Sports
World Cup title continues to elude as batting fails
ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup
by Reemus Fernando
Sri Lanka probably had the best lead up to the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, a multifaceted coaching staff, a captain who had played Youth International matches since 2018, and a team heavily laden with all-rounders, yet a maiden Under 19 World Cup title continued to elude them as Afghanistan ended Sri Lanka’s unbeaten run in the crucial quarter-final in Antigua on Thursday. One might see the excessive number (four) of run-outs as the main cause for defeat but as it could be seen from the group stage, the team were still in search of a batsman who could bat it through to the end.
A vast majority of Sri Lanka Under 19 bowlers having the ability to bat down the order was giving the team an edge over their counterparts. But was it something that the team could solely rely on? Did not Sri Lanka miss the service of a batsman in the calibre of Pawan Pathiraja?
Pathiraja was the most consistent batsman in the run-up to the ICC World Cup and played the much-needed anchor role when the team were in trouble. He was the key batsman in Sri Lanka’s series victories over both Bangladesh and England Under 19s in the run-up to the World Cup, though he was not at his best at the Under 19 Asia Cup where he had only one half-century.
The team management had been given the best available players after a systematic selection process followed by Sri Lanka Cricket’s selectors. Despite the absence of Schools Cricket during the pandemic period, the selectors had done an admirable job in picking a formidable side. Everything looked hunky-dory until the World Cup commenced as the team had two series victories and the runner up title of the Under 19 Asia Cup against their name.
Sri Lanka Under 19s remained unbeaten during the group stage where there was a shared responsibility in the batting department. There were just three half-centuries of which two were scored in adversity. While skipper Dunith Wellalage scored 52 runs to launch a fightback to beat Australia, Sakuna Liyanage top scored with 85 runs in the opener against Scotland to help the team secure a positive start to the tournament. The only other half-century was by Sadeesha Rajapaksa who scored 76 runs in the final group match against West Indies.
With no batsman showing consistency during the Group stage it was intriguing to note the absence of Pathiraja in the last three matches of the World Cup. Until the World Cup, Pathiraja had played in 13 matches and had batted on 12 occasions. He had aggregated 475 runs, the highest by a Sri Lankan batsmen. Apart from Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Pathiraja was the only batsman to have scored a Youth ODI century. He was out for naught in the first World Cup match against Scotland and was not picked again.
Sri Lanka’s bowling and Wellalage’s selection of bowlers, at various junctures, were truly remarkable. His decision to keep faith in Vinuja Ranpul in the quarterfinal is a case in point. Playing his first match of the World Cup, Ranpul bowled his first eight overs at a stretch. Despite not taking a wicket in his first five overs he was persevered with and he produced results in his sixth and seventh overs and triggered a collapse. He took five wickets for ten runs, though it was in vain. He played no part in the World Cup until the quarter-final and fans would not even have seen him bowl if not for an injury to Matheesha Pathirana.
Sri Lanka will now take on South Africa on Monday in the competition to decide the final standings of teams.
Of the bowlers, Wellalage still has the chance to leave the World Cup as the highest wicket-taker. As of Friday (28) Wellalage had 16 wickets in four matches. That was four more than the second-highest wicket-taker, Joshua Boyden of England U19s.
[Cricbuzz]
Former Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur has voiced disappointment over remarks made by Chairman of Selectors Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who last week claimed that Arthur was reluctant to include a young Pathum Nissanka during Sri Lanka’s tour of the Caribbean in 2021.
In his first media briefing, Wickramasinghe said it was he who pushed for Nissanka’s inclusion despite Arthur’s reservations. The former coach has flatly denied the allegation, calling it wide of the mark.
“I am very disappointed with Pramodya’s comments,” Arthur told Telecom Asia Sport. “The right people know exactly how I felt about Pathum. There was never any doubt that he was our future. I don’t want any credit for Pathum’s success. That belongs entirely to his hard work. I simply gave him an opportunity because the talent was impossible to ignore.”
Arthur said Nissanka’s domestic form had left little room for debate. “He was scoring runs for fun and the sheer weight of them made it impossible not to take a look. Once he joined the squad on tour, his attitude and work ethic were truly remarkable. From that moment, there was no doubt this bloke was going places,” Arthur added.
Even before Nissanka’s elevation to the senior side, Arthur had publicly spoken of his admiration for young prospects such as Nissanka and Charith Asalanka, stressing the importance of giving emerging players a long rope. His view was simple: once talent is identified and the attitude checks out, selectors and team management must back those players through thick and thin.
Arthur arrived in Sri Lanka with a formidable résumé, having coached South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. He placed a premium on fitness and fielding and under his watch a team in transition began to show signs of turning the corner. At the end of his tenure, Arthur opted not to renew his contract and instead took up a stint in English county cricket with Derbyshire.
As for Nissanka, he has scarcely put a foot wrong since breaking into the side. There was a Test hundred on debut in the West Indies, followed last year by a match-winning unbeaten century against England at The Oval on a lively seaming pitch. In between, he made history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in ODIs. Last week, he was snapped up by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction.
Nissanka is currently ranked third in T20 internationals and is knocking on the door of the top ten in both Tests and ODIs.
73rd National Badminton Championship
Defending champions Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage made a fitting end to their campaigns of the 2025 season, by defending the Men’s and Women’s Open Singles titles as Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige clinched the Women’s Open Doubles title at the 73rd National Badminton Championship, concluded at the S. Thomas’ College Indoor Sports Complex, Mount Lavinia on Wednesday (24).
Viren clinically overcame each of his opponents from the Round of 32, all in straight sets, to reach the final. The country’s top Men’s Singles shuttler continued his form against Rasindu Hendahewa in the final, winning in straight sets to defend the title. Viren defeated Rasindu 21-10 and 21-14 to win his second national title in style.
Ranithma aptly defended her Women’s Open Singles title by recording a comfortable straight sets win against Rashmi Mudalige in an absorbing final that lasted nearly 45 minutes. Though the title decider stretched way longer than anticipated, Ranithma managed to seal the victory by recording set wins of 21-12 and 21-18 to claim the national title for the second year running.
Fourth seed pair Sanuda Ariyasinghe and Thisath Rupathunga created an upset by toppling top seeds Oshamika Karunarathne and Thulith Palliyaguru in a lengthy final that went down to the wire in the Men’s Open Doubles. Sanuda and Thisath won the first set 21-15, but the top pair bounced back to level the game one-all with a 21-18 win. But the gritty pair of Sanuda and Thisath maintained their composure to overcome the favourites 21-15 in the decider and claim the Men’s Open Doubles title.
Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige completed a successful campaign to defend the Women’s Open Doubles title from last year, this time overcoming the aspiring pair of Dilni Ambalangodage and Ranumi Manage in straight sets. Varangana and Rashmi remained unbeaten throughout, as they ended the unblemished run of Dilni and Ranumi with set wins of 21-13 and 21-18.
The Mixed Open Doubles title was claimed by Thulith Palliyaguru and Panchali Adhikari, who battled for 45 minutes to overcome Aashinsa Herath and Rashmi Mudalige 2-1 in the final. After conceding the first set by 12-21, Thulith and Panchali regrouped to claim the next two sets 21-18 and 21-15.
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