Sports
Lekamge creates history at Asian Games
Thrower smashes national record to prove her coach right
by Reemus Fernando
Thrower Dilhani Lekamge smashed her own national record as she ended country’s track and field medal drought at the Asian Games winning the silver medal in the women’s javelin throw in Hangzhou, China yesterday.
The athlete trained by Pradeep Nishantha became the first Sri Lankan since 2006 to win a medal in track and field events at Asian Games as she hurled the javelin to a distance of 61.57 metres in her fourth attempt. With that she broke her own national record and that mark briefly elevated her to the top position before she was overtaken by India’s Annu Rani whose throw of 62.92 metres found to be the best throw of the evening.
She became the first Sri Lankan woman to break the 61 metres barrier as she proved her coach Pradeep Nishantha’s predictions right.
“I am happy that she could end the country’s medal drought at these Games. The authorities did not believe that she could win a medal for Sri Lanka. That was why I was not selected to accompany her to Asian Games as coach,” a jubilant Pradeep Nishantha said in an interview with The Island yesterday.
“I am happy for her achievement. Everything has gone according to plan. National record was what we were targeting. I hope this will encourage others to take up this discipline,” Nishantha further said.
The 36-year-old is also the first Sri Lankan (male or female) to win a medal in a throwing event at the quadrennial games and joins a selected number of Sri Lankan athletes to have won a medal in an individual event at Asian Games. She becomes the 12th Sri Lankan athlete to win an individual medal of any colour in track and field at Asian Games.
Tharushi to fight for two medals
Sri Lanka’s track and field athletes shrugged off the disappointment surrounding the missed opportunity in the 4×400 metres mixed relay in the morning session as Ratnayake Central prodigy Tharushi Karunaratne, veteran runner Gayanthika Abeyratne and the men’s 4x400metres relay team did well to advance to the finals of their respective events.
Sri Lanka’s mixed relay team were disqualified on Monday after finishing second due to a lane infringement.
The 800 metres specialist Karunaratne will vie for medals in two disciplines today after advancing to the 800 metres final as the second fastest of the three heats held yesterday.
Competing in heat three, which was found to be the fastest heat, Tharushi clocked 2:05.48 seconds to finish second behind China’s Wang Chunyu. Veteran runner Gayanthika who finished the women’s 1500 metres just outside the podium earlier in the championship competed in the second heat and was placed third with a time of 2:07.17 seconds, which was enough to earn a place in the final. The Sri Lankan duo who shared the gold and bronze in the 800 metres at the Asian Championships are among the favourites for the medals today.
It will be a busy day for Tharushi today as she is scheduled to anchor the women’s 4×400 metres final less than an hour after competing in the 800 metres final.
Sri Lanka rested their top two 400 metres sprinters for the men’s 4×400 metres heats where Dinuka Deshan, Pabasara Niku, Rajitha Rajakaruna and Pasindu Kodikara did well to secure the final spot finishing the heat in the second place behind Philippine. Sri Lanka clocked 3:06.60 seconds. They were the leaders in the final lap before Philippine pipped them in the last few metres.
Kalinga Kumarage and Aruna Dharshana who featured in the mixed relay final are set to join Niku and Rajakaruna in the final today.
Sri Lanka Cricket is laying the groundwork for a new chapter in the island’s cricketing history, with plans to stage day-night Test matches at the historic Sinhalese Sports Club ground.
The installation of floodlights at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) has now been completed and SLC Treasurer Sujeewa Godaliyadda said the project goes well beyond the immediate demands of the upcoming T20 World Cup.
SLC funded the floodlight project at a cost of Rs. 1.8 billion, with SSC set to host five matches of the showpiece event. The other venues for the tournament will be the Pallekele International Stadium and the R. Premadasa Stadium.
Speaking to journalists during a media tour to unveil the project, Godaliyadda said the long-term vision was for SSC to one day host day-night Test matches. While pink-ball Tests have gained traction globally in recent years, Sri Lanka are yet to stage one at home and the indication is that SSC will be the venue for the country’s first-ever day-night Test.
SSC ground will be leased for a certain amount of days a year to SLC for conducting training and games. It is part of the agreement that the board undertook to develop the ground.
Beyond the floodlights, the first phase of development also included upgraded dressing rooms and a new VIP viewing area. A second phase, scheduled to begin after the World Cup, will focus on expanding the venue’s capacity. SLC plans to upgrade SSC into a 30,000-seat stadium, a move the board believes will strengthen Sri Lanka’s case when bidding for future ICC events, including women’s and Under-19 tournaments.
SSC celebrated its 125th anniversary last year and has been the stage for many of Sri Lankan cricket’s defining moments. The ground hosted matches during the 1996 World Cup and was the scene of the world-record partnership of 624 runs between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene against South Africa in 2006.
Alongside SSC, the Colombo Cricket Club Ground, just across the road and the P. Sara Oval are also undergoing upgrades.
SLC is meanwhile pressing ahead with plans to build a new international-standard cricket ground in Jaffna and has identified several other locations for future venues, as demand for international facilities continues to grow.
With the T20 World Cup around the corner, Sri Lanka are getting their act together with some last moment preparations. A three-match home series against Pakistan next week in Dambulla is an opportunity to find answers to some nagging questions.
Over the past 24 months, Sri Lanka have been on a steady upward curve, rebuilding brick by brick. The only loose tile has been the T20 format. A home World Cup, though, offers the perfect chance to paper over the cracks.
At present, too much seems to rest on the broad shoulders of Pathum Nissanka. The opener has been motoring smoothly across formats and last September added another feather to his cap by becoming only the fourth Sri Lankan to score a T20I hundred. That it came against world champions India spoke volumes, a knock that virtually fast-tracked him to an IPL deal. When Nissanka fires, Sri Lanka purr; when he doesn’t, the engine splutters.
Kusal Mendis has struck up a productive opening partnership with Nissanka, giving Sri Lanka brisk starts. It is the middle order, however, that has repeatedly failed to carry the baton. Kusal Janith Perera, with a truckload of experience, remains the lynchpin. His recent dismissals have tested patience, but he is still the side’s leading batter and in a couple of overs can flip a game on its head.
Charith Asalanka endured a lean patch in T20 cricket, despite being prolific in the 50-over format. Relieved of captaincy duties, he now has the luxury of focusing solely on his batting.
Dasun Shanaka has been handed the captaincy and he has to justify his place in the side as a player. Batting where he does, Shanaka’s brief is clear: less about compiling scores and more about providing the late-innings punch, the kind of death-overs fireworks that can swing momentum in a hurry.
The selectors have also rolled the dice by drafting in Dhananjaya de Silva, hoping he can bat through the innings. Slotted in at number three, a role previously trialled, his adaptability will be closely watched. His off-spin adds another string to the bow, though Sri Lanka are hardly short of part-time options in that department.
Bowling, whether pace or spin, has largely held firm. It is the batting that has repeatedly let the side down, leaving bowlers to defend modest totals with little margin for error.
This three-match series, then, is Sri Lanka’s chance to shuffle the pack, experiment with combinations and get their balance right. The squad has had a handful of warm-up games in Colombo before heading to Dambulla on Friday evening to begin full training. The opening match is scheduled for Wednesday, followed by games on Friday and Sunday.
In a welcome off-field gesture, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced that profits from the series will be channelled towards rebuilding the lives of those affected by the recent cyclone. A three-match T20 series against India in August has also been announced for the same cause.
by Rex Clementine ✍️
Kagiso Rabada, who returned to action on New Year’s Eve after almost ten weeks on the sidelines with a rib injury, will lead South Africa’s attack at the men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February-March. Rabada, who took 2 for 48 on comeback for MI Cape Town (MICT) in the SA20, has been named alongside five other quicks: Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Lungi Ngidi and Kwena Maphaka complete South Africa’s pace battery.
Maphaka and Bosch are among seven players who will appear at a World Cup for the first time. The others are batters Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi and Jason Smith, and allrounders George Linde and Donovan Ferreira.
South Africa will be led by regular T20 skipper Aiden Markram and will have only seven members of the squad that reached the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Quinton de Kock is back at the top of the order after making himself available for South Africa in October, while David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Jansen, Rabada and Nortje were all in the XI that lost to India in Barbados in June 2024.
Of those not in the squad, Heinrich Klaasen has retired from international cricket while Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin and Tabraiz Shamsi have missed out. All eight of these players are currently in action in T20 franchise leagues, with the first seven at the SA20 and Shamsi at the ILT20 and then the BBL.
Among the biggest talking points in the current squad is the addition of de Zorzi, who has not played in a month, since injuring his hamstring in an ODI against India in Raipur. De Zorzi had been in good form prior to that match, and is seen as someone who is suited to subcontinent conditions. He is part of the Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) squad in the SA20 but has yet to play a game.
Tony is recovering well,” Moroney said. “He’s working with a medical team and he will be fit and ready to go when we play the West Indies. He’s probably slotting in at number three.”
Moroney also explained the selectors’ thinking behind leaving out Rickelton and Stubbs.
“It was a big decision between Quinny de Kock and Ryan Rickelton and ultimately we’ve opted to go with Quinny de Kock in that opening berth along with Aiden Markram,” he said.
“On Stubbs, in theory what we’ve really looked for there is to make sure that we have that attacking middle order where the left-handed David Miller slots in for us ideally and then with [Dewald] Brevis and [Donovan] Ferreira complementing him on either side is our general plan.
“That’s what we’ve opted for with Stubbs not included in this tour, in this World Cup.”
Smith, who only has five international caps to his name, is also something of a surprise inclusion. Smith has recently enhanced his reputation as a finisher after an unbeaten 68 off 19 balls to send Dolphins into the playoff of the CSAT20 Challenge, and the 14-ball 41 for MICT against DSG in the SA20 opener. Smith also offers a seam-bowling option, though he has not bowled since October as he recovers from a niggle. MICT coach Robin Peterson confirmed Smith may start bowling towards the end of the competition.
“Jason brings us a lot of versatility and is able to bat nearly anywhere in the order,” Moroney said. “He also gives us that opportunity to go in in the powerplay. That’s something that we were looking at, to get that player movement, to give the coach the opportunity to be strategic and slot batters into different positions in the batting order. It definitely gives us that versatility that we look for.”
Left-arm quick Nandre Burger, Moroney said, was unlucky to miss out. Burger sustained a hamstring injury recently, but it wasn’t this as much as competition for slots that led to his non-selection, with Nortje selected instead.
“Nandre Burger was part of the selection [conversation] and we’ve opted to go with Anrich Nortje instead of a player like Nandre. He’s recovering and everything indicates that he’ll be fully fit, but from a selection point of view we’ve gone with Anrich.”
In the spin department, South Africa have stuck to their two left-arm spinners in Maharaj and Linde, while Markram and Ferreira (who also keeps wicket) will be the offspin options. The international career of left-arm wristspinner Shamsi, who recently won a case for a no-objection certificate against Cricket South Africa and is no longer centrally contracted, appears to be over.
The T20 World Cup will be the first white-ball tournament under all-format coach Shukri Conrad, who took over the limited-overs sides in July last year. His regular support staff of Ashwell Prince (batting coach), Piet Botha (bowling coach) and Kruger van Wyk (fielding coach) will be enhanced by Albie Morkel as a specialist T20 consultant. Morkel is currently part of the management team of Joburg Super Kings at the SA20.
All South Africa’s players will be involved in the SA20 for most of this month. They will then host West Indies for three T20Is before heading to India for the T20 World Cup. Their campaign starts against Canada on February 9. South Africa will also play Afghanistan, New Zealand and the UAE in the group stage.
South Africa squad for the T20 World Cup:
Aiden Markram (capt), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Jason Smith
(Cricinfo)
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