Latest News
New York, new challenges as Sri Lanka begin a long road
Puff of dust. Not on the pitch but on the outfield. That’s the first thing you notice about cricket at the Nassau County International Cricket Ground just outside New York City. The next thing you see is that the ball plugs in it. It doesn’t zip off like we are used to seeing in pretty standard conditions in cricket on TV these days. It is a sandy outfield where fielders won’t be queuing up to dive.
Then there is the drop-in pitch. In the warm-up game between India and Bangladesh held two days before the ground hosts its first World Cup match, the ball seamed around and also sat in the surface. Yet again, these are anything but standard conditions. And because of reasons not explained to the South Africa and Sri Lanka teams, they go into the match without any training session at the actual venue.
This is precisely why South Africa requested for at least a fielding session on the actual outfield after they were done with their nets at the Cantiague Park, another facility outside New York City. Even during the India-Bangladesh match, their coach Rob Walter and bowling coach Eric Simons made it a point to come to the venue and check the conditions out.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will visit the venue for the first time when they come in for the match. They even cancelled their nets session at the Cantiague Park. They have decided what they saw of the warm-up game on the TV is all they need to know. That is not as dramatic as it sounds because conditions are a little similar to Sri Lanka: sticky pitch, heavy outfield. That is what they have seen in their other practice sessions as well.
“First of all, we prepared really well,” Sri Lanka’s captain Wanidu Hasaranga said. “We came two weeks early to North Carolina, and we had practice sessions there. And we played two practice matches in Florida. And I think as a team, we prepared really well. And conditions are similar to Sri Lanka. So, I think as a team we have prepared really well.”
You can detect some sulkiness with Sri Lanka, though. Firstly, their flight into New York was delayed by seven hours. Then, unlike India and South Africa, they are staying in downtown Brooklyn, which makes it quite a trek to the ground. In fact when asked about adjusting to early-morning starts this World Cup – to cater to the TV audience in India – Hasaranga didn’t omit to mention the travel to the ground.
“No, if we played under lights, then we have to prepare, with the field and everything under the lights,” Hasaranga said when asked if they needed to make adjustments to early starts. “Then the only concern is we have to come early to the ground. We have to come at 7.30 in the morning because we are so far from the ground. It will take like one-and-a-half hours to the ground. That’s the only concern we have.”
Hasaranga is not incorrect. During the warm-up match, almost everyone had trouble getting to the ground with the police closing down the entrances to Eisenhower Park, which houses the stadium. Everyone is hopeful there is better co-ordination between the police and the ICC come match day when the roads will be closed at 7.30am for everyone except the team buses.
And then there is the frequent travel for them. Along with Netherlands, Sri Lanka are one of the only two teams that will play all their four first-round matches in four different venues. So they will be in a loop of match-travel-train-optional train-match through then first round.
We can sometimes not appreciate the small little challenges that can accumulate with these daily things. For example, when you are asked to train at another venue a day before the match, this is what happens: you load the cricket kits in the hotel at the team bus, then you unload them at the training facility, then you load again and go to your hotel, then you unload in the morning at the ground and load again because you have to travel immediately and don’t have the luxury of playing another match at the same venue.
South Africa were more philosophical with the logistical challenges that are part of coming to a new country, which on top of that is not used to hosting cricket, but they do get to play three matches in New York. Even they were bemused they had to train elsewhere. They didn’t know a reason why. Asked if they would have rather they trained at the venue of the match, their captain Aiden Markram said: “It’s hard to say because I’m not sure what [training facility] is there [at the venue of the match], because I haven’t been there. This facility is incredible to be honest, so we don’t mind training here either.”
[Cricinfo]
Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England’s ODI series decider against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Sunday, with Jordan Cox likely to replace him and keep wicket. Don Lawrence who is yet to win an international cap in either white-ball format, has been called up to the squad as cover.
Buttler pulled up with a left hamstring injury while running between the wickets in Thursday’s second ODI at Headingley and received treatment from England physio Steve Haw, a recent recruit from rugby union club Exeter Chiefs. He faced two more balls before retiring hurt, and briefly hobbled back to the middle before holing out as England slipped to a 16-run defeat.
Buttler’s eventual 69 was his highest score in ODIs in three years, but his injury will be something of a concern. He is now 36, and has been affected by various soft-tissue injuries in recent years. These have mainly been calf injuries, but he also suffered a similar left-hamstring issue during the 2024 IPL season.
England do not yet know the extent of Buttler’s injury but expect to have more information early next week once he has been for an MRI scan.
In Buttler’s absence, Cox is likely to win only his fourth ODI cap on Sunday and is expected to take the gloves ahead of Tom Banton. Kevin Pietersen, England’s new white-ball mentor, said on Thursday night that opportunities available through injuries would help build depth ahead of next year’s World Cup.
“[We need to] have certain players in certain positions, in order for us to know that if something like this happens to Jos in, say, the final round of whatever game in South Africa, and you’ve got to go and play a quarter-final, that somebody can step up into Jos’s boots – like we’re going to need to have on Sunday,” Pietersen said.
Lawrence, who made three half-centuries in four innings in England’s recent Test series win over Pakistan, has been withdrawn from Surrey’s ongoing Country Championship match at Somerset, having made his sixth hundred of the season on Thursday. He will train with the ODI squad at The Oval on Saturday.
Lawrence was previously called up to England’s ODI squad to face Pakistan in 2021 when their first-choice side went into Covid isolation, but did not play a game in the series. He has only played 28 List A games in his career, the most recent of them in May 2019.
(Cricinfo)
Tens of millions of people across the north-eastern US are in the path of a powerful storm bringing coastal flooding, power cuts, travel chaos and cancelled stadium events.
The so-called nor’easter is bringing “dangerous coastal flooding and beach conditions, strong winds and heavy rainfall” to areas including New York City and Boston on Saturday, the US National Weather Service (NWS) said.
States of emergency have been declared in New York and New Jersey, both of which faced a coastal deluge in some areas. Rain and strong winds are forecast from Virginia to Maine.
Ed Sheeran’s much-awaited Boston concert was among events called off due to the weather.
Residents on kayaks in a Beach Haven West, New Jersey, neighbourhood (BBC)The nor’easter caused widespread power cuts. More than 100,000 households, nearly all in the northeast US, have lost electricity, according to tracker PowerOutage.
The Federal Aviation Administration recommended air passengers check with airlines about their flight status. More than 2,400 flights have been delayed and another 1,199 grounded, according to FlightAware.
Saturday’s full moon is projected to worsen coastal flooding. Streets and homes were inundated with floodwater in the coastal New Jersey communities of Surf City and Manasquan on Saturday.
“I urge all New Jerseyans to take this storm seriously, stay alert and follow local guidance,” Governor Mikie Sherrill said.
NWS said in its alert: “Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses.”
In New York, officials are warning of wind gusts of up to 55mph (86km/h) throughout the weekend, leading to downed trees and power lines
“Don’t travel if you don’t have to,” NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani told residents in a video message. “Do not drive or walk through floodwater.”
In the Boston area, the Red Sox moved the last game in their series against the Chicago Cubs to Sunday afternoon in Florida.
A professional football match between Red Bull New York and St Louis City SC was also cancelled.
(BBC)
US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a week
He told reporters at the White House that Tehran “want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly”.
In a post on Telegram, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Trump’s comments, but said Tehran would wait for an official response from mediators.
On Friday, Araghchi had told reporters at the UN in New York that an agreement could be reached “if the necessary conditions are met” and that these were contained in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two countries in June.
The vital waterway through which around a fifth of the world’s gas and oil supply usually flows has been effectively closed since the outbreak of war in February.
“I’m rejecting their deal,” Trump said on Saturday, adding that the US already had “total control” of the strait, with “massive amounts of oil” passing through it.
“They want to make a deal, and I think that’s fine. I like making a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable,” he added.
Araghchi wrote that Trump “has made many good statements, as well as many contradictory ones, which unfortunately we hear frequently.”
He added that he would await the “definitive views” of mediators, and that Tehran “will make a decision based on that.”
On Friday the Wall Street Journal cited officials as saying Trump was sceptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he saw a renewed bombing campaign as probable.
Iran responded to US and Israeli air strikes, beginning in late February, by attacking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US – as well as blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure has caused wild fluctuations of energy prices.
The economic effects have also increased pressure on Trump to find a way of ending the conflict – particularly as the US heads towards Congressional elections in November.
(BBC)
Akalanka provides glimmer of hope for Sri Lanka
A tech-savvy new generation stepping in to reinvent Sri Lankan hospitality
Samaira and Revaan claim ATF Under 14 singles titles
Why do students ‘fear’ algebra?
Two Badulla forests covering nearly 200 hectares gazetted as reserves
Prepare for worst-case weather scenarios — Sajith
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News5 days agoMastermind Naufer Moulavi among 15 found guilty
-
News7 days agoMahaweli rises as heavy rain triggers flood, landslide fears
-
News6 days agoProtest against setting up of cement factory in highly populated area near BIA
-
Midweek Review5 days agoThileepan’s fast unto death: An authentic narrative that many missed
-
Latest News4 days agoShowers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara Districts
-
Editorial6 days agoTrouble beginning in earnest
-
Editorial5 days ago
Big Bad Bills
-
Weather7 days agoShowers about 100 mm are likely at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya Districts