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A laughing stock

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by Rex Clementine

We were a nation that reinvented how the one-day game was played. Our players were so skilful that they dominated the sport particularly in the white ball formats. Many are the careers that Sanath Jayasuriya ended with his brutal hitting. Many were the games that ended before noon after Chaminda Vaas ran through the top order. Many were the series that Sri Lanka won with a game to spare and then half a dozen seniors were rested for the dead rubber blooding in some promising youngsters. Today, England, the perennial underachievers in limited overs cricket are giving us a taste of our own medicine.

Not even during the nation’s formative years in the sport in 1980s, Sri Lanka suffered such ignominious defeats. Losing is part of the game, but what has been worrying is the manner in which Sri Lanka lost, unable to find the boundary in the Power Plays and unable to bat out the full quota of 20 overs. Surely, a school team would show more character and courage than this.

To make matters worse, the players are adamant that they will not sign central contracts. Four of them who were supposed to attend a residential training camp in Dambulla ahead of the India series were sent home on Saturday for their stubbornness.

England are the defending champions in the 50 over game and world’s number one ranked team in the 20 over format, not many fans expected Kusal Perera’s side return victorious when they went to UK. But at least, it was expected the team will put up a fight. The batting display they put up throughout the series was shocking to say the least. In England, you expect a team to improve on their batting performances as they spend more time on tour. Sri Lankan batting went on the reverse faring worse every game.

Batting has been a concern for some time now no doubt. There have been various excuses given over the last six months but it is tough to imagine how Grant Flower, the Batting Coach, will survive this debacle. When put under pressure, the options that the batsmen took were simply no good.

What’s more shocking is that coaches like Mickey Arthur and Tom Moody, who have been in the business for long enough now have failed to address tactical issues. The buck, however, should not stop with Flower, Arthur or Moody. We need to take a serious look at things.

Oshada Fernando has been one of our best finds in the last five years. But for god’s sake, he’s a solid Test match player. Why on earth would you expect him to convert his Test match successes in the T-20 format? The excuse that’s going to be given is that Oshada came in only because Avishka Fernando was injured. That’s correct but should you not have enough T-20 cricketers as back up especially now that you are carrying an extended squad.

To add insult to injury, Oshada was coming in when the Power Play was on. Now this is an area that you have been badly exposed earlier in the series and should you be not sending in someone who can clear the boundary? Sri Lanka played a brand of cricket making most of the fielding restrictions two and half decades ago. Today, our players are struggling to find the boundary. For Sanath Jayasuriya, hitting five boundaries in an over was something that he did frequently. Today, our entire team put together is not able to hit six boundaries in 20 overs.

It was clearly evident that Oshada did not belong there. Into the bargain, he’s also an average fielder and a poor runner between the wickets. Another person who doesn’t belong in T-20 format is Dhananjaya de Silva. Surely, we have seen enough of these players to know that in what format they are good at. But how come the decision makers aren’t so sure of these?

When Bhanuka Rajapaksa gets his act together and passes the fitness tests, Sri Lanka will have lesser headaches perhaps. Another guy who has to be seriously looked at for the T-20 format is Sadeera Samarawickrama. His attitude, work ethic and skill set were so good when he toured India and UAE in 2017. But ever since, he has not got a look in.

Here are some of the bigger issues that need to be addressed by all concerned. When the system was given a shake up with as many as six seniors axed from the white ball team, it was a welcome move as change was long overdue. However, the choice of captain was rather perplexing. Now, KJP is one of the nicest guys you will find in cricket. He minds his own business and not a social media warrior which most of our young players are. But he’s also an introvert. You have taken the tough decision of axing all your senior players, but then, how come you give flimsy reasons like that KJP is the only guy who is sure of a place in the side when handing him the captaincy? At one point you are being bold and few minutes later you are extra cautious.

Surely, there’s Dasun Shanaka who dethroned Pakistan as world’s number one ranked team in T-20s not so long ago. Why wasn’t he given the job back? Mysterious indeed. The first thing that KJP does after being appointed captain is to say that he is going to keep wickets. That put Niroshan Dickwella out of the side. Now, we are told that Dickwella was offered a top contract because he features in all three formats. Are these people taking us for a ride?

There are many changes that have happened in cricket and some of them are welcoming moves. But something that authorities are unable to do is changing the domestic structure. The moment we say this, the clubs are on war path. They treat the press like the plague. Provincial or club cricket, our elite domestic tournament can’t have two dozen teams. The rot started there. It was increased to please member clubs in 2016. Since then, our cricket has suffered new lows.



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

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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]

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

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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]

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

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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

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