The Ashes in Australia in recent times has been a one-way street, with England repeatedly finding themselves on the wrong side of the traffic. In 2007 they were steamrollered 5-0; in 2014 another whitewash followed. The last two tours, in 2018 and 2022, ended 4-0. This time around, too, England appear to be staring down the barrel unless someone conjures up an Ian Botham-esque rescue act. In 1981, in what came to be known as Botham’s Ashes, England were teetering on the brink before their most charismatic cricketer turned the series on its head.

Ironically, this was England’s best shot at winning an Ashes series in Australia for decades. On paper, they had ticked most of the boxes. They had unearthed a couple of fast bowlers capable of matching Australia’s pace, boasted a fit all-rounder and inspirational leader in Ben Stokes and arrived brimming with confidence. Then, almost inexplicably, they pressed the self-destruct button from day one. By unleashing Bazball — a high-octane, take the game by the scruff of the neck approach that thumbed its nose at tradition — England challenged the game’s old order. The problem was, it backfired spectacularly. Heading into the third Test in Adelaide, there is a real danger that the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the New Year Test in Sydney will be reduced to dead rubbers.

Bazball had worked, no question about that — but largely against soft opposition. Pathum Nissanka’s sublime hundred at The Oval last year, which powered Sri Lanka to a rare Test win in England, was a case in point. England had made life easier for the visitors. In seaming conditions, when the ball was jagging around corners, their batting resembled a drunken sailor hitting the streets — all bravado, little judgment.

There was, undeniably, an air of arrogance about England’s approach. And as the old adage goes, pride comes before a fall and this has been a mighty tumble.

England had their moments in the first Test in Perth. They were ahead of the game going into the lunch break on day two. Test cricket in Perth nowadays is no longer played at the old WACA, that cauldron of pace and bounce. The Optus Stadium is an architectural marvel, bristling with state-of-the-art facilities, but it remains a notoriously tough place to bat in the opening days. England chose to ignore that reality. Convinced their aggressive methods could trump history and conditions, they believed they could bludgeon their way out of trouble. It was a grave miscalculation.

Lahiru Kumara, Sri Lanka’s fast bowler, summed it up neatly last year in England when, after dismissing a free-wheeling batter in seaming conditions, he asked: “Do you think this is T20 cricket?” That question has echoed loudly in Australia. What might work on England’s smaller grounds is a recipe for disaster on Australia’s vast expanses, where mistimed shots die in the deep and bowlers are rewarded for patience. How England failed to grasp such a basic truth defies comprehension.

England’s defiance of common sense extended beyond tactics. Take the case of Jamie Smith. He represents Surrey in First Class cricket but does not keep wickets for them; that job is handled by the reliable Ben Foakes, while Smith plays as a specialist batter. Yet at Test level, Smith is deemed good enough to don the gloves for England. It is the sort of bold call that may pass muster against fragile opposition, but against a hardened Australian side it left England exposed.

After the humiliation in Australia four years ago, heads rolled in England. There is a sense of déjà vu about this tour, with history threatening to repeat itself. England arrived believing they could change the script with bravado alone. Instead, they have been hoist by their own petard — undone not by lack of talent, but by an arrogance that refused to play the situation.

by Rex Clementine

Star shuttlers Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage will be in action among over 1500 competitors lined up for the 73rd National Badminton Championship 2025 set to take place from December 17th to 23rd at the S. Thomas’ College Indoor Sports Complex in Mount Lavinia.

Organised and conducted by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), the country’s main domestic badminton event will take place at Mount Lavinia for seven consecutive days, with an expected high participation of top ranked and leading shuttlers of the country, who will compete in different categories.

The SLB officials stated that they are currently overwhelmed by the extraordinary enthusiasm among local shuttlers as the number of entries this year exceeded last year’s total count of 1254, a clear progress from 2023 edition’s tally of 1140. This year, the count has improved beyond the tally of the previous editions to 1525 entries as confirmed, which substantiates the gradual progress of the shuttle sport as a result of continuous development programmes conducted by SLB over the recent years.

The final and official number of entries will be determined by SLB officials following the main draw, which will take place on December 14th at the SLB Headquarters at No.28, Maitland Place, Colombo 7. The main draw seeding will be determined based on SLB Ranking as of December 12th, and the draw will be conducted on BWF tournament software, and could be viewed live on the facebook page and website of SLB.

The championships with a grand prize money of Rs.2 million, will feature a wide range of events from Under-11 to Under-19 in the Junior category and Over-30 to Over-70 in the Senior category, as well as the Combined age category of 100+, 110+ and 120+. But, the Open events comprising Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, will take centre stage at this grand annual event.

The opening ceremony will take place on December 17th, and will be followed by the preliminary rounds, leading up to the climax on December 19th with the Round of 16 and quarter-finals. The excitement will continue up to December 21st, with the highly anticipated semi-finals and additional quarter-final and selected final matches. The grand finale is set for December 23rd, where all the selected finals will be held, concluding with the Closing Ceremony to mark the culmination of the prestigious 73rd National Badminton Championship 2025.

At the 72nd National Badminton Championship 2024, Olympian Viren Nettasinghe and top seed women’s shuttler Ranithma Liyanage claimed double crowns, winning the Men’s Open Singles and Women’s Open Singles titles respectively. Viren and Ranithma paired up to complete a double crown by winning the Open Mixed Doubles title. Former national top ranked Buwaneka Goonathilake and Jason Homer emerged as the Open Men’s Doubles champions while the Open Women’s Doubles title was won by Varanjana Jayawardena and Rashmi Mudalige. The country’s elite domestic badminton event, conducted in accordance to BWF regulations, is sponsored by McFoil, Mobil, Li Ning, 3M and GAC.

A member of England’s security staff was involved in an altercation with a Channel Seven camera operator at Brisbane airport.

The incident took place on Saturday morning as the touring squad were departing for Adelaide ahead of the third Ashes Test, which begins on Wednesday.

Footage from the broadcaster shows the security guard pushing away the camera operator as he looks to get up close to the players, who had driven down from Noosa where they had been enjoying a mid-series break The trip itself  had been the subject of derision The trip itself had been the subject of derision after England went 2-0 down in the Ashes following their defeat at the Gabba last week.

While the footage shows Seven had adhered to this protocol, the state of the series has ramped up the media focus on England, who must win the next Test to keep the series alive having been beaten twice inside six days of cricket.

Unofficially, England have urged their security staff to operate with a light touch, particularly given the number of well-meaning requests they have received for selfies when out and about. They were greeted in Adelaide by “eight to ten camera crews” at the baggage carousel.

Ever since arriving in Perth at the start of November, England have been subject to plenty of attention from local and national organisations, and reacted in good grace. Having been warned of the intense scrutiny on Ashes tours, a number of players have not batted an eyelid at various intrusions.

They indulged filming of their rounds of golf ahead of the first Test, joking that the use of drones made them feel like they were receiving coverage akin to professional golfers. In Brisbane, when skipper Ben Stokes and other team-mates were photographed not wearing helmets while using e-Scooters – a fineable offense in the state of Queensland – Stokes brushed it off, even when asked by a journalist if he and his team would apologise for the misdemeanour. When the transgression was put to Ollie Pope ahead of the second Test, he reacted matter-of-factly: “Just put a helmet on next time. Rules are rules.”

The squad were also confronted by media in Noosa over the last three days, both at the beach and bars of the Sunshine Coast resort town. Stokes even indulged a photo opportunity on the beach during a squad-wide game of football keepy-uppy (otherwise known as PIG), with radio station MixFM employees “Archie and Bretz”, who were wielding placards such as “FOR SALE: MORAL VICTORIES” while dressed in full whites.

This incident, however, is a break from that norm, at a time when England have come under fire for their poor performances.

Poor batting displays and a bowling attack losing their way have exacerbated annoyance from England fans at the team’s refusal to accept that their build-up for a series of this magnitude has been less than ideal.

They played a single warm-up match against England Lions at Lilac Hills ahead of vastly different conditions at Perth’s Optus Stadium. After choosing not to send their first-string to practice under lights against the Prime Minster’s XI in Canberra, England opted for five training sessions ahead of the day-night Test at The Gabba. After succumbing to a second eight-wicket defeat, head coach Brendon McCullum stated they had over- prepared.

There is a suggestion that England’s long lead-in to the second Test – which started with a previously unscheduled session at Allan Border Field – was triggered by the criticism of their preparation. This airport incident, however minor, speaks of a crack in their laissez-faire approach at the halfway point of the tour, with a month and three Tests to go, underlining the seriousness of what is at stake in Adelaide and beyond.

(Cricinfo)