Sports

Green Machine dismantled by Bamba Brigade

Published

2 years ago

2023/08/23

By Nimal Luxshman

Saturday afternoon drew a mammoth crowd to the St Peter’s College grounds, Bambalapitiya, to witness the battle between St. Peter’s College (SPC) popularly known as the ‘Bamba Brigade’ and Isipatana College (IC), tagged the ‘Green Machine’. The match was played to decide the winners of the inter schools’ rugby league champions for 2023 season. This crowd may have been the biggest ever seen at a rugby encounter played this season by two schools.

It did not take more than five minutes for the scoreboard to start ticking, when Yuneth Shihara, the SPC centre, scoring the first try of the match on the right flank and converting it himself to give SPC a 7-0 lead. Soon afterwards, Ishanka Abeykoon, who was in charge of the whistle, warned Chamindu Chirath, the Isipatana centre, for unfair play and sent the latter to the ‘SinBin’.

Around two minutes later the SPC hooker Wishmika was seen lifting Rinesh Silva of IC above his head and dashing him on the ground. When the entire crowd thought it should have ended up in a ‘Red Card’ for dangerous play, Irshad Carder, the Television Match Official (TMO) thought otherwise and decided on a Yellow Card on Wishmika and a penalty for IC. Some spectators felt that the Referee himself could have taken the decision as it happened near him mid field. The only question would have been to decide on the colour of the card, whether yellow or red.

IC reduced the lead to 7-3 when Rinesh Silva converted a penalty for them when a SPC player was spotted off-side.

Place kickers of both teams kicked astray a penalty each within the next couple of minutes, but the kick attempted by the SPC player was the more difficult one from 45 meters out.

Halfway during the first half a line out won by the SPC ended near the IC territory, just five meters out. Though IC may have expected their opponents to engage in a ‘rolling maul’, they were surprised when the ball was taken from the front and two SPC players running along the touch line for SPC No: 8 to score on the left flank. The Assistant Referee, though he may not have seen planting the ball, informed the Referee it was a try. Referee then consulted the TMO to ascertain whether the ball had been grounded properly or not and the latter confirmed it was in order. With this unconverted try, SPC increased their lead to 12-3.

Once again IC were penalised when Rinesh Silva was spotted holding on to the ball. The penalty was converted and the lead of SPC increased again to 15-3.

The best try of the game was seen just before half time when Rinesh Silva of IC collected a backhand pass by Shaahid Zumri and made a jinking run, past a host of baffled defenders, to score by the right goalpost. He converted it himself to relieve pressure on his team by reducing the lead to 15-10 at the “lemons”.

The SPC lead increased once again when a misdirected goal line drop-out by the IC skipper Naveen Kanishka ended up in the hands of SPC players who scored far right. The Referee once again sought the assistance of the TMO to check whether the ball had been grounded properly by SPC’s Dineth Ranasinghe. With that try being confirmed and the conversion going astray, SPC led 20-10.

The play was held up for a couple of minutes soon afterward when the match officials decided that the crowd was too close to the touchline on the opposite side of the main pavilion.

When play resumed SPC’s Ranasinghe was sent to the ‘Sin Bin’ for a deliberate knock on. IC opted to kick to touch and during the ensuing line out won the ball. The IC forwards, after several ‘Pick and go’ attempts, managed to score with Damhiru Rajapakse going over the line. Rinesh Silva converted it to reduce the score to 20-17 for his team to come back to the game, with 10 minutes of play still remaining.

However, SPC who excelled in everything they did, especially in rucking and support play during the match, increased their lead to 25-17again,when Kushal Tharindu scored a try, which went unconverted. The Bamba Brigade did not try any fancy stuff but stuck to basic conventional rugby, in comparison to the Green Machine who decided to run with the ball even within their own territory, quite dangerously.

With 10 minutes play remaining IC did the mistake of not clearing the ball from their own territory and ended up giving away another simple penalty to the opponents, who once again stretched their lead to 28-17 when Kushan Tharindu converted it.

Overall, the day belonged to the ‘Bamba Brigade’ who had been put through their paces by their head coach Sanath Martis, reputed to be a shrewd tactician in school rugby. During the second half his instructions may have been to maintain the lead by kicking deep into the opponent’s territory. His charges were seen executing his plan extremely well and gaining territory by kicking the ball from their own 50 meters to the opponents’ 22 meters. They were successful on three occasions and won lineouts in the IC territory. They dictated terms to the opponents and had absolute dominance of the game. The way they played could be rated flawless, when compared with the opponents who kicked aimlessly at inappropriate moments, in addition to dishing out erratic passes on several occasions.

The ‘Bamba Brigade’ thereby won the league championship after 13 years, remaining unbeaten throughout the season. They began with a win against Royal in their first outing of the season and put the icing on the cake by dismantling the Green Machine on their home soil in their last game yesterday.

A few comments seem necessary regarding the poor crowd handling by the organizers of SPC who hosted this game. Most of the spectators who had bought their tickets in advance found it extremely difficult to gain entrance to the ground as there was only one queue for ticket holders as well as those who did not possess tickets. Once a section of the crowd who had tickets had barged in causing a stampede. In a crunch game like this, the organisers should have had a separate queue for those who had purchased tickets. Large crowds unable to get into the ground caused huge traffic congestion near the Wellawatte Canal end of the Duplication Road. Thanks to the Police who ordered the gates to be opened a second stampede was avoided and the free flow of traffic ensured, bringing much relief to those commuting in buses, who had been thoroughly inconvenienced by the delays in traffic movement.

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Related Topics:Dialog School Rugby St Peter’s College Bambalapitiya

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West Indies seal consolation win in ten-over shootout

Published

2 hours ago

2026/02/1

Priyan

File photo: Gudakesh Motie claimed three quick wickets [Cricinfo]

West Indies claimed a consolation win in a match reduced to 10 overs a side at the Wanderers, to hand South Africa defeat in their first T20I in pink. With no ODIs scheduled in South Africa this summer, the annual fixture to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer treatment took place in the shortest format, and was made even shorter after prolonged delays for lightning.

Still, the sell-out crowd got their money’s worth in an entertaining encounter as both teams left everything on the field in their final competitive fixture before next month’s T20 World Cup.

With the series already won, South Africa may not be too unhappy with the outcome, especially as their middle order, untested in game one and two, had a hit out while West Indies’ ability to hold their nerve under pressure will stand them in good stead ahead of a major tournament. They secured a narrow win after two heavy defeats to leave South Africa with something to smile about.

West Indies’ innings started 75 minutes later than the scheduled 6pm start time after lightning strikes were spotted by the pilot in the flyover just before play. The match was reduced to 16 overs a side at that stage and West Indies came out swinging.Shai Hope carved the first ball through the covers for four and Johnson Charles also tried to take it on but Aiden Markram put a short over in place and Charles hit Ngidi straight to him for a three-ball duck.

Hope kept driving but it was Shimron Hetmyer, who arrived at the crease with neither a helmet nor a cap, who turned it on. He sent Ngidi into the stands and onto a spectator’s forehead for six (sidenote: the fan received a medical check-up) and then cleared deep backward square for six more. Hope hit Keshav Maharaj’s opening over for 18 but Markram kept faith in spin and brought himself on in the firth over. Hetmyer cut his first ball for four, then sent him over deep square leg for six and then Hope, off the last ball of the over, pulled Markram into the stands.

Linde delivered a tight second over but West Indies were in a strong position on 66 for 1 after six before the players were forced off again, as more lightning was spotted. Another hour’s delay reduced the match to 10 overs a side, which meant West Indies had just four overs left to bat when play resumed.

Corbin Bosch’s death-bowling was on display early with an over of good length deliveries before Hetmyer and Hope took on Maharaj again. His second over cost 20 but had some success when Hope hit him to Bosch at long-off. Rovman Powell sent Kwena Maphaka’s first and fifth ball for six and then gave Brevis a catch at deep cover before Hetmyer finished off. He ended the innings with his sixth six to finish on 48* off 22 balls. West Indies scored 114 for 3 in 10 overs and South Africa’s target was adjusted up to 125.

Quinton de Kock, fresh off of century at SuperSport Park, got South Africa to a perfect start with 19 runs off the opening over but Markram couldn’t get going in the same way. He top-edged Akeal Hosein straight up and Hosein did well to take the catch as Hetmyer ran in from extra cover and the pair were fortunate to avoid a collision. South Africa sent in Dewald Brevis ahead of Ryan Rickelton at No.3, and it was almost an early mistake. Brevis was dropped on 2 by Romario Shepherd at midwicket – making it West Indies’ third big-name drop in as many games (Markram in match one, Rickelton in match two) – and they would have wondered how costly it would be.

At first, they got rewarded at the other end. De Kock could not clear long-off and was caught on the rope by Powell to give Gudakesh Motie his first wicket of the series. Then, Rickelton and Brevis then combined for a 28-run stand off 11 balls, with two sixes each, but neither could sustain the momentum. Rickelton picked out Holder at long-on to become Motie’s second and Brevis, on 17, got a taste of his own medicine when he fell to a relay catch between Powell and Holder in the same over. South Africa were 63 for 4 after six overs, and needed 62 runs to win off the next four.

Jason Smith, picked as a finisher for the T20 World Cup, made his case with 20 off the first seven balls but did not get any strike in the penultimate over. South Africa needed 27 off 12 balls and Tristan Stubbs reduced that to 15 off the last five balls before he gave Smith strike to try and finish off. Shamar Joseph, in his first appearance in this series, was tasked with the final over. He went yorker length and took out Smith’s middle stump with his third ball, to leave South Africa needing nine runs off two balls. Bosch was dropped off the second last ball of the match when he skied Joseph to Powell at long-on and broke his bat in the process. He also didn’t ground the bat as he ran so South Africa were one-short, had to score eight off one and lost by six runs.

Brief scores:
West Indies 114 for 3 in 10 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 48*, Shai Hope 48, Rovman Powell 13; Lungi Ngindi 1-19, Keshav Maharaj 1-38, Kwena Maphaka 1-12) beat South Africa 118 for 6 in 10 overs (Quinton de Kock 28,Dewald Brevis 17, Ryan Rickelton 15, George Linde 17, Jason Smith 26, Tristan Stubbs 10*; Jason Holder 1-30, Akeal Hosein 1-25, Gudakesh Motie 3-17, Shamar Joseph 1-23) by 6 runs – DLS

[Cricinfo]

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Pathirana: ‘My body just automatically changed the release point’ after injury

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/1

Priyan

Matheesha Pathirana bowls, his release point still higher than it used to be [Cricinfo]

If there was one positive from Sri Lanka’s defeat to England in the first T20I, it was how well their bowlers kept England’s batters in check on a batter-friendly surface. Particularly Matheesha Pathirana.

Pathirana, the 23-year-old slinger, returned figures of 1 for 18 across his four overs – and it might have been two had Pathum Nissanka not grassed a chance in the deep – but his impact was immense, as evident in ESPNcricinfo’s MVP index, where he was only behind Adil Rashid, whose 3 for 19 ripped through Sri Lanka’s batting.

The target of 134 off 17 overs (later revised to 115 in 15) proved too low to defend, but the margin of defeat – 11-runs via DLS – was not as wide as it might have been given the nature of the pitch.

On a good batting surface, seamers in particular suffered – Sam Curran and Eshan Malinga went at around 12 an over, while Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton both went at over seven. But Pathirana ticked along at an economy rate of 4.5.

He did so bowling his entire repertoire, from quick yorkers – he was hovering in the mid-140s, with his quickest delivery clocking 148kph – to pace-off length deliveries and spicy short ones. Even more impressive was the fact that he bowled two of his overs inside the powerplay. Pathirana is renowned for his death-overs exploits, but here, with a sub-par total to defend, Sri Lanka called on their strike bowler to take the new ball.

“Even though I’ve practiced to bowl in the powerplay, there was no plan as such for me to bowl there today,” Pathirana said after the game. “It just so happened that our score was lower than we wanted, so it was decided that I would bowl in the powerplay.”

Pathirana’s control was impressive. Wides have been an issue in the past – a common trade-off for a slingy action such as his – but on Friday night, there were just three across his spell.”Honestly I didn’t do anything major, just simple, basic things. The main thing was increasing the number of repetitions in practice. If there is any improvement, that’s the reason”

“Over the last year, year-and-a-half, along with my injuries, it was a challenging period,” he said. “I lost my rhythm. I’ve worked very hard to get back to this level. And then more recently Mali aiya [Lasith Malinga] was here in Sri Lanka helping out, as well all the coaches at SLC – not just one – all of them helped me get here.”

The impact of fellow slinger Malinga cannot be understated. Malinga has long been a proponent of target-based training drills, and hours of repetitive practice. And most recently he has been working as Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling coach in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.

“Honestly I didn’t do anything major, just simple, basic things,” Pathirana said. “The main thing was increasing the number of repetitions in practice. If there is any improvement, that’s the reason. In terms of practice I increased it greatly.”

It’s a sharp turn in fortunes for Pathirana, who had only played two T20Is for Sri Lanka in 2025 – owing to a combination of poor form and injuries – and had been released by Chennai Super Kings [CSK] following IPl 2025. He had since been picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), but that was more of an educated punt than anything based on tangible data.

Among the criticisms levied at Pathirana during this period was that his release point was not as low as it used to be. Stephen Fleming, the CSK coach, in fact pointed out this very fact when talking about the quick bowler’s decline in IPL 2025.

On Friday, Pathirana’s release point was lower than in recent times but still not as low as during his breakout season. He explained that his change in action had largely been involuntary, and down to a fairly serious shoulder injury he had been nursing.

“Yes,” he responded when asked if his release point had changed. “In the recent past, I was playing with a fairly major shoulder injury. So I think my body just automatically changed the release point. Even now I am doing rehab in between matches, and I think that’s why I’m seeing an improvement, and so you can see that the release point is getting to what it used to be.”

A fit and firing Pathirana is crucial for Sri Lanka, and with Dushmantha Chameera waiting in the wings, as well as Eshan Malinga ticking along well – he picked up two wickets on Friday with clever variations – Sri Lanka’s seam contingent at least looks in rude health heading into the World Cup.

[Cricinfo]

Latest News

U 19 World Cup: Emon five-for gives Bangladesh consolation win against Zimbabwe

Published

6 hours ago

2026/02/1

Priyan

Iqbal Hossain Emon ran through the Zimbabwe line-up [Cricinfo]

A clinical five-for from Iqbal Hossain Emon set up a consolation win for Bangladesh in their final match of the Super Six and this edition of the Under-19 World Cup. Chasing 254, Simbarashe Mudzengerere’s 70 was the only meaningful contribution in a chase that fizzled out with Zimbabwe reduced to 54 for 5, then 104 for 7.

Emon took out both the openers in his opening spell en route to scalping four of the first five wickets to fall in the Zimbabwe chase. Al Fahad complemented him with the new ball and thereafter, taking three wickets for 39 runs in his own spell – this included the final wicket of the chase as well, when he knocked over Webster Madhidhi.

The most significant resistance in Zimbabwe’s innings was the 64-run partnership between Mudzengerere and Shelton Marzvitorera – the highest for the ninth wicket for them in Youth ODIs. However, by then, the required rate had long climbed out of reach, and Al Fahad’s slow bouncer dismissed Mudzengerere to snuff out any hopes of a miracle.

Earlier, Bangladesh’s innings had been set up by captain Azizul Hakim’s 59 off 87. His steady knock, from No. 3, came to an abrupt end when Tatenda Chimugoro had him nicking behind to the keeper. Rizan Hossan came close to a half-century himself, but was prised out on 47 by Michael Blignaut. Bangladesh were reduced to 153 for 4, then 211 for 8 with less than four overs to go.

The Zimbabwe bowlers, who had kept control of the economy rate throughout a disciplined bowling effort, gave away 22 runs off Webster Madhidhi in the final over of the innings. Emon and Fahad were at the forefront of this attack too: they hit him for 4, 4, 2 wides, 4 and 6 to close out their innings, with the momentum swinging back to Bangladesh in their most productive over of the day.

The duo’s burst with the new ball ensured Bangladesh remained on top for the rest of the contest. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh are both knocked out of contention for the semi-finals at this World Cup, but by the time Fahad took the final wicket of the defense, the latter had something to celebrate.

Brief scores:
Bangladesh Under 19s 253 for 9 in 50 overs (Azizul Hakim 59, Rizan Hossan 47; Tatenda Chimugoro 2-49, Shelton Mazvitoerera 2-44, Michael Blignaut 2-41) beat Zimbabwe Under 19s 179 in 48.4 overs (Simbarashe Mudzengerere 70, Shelton Mazvitorera 42*; Iqbal Hossain Emon 5-24, Al Fahad 3-39) by 74 runs

[Cricinfo]