Sports
Spinners, Healy, Mooney take Australia closer to semi-final
Only in the very early stages of this match could Sri Lanka have held serious hopes. Once Chamari Athapaththu – the only Sri Lanka batter with a history of scoring heavily against Australia – was dismissed for 16, Sri Lanka’s chances nosedived substantially.
Their innings never got going. Australia’s spinners delivered plenty of dot balls on a slow Gqeberha surface, as Harshitha Samarawickrama and Vishmi Gunaratne struggled to make strong contact. But it was the seam bowling of Megan Schutt that was most successful. She took 4 for 24 from her four overs, getting three of those dismissals in the final over of the innings.
Sri Lanka floundered to 112 for 8, and Australia’s outstanding openers made short work of the small target. Alyssa Healy continued her excellent form, hitting 54 not out off 43 balls. And Beth Mooney, who had had a quiet start to the World Cup, made 56 not out off 53. They sauntered to the target with 25 balls to spare.
Australia strike a definitive first blow
A big Athapaththu innings was always going to be Sri Lanka’s best chance of sneaking a win against the defending champions, and very briefly, it seemed as if Athapaththu was warming to her work. In Darcie Brown’s first over, Athapaththu smoked her through the covers, then slashed her in front of point two balls later. Later, she got on one knee to launch Ashleigh Gardner over cow corner for six.
But then in the fifth over, Ellyse Perry had a fullish delivery stick in the pitch for a moment, and Athapaththu’s attempted lofted shot down the ground went high in the air behind the bowler. It would have landed safely in most instances, but Grace Harris tore after the ball from mid-on, and went airborne to close her fingers around the catch while still mid-air.
Spinners tie up Sri Lanka’stop order
Sri Lanka’s second-wicket partnership – between Samarawickrama and Gunaratne – was their biggest, bringing 39 runs. But it also sapped the momentum from the innings, as Australia’s slow bowlers used a sluggish surface to good effect. Both batters attempted to use the pace of the ball, playing paddles and reverse sweeps. But often they failed to make contact, and even when they did, the ball did not carry to the boundary, because the surface was slow.Harris was the standout among the spinners – her offbreaks fetching 2 for 7 from three overs. Legspinner Georgia Wareham took 1 for 20 from her four overs.
Healy and Mooney race to the target
Australia’s openers chased down this total as if it was a birthright. Both batters hit Sugandika Kumari through square leg for four in the first over. In the fourth over, bowled by offspinner Oshadi Ranasinghe, Mooney hit another four square on the leg side, before Healy ran down the track twice to wallop successive boundaries.
They were even more effective after the powerplay ended, bringing the required rate down to 3.7 an over by the halfway stage. It was a cakewalk from there. Healy reached her half-century – her second of the tournament – with a reverse slap square on the off side, off the 38th ball she faced. Mooney got to her fifty at a run-a-ball, with victory in touching distance.
Brief Scores:
Australia 113 for 0 (Beth Mooney 56*, Alyssa Healy 54*) beat Sri Lanka 112 for 8 (Harshitha Samarawickrama 34, Megan Schutt 4-24, Grace Harris 2-7) by ten wickets
West Indies have named an unchanged squad for the upcoming home T20I series against Australia following the 2-0 loss to Sri Lanka.
The squad, led by Hayley Matthews, will take on the No. 1-ranked Australia side at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground in Kingstown for all three games. The squad is a mix of experienced players such as Matthews, Stafanie Taylor, Shemaine Campbelle and Deandra Dottin with teenage prospects Eboni Brathwaite and Jahzara Claxton. The series forms a key part of the teams’ preparation for the T20 World Cup in June this year in the UK.
“We’re really excited about the opportunity to play the number one ranked ODI and T20 team in the world,” head coach Shane Deitz said. “It’s just before the World Cup, so it’s a great opportunity to see where we are in our preparation. Playing against the best team in the world, we can see where our deficiencies are and where things are working well as we look forward to the tournament in June in England.
“It’s going to be a very tough series, but the players are up for the challenge. We haven’t played them in a competitive match since October 2023, so it’ll be good to see the progression of the team since that last meeting, namely in how much we’ve improved in certain areas and where we still need to improve moving forward. Our players are ready to show their skills and demonstrate the talent in this West Indies group. It’s going to be a fantastic tour and entertaining for everyone.”
The first T20I is scheduled for March 19 followed by the next two on March 21 and 23. The teams will also play a three-match ODI series following the T20Is at Warner Park in St. Kitts and Nevis. The tour was also supposed to include a Test match but it was dropped with the hosts wanting to prioritize white-ball cricket ahead of the T20 World Cup.
West Indies women T20I squad:
Hayley Matthews (captain), Chinelle Henry, Aaliyah Alleyne, Eboni Brathwaite, Shemaine Campbelle, Jahzara Claxton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Jannillea Glasgow, Shawnisha, Hector, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor
World and Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis added another centimetre to his own world pole vault record*, clearing 6.31m at the Mondo Classic – a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting – in Uppsala on Thursday (12).
The pole vault superstar had no failures on his way to his record-breaking performance, opening with 5.65m before scaling 5.90m and 6.08m at the first time of asking.
Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen finished second with 6.00m, his second six-metre vault of the season.
Zachery Bradford, Sam Kendricks and Kurtis Marschall all cleared 590m to place third, fourth and fifth respectively.
[World Athletics]
S. Thomas’ College adopted an ultra-cautious approach to reach 203 for four wickets at stumps on the opening day of the historic Battle of the Blues against arch rivals Royal College at the SSC Ground on Thursday.
After being put in to bat, the Thomian top order proceeded at a snail’s pace as they consumed a large number of overs to build their innings.
Openers Jaden Amaraweera and Avinash Fernando laid the foundation with a patient first wicket stand of 110 runs, occupying as many as 40 overs on either side of the lunch interval. The pair could have been separated earlier when Royal’s Vimath Dinsara dropped Avinash when the score was 85. Avinash, who was then on 39, was given a reprieve off the bowling of Gagan Gamage.
Making full use of the chance, Avinash went on to complete a half century. He faced 145 balls for his 50 which included five boundaries before being caught by Yasindu Dissanayake off the bowling of Gamage.
Amaraweera was the first to depart after compiling a patient 52 off 109 deliveries with seven fours. He was caught by Mahiru Kodituwakku off the bowling of spinner Himaru Deshan.
Following the two wickets that fell within the space of two overs, Methuka Gunarathna and Aaron Kodituwakku attempted to steady the innings with another long vigil at the crease. The pair batted for 28 overs but managed to
add only 37 runs.
Aaron endured a long stay for his 12 runs, facing 89 balls before falling to the spin of Ramiru Perera. Methuka contributed 44 runs off 116 balls with six boundaries before being dismissed later in the day.
At the close of play, Reshon Solomon remained unbeaten on 19 after facing 70 balls, while Raphael Hettige was not out on 12 as the Thomians ended a slow but steady first day on 203 for four. (RF)
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