Sports
Clash of heavyweights as defending champions take on hosts
After the angst they endured in the group stage, England have floated down to St Lucia on a wave of exhalation. Whatever happens in their T20 World Cup defence from hereon in, their avoidance of a humilating first round exit might yet prove to be as much of a fillip as four rousing wins from four. Their campaign can begin in earnest now, which is just as well, because they are about to bump into a team with no such concerns to weigh them down.
England and West Indies are each competing for an unprecedented third T20 World Cup title, and the events at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Beausejour – a venue named in honour of the man who delivered the hosts those first two titles – could go some way towards confirming the readiness, or otherwise, of these two very real contenders for the crown.
West Indies are fit, focused and firing on all cylinders. They come into this contest on an eight-match unbeaten run, and if there were a few early-tournament nerves on show in an anxious pair of Group C victories over Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, then their unmitigated thrashings of Uganda and a highly rated Afghanistan have assuaged them in uncompromising fashion.
Quite apart from the power of their recent victories, the range of West Indies’ match-winners has propelled them firmly into the title mix. From Andre Russell’s 71 from 29 balls against Australia in Perth, to Brandon King’s 79 from 45 against South Africa in Jamaica, via Roston Chase and Johnson Charles, and all the way through to Sherfane Rutherford’s innings-salvaging 68 not out against New Zealand and Nicholas Pooran’s ballistic 98 from 53 balls against Afghanistan, they’ve time and again showcased a batting line-up with complete faith in each other’s attributes, and an ability to stand up when called upon.
Only the captain, Rovman Powell, has been short of recent runs, even though a 24-ball fifty in a warm-up match against Australia is sufficient proof that his eye is still firmly in. With Sammy ensconced as head coach, and instilling the same spirit of collective responsibility that powered their twin titles in 2012 and 2016, England know there’ll be no room for lapses if their mini-resurgence is to be translated into vital Super Eight points.
There were certainly a few of those on show in their timid display against Australia in Barbados, most particularly in a middle-order that found it impossible to cut loose once the powerplay fielding restrictions had been lifted. At times in their trudge to a deeply one-sided 36-run loss, it was like watching their formless performances at the 50-over World Cup in India, a campaign that Jos Buttler had tried to pretend never happened in some notably terse media engagements at the start of this trip.
The disjointed nature of England’s build-up is a partial excuse – after two wash-outs on home soil against Pakistan and three matches against Scotland, Oman and Namibia that saw them bat for a total of 13.2 overs, time in the middle has been a rarity, especially with Buttler and Phil Salt in a solid vein of form at the top. But these big-match players should have visualised enough scenarios in their time to make light of such straitened circumstances. They were spared a soggy exit by that break in the clouds in Antigua. Now’s the time to prove that they are worthy of the reprieve.
Go hard or go home. That has been Phil Salt’s mantra throughout his T20 career, and right now, his unrelenting approach at the top of England’s order has never been more valuable. After flitting around the periphery for several seasons, Salt’s international breakthrough came against this same West Indies team back in December, when his back-to-back centuries in Grenada and Trinidad carried the attack back to the world’s most aggressive batting line-up, and reminded England of the fearlessness that they had so clearly mislaid in their 50-over World Cup defence. Given the truncated nature of their 20-over campaign to date, it’s hard to judge exactly how the middle-order is tracking, which means that impetus at the top could be all the more important as they seek their first major scalp of the campaign.
In a power-packed line-up, there’s something unassuming about Gudakesh Motie’s left-arm offerings, but as England discovered in December – and as seven wickets at 11.85 amply attest now – his relentless flight and guile has the ability to apply a handbrake to all manner of free-flowing teams, particularly ones quite as stacked with right-handers as England’s. In his first T20I encounter with Jos Buttler’s men, in Grenada six months ago, he returned the remarkable figures of 1 for 9 in four overs, then capped that impact with 3 for 24 in the series decider in Trinidad. Straightening the ball at the stumps from round the wicket might not seem the most complex of modus operandi, but if there’s an iota of assistance in a used surface in St Lucia, he’s likely to exploit it.
Not a lot of concerns for West Indies after a dominant display against Afghanistan, although they do have a handful of selection conundrums. Roston Chase and Shai Hope are competing for the same middle-order berth, while Romario Shepherd missed the last match for paternity leave, but is due back with the squad in good time for the match. He could slot back in ahead of Obed McCoy.
West Indies (possible): Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shai Hope/Roston Chase, Rovman Powell (capt), Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hossain, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Obed McCoy/Romario Shepherd.
England mixed it up a touch after the showers in Antigua had reduced their Namibia match to 11 overs, with Sam Curran and Chris Jordan both included to offer a wider range of death-bowling options. Both could keep their places, with Jordan’s death bowling and extra batting giving him an edge over Mark Wood. Will Jacks also seems likely to come back into the XI, potentially down the order at No. 6, with Liam Livingstone missing training due to a sickness bug – but having recovered from the side niggle he suffered against Namibia.
England (possible): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood/Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley
[Cricinfo]
Olympian Yupun Abeykoon will compete in a relay for Sri Lanka after a lapse of five years when he is joined by national champion Chamod Yodasinghe and other top sprinters in the 4x100m at the Dubai Grand Prix.
Sri Lanka Athletics announced a list of five athletes inclusive of the Italy based sprinter for the Dubai event yesterday. According to Sri Lanka Athletics the relay team is set to leave for Dubai today.
Sri Lankan athletes will compete in six overseas events during the next four weeks including the Dubai Grand Prix, World Relays and the Asian Athletics Championship.
Abeykoon, who is the only South Asian to have clocked sub ten seconds in the 100 metres has not competed in a relay for Sri Lanka since 2019. He was part of the Sri Lanka team that won the gold medal at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu in 2019. Chanuka Sandeepa, Vinosh Suranjaya and Himasha Eshan were the others in the team that clocked 39.14 seconds to win gold.
Abeykoon is yet to feature in a hundred metres this year though he has been selected for the Dubai event and the Asian Athletics Championship which will be held in South Korea later this month.
Reigning national champion Chamod Yodasinghe, emerging talents Merone Wijesinghe, Deneth Weeraratne and Chamod Dissanayake are the others in the relay team.
Sumudu Ishan and Claudio Licciardello are the coaches joining the relay team in Dubai.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will field only the 4x400m mixed relay team for the World Relays taking place on May 10 and 11 in Guangzhou, China. A team of six athletes, namely, Kalinga Kumarage, Aruna Darshana, Sadew Rajakaruna, Nishendra Fernando, Sayuri Mendis and Nadeesha Ramanayake will leave Sri Lanka tomorrow for the World Relays. W.G.M. Thushara will acompany the team as coach.
Hurdler Nadun Bandara (110m h) and long jumper Sampath Miranda are set to compete at the 3rd Invitational Belt and Road Athletics Championship in Chongqing, China. The May 14 -16 event is part of the “All China Athletics Series 3”. The two athletes will leave the island on May 11.
As reported in The Island last week, Sri Lanka will field a team of 20 athletes for the Asian Athletics Championship from May 27-31 in Gumi, South Korea.
Apart from the above events Sri Lanka will also take part in the India Athletics Cup 2025 International Javelin Competition in Chandigarh, India on May 22 and the Taiwan Open Athletics Championship on June 7 and 8 in Taipei.
Javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga will compete in Chandigarh. Tharanga’s coach Tony Prasanna will acompany him as the coach.
by Reemus Fernando
Sahansha Damsiluni of Visakha Vidyalaya and Buwindu Jayawardhana of Maliyadeva College Kurunegala won the Under 14 girls’ and boys’ singles titles respectively of the 110th Vision Care Colombo Championship at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts.
The tournament organized by the playing section of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association commenced on April 26 and will conclude on May 11.
In her final match Damsiluni beat Sesandri Fernando 7-5, 6-3.
Jayawardhana beat Parvesh Sivapalan 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 in the Under 14 boys’ final.
In a chaotic match laced with rain breaks during the second half, Gujarat Titans got home by the barest of margins to reach the top of the IPL 2025 points table and end Mumbai Indians’ six-match winning streak. When it started to rain just before midnight, MI would have thought they had fashioned an improbable comeback. Between two rain breaks, they had taken 4 for 25 to turn GT’s lead of eight on the DLS par score to a deficit of four with two overs to go.
Thanks to some excellent work from the groundstaff, the game resumed at the last possible moment, leaving GT 15 to get in the 19th over. Deepak Chahar was hit for a four and a six in the first three balls, then bowled a no-ball, but came back to take a wicket. With one needed off the last ball, MI could still have forced a tie had someone come around to collect the throw from mid-off. Hardik Pandya, who had bowled two no-balls earlier and had decided against bowling the last over, missed with the direct-hit, sparking wild celebrations in the GT camp.
There was appreciable seam movement for GT to exploit after winning the toss and choosing to field. Mohammed Siraj had Ryan Rickleton caught at short cover second ball, and Arshad Khan troubled Rohit Sharma before getting him out for 7 off 8.
GT could have shut MI out of the game then and there but they dropped Will Jacks on 0 and 29, and Suryakumar Yadav on 10. Jacks went on to score his first fifty for MI, in just 29 balls, and Suryakumar registered a 12th straight score of 25 or more. Despite some help for the spinners, MI seemed well-placed at 97 for 2 in 10.3 overs.
It is the strength and depth in the GT bowling that allows their batters to play more conventional cricket than some other teams, and it was on full display in the second half of MI’s innings. R Sai Kishore, who doesn’t always get to bowl, troubled the right-hand-heavy MI middle order before going over the wicket and cramping Suryakumar on an inside-out shot for a catch at long-off. He then responded unerringly to the attacking fields for Hardik, who slogged and top-edged. Between these two wickets, Rashid Khan marked his comeback from 3-0-50-0 in the last match with the wicket of Jacks, having drawn five false shots in nine balls bowled to him
Prasidh Krishna strengthened his grip on the purple catch as he and Gerald Coetzee drove home the advantage with a wicket each. Rashid came back to bowl the 18th over for just four. Corbin Bosch hit two sixes in the final over before getting hit on the back of the head, an event that would go on to have implications later in the night.
The new ball seamed for MI as well, and they have the bowling to exploit it. Trent Boult beat B Sai Sudarshan first ball and then took his edge second ball, one short of Suryakumar’s tally of 510 this year. The orange cap remained on Suryakumar’s head, but two other GT batters reached 500 runs during a testing, chaotic time.
Amid heavy wind, Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler were forced to quite literally weather the storm. Jasprit Bumrah and Boult were exceptional, and at 21 for 1 in five overs, the shortest period for this to constitute a match, GT were well behind the par score.
By now, though, it had stopped raining, vindicating the umpires’ decision to not take the players off. Even as Gill struggled to get going, Buttler got GT moving. An 11-ball over from Hardik – two no-balls, three wides – sent GT on their way, but a new twist in the tale was Bosch’s concussion substitute, the left-arm quick Ashwani Kumar.
Ashwani conceded just five in his first over, and had Butter caught off the bottom edge in his second.
Sherfane Rutherford made a comeback to the GT side as the Impact Player, which led to the introduction of Jacks’ part-time spin. GT were five behind the par score, and Rutherford just 1 off 2 when Jacks started the said over. Three dots later, GT looked in trouble. Rutherford, though, turned it around with an inside-edged four and two lovely inside-out shots for 10 runs. In the next over, he took down Ashwani. GT were now eight ahead of the par score as for the first time rain forced players off the field.
Bumrah had two overs left, and Boult one, when play resumed without any deduction in the overs. Quite incredibly, Bumrah drew seam movement from the old ball to go past Gill, who scored 43 off 46 despite two free hits and a dropped catch, and Shahrukh Khan two balls after he had hit Bumrah for a four. Between these two wickets, Boult skidded one through to get Rutherford out for 28 off 15.
It is a miracle they got the teams back on for that one over. It was double trouble for MI as their three best bowlers had bowled out, and they now had to bowl with one boundary rider fewer because of their slow over-rate. Chahar struggled to control a ball that got wet with Rahul Tewatia’s hit to the fence first ball. Coetzee smoked a slot ball over long-off to leave them four needed off three. A no-ball made it easier, but a sharp bouncer brought in Arshad to face the last ball.
Two mistakes were made by MI. They didn’t position a fielder next to the pitch to jump on to collect a throw, and Suryakumar and the bowler weren’t swift to get to the stumps from short extra cover. Hardik looked up to see if he could throw the ball to someone, he saw no one, and had to shy at the stumps. He missed.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 147 for 7 in 19 overs (Shubman Gill 43, Joss Buttler 30, Sherfane Rutherfird 28, Rahul Tewatia 11*, Gerald Coetzee 12; Deepak Chahar 1-32, Trent Boult 2-22, Jasprit Bumrah 2-19, Ashwani Kumar 2-28) beat Mumbai Indians 155 for 8 in 20 overs (Will Jacks 53, Suryakumar Yadav 35, Corbin Bosch 27; Mohammed Siraj 1-29, Arshad Khan 1-18, Prasidh Krishna 1-37, Sai Kishore 2-34, Rahid Khan 1-21, Gerald Coetzee 1-10) by three wickets (DLS method)
[Cricinfo]
-
News6 days agoRanil’s Chief Security Officer transferred to KKS
-
Opinion4 days agoRemembering Dr. Samuel Mathew: A Heart that Healed Countless Lives
-
Business2 days agoAitken Spence Travels continues its leadership as the only Travelife-Certified DMC in Sri Lanka
-
Features7 days agoThe Broken Promise of the Lankan Cinema: Asoka & Swarna’s Thrilling-Melodrama – Part IV
-
News7 days agoRadisson Blu Hotel, Galadari Colombo appoints Marko Janssen as General Manager
-
Business6 days agoCCPI in April 2025 signals a further easing of deflationary conditions
-
Features7 days agoA piece of home at Sri Lankan Musical Night in Dubai
-
Features6 days agoExpensive to die; worship fervour eclipses piety