Sports
Finch:Australia’s ‘fate out of our ownhands toapoint’ followingheavydefeat toNewZealand
Aaron Finch conceded that Australia’s hopes of defending their men’s T20 World Cup title may already be out of their hands because of the huge margin of the loss to New Zealand and its impact on their net run-rate.Although the table is in its most embryonic stage after the first day of the Super 12s, Australia’s NRR is -4.450 following the 89-run hammering at the SCG, where they were bundled for 111.They had one huge blowout on their way to the title last year in the UAE when they were beaten heavily by England, but by then they had two wins on the board and had just two group matches left. So it was a shorter sprint to the line than they potentially face this time, starting with the match against Sri Lanka in Perth on Tuesday.
“That’s a big loss in the context of the tournament,” Finch said. “We were just totally outplayed in all three facets. It hurts our net run-rate… but we’re still going to be positive. I think we still back ourselves that we can win four, and you need a little bit of luck along the way in such a brutal tournament.”
Australia had little choice but to bat aggressively in their chase when faced with a target of 201, but both Finch and Mitchell Marsh fell trying to target the short boundary, which New Zealand had done to good effect, after David Warner was unlucky to be bowled via his pad and the back of the bat.
This was Australia’s fifth defeat in their last nine T20Is but Finch said there would not be a reassessment of how they go about their game. “You can’t go into a shell in T20 cricket,” he said. “You have to be able to transfer pressure back on the opposition as quick as you can, and at times that comes with risk. So you have to be prepared to wear the consequences of taking risks at times.
“We haven’t got it totally right. We’ve got to look at ourselves in that regard. But I’m still committed to playing the same way that won us the last World Cup and has given us a bit of a setback here. We’ve taken the fate out of our own hands I think, to a point. We need to be ultra-positive, ultra-aggressive, and I’m sure that we’ll all do that.”
One of the talking points when Australia were in the field was the absence of Glenn Maxwell from the attack just two days after Andrew McDonald pinpointed him as a key part of the bowling unit. Finch indicated the absence had largely been down to an unfavourable match-up with Devon Conway, who batted through the innings, which meant Marcus Stoinis bowled his full quota of four overs.
“We felt that Marcus Stoinis bowling quite a bit of pace off was working really well,” Finch said. “Devon Conway is a really good player at spin. So while he was in and he’d faced 25, 30 balls, it can be hard to stop any batter hitting to that short side. And there wasn’t any spin in the wicket in that first half of the game, so it felt it would be a little bit of a bigger risk with Devon being able to access that side. We felt as though Stoinis would be able to defend himself a little bit better.”However, Adam Zampa suggested Australia may have been slow to take pace off the ball when New Zealand were away to a flying start from Finn Allen.
“Making the right decisions earlier, it’s probably ‘do we take the pace off the second, third or fourth over just to change it up a bit’. Probably in hindsight we could have,” Zampa said. “Maxi’s a great option for us as well, think we made some poor decisions, took us a little longer to assess the conditions. You saw Tim Southee, Trent Boult in their powerplay… they just used the pitch, Tim Southee bowled off-pace really well and made it hard for us to score.” (ESPN)
The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place tomorrow (July 11, 2026), at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.
The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches, the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,
by S K SAMARANAYAKE
Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were on target as France surged past Morocco 2-0 to book their place in the World Cup semifinals.
Mbappe curled in his eighth goal of the tournament on 60 minutes on Thursday before Dembele doubled Les Bleus’ lead six minutes later to settle a clinical victory at the Gillette Stadium outside Boston.
The win sends the 2018 champions into a last-four showdown against either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.
African champions Morocco had been tipped to pose a serious threat to France’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final.
But Didier Deschamps’ men were always in control against a limited Morocco side who failed to register a single shot on goal until an 83rd-minute free-kick by Azzedine Ounahi was parried away by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
France, though, struggled to find a breakthrough, and missed the opportunity to take the lead on 28 minutes when Mbappe saw a penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Mbappe had won the penalty after being brought down by Noussair Mazraoui but was forced to wait several minutes before being allowed to take the kick after a protracted VAR check.
Morocco managed to hold out to half-time, but it was always only a matter of time before France’s relentless pressure paid off.
The breakthrough came on the hour mark, with Mbappe bending a brilliant right-foot shot past Bounou from the edge of the area.
Paris Saint-Germain star Dembele made the game safe in the 66th minute, striding forward menacingly from midfield before steering a low finish into the bottom corner.
France now await the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.
[Aljazeera]
111th Vision Care Colombo Championship
Aahil Kaleel of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and Akesha Silva of Newstead College, Negombo emerged as the boys’ and girls’ Under-18 singles champions respectively at the 111th Vision Care Colombo Championship, played on Sri Lanka Tennis Association’s clay courts.
Aahil staged a remarkable comeback in the boys’ Under-18 final to defeat Rehan Gunawardhane 1-6, 6-4, 10-5 after dropping the opening set. The S. Thomas’ player enjoyed an impressive run to the title, overpowering Dehan Wickramasinghe 6-1, 6-1 in the quarter-finals before edging Mayooran Kubheran in a thrilling semi-final 4-6, 7-5, 10-7.
In the girls’ Under-18 final, Akesha Silva was crowned champion after Sahansa Damsiluni retired while trailing 1-0. Akesha booked her place in the final with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 victory over Gethmi Fernando in the semi-finals. Her toughest challenge came in the quarter-finals, where she outlasted Sandithi Usgodaarachchi 6-3, 6-7(4), 14-12 in a marathon encounter.
Akesha Silva
In the boys’ Under-18 doubles semi-finals, Mayooran Kubheran and Ashlin de Silva defeated Ranida Ranaweera and Ashmal Mohamed 5-4, 4-1, while Methika Wickramasinghe and Jayin de Seram overcame Jamal Sabry and Lithum Jayabandu 4-1, 2-4, 10-2 to set up the championship final.
Dharmaraja and Kingswood set for historic rugby clash on Saturday
Sri Lankan singer Mariazelle Goonetilleke passes away at the age of 68
Tensions erupt in Indian state after 11-year-old raped and murdered
US and Iran trade attacks as Khamenei is buried
Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Canadian PM visits Saudi Arabia to strengthen energy, mining partnerships
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News6 days agoSingapore-based Buddhist monk marks nearly four decades of humanitarian service
-
News7 days agoFreedom 250: US Embassy celebrates America’s 250th Independence Day through magic of American cinema
-
News15 hours agoHerath warns prospective migrant workers not to get fleeced by racketeers
-
News5 days agoAI concerned over proposed SL military deployment in Haiti
-
Midweek Review3 days agoUnexpected focus on ‘pieces of tin’ worn by military men
-
Features6 days agoThe NPP’s New Challenge: Balancing Easter Lawfare and Economic Welfare
-
Latest News4 days agoNyamhuri and Ngarava stun Bangladesh by defending 141
-
News2 days agoNegombo Prison riot: Ensuring protection of prisoners fundamental responsibility of the state – UN