Sports
Batting woes dim progress in New Zealand
by Rex Clementine
It’s been a bruising fortnight for Sri Lanka’s cricket fans as the team stumbled through the bilateral series in New Zealand. While losing the T20 series would have stung, the ODI defeats laid bare the long and winding road Sri Lanka must travel to truly compete with top-tier teams on foreign soil.
For a side that once rewrote the script of white-ball cricket, watching their current struggles bring disappointment. Yet, there are glimmers of hope – pockets of improvement that, if nurtured, could eventually transform this team into a force to reckon with again in the shorter formats.
The middle order’s performance has been, to put it politely, underwhelming. The selectors must take stock of whether they’ve hit the right combination or if it’s time to reshuffle the deck. At the moment, Sri Lanka is fielding two seam-bowling all-rounders in Janith Liyanage and Chamindu Wickramasinghe. Unfortunately, the captain seems to trust their bowling about as much as a cat trusts a rocking chair.
With the bat, these players can chip in with 20s and 30s, but modern cricket demands lower middle-order batters capable of smashing run-a-ball half-centuries or better. Instead, in both ODIs, Sri Lanka suffered batting collapses that begged for someone to dig in, weather the storm, and bat out the full 50 overs. Alas, no such hero emerged.
It must be maddening for the selectors. They’ve plucked players who’ve shone in domestic cricket, only to see them fumble on the international stage. It’s a tale as old as time – Sri Lanka’s domestic system is about as good at preparing players for international cricket as a tricycle is for the Tour de France.
This is where ‘A’ team cricket and the Provincial Tournament come in. These formats offer a more competitive environment than the cozy confines of club cricket.
The real question for the selectors is whether to persist with Liyanage and Wickramasinghe or try someone like Milan Ratnayake. Primarily groomed as a Test cricketer, Ratnayake seems to have the tools to succeed in 50-over cricket.
Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Last year was an excellent one for Sri Lanka in ODIs, highlighted by a stunning series win against India. A setback in New Zealand doesn’t make this team a bad one overnight.
For years, Sri Lanka lacked representation in the ICC’s top-ten rankings for batters or bowlers. But thanks to consistent performances by Pathum Nissanka, Maheesh Theekshana, and Wanindu Hasaranga, the team has started filling that void. The bowlers, by and large, have been doing their job, keeping opposition batters in check. It’s the batting that has turned into a house of cards.
Charith Asalanka had a series to forget, his brain fade in Hamilton – taking on a single to mid-off – being the lowlight. But let’s not forget he was Sri Lanka’s standout batter last year. Meanwhile, Kusal Mendis also had a rough series, and the critics wasted no time sinking their teeth into him. Funny how they gloss over the fact that Mendis was the world’s leading ODI run-scorer in 2024.
Had Sri Lanka won the series, they would’ve climbed to fifth place in the ICC rankings—a lofty perch for a team still finding its feet. Instead, they return home with more questions than answers.
One topic sure to spark debate is whether Kusal Janith Perera should have been retained after the T20s. Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing—it always knows the winning lottery numbers after the draw.
The fielding, at least, has been top-notch. Two years ago, Sri Lanka’s fielding resembled a circus act without the fun, but now the energy and commitment are palpable. If only they could pair that with a reliable batting lineup, this team might finally roar like the lions on their crest.
DS Senanayake College, Colombo, has once again showcased their cricketing dominance by storming into the final of the All-Island Under-13 Division One Cricket Tournament, conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA). They will face Devapathiraja College, Rathgama, today ( Sunday, 12th January) at Royal College Cricket Grounds, Colombo.
Guided by the expertise of Junior Head Coach Yomal Sanjeewa and his deputy coaches Kasun Sadaruwan and Anjana Kaluarachchi, the DS team has enjoyed an exceptional season, recording victories in nine out of the ten matches they played to enter the final as firm favourites.
Their stellar campaign has been fueled by exceptional all-round performances from skipper Miyuru Bandara, his deputy Haamid Afdhal, and the reliable Ranithu Kumarasingha.
Miyuru Bandara has led from the front, amassing an impressive 761 runs this season, including five centuries and two half-centuries, while also claiming 16 wickets with the ball. Haamid Afdhal has been equally influential, scoring 395 runs and emerging as the team’s leading wicket-taker with 33 scalps.
Meanwhile, Ranithu Kumarasingha has played a crucial supporting role with the ball, capturing 16 wickets to further strengthen the team’s bowling attack.
This much-anticipated final promises a thrilling encounter between two formidable sides.
While DS Senanayake College enter as favorites, Devapathiraja College is determined to make their mark on the big stage. Cricket fans can expect an exciting contest at Reid Avenue as these young talents battle for the coveted championship title.
Sri Lankan cricketing sensation Chamari Athapaththu continues to shine on the international stage as she earns three prestigious nominations for the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year, ODI Cricketer of the Year, and T20 Cricketer of the Year.
These nominations reflect her outstanding performances, unwavering dedication, and significant contributions to the growth of Sri Lankan women’s cricket.
A proud Brand Ambassador for Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s #1 connectivity provider, Chamari has been an integral part of the Dialog family for over 11 years, embodying the company’s commitment to supporting the country’s top athletes.
In 2024 alone, Chamari’s remarkable achievements include being named Player of the Tournament in the Women’s Big Bash, Women’s Super Smash, and the T20 Series against South Africa. She led Sri Lanka to a historic win with the highest successful run chase in women’s cricket, secured a place in the Women’s IPL, and played a key role in Sri Lanka’s success in the Women’s T20 Qualifiers and series victories against the West Indies. Her continued excellence not only exemplifies her status as a trailblazer in women’s cricket but also cements her legacy as one of Sri Lanka's most influential athletes.
Dialog, a prolific promoter of sports in Sri Lanka, has long been dedicated to fostering athletic excellence across the nation. Chamari’s continued journey with Dialog is a powerful reflection of the company’s belief in her ability to inspire future athletes and elevate the profile of women’s cricket, both locally and internationally. Together, they are set to advance women’s cricket and celebrate the spirit of sportsmanship, inspiring future generations to follow in Chamari’s pioneering footsteps.
Dialog extends its heartfelt congratulations to Chamari Athapaththu and looks forward to her future achievements as she continues to break new ground in the world of cricket.
Shaun Pollock the media representative of the ICC’s cricket committee, has said that the body is “working on something” to give bowlers “bit more leeway on wides”, particularly with batters often moving around the crease in limited-overs formats.
“If a batter jumps across at the last minute, it doesn’t really work out for me,” Pollock told PTI on the sidelines of the SA20. “I think a bowler, at the start of his run-up, needs to know where he can bowl it.
“The current rule tends to suggest that if the batter moves and it’s that point of delivery where the batter is, and that’s according to where the wide will be called, I want a little bit of a change. I want them to know exactly when they’re running up why or how – how can a bowler be expected to change his game plan at the last second when he’s bowling? He needs to have a clear idea where he can go.
“So it’s in the pipeline, we’re all discussing. We need to give a little bit back to the bowlers.”
As things stand, though, the ICC’s playing conditions specify that a ball should be called a wide if it “passes wide of where the striker is standing and which also would have passed wide of the striker standing in a normal batting position”, and also, it is not a wide “if the striker, by moving, either causes the ball to pass wide of him, or brings the ball sufficiently within reach to be able to hit it by means of a normal cricket stroke”.
That aside, at the IPL and the WPL in India since 2023, players – bowlers and batters – have been empowered to review wide calls by umpires using DRS.
Simon Taufel, though, has not been in favour of it.
“I’m really conscious around trying to turn the art of officiating into a science and seek perfection, whatever that looks like, with decision making,” Taufel had told ESPNcricinfo. “So with wides for example, and here we’re going to, potentially according to you, or according to the player or the debate, take a wide call and throw that back to the third umpire for them to judge on something that might be marginal and is still a judgement call.”
Pollock said South Africa should look to leverage their players’ experience in subcontinent conditions during the upcoming Champions Trophy, which will be played in Pakistan (with the exception of matches featuring India, which will be played in Dubai).
“You’ve got basically the similar players that were at that [2023 ODI] World Cup, where we got to the semi-final and lost to Australia,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of IPL stars who play for South Africa. In those situations, everything looks good. The amount of IPL players, people like Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, even Quinton de Kock, all those guys who spend so much time over there, getting an understanding for conditions, that can only help South Africa.
“They have got the ICC Test Championship final now as well, so it’s been some good stuff and, hopefully, some younger individuals come up. We’ve seen it starting to develop in the Test arena.”
The SA20, South Africa’s pre-eminent franchise-based T20 competition, is now in its third season, and Pollock said it had “gone from strength to strength” in its short existence.
“Some of the activities at the ground as well, the Catch 2 Million competition this year has been added,” he said. “I know the young kids are taught ‘you’ve got to get to the ground’, because we need some money these days with the economy the way it is. But it’s definitely gone from strength to strength.
“South African cricket needed this injection – there’s no doubt about it. They needed something to create a bit of unbelievable interest in the game.”
[Cricinfo]
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