Sports
Back-to-back wins give Holy Cross chance to avoid relegation scares
by Reemus Fernando
Holy Cross College, Kalutara registered back-to-back outright victories to have hopes of avoiding relegation scares as the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘B’ tournament enters the decisive phase.
Holy Cross recorded victories against Dharmasoka and Zahira in their last two encounters to improve their position in the Tier ‘B’ points table. They also scored first innings points against Ananda after conceding defeats at the hands of Thurstan and Lumbini.
Holy Cross beat Zahira by ten wickets at Maradana after pulling off three wickets victory against Dharmasoka at Bandaragama.
Holy Cross were ranked among the last four teams before the outright victories elevated them to the fifth position in the nine-team group.
However, there is no room for error as they have just two more matches remaining in the league. With the last four teams in each group having to play a relegation tournament all teams ranked among the last four will be eager to do better during the last couple of matches.
While Zahira (9th) are the lowest ranked team in Group ‘X’ of Tier ‘B’, Dharmasoka(8th) are ranked just one position above Zahira. Ananda (7th) and St. Aloysius’ (6th) are the other lowly ranked teams.
In Group ‘Y’ Dharmapala(9th) are the lowest placed team. St. Sylvester’s (8th) who have three more matches are ranked one place above them. St. Sebastian’s College (7th), Katuneriya and Devapathiraja College(6th), Ratgama are the other teams in the last four rankings in that group.
According to tournament rules, the last four teams in each group in the Tier ‘B’ tournament will have to play relegation matches. The four losing teams will be relegated to Division II.
Virat Kohli has communicated his desire to retire from Test cricket to the BCCI ahead of the big five-match series in England starting June 20, for which he is expected to be a part of the squad. ESPNcricinfo understands that Kohli has been having these conversations with officials of the BCCI for the past month or so.
If Kohli doesn’t change his mind, he will bring the curtain down on a glorious career that has spanned 14 years and included 123 Tests – 68 of them as captain – in which he has 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.
But it hasn’t been a particularly fruitful time in the format for Kohli of late. When he scored 100 not out in the Perth Test in November 2024, it was his first century in Tests since July 2023 (against West Indies in Port of Spain), and his average, 55.10 at its peak after he scored his career best of 254 not out vs South Africa in Pune in 2019, has been 32.56 over the last 24 months.
(Cricinfo)
The remainder of PSL 2025 has been postponed indefinitely. The PCB cited the “worsening of the situation” at the Pakistan-India border as the reason, saying the board had acted on advice from the Pakistan prime minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The board said it had “sincere regard for the mental well-being of participating players and the sentiments of our foreign players, and we respect the concerns of their families who want to see them back home” and that was considered when making the decision.
The development came less than 24 hours after the PCB had announced that the remaining eight games of the PSL would be played in the UAE, without specifying the dates or the venues, with the expectation that it would take about a week to resume.
Overseas players as well as Pakistani players who currently hold visas to the UAE were scheduled to leave on Friday night, with the remaining visas being applied for over the weekend. That, however, has changed, and the teams have begun disbanding with immediate effect, with travel back home being arranged for foreign players.
There is no word yet on when, or if, the remaining games will be played. The postponement came hours after the IPL was temporarily suspended owing to the tensions between the two countries.
The PSL held an emergency meeting in Islamabad on Thursday, and involved the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi meeting with foreign players, who overwhelmingly expressed a desire to relocate the league to the UAE.
“The PCB recognises the efforts and support of its partners, franchises, participating players, broadcasters, sponsors, and organisers in having ensured the smooth conduct of the tournament thus far, however; cricket while being a unifying force and a source of joy, must take a respectful pause…” the PCB statement said.
[Cricinfo]
World Relays 2025
A ‘full strength Sri Lanka 4×400 metres mixed relay team’ will compete against formidable European powerhouses when they take part in the first heat of the relay on day one of the World Relays in Guangzhou, China on Saturday.
“We will field our best four for the heats,” said W.M.G. Thushara, the mamager cum coach of the Sri Lanka team in an interview with The Island after reaching Guangzhou yesterday.
There is one junior athlete in the six member team but Sri Lankan authorities have decided to field the full strength team in the heats.
“It will be Nadeesha Ramanayake, Nishendra Fernando, Kalinga Kumarage and Aruna Dharshana as we are planning to produce our best performace,” Thushara said.
Ramanayake, Kumarage and Dharshana were part of the team that established a new national record in the mixed relay at the Asian Athletics Championship in 2023. Only missing member from that team is Tharushi Karunaratne.
Sri Lanka team will compete in the first heat where Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany and hosts China are the others. The first two from the heats will directly qualify for the World Relays and also the World Championships to be held in Tokyo.
Sri Lanka fielded only the mixed relay team for the World Relays despite the men’s 4×400 team qualifying for the event. The World Relays starting today is the main qualifying competition for relay events at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
by Reemus Fernando
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