Sports
Stunning Chapman onslaught helps New Zealand make it 1-1
It doesn’t seem to matter who turns up for New Zealand each year; the series they play in Pakistan invariably turn out to be competitive. After a below-par performance in the second T20I, a Mark Chapman inspired New Zealand side brushed past Pakistan in the third to level the series up 1-1.
Chapman finished with a scintillating unbeaten 87 off 42 balls as he made light work of the 178 Pakistan had mustered, with the visitors getting there with ten balls and seven wickets to spare.
Chapman was New Zealand’s most impressive performer when a similarly understrength side visited in April 2023, and had little trouble picking up where he left off. New Zealand had begun brightly with the big-hitting Tim Robinson and Tim Seifert but lost both within the space of seven balls to Abbas Afridi and Naseem Shah respectively. At that point, with inexperience to follow and a battery of impressive bowling options for Babar Azam, the chase felt in severe danger of being railroaded off course.
But Chapman demonstrated that his ability extended beyond power hitting, as he set about taking apart the dangerous duo of Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed. He understood the target wasn’t imperious enough to require reckless slogging and manipulated the field to pick boundaries in three successive overs the two bowled. There was a fateful slice of fortune when Naseem fluffed a fairly simple chance off a miscued sweep, and it resulted in the batter going back into his shell for a stray Iftikhar Ahmed over.
The reprieve ended up costing Pakistan dearly. Iftikhar was shown no such respect when he came back on, smashed for a huge six back over his head and as Chapman steered New Zealand towards Pakistan’s total with chanceless inevitability, the flair in his game began to shine through, too. For he wouldn’t just get New Zealand to their target, but land a psychological blow by decimating their two prized fast bowlers.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was the first to bear the brunt, as two boundaries and a six in the 15th over brought the asking rate below nine. Babar brought his ace Naseem back in immediately, but a worse fate awaited him. A carved six, a carved four, a straight six, and a pulled four. That’s how his first four balls went, sealing Pakistan’s fate in a 23-run over that plunged the required rate to under a run a ball.
It’s perhaps obligatory to say at this point that Dean Foxcroft was an able understudy, but in truth, this was a one-man chase. Just two boundaries came off Foxcroft’s bat in a 117-run partnership, and while Foxcroft struggled to keep his strike rate over 100, Chapman would finish at more than double that. Pakistan will rightly reflect on the quality of their death bowling, but the fact all it took was a solo effort to hunt down what they managed raises the question about the adequacy of that first innings total.
Pakistan were put in to bat on a pitch Babar said was the typical batting-friendly strip Rawalpindi is known for, in stark contrast to Saturday’s surface. But the approach Pakistan took to setting a target befitting such a pitch was muddled, at best. Saim Ayub got the side off to his trademark flyer, but in Zak Foulkes, Ish Sodhi and Will O’Rourke, New Zealand kept finding bowlers to sneak in tight overs and stymie Pakistan’s momentum.
That was especially true once Ayub departed and Babar and Mohammad Rizwan came together two balls after the powerplay ended. Overs six to 11 saw New Zealand allow just 36 runs as the momentum Pakistan had built up faded, with Rizwan, in particular, unable to find the gaps he so cannily does in the powerplay. He would go off shortly after with a hamstring injury, while captain Michael Bracewell coaxed a false shot from the Pakistan captain to send him on his way.
Pakistan would meander for another couple of overs, but it was Shadab Khan’s introduction that injected purpose into Pakistan’s innings. By now, the run rate had slipped to 8.07, but a couple of boundaries of his first four balls set the wheels in motion for an innings where he flew to 41 off 20. Alongside Irfan Niazi, Pakistan began to blast their way back towards a competitive total. Perhaps cruelly for New Zealand, it was Bracewell, whose overs had reined Pakistan in so, who took the greatest flak during that whirlwind partnership as the pair smashed his final over for 19 runs.
Once more, though, New Zealand found a way to have the final say, with Jacob Duffy and Foulkes managing a pair of tight final overs that kept Pakistan below 180. Pakistan might have felt it was enough against an enfeebled New Zealand side, but as is often the case in T20 cricket, there are few hiding places for below par totals.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 179 for 3 in 18.2 overs (Tim Robinson 28, Tim Seifert 21, Mark Chapman 87*, Dean Foxcroft 31; Naeem Shah 1-44, Abbas Afridi 2-27) beat Pakistan 178 for 4 in 20 overs (Saim Ayub 32, Shadab Khan 41, Babar Azam 37, Mohammad Rizwan 22, Irfan Khan 30*; Jacob Duffy 1-39, Michael Bracewell 1-40, Ish Sodhi 2-25) by seven wickets
(Cricinfo)
The India and Zimbabwe women’s teams are all set to play an international fixture against each other for the first time when Zimbabwe tour India for white-ball fixtures this October.
The tour comprises three T20Is and three ODIs and will be Zimbabwe’s first visit to India; India are yet to tour Zimbabwe for bilateral fixtures.
The three T20Is will be played in Raipur on October 16, 18 and 20, and the ODIs are on October 23, 25 and 28 in Baroda.
The fixtures were announced by the BCCI on Wednesday, along with two home series for the India A women’s side against Australia A in September and England A in December. Both those series comprise three T20s, three List A games and one multi-day fixture.
The India Under-19 women’s team will also host Sri Lanka U-19 in June and July for three T20s and three 50-over games, and England U-19 in November and December for five T20 fixtures.
The Australia A men’s side will tour India for two multi-day fixtures and three one-dayers in September and October, while the Australia U-19 side will visit India for two multi-day fixtures and three one-dayers also in September and October.
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Fast bowlers to get more opportunities as new format introduced for Under-15 Division I tourney
The Inter-Schools Under-15 Division I cricket tournament will be conducted under a revamped format this year, with organisers shifting the focus back to limited-overs cricket while introducing new rules aimed at promoting fast bowling.
The tournament, organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA), will see only the top-tier Division I competition played in a 50-over format. Meanwhile, Division II and Division III matches will continue under the one-day, four-innings structure.
SLSCA Secretary Saman Hettiarachchi said the changes were made following consultations with experts from Sri Lanka Cricket, with a clear objective of providing greater opportunities for pace bowlers.
”We opted for the limited-overs format for Division I in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket. The lower divisions will copete in the innings format as we have observed matches ending early without utilizing the full quota of overs,” Hettiarachchi told ‘The Island’.
A key feature of the revised rules is the compulsory allocation of overs for fast bowlers. In a full 50-over innings, a minimum of 20 overs must be bowled by pacemen. Additionally, during the first 10 overs, at least eight overs must be delivered by fast bowlers. If an innings is reduced to 30 overs or fewer, at least six of the first eight overs must be bowled by pace.
”It was made mandatory to give more opportunities to pacemen,” Hettiarachchi explained.
Meanwhile, the official draw for the Division I tournament has been released, featuring 70 teams divided into 16 groups from Group A to Group P for the preliminary round. Each team is guaranteed multiple matches during the opening stage.
Defending champions St. Joseph’s College headline Group A, where they will meet Nalanda College, Dharmapala College, St. John’s College, Lumbini College and De La Salle College.
With traditional cricketing powerhouses spread across the groups, it will be interesting to see how the first round pans out in the new-look tournament.
Under 15 Division I Tournament First Round Groups
GROUP A
St. Joseph’s College, Colombo
Nalanda College, Colombo
Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya
St. John’s College, Nugegoda
Lumbini College, Colombo
De La Salle College, Colombo
GROUP B
D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo
S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia
Presidents’ College, Kotte
Wesley College, Colombo
Carey College, Colombo
Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya
GROUP C
St. Anthony’s College, Wattala
St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa
Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Kottawa
St. Peter’s College, Colombo
C.W.W. Kannangara MV, Colombo
Ashoka College, Colombo
GROUP D
St. Benedict’s College, Colombo
Royal College, Colombo
Gurukula College, Kelaniya
Lyceum International School, Wattala
Bandaranayake MMV, Gampaha
St. John’s College, Panadura
GROUP E
De Mazenod College, Kandana
Isipathana College, Colombo
Christ King College, Ja-Ela
Thurstan College, Colombo
Ananda Shastralaya NS, Kotte
St. Joseph Vaz College, Vennappuwa
GROUP F
Mahanama College, Colombo
Piliyandala MMV, Piliyandala
Ananda College, Colombo
Sri Jayawardenapura NS, Kotte
Presidents College, Maharagama
St. Thomas’ College, Kotte
GROUP G
Wadduwa MMV, Wadduwa
Sri Sumangala College, Panadura
Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa
Moratu Vidyalaya, Moratuwa
Revatha College, Balapitiya
Royal College, Panadura
GROUP H
Dharmaraja College, Kandy
St. Mary’s College, Kegalle
Kegalu Vidyalaya, Kegalle
Kingswood College, Kandy
Vidyartha College, Kandy
Ibbagamuwa MMV, Ibbagamuwa
GROUP J
Maris Stella College, Negombo
Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala
Harischandra College, Negombo
Maliyadeva Adarsha MV, Kurunegala
Galahitiyawa MMV, Ganemulla
Sandalankawa MMV, Sandalankawa
GROUP K
St. Anthony’s College, Kandy
St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy
Trinity College, Kandy
Royal College, Polonnaruwa
St. Thomas’ College, Matale
Jaffna Hindu College, Jaffna
GROUP L
Sri Pangnananda MMV, Raddoluwa
St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala
St. Mary’s College, Chilaw
Sri Sumangala NS, Wariyapola
St. Peter’s College, Negombo
St. Xavier’s College, Marawila
GROUP M
Devapathiraja College, Rathgama
St. Aloysius College, Galle
Holy Cross College, Kalutara
Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda
Kalutara Vidyalaya, Kalutara
Vidyaloka College, Galle
GROUP N
Mahinda College, Galle
Tissa MV, Kalutara
Rahula College, Matara
Debarawewa NS, Debarawewa
St. Thomas’ College, Matara
Meepawala Amarasuriya MV
GROUP P
St. Servatius’ College, Matara
Richmond College, Galle
Sri Devananda College, Ambalangoda
Karandeniya MMV, Karandeniya
P. De S. Kularathna MV, Ambalangoda
President’s College, Embilipitiya.
by Reemus Fernando
With the success the seven MCA men’s cricket tournaments have achieved, the Executive Committee of Mercantile Cricket Association (MCA) have decided to give Women’s Cricket in Sri Lanka a boost by introducing a hard ball Women’s Cricket Tournament for the corporate sector.
With the international recognition women’s cricket has gained at present, it is no secret that there still are many talented lasses aspiring to reach the zenith of the game.
Even with the measures Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) the game’s governing body through the Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) have taken to promote girls cricket in schools, a considerable number of talented players, specially in the provinces do not have an opportunity to be recognized.
It is the MCA’s belief that with the introduction of a MCA Women’s Cricket Tournament, the corporate sector will be encouraged to field teams, and in doing so will give a hand to talented lasses and school leavers by providing them with employment as well as the opportunity to realise their aspirations in the Women’s Cricket arena.
At present in addition to the seven major Men’s tournaments the MCA organise the
Mercantile Six-a-Side tournament, the Over-40 Sixes competition, the 20×20 league, and the esteemed MCA Inter Academy Invitational tournament,
As an initial step, the MCA will be conducting a Women’s six and side soft ball cricket tournament for the corporate sector teams on Saturday 23rd May 2026 at the Mercantile Cricket Association grounds.
For further information please contact Chamara on 0759592488 or Prasad 0759809777.
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