Sports
Cricket’s future in good hands says Under-19 coach Mubarak
by Rex Clementine
Sri Lanka’s Under-19s completed a tour of England last week where they played two unofficial Test matches and three one-dayers. While the Sri Lankans triumphed in the Test series, they lost all three limited over games. The tour highlighted several promising young talents and gave players a taste of what playing cricket in other conditions meant. Some of the younger members of the squad were getting out of the country for the first time and it was a whole new experience for them.
All three limited over games were closely contested and were won by England. Sri Lanka had wanted to give all the players they had taken on tour a game so in a way, they were handicapped as the full strength didn’t feature in these games.
“We were in the game on all three occasions. It was hard with all the rain as we didn’t know what a good score was. Not disappointed with the way we played though. Spirit of the team was very good and lot of positives to take from the tour,” Jehan Mubarak, who was on his first assignment as Sri Lanka Under-19 coach told The Island.
“What I would say is that everyone we took on the tour are equally talented. Some might develop at the under-19 stage while some others develop when they start playing club cricket. There are also players who develop when they are 25. Ranuda Somaratne is right up there among the players who impressed us. Anjala Bandara batted really well too pulling us out of tough situations and enabling us to post competitive totals during the one-dayers. The other wicketkeeper, Lahiru Dewatage, who kept in Tests also did well. Trevin Mathew has a lot of potential. Malsha Tarupathi and Duvindu Ranatunga, the two young guys, I see them playing a big part as well moving forward. They are still 16 and they will be available for the next World Cup.”
“Asitha Wanninayake looks a very good long format player with good temperament and ability to bat for a long period of time. Shevon Daniel scored an outstanding hundred in Derby that enabled us to get into a strong position. I expected him to do much better in the one-dayers but that didn’t happen.”
The standout performer among the players was Ranuda Somaratne, who smashed 65 and 120 not out in the first Test at Chelmsford. The Trinity College batter also posted two half-centuries in the one-day leg of the tour. Somaratna’s approach in the second innings of Chelmsford was impressive as Sri Lanka slumped to 48 for four in pursuit of 273 runs in 59 overs.
“The main thing was his intent and strike rotations. When you are chasing totals, it’s important to put the opposition under pressure. If the opposition doesn’t have to worry about boundaries, they won’t; mind it. Ranuda kept the pressure on England bowlers by picking up boundaries. The moment the target fell below 100, England went on the defensive spreading the field. The way Ranuda batted impacted how everyone else batted.”
The final week of the year is like a Roman feast for the Test cricket fan, and Boxing Day this year promises mouth-watering contests in Melbourne and Centurion but look this way too, will you? Bulawayo is set to host Zimbabwe’s first Boxing Day Test 8n 28 years too, and with unpredictable Afghanistan on the other side, a real tussle is expected between the two teams, who despite their recent underwhelming performances, would feel like they’re favourites. After all, the last time either side won a Test was against each other.
But that was way back 8n 2021. Since then, they have not found a way to win. And one look at the Zimbabwe and Afghanistan squads for this two-Test series suggests that they’re both looking to change that by taking a different direction for 2025 and beyond. A splattering of Test debutants are expected – theoretically, there could be as many 15 debuts across the two XIs – and this series could very well be the one that births a new generation.
Under 19 Cricket
by Reemus Fernando
Mahinda College, Galle took firm control of their two-day Under 19 Division I Tier ‘B’ cricket encounter as they reached 213 for nine wickets at stumps after restricting Moratu Vidyalaya to 96 runs at Galle on Wednesday.
After Arosha Udayanga grabbed five wickets to trouble the visitors, the home team topped 200 runs thanks to a century by open batsman Dulsith Darshana and a half century by Senuka Dangamuwa.
While Darshana scored 13 fours and a six in his 106 which came in 143 balls, Dangamuwa hammered nine fours and a six in his 50 which came in 51 balls.
Mahinda are in search of their first outright victory in the tournament proper after having earned first innings points in two out of the three matches in their group.
Moratu Vidyalaya too have completed three matches and have scored first innings points on one occasion.
Scores
Moratu Vidyalaya
96 all out in 45.2 overs (Sanjana Senavirathna 31, Shehara Fernando 20; Arosha Udayanga 5/35)
Mahinda
213 for 9 in 52 overs (Dulsith Darshana 106, Senuka Dangamuwa 50; Isuru Nidharshana 2/64, Nishitha Fernando 5/45)
by Reemus Fernando
Sri Lanka Athletics has suspended track and field official S. W. Nimalsiri for four years after a three member committee appointed by the sports governing body found him guilty of manhandling leading athletic official G.L.S. Perera within the Sri Lanka Athletics premises in Torrington.
“The executive committee of Sri Lanka Athletics decided to hand Nimalsiri a four year suspension after the three member committee concluded that he was guilty of manhandling the respected official,” Saman Kumara Gunawardhana, the secretary of Sri Lanka Athletics told The Island.
At the time of the suspension Nimalairi was a committee member of Sri Lanka Athletics and is the president of the Ace Athletics Club and secretary of the Colombo District Athletics Association.
The three member committee that inquired the incident involving Nimalairi and Perera was headed by retired district court judge Upali Samaraweera. Others in the committee were former director of sports Padma Siriwardana and disciplinary committee chairman of Sri Lanka Athletics Chandana Ekanayake.
Nimalsiri has also been suspended from officiating in track and field competitions.
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