Sports
Green light for rugby players, but SLR continues to battle AR
By A Special Sports Correspondent
The fast-running Sri Lankans and their frolics in the abbreviated form of rugby union will be missed at the opener of the Asian Sevens Rugby Series which is scheduled to commence in Thailand on October 22 (Saturday). This is on account of there being a tug-of-war between Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) and Asian Rugby (AR).
SLR’s position in the sport as of now stands in jeopardy because of its membership with the Asian rugby controlling body being suspended. The result of that move is Sri Lanka now being unable to contest international tournaments under its national flag. Arrangements however have been made for Sri Lanka’s rugby teams (men’s and women’s) to feature in the tournament’s second leg onwards under the flag of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s chances of contesting the tournament at least from the second leg scheduled in South Korea- onwards became a reality after Sri Lanka’s sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe intervened in the matter and initiated a discussion with AR President Qais Al-Dhalai. Ranasinghe had requested AR’s president to lift the ban on Sri Lanka Rugby and allow the participation of the island’s rugby teams in future Asian Sevens Tournaments.
Unlike in the 15-a-side version of the game the seven-a-side version of the sport is a discipline at the Olympic Games. Hence there are reports that Al-Dhalai was requested by the NOCSL not to prevent Sri Lanka from contesting the Asian Rugby Sevens because rugby sevens comes under the Olympic Charter. Preventing the participation of any country at sport goes against the spirit of the Olympic Games.
The SLR and AR started being at loggerheads since April this year. This was after the then sports minister Namal Rajapaksa suspended the registration of SLR with the Ministry of Sports. The AR subsequently suspended the SLR citing political interference. Then there was some good news for SLR when the court of appeal issued an enjoining order on May 13 preventing the suspension of SLR’s membership with the Ministry of Sports.
Despite the sanctions imposed on SLR its elected officials have done well in promoting the game and conducting tournaments and rugby events. The SLR has also signed MOUs with other rugby unions, signed sponsorships deals and appointed new members to serve in the governing body for rugby in Sri Lanka.
Some weeks back it organised its awards night for the winners and top players who featured in the last league rugby tournament and also conducted many rugby-related workshops and programmes. It also conducted the much-awaited inter-club rugby sevens tournament at which Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club emerged victorious.
It’s known to the rugby fraternity here that SLR President Rizly Illyas and former sports minister Namal Rajapaksa didn’t see eye to eye in rugby-related matters. Rugby sources revealed that Rajapaksa wanted to bulldoze over the SLR with his agenda; a move which Illyas and his executive committee fought fiercely with the aim of safeguarding the independence of the local rugby controlling body. Rajapaksa suspended the registration of the SLR with the Ministry of Sports through a gazette notification.
However after the regime change in the country the newly appointed sports minister Ranasinghe has been quite supportive of SLR. SLR has also received the backing of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka. NOC SL President Suresh Subramanium has, according to newspaper reports, affirmed that people and individuals entrusted with power may come and go, but sports and laws governed by the NOC must be respected. He had also added that no official nor politician is bigger than the game.
Sri Lanka’s rugby rift with Asian Rugby was even brought to light at the recently concluded Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly held in Cambodia. Also, the SLR has received the backing of the rugby fraternity at home; largely because the local rugby controlling body was victimized firstly politically and secondly by the acts of Asian Rugby. Asian Rugby has meanwhile maintained, according to media reports, that the SLR was suspended regarding matters associated with the leadership of the rugby union among other allegations.
Sanctions imposed against SLR have still not been lifted. AR in a communique, that was run on digital media, has said that ‘for the suspension on SLR to be lifted we require SLR to provide substantive and conclusive evidence that SLR is now fully responsible for the organization of rugby related matters under its jurisdiction and that it is in a position to perform its constitutional and regulatory duties in an appropriate manner’.
SLR has stood its ground and taken the fight up to the AR. Rugby sources have hinted that there could be a hidden Sri Lanka hand in this matter where the AR is tuned into working against the interests of SLR.
Despite all these issues Sri Lanka’s rugby players are set to make their appearance at the second edition of the Asian Rugby Sevens series, scheduled to take place on November 12 and 13 in South Korea. The third and final leg of the Asian Rugby Sevens will be held on November 26 and 27 in Dubai.
In the fifth T20I in Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand last year, the hosts had been dismissed for 92 chasing 135 in Christchurch. In the first T20I of this five-match series, that was a winning total for New Zealand after Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy took apart a new-look Pakistan side.
The dropping of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan signalled that Pakistan were trying to step out of their comfort zone in T20 cricket, which is broadly very good. But on Sunday, they saw the risks that also come with it as they were bundled out for 91, their lowest total in New Zealand and their fifth-lowest in the format.
The Black Caps followed the WhiteFerns in bringing up comprehensive victories on a double-header day in Christchurch as Jamieson and Duffy shared seven wickets between them, the bounce they were able to generate being too much for the Pakistan batters.
Jamieson, back in the T20I set up for the first time in nearly two years, set the tone for New Zealand with a wicket maiden, Mohammad Haris only able to help a short ball behind to wicketkeeper Mitch Hay.
Debutant Hasan Nawaz then got a leading edge off Duffy to Jamieson at deep third as Pakistan lost both openers without a run on the board. This was only the second time both Pakistan openers were dismissed for ducks.
Jamieson then had Irfan Khan edging behind in the third over as Pakistan slumped to 1 for 3 – their lowest score at the fall of the third wicket.
Tim Robinson then evoked rather fresh memories of Glenn Phillips from the Champions Trophy as he took a blinder at backward point to give Jamieson his third, with the scoreboard reading 11 for 4.
Pakistan were restricted to 14 for 4 in the powerplay, and it could have gotten worse immediately afterwards, but Tim Seifert dropped Khushdil Shah at point off the captain Michael Bracewell.
Agha then looked to drive a full ball from Zakary Foulkes the next over, only to get an edge but Daryl Mitchell shelled the chance in the slip cordon.
Agha and Khushdil used their second lives to arrest Pakistan’s free-fall. They finally looked to up the tempo in the tenth over, when Agha reverse-swept Ish Sodhi for four behind point and Khushdil smacked him over midwicket for Pakistan’s first six.
In the next over, Khushdil took Bracewell on for back-to-back sixes to try and put some pressure back on the bowlers. But it was a very short-lived phase of ascendancy for Pakistan.
Agha tried another reverse-sweep off Sodhi’s next ball, but he could only pick out deep backward point. Duffy was brought back into the attack for an over, and the move paid dividends as Khushdil slapped a short ball to backward point. Pakistan were 64 for 6 after 13.
Debutant Abdul Samad and Jahandad Khan then fell trying to play big shots before Duffy returned in the penultimate over to take the last two wickets, picking up from where he left off in the T20I series against Sri Lanka where he finished as the highest wicket-taker
Pakistan’s 91 is the fourth-lowest T20I score by any team in New Zealand.
After playing out the first over, Seifert got New Zealand going with a pull through midwicket off debutant Mohammad Ali. He then picked up three boundaries off Shaheen Afridi’s next over, including another pull in front of square.
Seifert gave the charge to Ali to pick up another boundary, before getting two off Jahandad’s first over, and the fifth of the innings. Finn Allen, largely a spectator until then, also joined the party as he lofted Jahandad down the ground for the first six of the chase.
Pakistan switched to spin and Seifert welcomed Abrar Ahmed with a massive hit over long-off. Abrar got the better of him with a carrom ball that Haris did well to hold on to behind the stumps off the bottom edge, but New Zealand by then had effectively won the match in the two powerplays.
Allen hit another six and two fours, while Robinson also got a six to his name as New Zealand completed the chase just one ball after the halfway mark of the innings.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 92 for 1 in 10.1 overs (Tim Seifert 44, Finn Allen 29*, Tim Robinson 18*; Abrar Ahmed 1-15) beat Pakistan 91 in 18.4 overs (Salman Agha 18, Khushdil Shah 32, Jahandad Khan 17; Jacob Duffy 4-14, Kyle Jamieson 3-8, Zakarie Foulkes 1-11, Ish Sodhi 2-27) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
At the recently concluded International Schools Athletic Championship (ISAC), Lyceum International School Wattala emerged as champions. However, during the competition, a protest was lodged, alleging that one of Lyceum Wattala’s athletes was on the payroll of the Sri Lanka Army and, therefore, ineligible to participate in ISAC. Following an inquiry, the athlete was disqualified, and the points he had earned were deducted from the school’s total. By that time, he had already won gold medals in the Long Jump, Triple Jump, and 4x100m relay.
Lyceum Wattala has built a reputation for excelling in sports, but many attribute this success to its large-scale recruitment of athletes through scholarships. Notably, the two champion athletes of this year’s ISAC had previously represented other schools. Further inquiries have now revealed that another athlete, who competed for Lyceum Wattala at ISAC 2025 and secured the Under-20 Champion title by winning the 400m, 110m hurdles, and 4x400m relay, is also on the payroll of the Sri Lanka Army.
Unethical practices of this nature create an unhealthy competitive environment and discourage underprivileged schools, which struggle to retain their talent. Lyceum is not the only international school offering scholarships to top athletes; other international schools have also followed suit. One such leading institution, known for its strong academic results, has extended its scholarship program to sports, aggressively recruiting high-achieving students from other schools.
This school has reportedly granted scholarships to several students and even gone as far as providing free textbooks, exam fees, and opportunities for foreign travel.
Rather than nurturing homegrown talent, these international schools seem more focused on acquiring ready-made athletes from other institutions. The era of developing skilled players appears to be fading, as these schools increasingly prioritize assembling teams over fostering individual talents.
Strong all-round performances fromSuzie Bates and Brooke Halliday along with a breakout bowling display from Bree Illing helped New Zealand breeze to a seven wicket win against Sri Lanka in Christchurch to level the series at 1-1.
New Zealand’s bowlers set the tone with a frugal display after winning the toss and electing to bowl, restricting Sri Lanka to 113 for 7 in their 20 overs before Bates and Halliday made 47 and 46 not out respectively as the hosts cruised home with seven wickets and nine balls to spare. Bates was named player of the match after also bowling four overs for just 16 runs while Halliday also took 1 for 12 with the ball in addition to posting her highest T20I score.
Illing made use of the early morning start picking up a wicket in the opening over and a second in the seventh as she bowled straight with the new ball to finish with figures of 2 for 18 in just her second T20I after going wicketless in her debut in game one of the series on Friday
Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu was well held as Eden Carson, Jess Kerr and Bates were rotated at the other end with the latter bowling a maiden to Athapaththu in her first over. The scoreboard pressure told when Kerr castled her for 23 off 29 in the following over, the ninth of the innings, with Sri Lanka stalled at 3 for 46.
That soon became 4 for 53 when debutant Flora Devonshire picked up a wicket in her first over in international cricket.
Sri Lanka steadied thanks to a 54-run stand between Manudi Nanayakkara and Nilakshika Silva. Nanyakkara made 35 from 32 with four boundaries while Silva made 20 from 22. But neither player could break free as Bates bowled four overs for just 16 runs while Halliday also took a wicket in her two overs for 11 runs. Kerr took a wicket in the final over to finish with figures of 2 for 29.
New Zealand’s chase started poorly with Georgia Plimmer caught behind in the second over for just 4. Emma McLeod followed suit in the seventh over for a sluggish 11 from 13 but Bates controlled the chase at the other. Safe in the knowledge she needed less than a run-a-ball, she struck just four boundaries and only faced consecutive dot balls once in her 46-ball innings before she was caught and bowled in 15th over with 29 still needed to win.
Halliday ensured they were knocked off with ease striking multiple boundaries in both the 16th and 18th overs as she made 46 not out from 40 balls to steer her side home and go past her previous T20I best of 38.
The series will be decided in the third T20I in Dunedin on Tuesday.
Brief scores:
New Zealand Women 117 for 3 in 18.3 overs (Suzie Bates 47, Emma McLeod 11, Brooke Halliday 46*; Inoshi Priyadarshini 1-19, Sugandika Kumari 1-16, Achini Kulasuriya 1-11)beat Sri Lanka Women 113 for 7 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 23, Harshith Samarawickrema 11, Kavisha Dilhari 12, Manudi Nanyakkara 35, Nilakshika Silva 20; Bree Illing 2-18, Jess Kerr 2-29, Flora Devonshire 1-12, Brooke Halliday 1-11) by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
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