Sports
Batting woes a concern ahead of World Cup
Comment
by Rex Clementine
The curtain-raiser of cricket’s showpiece event gets underway today in Ahmedabad, a venue where Michael Tissera helped Ceylon record a four wicket win over an Indian side captained by Tiger Pataudi in 1965 in an unofficial Test match. More than half a century later, Sri Lanka are yet to win a Test match in India. We have much to learn from Tissera’s leadership qualities. As a captain, he took risks and treated everyone equal. Many years later as Chairman of Selectors, he was broad-minded.
If not for Tissera, Aravinda de Silva would have never played the 2003 World Cup. Tissera’s predecessors had given Aravinda the cold shoulder and he was out of the equation.
When Tissera began his stint as Chief Selector, he simply called Aravinda and said a place in the World Cup team is up for grabs provided he got fitter and leaner. In some six weeks, Aravinda lost 12 kilos. The rest they say is history. Those flicked sixes off Brett Lee, the fastest bowler in the world, at Centurion are etched in our memories forever.
Twenty years later we wish that we had men of Tissera’s wisdom, who challenged players, but did not sideline them totally.
Half a dozen seniors were kicked out from the white ball team as the selectors embarked on an aggressive youth policy two years ago. While that policy has enabled us to identify young players like Chairth Asalanka and Pathum Nissanka, the ideal mixture for an event like the World Cup is a mixture of youth and experience.
How often have we seen that the Sri Lankan team not being able to bat out the 50 overs. Even after a fine knock by Kusal Menids Tuesday night, the team still failed to bat out the 50 overs. You are not going to compete in a place like India where you will get flat decks unless you post in excess of 300 batting first.
The issue the team is faced with is that we do not have any finishers capable of clearing the boundary towards the tail end of the innings. Captain Dasun Shanaka’s extended bad patch is continuing and you suspect that his limitations as an ODI cricketer have been well and truly exposed.
We have addressed some of the issues by bringing in Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne to bat through the innings and if he performs his role, then Sri Lanka will last 50 overs. But since of late, it seems his priorities have changed and he’s trying to keep pace with the strike rate.
As for the finishing, we need to ask the question whether letting go Thisara Perera was a wise decision. Players like Thisara are a rare find and when they come along you need to nurture them. True, Thisara had a few issues including troubles with fitness but there were ways to get the best out of him rather than simply ignoring him. Michael Tissera would have perhaps given us a few tips on how to handle someone like Thisara.
Angelo Mathews is another player who should have been in the World Cup squad given his experience and match winning abilities. But a continuous winning streak during the World Cup Qualifiers and a slot in the finals of the Asia Cup made some to believe everything was heading in the right direction.
On wickets that assists spin, Sri Lanka look quite formidable, but on flat decks, their deficiencies have been exposed, badly.
Having said that, now that a squad has been picked, as a nation we need to back them. One thing is for sure. This is a far better squad than what they selected for the last World Cup in 2019. Jeevan Mendis making a guest appearance having not played an ODI in more than four years and Jeffrey Vandersay coming in out of the blues having not played an ODI for more than two years were atrocious. Mind you they were picked for English conditions. This time around, we didn’t have those dramas.
[Cricbuzz]
Former Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur has voiced disappointment over remarks made by Chairman of Selectors Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who last week claimed that Arthur was reluctant to include a young Pathum Nissanka during Sri Lanka’s tour of the Caribbean in 2021.
In his first media briefing, Wickramasinghe said it was he who pushed for Nissanka’s inclusion despite Arthur’s reservations. The former coach has flatly denied the allegation, calling it wide of the mark.
“I am very disappointed with Pramodya’s comments,” Arthur told Telecom Asia Sport. “The right people know exactly how I felt about Pathum. There was never any doubt that he was our future. I don’t want any credit for Pathum’s success. That belongs entirely to his hard work. I simply gave him an opportunity because the talent was impossible to ignore.”
Arthur said Nissanka’s domestic form had left little room for debate. “He was scoring runs for fun and the sheer weight of them made it impossible not to take a look. Once he joined the squad on tour, his attitude and work ethic were truly remarkable. From that moment, there was no doubt this bloke was going places,” Arthur added.
Even before Nissanka’s elevation to the senior side, Arthur had publicly spoken of his admiration for young prospects such as Nissanka and Charith Asalanka, stressing the importance of giving emerging players a long rope. His view was simple: once talent is identified and the attitude checks out, selectors and team management must back those players through thick and thin.
Arthur arrived in Sri Lanka with a formidable résumé, having coached South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. He placed a premium on fitness and fielding and under his watch a team in transition began to show signs of turning the corner. At the end of his tenure, Arthur opted not to renew his contract and instead took up a stint in English county cricket with Derbyshire.
As for Nissanka, he has scarcely put a foot wrong since breaking into the side. There was a Test hundred on debut in the West Indies, followed last year by a match-winning unbeaten century against England at The Oval on a lively seaming pitch. In between, he made history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in ODIs. Last week, he was snapped up by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction.
Nissanka is currently ranked third in T20 internationals and is knocking on the door of the top ten in both Tests and ODIs.
73rd National Badminton Championship
Defending champions Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage made a fitting end to their campaigns of the 2025 season, by defending the Men’s and Women’s Open Singles titles as Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige clinched the Women’s Open Doubles title at the 73rd National Badminton Championship, concluded at the S. Thomas’ College Indoor Sports Complex, Mount Lavinia on Wednesday (24).
Viren clinically overcame each of his opponents from the Round of 32, all in straight sets, to reach the final. The country’s top Men’s Singles shuttler continued his form against Rasindu Hendahewa in the final, winning in straight sets to defend the title. Viren defeated Rasindu 21-10 and 21-14 to win his second national title in style.
Ranithma aptly defended her Women’s Open Singles title by recording a comfortable straight sets win against Rashmi Mudalige in an absorbing final that lasted nearly 45 minutes. Though the title decider stretched way longer than anticipated, Ranithma managed to seal the victory by recording set wins of 21-12 and 21-18 to claim the national title for the second year running.
Fourth seed pair Sanuda Ariyasinghe and Thisath Rupathunga created an upset by toppling top seeds Oshamika Karunarathne and Thulith Palliyaguru in a lengthy final that went down to the wire in the Men’s Open Doubles. Sanuda and Thisath won the first set 21-15, but the top pair bounced back to level the game one-all with a 21-18 win. But the gritty pair of Sanuda and Thisath maintained their composure to overcome the favourites 21-15 in the decider and claim the Men’s Open Doubles title.
Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige completed a successful campaign to defend the Women’s Open Doubles title from last year, this time overcoming the aspiring pair of Dilni Ambalangodage and Ranumi Manage in straight sets. Varangana and Rashmi remained unbeaten throughout, as they ended the unblemished run of Dilni and Ranumi with set wins of 21-13 and 21-18.
The Mixed Open Doubles title was claimed by Thulith Palliyaguru and Panchali Adhikari, who battled for 45 minutes to overcome Aashinsa Herath and Rashmi Mudalige 2-1 in the final. After conceding the first set by 12-21, Thulith and Panchali regrouped to claim the next two sets 21-18 and 21-15.
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