Sports
Pathirana, Akram blow away Gulf Giants with three-fers
A day ahead of the IPL auction, Matheesha Pathirana bagged a three-fer as Sharjah Warriorz scripted their second win of the season. The Sri Lankan ended with figures of 4-1-19-3 as the Warriorz restricted the Gulf Giants to 163 for 9, who were in pursuit of the target of 175. Wasim Akram too picked up a three-wicket haul (3-34) while Tom Abell did the bulk of the scoring for the Warriorz with 68 off 41 in the first innings to bring up a competitive score on the board.
With the Warriorz being put in to bat, Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s struggles in the ILT20 continued, dismissed cheaply for six by Fred Klaasen, with his first ball in the ILT20. Johnson Charles hit two boundaries off Matthew Forde but holed out to long-on in the last over of the PowerPlay. This was sandwiched by Abell smashing back-to-back sixes and a four off Klaasen for 19 runs in the fifth over.
Abell and James Rew then put on 71 runs together. They targeted the spin of Liam Dawson and Moeen Ali, finding regular boundaries, before Abell brought up his 50 off 32 balls. He also played a beautiful stroke inside-out over extra-cover for a maximum. He then fell to Aayan Khan holing out to deep mid-wicket. Couple of overs later,`Rew was bowled by Chris Wood as Dwaine Pretorius joined Sikandar Raza each other at the crease. The South African took 16 runs off Forde in the 18th over before hitting two boundaries off Wood. Pretorius’ cameo of 28 off 13 came to an end off the last ball when he was run-out.
In reply, Rahmanullah Gurbaz got a reprieve in the first over when Ethan D’Souza dropped him off Taskin Ahmed. Wasim Akram got the in-form Pathum Nissanka for a low score of three. Gurbaz got hold off Taskin for a four and a six in his following over but got the key wicket of James Vince for a duck. Gurbaz continued to find the boundaries but the Giants continued to lose wickets with Mayers falling to Akram. It got worse for the Giants as three balls later, Pathirana castled the dangerous Gurbaz with an off-cutter to leave the Giants 38 for 4 in 4.3 overs.
Moeen (45) and Azmatullah Omarzai (41) then put on 79 runs together across the next 10 overs to bring the Giants back into the contest. Just when the partnership began to look threatening, Akram picked up his third with that of Omarzai. One brought two, as Pathirana got Forde to miscue a pull which was pocketed by Rew. Pretorius picked up Asif Khan as the Giants continued to tumble. Pathirana sealed the final nail in the coffin with the wicket of Moeen before the Giants finished on 163 for 9 in their allotted overs.
Brief Scores:
Sharjah Warriorz
174 for 6 in 20 overs (Tom Abell 68, James Rew 33; Chris Wood 2-26, Aayan Khan 1-22) beat Gulf Giants 163 for 9 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 45, Azmatullah Omarzai 41; Matheesha Pathirana 3-19, Wasim Akram 3-34) by 11 runs
(Cricbuzz)
Sri Lanka Cricket have appointed Ramakrishnan Sridhar as the national team’s fielding coach, with his tenure set to run until the completion of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup in March next year.
A BCCI Level 3 qualified coach, Sridhar previously served as India’s men’s team fielding coach from 2014 to 2021. More recently, he served as a consultant coach with the Afghanistan team. He will now turn his attention to improving Sri Lanka’s fielding standards, working closely with the squad on the upcoming tours of Pakistan and England before overseeing preparations for the T20 World Cup.
“Sri Lankan players have always stood for instinctive brilliance, resilience, and collective spirit,” Sridhar was quoted as saying by an SLC release. “My role is not to impose a system, but to nurture an environment where athleticism, awareness, and pride in the field can grow naturally.”
Sridhar is already familiar with the Sri Lankan setup, having conducted a 10-day specialised fielding programme at the National High Performance Centre earlier this year. “Fielding thrives when players feel connected to the ball, to each other, and to the moment,” he added.
“Sri Lanka’s traditional strengths – quick hands, sharp reflexes, and fearless intent, can be further enhanced by creating realistic, game-like learning environments.” [Cricbuzz]
Venura Kaveethra excelled with a good double as Mahanama ended day one in a strong position in the Under 19 Division I cricket tournament match against Lumbini at Mattegoda on Wednesday.
Kaveethra shared seven wickets with paceman Geeth Sandaruwan to rattle Lumbini for a mere 63 runs and later put on a partnership of 118 runs for the fourth wicket with Sithum Vihanga.
Vihanga top scored with 82 runs while Kaushika Thilakarathne made 60.
Mahanama dominate at Mattegoda
Scores
Lumbini 63 all out in 25.2 overs (Venura Kaveethra 4/17, Geeth Sandaruwan 3/31, Thaviru Perera 2/07)
Mahanama
228 for 4 in 41 overs (Sithum Vihanga 82, Kaushika Thilakarathne 60, Venura Kaveethra 39n.o., Sanul Weerarathne 24; Mihisara Weerasinghe 2/53)
DSS post 234 for seven wickets at DSS ground against Richmond
Scores
DSS 234 for 7 in 72 overs (Mayuru Bandara 22, Janindu Ranasinghe 23, Shevan Menusha 68, Randisha Bandaranayake 41, Haamid Afdhal 27n.o., Chithum Baddage 25n.o. ; Minage Ariyadasa 2/63, Tenush Nimsara 2/65)
St. Sebastian’s 93 for 3 against Trinity at Asgiriya
Scores
St. Sebastians’ 93 for 3 in 41.5 overs (Kaveesha Perera 48n.o.)
by Reemus Fernando
Former fast bowler Pramodya Wickremasinghe will head Sri Lanka’s new national selection committee, which picks both men’s and women’s senior squads. Also in the committee are former cricketers Vinothan John, Indika de Saram, Rasanjali de Alwis and Tharanga Paranavithana.
While the committee headed by Upul Tharanga is now defunct, there is some continuity for this fresh committee, with Paranavitana and de Saram also having served under Tharanga. Wickramasinghe has been chief selector before – between 2021 and 2023 – with Sri Lanka men’s poor performance in the 2023 World Cup prompting his removal. He was also part of a selection committee headed by Sanath Jayasuriya – now head coach – between 2013 and 2015.
The change in selectors was announced by Sri Lanka’s sports ministry. SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva said the board had been involved in the process. Sri Lanka’s Sports Law dictates that such appointments go through the sports ministry.
“Sri Lanka Cricket sends a list of about ten names to the ministry, and they have chosen from that,” de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “There is no term as such. The appointment is until further notice.”
De Silva also said that the Tharanga-led committee had simply come to the end of its term. Internally, there had been no push towards extending their term until the end of the men’s T20 World Cup in February and March. In fact, it had been a little over three weeks ago that Tharanga suggested captain Charith Asalanka may be replaced in the coming weeks. That decision now passes to the new committee, whose first major assignment will be to select the World Cup squad.
All five members of this new committee have represented Sri Lanka at the highest level. Both Paranavitana and de Saram played domestic cricket into this decade. John is the oldest selector among them, having played his last match for Sri Lanka in 1987.
[Cricinfo]
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