in 39.2 overs (Aaliya Alleyne 22, Shabika Gajnabi 21;  Fatima Sana 3-16, Rameen Shamim 2-26, Nashra Sandhu 2-31) by 65 runs

[Cricinfo]

Continue Reading

Latest News

IPL 2025: Dhoni, Jadeja snap Chennai Super King’s losing streak

Published

on

By

MS Dhoni and Shivam Dube bump fists in the middle [BCCI]

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were staring at the prospect of losing a sixth game in a row when MS Dhoni joined Shivam Dube with five overs left in the chase. But Dhoni won the battle against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seamers with an 11-ball 26 while Dube made 43 to give them their second win in seven outings.

LSG captain Rishabh Pant felt right after the game that LSG were “10-15 runs short” in their first-innings effort. Despite Pant’s own 49-ball 63, his first half-century in LSG colours, they scored only 166 for 7 in 20 overs, their lowest total of the season. They were pegged back by Ravindra Jadeja’s two wickets and kept in check by Noor Ahmed’s miserly four overs that went for only 13 runs.

After CSK’s opening partnership put them on course early, LSG dragged the game back with their spinners. Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi and part-time offspinner Aiden Markram produced combined figures of 11-0-80-4, but a 19-run over from Shardul Thakur in the penultimate over ended LSG’s hopes.

When Dhoni walked in at the 15th over, Dube had made only 17 in his first 20 balls. Dube had failed to boss the spinners like his usual self and the dismissals of Vijay Shankar and Jadeja had only added to the pressure.

But Dhoni enjoys pace, coming into the game with a strike-rate of 222 against seamers since IPL 2024, and LSG supplied him with just that. Despite one over of Bishnoi left, LSG went for Avesh Khan and Shardul Thakur, and their wide yorker plan to both batters ended up being predictable.

Dhoni edged a couple of fours down to deep third but showed his power by punching a boundary through the covers, flicking a full toss over midwicket and dragging a one-handed six over deep square leg.

He also ran his ones and twos, sometimes gingerly, with Dube and took the pressure off him. When Shardul bowled two full tosses at the start of the 19th over, Dube smacked him for four and a no-ball six.

Dhoni picked up his first IPL player-of-the-match award since 2019 while Dube, soon after hitting the winning runs, said he was proud of taking the game deep. Their partnership of 57 came in only 28 balls.

Shaik Rasheed’s skills were never in doubt. He is a former Under-19 World Cup-winning vice-captain, has a Syed Mushtaq Ali century and a double ton in first-class cricket. It’s for those reasons CSK have kept a close eye on him since IPL 2023.

With Devon Conway not among the runs, CSK gave Rasheed an IPL debut and he took strike to start the chase. By the second over, he had pumped three fours off Akash Deep, with one flick over midwicket described on the broadcast as “Virat Kohli-like.”

His 19-ball 27 with six fours helped CSK reach fifty in only 4.2 overs, and alongside Rachin Ravindra’s 22-ball 37, gave them a rare successful opening stand. Those runs proved crucial as a collapse against spin soon followed.

With a strike-rate of 80 and a high score of 21 this season, Pant needed to get going. He walked-in in the fourth over with Markram and Nicholas Pooran out to Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj cheaply.

He started on a positive note, improvising a reverse lap over third man early for six along with a handful of contorted pulls and cuts. But his strike-rate of 165 plummeted to 103 when CSK’s spinners applied the squeeze. Pant saw wickets fall from the other end, and ended up playing ten dots in 15 balls against Noor, scoring only six runs. His strike rate of 40 against the purple-cap holder ended up being the second worst for any batter against a bowler in IPL (minimum15 balls).

However, from 40 in 39 balls, Pant found his touch against the pace-on options of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel to turn his innings around. He couldn’t stay till the end, though, and the CSK spinners’ effort ensured LSG could make only 166 on a day where their second-highest individual score was Mitchell Marsh’s 30.

Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 in 19.3 overs (Shaik Rasheed 27, Rachin Ravindra 37, Shivam Dube 43*, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 26*; Digvesh Rathi 1-23, Avesh Khan 1-32, Ravi Bishnoi 2-18, Aiden Markram 1-25) beat Lucknow Super Giants 166 for 7 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 30, Rishabh Pant 63, Ayush Badoni 22, Abdul Samad 20; Khaleel Ahmed 1-38, Anshul Kamboj 1-20, Ravindra  Jadeja 2-24, Matheesha Pathirana 2-45) by five wickets

[Cricinfo]

Continue Reading

Sports

Therapuththa National School Amabalanthota reach finals of Under 19 division III Tier B limited over cricket tournament

Published

on

By

The Therapuththa National School Under 19 cricket team with offficials

Therapuththa National School Ambalanthota reached the final of the Under 19 division III Tier B limited over cricket tournament conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association

The Therapuththa team captained by N M Senura Daksitha was selected from  P A Imanga Rashmika, M P Akash Udayanga, M B Senuth Daritha, J G Pramith Hasintha, A J A Senuth  Kithmina, K G Pathum Dilshan, Jayasinghe Sathira, H W Ashan Chamika, U M Senuka Dineth Ransara, B G Didun Nethsara, J H Yasith Pinsara, A Y Rahal Lakkitha, U H Yashmin Ashinsana Kulathilaka, T H Malindu Prabashwara, O P Samudya Charunya, Nethindu Thamudina, P P G Sadeep Lakshan, and A L G Sanuth Sandera.

The team was coached by P A Leelananda Kumarasiri together with J M Kokum Induma and T G Kavindu Keshika.

As the Under 19 division III Tier B final between Therapuththta National School Ambalanthota and Nenamal Royal International School Kelaniya, which was to be played  at the Army ground Diyagama on 10th April was abandoned without a toss due to rain,  both teams were named joint champions. A total of 282 teams participated in this years Under 19 division III  tournament

Continue Reading

Trending