Sports
Ahan, Kawshitha crack big knocks
by Reemus Fernando
Ahan Wickramasinghe and Kawshitha Kodithuwakku cracked blistering knocks as Royal, Mahinda, St. Thomas’, Matara, St. Anthony’s, Wattala and St. Peter’s registered victories in the Under-19 Division I Limited Overs tournament Tier ‘A’ and ‘B’ matches on Saturday.
Ahan Wickramasinghe scored unbeaten 92 runs to set the stage for Royal to record six runs victory over Gurukula in 31-overs a side encounter at Reid Avenue.
Wickramasinghe put on unbroken 110 runs stand for the fourth wicket with Kavindu Pathirathne as Royal amassed 210 runs in their allotted 31 overs.
In reply, Gurukula had their skipper Kemira Nayanatharu and Sajitha Chamod scoring quick fire knocks to take the match to the wire.
Wickramasinghe, who top scored with 92 runs for Royal is the leading scorer of the Tier ‘A’ tournament as he has accumulated over 200 runs in two matches.
Kodithuwakku’s 97 runs, inclusive of nine fours and five sixes, laid the foundation for Mahinda to reach a target of 231 runs with five overs to spare.
While half centuries by Hirantha Jayasinghe and Harindu Jayasekara helped St. Thomas’ Matara beat St. Anne’s by six wickets, Nipunaka Fonseka and Vinuda Liyanage scored half centuries in St. Peter’s 125 runs win over Dharmaraja.
Meanwhile, in traditional encounters St. Sebastian’s and St. Joseph’s earned first innings honours.
Results
Tier ‘A’
Royal win by six runs at Reid Avenue
Royal
210 for 3 in 31 overs (Uvindu Weerasekara 19, Ahan Wickramasinghe 92n.o., Kavindu Pathirathne 53n.o., Sadisha Rajapaksha 22)
Gurukula
204 for 8 in 31 overs (Neluka Heshan 28, Rashmika Mevan 33, Sithija Chamod 47, Kemira Nayanatharu 50; Sonal Amarasekara 2/42, Gishan Balasooriya 3/33)
St. Thomas’ beat St. Anne’s by six wickets at Kurunegala
St. Anne’s
155 all out in 47.1 overs (Risitha Perera 66, Thrimalsha Silva 21; Sachira Rashmika 4/16)
St. Thomas’
156 for 4 in 45.2 overs (Hirantha Jayasinghe 60n.o., Harindu Jayasekara 58)
Mahinda beat Thurstan by three wickets at Galle
Thurstan
230 all out in 50 overs (Dananja Silva 37, Bawantha Jayasinghe 71, Punthila Kumara 21, Lakmal Perera 19; Subanu Rajapaksha 3/34, Navod Paranavithana 3/36, Kushan Madusha 2/40)
Mahinda
231 for 7 in 44.5 overs (Kawshitha Kodithuwakku 97, Dhanuja Induwara 21, Sandew Induwara 27, Navod Paranavithana 19, Rashmika Madushanka 19; Upul Hettiarachchi 5/35)
St. Peter’s beat Dharmaraja by 125 runs at Bambalapitiya
St. Peter’s
265 for 7 in 50 overs (Shanuka Galagoda 24, Shanshay Gunathilaka 39, Nipunaka Fonseka 63, Lahiru Chethaka 35, Vinuda Liyanage 64n.o.; Sadeepa Rathnayaka 2/81, Upendra Warnakulasuriya 2/41)
Dharmaraja
140 for 8 in 50 overs (Pulindu Perera 61; Chamelker de Silva 3/15)
St. Anthony’s beat Devapathiraja by five wickets at Galle
Devapathiraja
207 all out in 49.1 overs ss(Jeewaka Shasheen 73, Sasanka Nirmal 23, Matheesha Saranga 19; Gihan Sathmika 2/14, Shan Aniketh 2/31)
St. Anthony’s
211 for 5 in 38.2 overs (Gihan Sathmika 50, Romesh Suranga 44, Avishka Tharindu 43n.o., Sadun Rexmotiar 29, Kaveesha Dulanjana 19; Chaminda Sandaruwan 4/42)
Traditional Matches
St. Joseph’s V Wesley at Campbell Park
St. Joseph’s
223 for 2 overnight 319 for 4 decl. in 80.3 overs (Shevon Daniel 164, Sheran Fonseka 73, Yesith Rupasinghe 55; Thenuka Perera 2/50) and 45 for 1 in 15.1 overs (Dinal Anuradha 26)
Wesley
156 all out in 66.5 overs (Sahil Dias 39, Anudith Wickramasinghe 23; Dunith Wellalage 6/56, Lahiru Amarasekara 2/46)
St. Sebastian’s V Richmond at Moratuwa
St. Sebastian’s
166 all out in 82 overs (Bihanga Mendis 31, Sukitha Prasanna 17, Sandesh Fernando 42; Amshi de Silva 2/49, Tharinda Nirmal 3/34, Nalaka Jayawardana 2/36) and 152 for 5 in 36.5 overs (Yashan Avishka 36, Sukitha Prasanna 62, Chakila Perera 20n.o.; Amshi de Silva 2/15, Kavindu Nirmana 2/16)
Richmond
8for no loss overnight 97 all out in 36.1overs (Bhanuka Manohara 24, Chehan Subasingha 23; Crishan Fernando 3/15, Kalana Sandeepa 3/21) and 71 for 1 in 28 overs (Bhanuka Manohara 29n.o., Thamindu Pradeeptha 26 n.o.)
An ODI between Canada and Netherlamds in King City Toronto on Tuesday was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. The fixture was part of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 competition, which is part of the qualification pathway for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The match was abandoned just 4.1 overs into the Netherlands innings after they had chosen to bat. They were 15 for 1, with Max O’Dowd the batter dismissed for a duck in the second over. The pitch had uneven bounce and the batters were struck several times during the short passage of play.
On June 12, four days before the abandoned match, the ICC had issued a statement saying the pitch at King City that was used for an ODI between USA and the Netherlands on June 8 had been given an “unsatisfactory” rating and one demerit point.
“This was a pitch that fell below the standard expected for this level of cricket,” match referee Phil Thompson had said about the surface for the USA-Netherlands match. “Both captains expressed disappointment with how it turned out, and the match officials assessed it as ‘very poor’. The inconsistent bounce created challenging and potentially unsafe playing conditions. Taking all factors into consideration, I believe the pitch merits an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating.”
According to the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process, pitches that get an “unsatisfactory” rating will be given one demerit point, while an “unfit” pitch rating will result in three demerit points for the venue. Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period, and an accumulation of six demerit points will result in the venue being suspended from hosting international matches for 12 months (12 demerit points will lead to a 24-month ban).
(Cricinfo)
Joshua Da Silva and Amir Jangoo have earned recalls to West Indies’ squad for the two-match World Test Championship series at home against Sri Lanka starting later this month, while the two Josephs, Alzarri and Shamar, are back after missing the tours of India and New Zealand late last year because of injuries.
Trevin Imalch had kept wicket when West Indies last played Test cricket, in New Zealand last December, but Da Silva, 33 Test matches old, has returned after scoring 996 runs across the last two seasons of the West Indies Championship. Imlach, who failed with the bat in New Zealand with a total of 81 runs across six innings – after scoring 33 runs in his only Test in India – has been named captain of a West Indies Select XI to play the Sri Lankans in a tour match in Coolidge from June 18 to 21. Roston Chase will continue to captain the Test side.
West Indies vs Sri Lanka Tests
Jangoo, dropped after only one Test appearance, in Multan in January 2025, where he scored 0 and 30, has returned to the side following a fruitful WI Championship in which he scored 411 runs in seven innings. He finished second on the scorers’ table there, only behind Da Silva, who scored 413 in seven outing. The highlight of Jangoo’s season was the 203 not out he scored for Trinidad & Tobago against Leeward Islands
The pair of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, meanwhile, last played Test cricket during the home series against Australia in mid-2025.”Every Test series is an opportunity for us to grow as a team and strengthen our identity,” Darren Sammy, the head coach, said in a Cricket West Indies statement. “Sri Lanka are a quality side, so we know we’ll have to be at our best, but we’re excited about the challenge ahead.”For us, it’s about playing with discipline, showing character when the game gets tough, and representing the West Indies with pride. The players have been putting in the work, and we’re looking forward to putting on a strong display for our fans across the Caribbean.”
Some of the squad members are currently participating in a high-performance training camp in Antigua, which began on June 12 and will run till June 22. The members of the Test squad who were also part of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka – West Indies lost the ODIs and won the T20Is – will join the camp on June 15. The Tests will be played in North Sound from June 25 to 29 and July 3 to 7.
“This is a key component of our preparations heading into the series, providing players and coaches with valuable time to enhance and improve the skills we want to see sharpened, based on the areas we need to focus our attention on when facing this opponent,” Sammy said about the camp. “It also gives us the opportunity to put clear objectives and plans in place for the conclusion of the summer against Pakistan.
“Additionally, the four-day warm-up game prior to the series provides the chance for some of our Test hopefuls to play in high-intensity action and create the avenue for more competition within the squad ahead of the upcoming and future series.”
West Indies are currently bottom of the nine-team WTC table, having lost seven of their eight games in the ongoing cycle.
West Indies squad for Test series against Sri Lanka
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