Sports

Chaotic Tarouba pitch comes under the scanner

Published

2 years ago

2024/06/30

Trott wasn’t happy with the pitch provided for the semifinal game against South Africa

It was obvious why Jonathan Trott didn’t want to be overly critical about the pitch in Tarouba. His team had after all just received a hammering at the hand of South Africa in their first-ever World Cup semi-final. They’d just had their dream run in the tournament cut short in rather terse fashion, courtesy the South African fast bowlers. But for as ruthless as Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje were, the pitch at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy ground played an equally significant role in the decimation of the Afghanistan batting line-up. As it easily could have for the South Africans, if only they had been chasing a target slightly more challenging than 57.

And it is unlikely that Trott, the Afghanistan head coach, was the only one of those involved in the contest who felt like that the pitch in Trinidad wasn’t fit to host a “semi-final of a World Cup”. Every player, in particular, who took the field on Wednesday (June 26) night would have had every reason to have a grouse with what was dished up to them in a match of such significance, or even otherwise for that matter.

“I don’t want to get myself into trouble but obviously and I don’t want to come across as bitter or it being a case of sour grapes but that’s not the pitch that you want to have a match, a semi-final of a World Cup on, plain and simple,” said Trott after South Africa booked their place in their first-ever men’s World Cup final with a nine-wicket win in a match that lasted 21 overs in all.

“It should be a fair contest. I’m not saying it should be flat completely with no spin and no seam movement, but I’m saying you shouldn’t have batsmen worrying about going forward in the ball, flying over their head. You should be confident in their foot movement and being able to hit through the line or use their skills. T20 is about attacking and about scoring runs and taking wickets, not looking to survive,” he added.

It was a fair point too. For, there were times during both innings where, as a batter all you could do was to survive. To get into a decent position and hope for the best. Hope that the ball doesn’t jump at you off a length at rib-height, like it did to Quinton de Kock off the second ball he faced from Naveen-ul-Haq. Or that it doesn’t roll through at shin-height like it did with the first ball de Kock faced, and what many of the batters had to contend with repeatedly during the highly-truncated semi-final. And Trott had every reason to go on.

“If the opposition bowled well and got to a position where they bowled very, very well and it’s through skill then that’s fine to them and then it’s about adapting to that. But once the ball starts misbehaving and rolling, if we had bowled as straight as South Africa had, I think you would have seen a very interesting second half as well. South Africa bowled well, used the conditions, and showed our boys what it’s capable of. But it just didn’t go our way tonight,” he said, somewhat shifting the focus back to his team.

In a World Cup, where there’s been plenty of chatter about the nature of the surfaces, especially on the New York leg, but also in terms of some in the Caribbean, the one in Tarouba came probably the closest to being deemed “unsafe”. That’s not overstating a fact either. There were some deliveries that flew off a length across both innings, which could potentially have caused a lot more serious damage than what we got away with. The fact that de Kock was the only batter who needed some brief medical attention is if anything more a case of fortune than skill.

South African captain Aiden Markram wasn’t as candid about his views on the pitch that his team recorded history on, but did use the word “challenging” a few times, having indicated how the Proteas had already had to overcome some “challenging” conditions before getting here.

“The wickets that we’ve had throughout the competition have been pretty challenging. Tonight’s wicket was pretty challenging once again. It’s hard to say that a wicket is not good because it can’t just always be a batter’s game, but I think if we reflect back on this wicket, we’ll probably be pretty happy that we’re not playing here again.”

Even though he wasn’t, Markram could easily have been speaking on behalf of every batter who had to put his skills on the line at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy over the last fortnight with the three matches leading into the semifinal on these pitches having yielded scores of 95, 40 and 78 before Afghanistan were blown away for 56 in just 11.5 overs. The unacceptable pitch conditions might well get swept under in the wake of what was an emotional night for South African men’s cricketers of all recent eras. But it would be unfair on both teams, and those paying a lot of money and traveling a lot of miles to get to the venue, if the pitch for the semi-final didn’t come under heavy scrutiny because, even if Trott didn’t quite use the expression, this was unfit for an international match, forget a highly-billed World Cup semifinal.

(Cricbuzz)

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Sports

Ransini, Tharushi dazzle with golds as Sri Lanka win eight medals

Published

12 hours ago

2026/06/1

Thilina Walpola

Ransini Perera

Asian Junior Athletics Championships

‎Sri Lanka concluded a successful campaign at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship in Hong Kong on Sunday, finishing eighth in the medals table with an impressive haul of eight medals comprising two gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

‎The four-day championship was highlighted by outstanding performances from Ransini Perera and Tharushi Abhisheka, who delivered Sri Lanka’s two gold medals.

‎Sprint sensation Ransini Perera produced a thrilling finish in the girls’ 200 metres to secure the gold medal in a time of 24.07 seconds. The athlete from Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya edged out her rivals in a dramatic photo-finish, becoming the first Sri Lankan to win the Asian Junior 200 metres title since former sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe captured the crown during her junior years in Jakarta in 1994.

‎Middle-distance runner Tharushi Abhisheka opened Sri Lanka’s gold-medal account on the first day of competition. The former Wickramabahu National School, Gampola athlete, now representing Lyceum International School, Wattala, clocked 4:31.41 to win the girls’ 1,500 metres at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground. She later added a bronze medal in the girls’ 800 metres, finishing in 2:07.10 on the final day to complete an impressive double-medal achievement.

‎Sri Lanka’s silver medals came through Dineth Liyanage and high jumper Tharusha Mendis. Liyanage produced a powerful finishing burst in the boys’ 800 metres to clock 1:49.22 and finish second behind the winner while narrowly edging Japan’s Atsuki Watanabe for silver. Mendis lived up to expectations in the boys’ high jump, clearing 2.14 metres to secure the runner-up position.

‎The country’s bronze-medal tally was boosted by Sadew Rajakaruna in the boys’ 200 metres, Mihinsa Dewmini in the girls’ high jump with a clearance of 1.72 metres, Tharushi Abhisheka in the girls’ 800 metres and the mixed 4×400 metres relay team.

‎Despite the medal success, Sri Lanka also experienced a measure of disappointment as the men’s 4×400 metres relay team narrowly missed a podium finish. Rajakaruna and Omel Shashintha also fell just short of medals in their individual 400 metres events, finishing outside the top three.

Tharushi Abhisheka

‎Nevertheless, Sri Lanka’s eight-medal haul and eighth-place finish underlined the country’s growing strength in junior athletics and provided several encouraging performances for the future. (RF)

Sports

West Indies tour offers fresh opportunities

Published

12 hours ago

2026/06/1

Thilina Walpola

Seam bowling all-rounder Milan Rathnayake has got much attention ahead of the white ball series in the Caribbean

Any cricket tour of the Caribbean stirs a sense of excitement. It is not just about the cricket; it is also about experiencing the unique cultures, rhythms and ways of life that make these islands unlike any other place in the world.

Take Barbados, for instance. Home to just 300,000 people and spread across a mere 430 square kilometres, the island has produced a remarkable assembly line of cricketing talent. If it is opening batsmen you seek, they gave the world Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. If fast bowlers are your thing, then Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner stand tall among the game’s greatest. And if you are searching for the ultimate all-rounder, there is only one answer – Sir Garry Sobers.

Over the next six weeks, Sri Lanka’s cricketers will be immersed in this cricket-loving corner of the world as they take part in a series comprising three ODIs, three T20 Internationals and two Test matches.

For the major part of the tour, Sri Lanka will be based in Jamaica, where both the ODI and T20I series will be contested. The teams will then head to Antigua for the two-match Test series.

These are two evenly matched sides and the Test series, in particular, carries added significance with valuable World Test Championship points at stake. After years of underachievement in the longest format, the West Indies have become far more competitive and difficult to beat. Sri Lanka, therefore, can expect a stern examination

With both Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews having retired from Test cricket, opportunities have opened up for the next generation. It remains to be seen who will seize them. Incidentally, Sri Lanka will be playing their first Test match in exactly a year, their previous appearance in the format having come in June 2025.

The white-ball leg of the tour gets underway with the ODIs before attention shifts to the T20Is. Kusal Mendis has been entrusted with the leadership of both limited-overs sides. While his batting form in both formats over the last two years has been exceptional, there are concerns that the selectors may be demanding too much from him. The right-hander is expected to captain the side, keep wickets and open the batting – three demanding responsibilities rolled into one.

With the World Cup in South Africa only 15 months away, this Caribbean tour could provide valuable clues about the combinations Sri Lanka should pursue for cricket’s biggest event. The lively pitches expected in the West Indies should offer a fair indication of how the side might fare in South African conditions.

There will be considerable focus on seam-bowling all-rounder Milan Rathnayake, whom many regard as a player tailor-made for South African conditions. The tour could well prove to be an important stepping stone in his development.

The opening ODI on Wednesday is a day game and will commence at 8 p.m. Sri Lanka time. The next two ODIs, both day-night encounters, will begin at 1 a.m. The T20Is are scheduled at a far friendlier hour for local fans, with first ball at 6 a.m. The two Test matches, meanwhile, will get underway at 7.30 p.m. Sri Lanka time.

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Sooryavanshi wins Orange Cap, MVP and Emerging Player awards in IPL 2026

Published

14 hours ago

2026/06/1

Priyan

Vaivhav Sooryavanshi finished the IPL with the Orange Cap on his head [Cricinfo]

Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi has won the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Orange Cap (most runs), and Emerging Player awards in IPL 2026 after amassing 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30.

Gujarat Titans (GT) quick Kagiso Rabada won the Purple Cap for topping the wickets chart. He took 29 wickets from 17 games at an economy rate of 9.68. This was the second time he won the Purple Cap, having done so previously in IPL 2020 when he took 30 wickets for Delhi Capitals. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Bhuveneshwar Kumar was a close second with 28 wickets.

Sooryavanshi, 15, is the first player to win both the MVP and Emerging Player awards in the same season. He was the first since Chris Gayle in 2011 to top both the runs and strike rate charts (min. 20 balls faced) in the same season. Sooryavanshi hit 72 sixes in IPL 2026, breaking Gayle’s record of most sixes (59) in an IPL season, and played a key role in RR making it to the playoffs. They eventually lost to GT in Qualifier 2 in New Chandigarh.

“It feels nice, but there is pressure because I am doing interviews. It is a proud moment and I will try and do well next season too,” Sooryanvashi said after collecting his awards at the end of the final. “I try to back my game and if the ball is there to be hit, I go all out for it and just try to play that way.

“How to play the pressure game, how to change myself every game, you can’t play every game in one mode, you need to read the game situation and play according to the team’s requirements. These are my learnings from this season. [On fitness] Yes, my focus is on that. If I have to play long, I have to stay clear of injuries and work on my fitness and have to focus more.”

GT captain Shubman Gill was second on the Orange Cap list with 732 runs. He was followed by his team-mate and opening partner B Sai Sudharsan, who finished with 722.

At the Cricinfo Honours awards on the eve of the IPL final, Sachin Tendulkar had said Sooriyavanshi was “truly special”.

“Everyone is talking about Sooryavanshi, and I watched him bat – it was magnificent. I mean he is something truly special. And not just the ability to hit the ball, but what also fascinated me was the wrist work that he has. To be able to play in all directions of the ground, you need good wrist work. And he is not slogging the ball. He is just picking the line and length earlier than the rest of the guys and he is able to clear the rope comfortably.”

[Cricinfo]