Sports
Chamari’s team commence campaign for the Commonwealth Games slot today
The ICC Commonwealth Games Qualifier 2022 commences at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday as Bangladesh, Kenya, Malaysia, Scotland, and Sri Lanka vie for the lone remaining slot at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
The round-robin T20 tournament to decide who joins the seven teams already qualified for Birmingham – Australia, Barbados, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa – commences with a match between Bangladesh and Malaysia and will see Bangladesh and Sri Lanka face off on the last day.
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu said that it was vital for their team to win the tournament after having missed qualifying for the 50-over World Cup. Her team will encounter Scotland today.
Chamari Athapaththu: “Apart from the World Cup, the Commonwealth Games (cricket competition) is the other major tournament to be held in 2022. Obviously, it won’t wipe out the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup but will give us some amount of solace.
“We have a very good chance of winning this tournament and qualifying for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. We have experienced players as well as talented youngsters in our side, with the likes of Harsitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari the ones to look out for.”
England and six other highest-ranked ICC Members in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings as of 1 April 2021 qualified directly for the Commonwealth Games, with the slot for the West Indies going to Barbados since athletes from the Caribbean will be representing their countries and not the West Indies (as they are affiliated with the ICC). Barbados were nominated by Cricket West Indies (CWI) on the basis of their win in the 2019 CWI T20 Blaze Tournament.
Women’s cricket will be part of the Commonwealth Games for the first time ever in what is seen as a huge opportunity to take the game to new fans. It will only be the second time that cricket will feature in it after a men’s competition was part of the Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
Bangladesh captain Niger Sultana has the chance of leading her team into the Birmingham Games to cap a fine year that has already seen them qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in March-April.
Nigar Sultana: “We are very confident. It was not easy for us to return to competitive cricket after the disruptions of training and matches because of Covid-19. However, we are well prepared now, having played in different conditions during the past few months.
“I think our middle-order batting has been excellent in recent times. As this is a T20 tournament, I am expecting the opening batters to get us off to quick starts. We have experienced campaigners to compliment the youthful exuberance in our team. It’s going to be a combined effort from all of us if we do well here.
Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce understands that it won’t be easy for her team but is still aiming to win the Qualifier.
Kathryn Bryce: “Every time we go into a tournament the main objective is to try and win. There’s only one qualification spot available, so we know it’s going to be a challenging task coming up against the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who’ve been near the top of the world stage for a long time now. They have a lot of experience but we’re looking forward to testing ourselves against them.
“It’s been a challenging build-up with COVID-19 still affecting things, but we’ve managed to get together as a squad to train together regularly. We’ve been indoors over the winter period, but I think there have been some good camps during the preparation and I’ve seen some good progression, so I believe we’ll be ready for the tournament.
“There are lots of players in the team who are starting to stand up and as a team we’re not really relying on a small number of people anymore which is really exciting to see. Obviously, Abtaha Maqsood has a really big summer playing in The Hundred and I think her quality will hopefully come through and has the potential to win us some matches.”
Kenya captain Margaret Ngoche wants to make the most of the opportunity of playing against teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Margaret Ngoch: “We want to utilize and maximize all the opportunities that will come our way in terms of experience and talent showcasing. We want to interact with other teams with the aim of building a great cricketing network and learn more from them. We want to ensure that we are among the top teams, and we are coming with a winning mentality.”
“We know that this is a tournament like we have never experienced before. We will be playing with teams that have played in the World Cup. One of our major weapons is our mental capacity and experience that we have gathered through the years. The training and practice matches are just a way to polish the already effective tools that we possess. We have really invested in our mental capacity because our 100% is better than the rest.”
Malaysia captain Winifred Anne Duraisingam is hoping to gain the edge from familiar home conditions.
Winifred Anne Duraisingam: “It feels good to play hosts after not being able to play the last two years. Malaysia is blessed with good weather and of course, our hospitality and food will, I hope, be a great experience for the teams coming in.
“In terms of advantage, we are certainly comfortable as we know the ground conditions and we hope this will give us an edge as we do our best. Without a doubt, the strength of our team is in fielding and bowling. We are currently hard at work with our batting and we can see the improvements.
“Kinrara Oval has hosted many international tournaments including ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2008, the Women’s Asia Cup, and many other ICC and ACC (Asian Cricket Council) events. The pitch is very lively and is good for both batting and bowling.”
Match schedule (local time):
18 Jan:
Malaysia vs Bangladesh (09h30); Sri Lanka vs Scotland (13h15)
19 Jan:
Kenya vs Bangladesh (09h30); Scotland vs Malaysia (13h15)
20 Jan:
Kenya vs Sri Lanka (09h30)
22 Jan:
Scotland vs Kenya (09h30); Sri Lanka vs Malaysia (13h15)
23 Jan:
Bangladesh vs Scotland (09h30); Malaysia vs Kenya (13h15)
24 Jan:
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (09h30)
A Sri Lankan innings that never really got going eventually parked itself at middling total of 219, as they were bowled out in 49.3 overs in the second ODI in Colombo. It’s a total England will fancy themselves to chase down as they look to level this three-match series.
Sri Lanka’s innings was headlined by Charith Asalanka’s 45 off 64 and Dhananjaya de Silva’s 40 off 59, but at strike rates of 67.79 and 70.31 it tells you all you need to know about how well England kept a lid on the innings.
For the visitors the wickets were spread out, with Adil Rashid, Jamie Overton and Joe Root picking up two apiece, the latter with the final two balls of the innings. There were also wickets for Liam Dawson, Rehan Ahmed and the returning Will Jacks.
And much like in the first ODI, England’s varied attack – no less than eight options were used across the innings – sought to give little away. “Keeping the stumps in play,” was Harry Brook’s refrain, speaking after losing the toss, and on an uber-dry surface with boundaries square and behind mostly protected, the onus was on the Lankan batters to use their feet in order to access the boundaries at extra cover and deep midwicket.
That sort of strokeplay however proved detrimental to the Lankan cause with four of their top five falling in their attempts to access the boundaries in front of square. Kamil Mishara sought to bring some impetus to the innings after a miserly early burst from the England seamers, but his attempted lashing cover drive could not clear Ben Duckett in the circle, who held on at the second attempt.
Pathum Nissanka, who had patiently waded through the opening powerplay when the scoring rate sat below four an over, then sought to capitalise on his added time in the middle, but only managed to loft an inside-out drive to long-off.
Later on in the innings Dhananjaya whacked one low to Root at midwicket, before the set Asalanka found deep midwicket with a slog sweep.
And arguably Sri Lanka’s best batter at accessing those regions, Kusal Mendis, ran himself out for a ground-out 26, when he cut one straight to point and absentmindedly set off for the single. The throw from the fit-again Jacks was pinpoint and found Mendis easily short as he sought in vain to fling himself back to safety.
There were promising stands between, notably a 42-run effort between Nissanka and Mendis and 66 between Dhananjaya and Asalanka, but none of the batters involved were able to push on and up the rate of scoring over any concerted period of time.
Pavan Rathnayake’s 29 off 34 had also shown promise, but he fell foul looking to clear the straight boundary as he sliced one to long-off, and in the process silenced an energetic Khettarama crowd.
The frustrating nature of Sri Lanka’s innings was illustrated by the fact that five batters scored at least 25 and faced at least 30 deliveries, but the highest score remained Asalanka’s 45.
England, to their credit, stuck to and executed their plans well. The use of eight bowlers – six of them spinners – meant Sri Lanka’s batters were ever really able to get a measure of any one bowler. And while the lengths were consistent, the pace of the deliveries was varied. It meant that even when a set batter such as Nissanka sought to take on the attack, Rashid was able to successfully deceive him in the flight.
Dunith Wellalage once more looked enterprising during a late cameo, but despite finding two boundaries in his brief stay, his 20 off 19 was far less damaging to England’s cause than had been in the first ODI.
England bowled 40.3 overs of spin across their innings, breaking their previous record of 36. That came in Sharjah in 1984-85, when Norman Gifford captained England at the age of 44, and took four wickets. The team wore black armbands during the first ODI after his death last week.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 219 in 49.3 overs (Charith Asalanka 45, Dhananjaya De Silva 40; Joe Root 2-12, Jamie Overton 2-21, Adil Rashid 2-34) vs England
(Cricinfo)
(Cricbuzz)
Sri Lanka elected to bat first in the second ODI against England at the R Premadasa International Stadium
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando
England: Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, 4Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid
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