Sports
Sri Lanka’s aggressive brand of cricket will test Bangladesh
by Rex Clementine
It’s been a refreshing two months following the Sri Lankan cricket team. They were a breath of fresh air. A far cry from the sloppy, sluggish and unattractive team that featured in the World Cup and finished an awful ninth costing themselves a place in the Champions Trophy. Five series wins inside two months is no mean task, but some will always say that it was Afghanistan and Zimbabwe and bigger challenges are ahead in a couple of months’ time. Point granted.
But the problem is Sri Lanka hardly looked threatening during the World Cup and were comprehensively beaten by both Bangladesh and Afghanistan. This time around, Sri Lanka did not let Afghanistan off the hook and if not for Lyndon Hannibal’s blunder at Dambulla they would have finished things off with flying colours beating the Afghans in seven straight games.
Having proper leaders has certainly worked for Sri Lanka in recent months. For decades we had picked the team and then chosen the leader. But the previous selection committee made an exception. They picked the captain first and then then the team. And Dasun Shanaka was no Mike Brearley or Ian Chappell. The results were disastrous. The selectors didn’t have the courage to sack the captain even after he had become a liability going through an extended lean patch. This resulted in deep divisions within the team as seen during the World Cup. Gloom was written all over the Sri Lankan camp and it’s no surprise they had such a horrendous tournament.
The previous selection committee also need to explain why they didn’t allow Dhananjaya de Silva to succeed Dimuth Karunaratne ahead of the new World Test Championship cycle. Dimuth in fact urged the selectors to announce a new captain prior to the series against Pakistan last year. You wonder whether the selectors had an axe to grind with DDS. But no one will have a bone to pick with DDS for he is such a likeable fellow. Small minds in big places is the only answer.
SLC received a lot of flak for the team’s poor show during the World Cup, but the fact of the matter is you can’t blame the board for they had not meddled with the affairs of the team entrusting the professionals who had been put in place would do an honest job. Those professionals sadly behaved like amateurs and failed us all.
So, what’s ahead of the team in Bangladesh. If they continue to push for excellence in fielding, bat with aggression and try to knock off the opposition without containing them, there’s no reason why they should cruise past the hosts.
There will be challenges though for the team. They will be without captain Wanindu Hasaranga, who has been suspended for the first two games. They will feel the absence of Pathum Nissanka too, who is nursing a hamstring injury. Also missing is strike bowler Dushmantha Chameera, who is not fully fit but he should be alright for the IPL. Priorities in life matters.
Injury to Nissanka sees the return of Avishka Fernando. You always get the feeling that successive selection panels have not got the best out of Avishka. A player of his kind tends to get out early but these are the kind of batters who live by the sword and die by the sword. When you see someone like him you should be prepared to give the long rope but selectors have shown little patience over the years. And sadly Avishka, unlike some others, doesn’t have any godfathers in cricket.The national cricket team left for Dhaka yesterday.
Shammi Silva has once again taken guard at the top of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), securing a fourth consecutive term as President at the Annual General Meeting, held amidst much fanfare at Colombo’s Cinnamon Grand Hotel yesterday.
Already calling the shots as President of the Asian Cricket Council, Silva’s crowning achievement in recent years has been bringing the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup to Sri Lankan shores. The marquee tournament will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India next year, a feather in the cap for the country’s cricket administrators.
Silva’s administration has made a concerted effort to bridge the yawning gap between domestic and international cricket. One of the bold strokes in this innings has been trimming the number of First-Class teams – a move aimed at upping the quality and sharpening the edge of domestic cricket.
SLC Ex-Co also played a straight bat when it comes to developing cricket beyond Colombo’s city limits. High Performance Centres have sprung up across the outstations, rolling out the red carpet for raw talent from the hinterlands, who had previously been left in the pavilion.
The school cricket circuit too has been given a shot in the arm, with infrastructure development and skill enhancement taking centre stage. By strengthening the grassroots, the current administration hopes to widen the talent pool and unearth future stars of the game.
SLC’s balance sheet tells its own story – healthy and in the black. Over the past five years, the board’s financial stability has not only benefited cricket, but has also allowed it to lend a helping hand to other sports disciplines, at the request of the Ministry of Sports.
With over three decades of experience under his belt as a sports administrator, Shammi Silva is the long-serving President of the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC), one of the game’s oldest institutions in the country.
The 64th AGM was largely a case of “same XI, new season,” with only one notable change to the playing field – Secretary Mohan de Silva making way for seasoned campaigner Bandula Dissanayake. No stranger to the inner workings of SLC, Dissanayake has previously chaired the Tournament and Umpires Committees, and brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa and former First-Class player Ravin Wickramaratne retained their Vice-President slots, while Sujeewa Godaliyadda continues to hold the Treasurer’s post. Chryshantha Kapuwatta and Lasantha Wickremasinghe will once again don the hats of Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, respectively.
The election, part of SLC’s biannual cycle, was overseen and greenlit by the Election Committee chaired by retired Court of Appeal Justice Malani Gunaratne.
Vidyaloka College fought back on the back of a valuable century by Nimesh Aavinda to pull off two wickets victory over Kingswood in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘B’ cricket tournament final played at Saliyapura, Anuradhapura on Monday.
Vidyaloka had a deficit of 36 runs in the first innings but a combined effort helped them restrict Kingswood to 161 runs in the second essay. They were left with a target of 198 runs to chase. And they achieved it with Nimesh Aavinda top scoring with 115 runs.
Scores
Kingswood
227 all out in 83.3 overs (Chanul Kodituwakku 33, Aadil Sheriff 69, Kavija Gamage 25, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 56; Seniru Ninduwara 4/74, Lidula Nuwanga 2/58, Nimesh Aavinda 2/48, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/19) and 161 all out in 65.3 overs (Kavija Gamage 57, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 45; Seniru Ninduwara 2/45, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/07)
Vidyaloka
191 all out in 79.3 overs (Lidula Nuwanga 81, Seniru Ninduwara 34, Tharusha Jayamith 23; Kavija Gamage 4/63, Upadi Jayawardane 2/41) and 200 for 8 in 48.3 overs( Nimesh Aavinda 114, Lidula Nuwanga 34, Seniru Ninduwara 28; Kavija Gamage 3/80, Dominsara Peiris 2/51)
by Reemus Fernando
There was a growing sense of uncertainty surrounding the hosting of the 120th edition of the Lovers’ Quarrel Big Match after Richmond College raised concerns over an attempt by Mahinda College to field a newly recruited player in the team at the historic match which was scheduled to commence on Thursday.
Richmond College authorities have informed Mahinda that they would pullout from the match if the newly recruited player who played for St. Aloysius’ in the just concluded Under 19 cricket tournament is included in the Big Match team.
According to sources Mahinda College have recruited St. Aloysius’ skipper Charya Paranavithana at the end of the Under 19 cricket tournament and are yet to register him under their name with Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association. They have included the player in the Big Match squad.
A source close to Mahinda said that though the player is included in the squad he was not certain to be in the playing XI.
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