Sports
Capsey the mainstay as England close out ‘scrappy’ 37-run win
Alice Capsey set the foundations by finding her 50-over form with the bat before England’s spin twins, Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean sealed a “scrappy” victory for the hosts in their opening ODI against Pakistan in Derby.
Pakistan’s search for an ODI win over England continues after this, their 13th match, which England won by 37 runs with two more games to come, at Taunton on Sunday and Chelmsford on Wednesday.
Capsey top-scored with 44, her ODI career-best, as England set a victory target of 244 for Pakistan, who had never scored more than 209 in the format against England, although they gave that a nudge, finishing on 206 for 9 as England failed to finish the game off when they had their opponents on the ropes.
Capsey’s innings broke a run of six in ODIs where she had failed to pass 6 and followed scores of 5, 31 and 1 during the T20I series with Pakistan, which England swept 3-0.
Pakistan were well in the contest through the first powerplay but struggled against the spin of Ecclestone and Dean – who claimed five wickets between them – in a win Heather Knight, England’s captain, described at the presentation as “scrappy”. Seamers Lauren Bell and Kate Cross finished with two wickets apiece.
After being put in to bat, England had a number of moderate contributors, as they did through the first two T20Is, with Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver-Brunt making it into the 30s but failing to kick on. Capsey – the player of the match in Northampton with 31 and two wickets – threatened to do just that here after overturning an lbw decision off Dar when she was on 35. But she hung her head in disappointment after spooning a return catch to Nashra Sandhu with six overs of England’s innings left.
Capsey faced 18 deliveries for her first boundary, picking the gap between extra cover and mid-off beautifully with a well-timed drive off Aliya Riaz and she followed that two balls later with a sumptuous drive for four.
Capsey and Jones combined for a 67-run partnership after Knight fell for a laboured 29 from 49 deliveries, which included two chances, before Jones swept Dar and sent a top edge to Ayesha Zafar at square leg for 37.
Openers Maia Bouchier and Beaumont had fallen lbw to Nashra and Umm-e-Hani respectively to leave England 61 for 2 in the 14th over.
Knight was dropped on nought off Nashra when she skied one towards mid-on where Hani made a meal of the opportunity and Hani was again the culprit when Knight, on 18, struck Dar straight to midwicket only to see the chance spilled.
It was Aliya who finally removed Knight, slashing at a wide delivery and producing a thick edge to Najiha Alvi behind the stumps. Sciver-Brunt fell in similar fashion, attempting to drive another wide one from Aliya but managing only to edge behind as England slipped to 118 for 4 just after the halfway point of their innings.
After Capsey’s dismissal, the wickets fell steadily for an England side missing Danni Wyatt, who had scored a 48-ball 87 in the third and final T20I at Headingley but woke up feeling unwell on Thursday. Dean offered a neat cameo worth 20 before she was bowled, giving Dar her third wicket for the match, and Sarah Glenn remained unbeaten on 16 off 13 balls as England reached 243 for 9 in 50 their overs.
In pursuit, Sidra Amin was dropped on 2 by wicketkeeper Jones off Bell but Jones made amends a while later by holding on as Sidra drove at a lovely Bell delivery which nipped away off the pitch outside off stump and brushed the outside edge on its way to the keeper without adding to her score.
After 15 overs, Pakistan were 66 for 1 but, immediately after the drinks break, Ecclestone had Sadaf Shamas out chopping onto her stumps for 28.
Muneeba Ali survived when Jones failed to hold an edge as the batter attempted a cut shot against Dean. But then Ecclestone pushed a gem through the gap between bat and pad to remove Ayesha Zafar in single figures and, although Muneeba reached 34, she fell driving at another excellent Bell delivery, full and jagging away to catch the edge for caught behind.
Pakistan needed to score at around a run-a-ball going into the last 20 Umm-e-overs with four wickets down but when their captain, Dar, slog-swept Dean to Beaumont at deep midwicket it was the breakthrough England needed.
Ecclestone claimed her third wicket in the next over when she pinned Fatima Sana on the front pad in line with leg stump as she strode forward and Dean then had Aliya out lbw as Pakistan lost three wickets for seven runs in the space of 15 balls.
From there, the task proved too steep for Pakistan, despite Nashra and Najiha proving stubborn with an unbroken 28-run stand for the 10th wicket, underlining England’s inability to fully kill off the match. The hosts faced 157 dot balls compared to Pakistan’s 203, although England gifted them 40 extras, including 31 wides, and so they leave Derby with a good amount of work still to do.
Brief scores:
England Women 243 for 9 in 50 overs (Tammy Beaumont 33, Heather Knight 29, Nat Sciver Brunt 31, Alice Capsey 44, Amy Jones 37, Charlie Dean 20; Nashra Sandhu 2-41, Umm-e-Hani 2-43, Nida Dar3-56, Aliya Riaz 2-24) beat Pakistan Women 206 for 9 in 50 overs (Sadaf Shamas 28, Muneeba Ali 34, Nidar Dar 26, Aliya Riaz 21, Najiha Alvi 26*; Kate Cross 2-46, Lauren Bell 2-42, Sophie Ecclestone 3-26, Charlie Dean 2-39) by 37 runs
(Cricinfo)
91st Battle of the Saints
St. Joseph’s hold the edge when they meet arch rivals St. Peter’s in the 91st Battle of the Saints’ big match starting today. After having beaten Petes by nine wickets in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ quarter-final at Polonnaruwa the Joes arive at the SSC ground to prove that the victory registered two months ago was not a fluke.
St. Joseph’s captained by wicketkeeper batsman Kenath Liyanage are concluding a successful season after having remained unbeaten until they were eliminated in the semi-final by St. Sebastian’s .
A strong batting lineup and a dynamic spin department are making them a formidable outfit.
Experienced campaigner Yenula Dewthusa and Demion de Silva with their left-arm spin and Aveesha Samash and Nushan Perera with off spin provide the Joes variety in the spin department. Dewthusa, Demion de Silva and Nushan Perera are their leading wicket takers. Spinners doing well at schools matches have not been effective at the SSC during the last few big matches. It will be interesting to watch as to how the spinners in these two teams would fare during the three days.
For pace the Joes will look to Maanasa Madubashana and Dunick Perera who are expected to share the new ball.
Abishek Jayaweera and Aveesha Samash will open batting, while Senuja Wakunugoda, skipper Liyanage, Dewthusa and Rishma Amarasinghe form the rest of the top order batting lineup.
St. Joseph’s registered three outright victories this season (beat St. Servatius’, St. Benedict’s and St. Peter’s) and remained unbeaten.
St. Peter’s under Oween Salgado’s captaincy did well to reach the business end of the Tier ‘A’ tournament. But the Petes were uncertain of Salgado’s participation in the big match as they were yet to assess his fitness yesterday morning. He was wounded during a match and the stitched wound had not fully healed according to team sources.
Petes beat Gurukula, St. Aloysius’ and Holy Cross this season. Their only defeat was at the hands of their arch rivals. They will look forward to avenge the defeat at the big match.
The Petes will rely on the likes of Dilana Damsara, Thareen Sanketh, Nathan David and Jason Fernando to take a greater share of batting responsibilities. The middle order batsman Sanketh is their leading batsman and has maintained an average of over 50 runs.
Speedsters Ethan Ransilige and Joshua Sebastian will share new ball duties for the Petes.
Lashmika Perera and Sanketh will share most of the slow ball duties.
St Peter’s are in the possession of the coveted Rev. Fr. Maurice J. Le Goc Trophy having last won the big match under the captaincy of Vinu Mohotty in 2016.
St. Joseph’s lead the series tally 12-10. They last won under Ruwantha Fernandopulle’s captaincy in 2008.
St. Peter’s College Team
(Seated from left) Harsha Prabath Perera (Asst. Physio/Trainer & Massuer), Thushara Maduhanka (1st XI Asst. Coach),
Nalin Wijesinghe (Head Coach), Priyadarshana Cooray (MIC – Senior & Junior), Oween Salgado (Captain), Rev. Fr.
Rohitha Rodrigo (Rector), Rev. Fr. Praveen Wijesekara (Priest in Charge – Cricket), Lashmika Perera
(Vice Captain), Dilana Damsara, Rohan Fernando (MIC – 2nd XI), Dinuka D. Godakanda (2nd XI Coach).
(Standing 1st row from left) Dinsara Rathnaweera, Dineth de Silva, Tharin Senvidu, Nathan David, Hiruka Silva, Thareen
Sanketh, Virul Amarapala, Yatheendra Jayaweera, Salith Gallage, Raphael Hettige. (Standing 2nd row from left) Jason Fernando,
Joshua Sebastian, Savi Fernnado, Ethan Ransilige, Asadisa De Silva, Sadeesha Kariyawasam, Enosh Peterson
by Reemus Fernando
120th Lovers’ Quarrel
The stakeholders of the Lovers’ Quarrel Big Match were still pursuing to make the historic 120th edition a reality on the eve of the match after Richmond authorities threatened to pull out citing that Mahinda had violated an accepted norm by included a newly recruited player in the big match team.
The historic edition was scheduled to commence as a three day encounter at the Galle International Stadium today. But the match remained doubtful at the time this edition went to press. The officials of both teams were unavailable for comments on the eve of the match. According to sources close to the two teams the joint big match committee was scheduled to meet in the evening yesterday to take a final decision regarding the match.
Richmond threatened to pull out after Mahinda included Charya Paranavithana in their big match team. Paranavithana captained St. Aloysius’ this season. He is not eligible to play matches that come under the purview of Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association as he is yet to be registered as a Mahinda player. Big Matches are not played according to SLSCA rules but Richmond authorities had raised concerns over the player registration citing that the two schools had honoured the norm even at the big match.
According to sources Richmond were threatening to pull out if Paranavithana’s name was included in the playing XI on the match day morning.
Mahinda concluded a highly successful season as the team captained by Kaveen Rukshan earned the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ promotion this year. They were also the joint champions of the Tier ‘B’ tournament with Thurstan. In contrast former Division I champions Richmond had to fight relegation scares. The team captained by Thamindu Pradeeptha later successfully retained their Tier A position by recording an outright victory.
Mahinda College Team
Seated left to right: T.D. Ajantha Kumara (Head Coach), Y. Nishantha Kumara (Master in Charge – Senior), L. P. Weeraman (Deputy Principal –
Sports), Kaveen Rukshan (Captain), Mr. Janaka Peduruheva (Principal), Arosha Udayanga (Vice Captain), Mr. M.W. Ajith (Prefect of Games), Mr.
Jagath Samarakoon (Master in charge – Junior), Mr. Sachith Lakmal (Asst. Coach)
Standing (Middle row) – left to right – Dineth Pahasara, Thiyon Helika, Vinupa Nethmira, Sahanjith Irugalbandara, Dulisth Darshana, Senuka
Dangamuwa, Sadew Nethmina, Manitha Rajapaksha, Vishmitha Sathsara, Charya Paranavithana, Randula Mabarana
Standing (Back row) – left to right – Sajeew Punsara, Sehas Ashinsa, Kaveesha Githmal, Thevindu Rashmika
by Reemus Fernando
CR & FC huffed and puffed before beating Havelocks Sports Club 25-24 in a keenly contested Clifford Cup semi final game worked off in Colombo yesterday before booking their berth in Sunday’s rugby final, scheduled to take place in Kandy.
In Sunday’s final, CR will meet Kandy SC, the winner of the first semi final.
CR dominated the first half, but Havies came from behind in the second half to be in contention of pulling the game off till the last minute. Havelocks’ chances were boosted with two powerful tries coming from Chathura Dilshan late in the second half. But unpardonable mistakes by the men in the pink and chocolate jerseys helped CR to slip away with the game. Havelocks gave away two yellow cards during extra time in the second half.
The winners collected their points through three tries, two conversions and two penalties while Havelocks responded with three converted tries and a penalty. The winners led 15-10 at half time. Referee Raveen Alexander controlled the game.
By A Special Sports Correspondent
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