Sports
Zampa four-for seals Australia’s Super Eight spot
Australia marched into the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup with a display of ruthless efficiency against Namibia as Adam Zampa brought up a century of T20I wickets before the top order needed less than the powerplay to chase down 73.
Mitchell Marsh’s team continued to look like one of the best-rounded and well-drilled sides at the tournament and can now start to ponder the next stage with a game in hand – although the fixture against Scotland could have a huge bearing on who joins them in the Super Eight.
From the moment Josh Hazlewood struck in the third over there wasn’t a moment where it did not feel as though this would be a vast margin of victory for Australia and they made sure that was the case. Mitchell Starc had been rested after not pulling up 100% after the England game and with an eye on a condensed schedule ahead, Nathan Ellis again slotted in seamlessly as all Australia’s bowlers got in the wickets.
The final margin of balls remaining in Australia’s charge to the line was 86, the second most in men’s T20Is.
There was a touch of extra bounce in the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium surface and Australia’s tall quicks made the most of it. Michael van Lingen managed a brace of early boundaries off Hazlewood and Marcus Stoinis – the latter handed the new ball in place of Starc – but Nikolaas Davin perished to Hazlewood when he slashed to backward point. In his first over, Pat Cummins had Jan Frylinck taken at mid-off after an uncomfortable three deliveries then in the next, van Lingen became the second to find Glenn Maxwell at backward point, unable to keep the ball down. Stoinis closed out the powerplay by conceding just a single off the sixth over and Namibia stood at 17 for 3 with their captain Gerhard Erasmus scoreless from ten deliveries.
Erasmus’ agony in getting off the mark would extend further. By the time he swept Zampa for a single he had faced 17 balls, and managed a wry smile as his score finally ticked over. Where ball-by-ball data is available, it set a new record in getting off the mark in men’s T20Is.
To his immense credit, he turned his fortunes around. The next ball Erasmus faced, he crunched Cummins through the off side then with Namibia, all-but finished, took eight runs off Hazlewood’s last over. Two more boundaries followed off Ellis before the best of the lot, an immense pull against Cummins landing on the terraces. When he was well caught by Maxwell attempting a repeat, he had turned 0 off 16 into 36 off 43.
This wasn’t a defining spell of Zampa’s career, but it was another full of class in what is becoming an outstanding tournament for him. When he cleaned up Bernard Scholtz with a lovely googly he brought up 100 T20I wickets, the first Australia men’s player to the landmark and following Ellyse Perry and Megan Schutt. Half the runs he conceded – in a spell that included 17 dots – came when Rubel Trumpelmann put away a full toss over deep midwicket but he fell next ball when he picked out Maxwell on the boundary.
Travis Head could have been run out to the first ball of Australia’s chase as David Warner scampered to get off the mark. Warner then flayed 20 off eight balls, including four, four, and six against David Wiese before skying to mid-off. Head opened his shoulders against Ben Shikongo then took three consecutive boundaries of Trumpelmann. Marsh finished the game before the fielding restrictions were done as he took 14 off three balls from Jack Brassell and, as captain, could reflect on a job done perfectly.
Brief scores:
Australia 74/1 in 5.4 overs [David Warner 20, Travis Head 34*; David Wiese 1-15] beat Namibia 72 in 17 overs [Gerhard Eramus 36; Josh Hazelwood 2-18, Marcus Stoinis 2-09, Pat Cummins 1-16, Adam Zampa 4-12, Nathan Ellis 1-12] by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
[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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