Sports

Aggression is the way to succeed in England says Pathum

Published

2 years ago

2024/09/11

England’s aggressive brand of cricket where they go after the bowling has been praised in many quarters but it was Pathum Nissanka who gave them a taste of their own medicine.

Rex Clementine in London

British people are quick to appreciate good sportsmen. They cheered every run that Pathum Nissanka scored at The Oval that resulted in a sensational come from behind win on Monday. Pathum arrived in England as a little known top order batter, but by the end of the tour, the British press had dug out much information about the little man. They even now call him ‘Silva’ which is actually his surname, not known to many even in Sri Lanka. Journalists from Sri Lanka keep telling the Brits that we are happy to call him Pathum or Nissanka because there are so many Silvas back home.

England’s aggressive brand of cricket where they go after the bowling has been praised in many quarters but it was Pathum Nissanka who gave them a taste of their own medicine. Having started off his knock with some elegant straight drives, he soon started cutting and pulling and by the end of it there were a couple of hook shots that sailed over Ben Duckett at long-leg for six. It was indeed a treat to watch.

What has this guy been doing for two years, the Poms wonder. Well, the story is that Pathum has been nursing a back injury from his young age. When you walk into the Test team, for the first few series, your fielding position invariably is short leg. Fielding at short leg aggravated the injury. Then the selectors decided not to play him in Test match cricket with the 50 over and T-20 World Cup coming around. So, they waited till both events were over before bringing him onto the fold.

But, as Michael Atherton wondered, what was he doing without playing the first Test at Old Trafford. Well, there were some technical glitches that the management were working on before they decided to play him at Lord’s.

“It was a little bit demanding adjusting to red ball. Spent lot of time at training. Trusted my game plan and glad it all worked off. Just had to work on my mindset nothing to do with the skills and then I felt I was ready,” Pathum told journalists.

Having crashed an elegant 64 off 51 balls in the first innings, Pathum was at it again in the second essay stroking a fabulous 127 not out off just 124 balls.

“However much you play well in England, you might get a good ball. At home, you feel set after spending time, but in England, it always does a bit even when you have scored a hundred. What I needed was trust my strengths which is playing aggressively. What has worked for me all these years and when I trust that it works.

“It gives you lot of confidence when you score a hundred in England. I hope it will help me in the future. I changed my game a bit compared to the Lord’s Test. I wanted to have the same mindset that I have when I am playing white ball cricket. Not thinking of too many things. If the ball is in my slot, I will go for it. The good thing is when you know the team management is backing you it becomes easy.”

Sri Lanka were written off in the game after losing at Lord’s by 190 runs but they fought back well in the final Test to return home with a win and more importantly points in the World Test Championship.

“Happy about contributing to the win at The Oval. We always feel good when we win overseas. Regret we could not win the series. I thought we gave England a close enough fight but not good enough to win.”

Former captain Kumar Sangakkara, now a commentator with Sky, has been giving a few tips to Sri Lankan players and has hinted Nissanka as one player who could break his record for most runs for Sri Lanka – 12,400.

“He was great and it was a good learning experience. He has played a lot of cricket here and he gave tips not just to me but for all our players and we benefited immensely. I hope I am able to get to his milestones one day, but he is streets ahead compared to me.”

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Sports

Royal to meet St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s eliminate Cambrians

Published

9 hours ago

2026/07/25

Thilina Walpola

Under 17 Division I Cricket

by Reemus Fernando

A combined bowling effort helped St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya beat Prince of Wales College Moratuwa by 55 runs and reach the pre-quarter finals of the Under 17 Division I cricket tournament on Friday.

‎Of all the knockout stage matches played on Friday, the encounter between the Petes and the Cambrians was the match that lasted the longest distance as the home team found batting resistance from number nine batsman.

‎The Cambrians foughtback after slipping to 59 for seven, on the back of a fighting 64 from Kaveesha Kithmina to bow down gracefully.

‎Batting first, St. Peter’s posted 230 for nine thanks to 76 off 113 balls by Sashidu Silva and a brisk 61 from 49 deliveries by Menura Dissanayake.Sandeepa Dananjaya was the pick of the Prince of Wales bowlers with an impressive five-wicket haul for 33 runs.

‎Most of the other knockout matches were one sided contests.

‎Royal College Colombo bundled out Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College, Kandy for a mere 44 runs to record a crushing 269 runs win and secure a pre-quarter final berth against St. Joseph’s College Darley Road.

‎Gagan Gamage (7-1-16-5) and Mahiru Kodituwakku (7-2-18-4) used the home advantage to good effect as they shared nine wickets between them to rattle the opposition within 18 overs. Batting first the Reid Avenue team amassed 313 runs for five wickets with Savain Gamage (53), Dushen Udawela (50) and Manuth Dasanayake (76) scoring half centuries.

‎Maris Stella College, Negombo, Galahitiyawa Central and St. Aloysius’ College, Galle were the other teams to enter the pre-quarter final stage on Friday.

‎St. Aloysius’ College, Galle booked a pre-quarter final berth against St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa with a crushing seven-wicket victory over Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte.

‎Ananda Sastralaya struggled throughout their innings and were bundled out for 65 runs. Chenuka Dodangoda with a run a ball 27 was the only batsman to make a notable contribution.

‎St. Aloysius’ bowlers shared honours bowling tight spells. Hasitha Dasun produced the standout performance taking four wickets for two runs, while Manindu Pabasara supported well picking up two for seven. Yenul Nethsuka, Chethana Kularathna and Sanuda Imaya picked up a wicket each.

‎In reply, St. Aloysius made light work of the modest target, reaching 67 for 3 in just 9.4 overs. Gimhan Hansaka struck an aggressive 33 off 25 balls with seven fours to lay the foundation for victory.

‎Kavinga Dabare claimed all three wickets for Ananda Sastralaya, finishing with 3 for 9, but his effort could not prevent St. Aloysius’ from sealing the pre-quarter final berth.

‎In the other matches, Maris Stella College, Negombo beat Royal Central Polonnaruwa by five wickets and Galahitiyawa Central beat Taxila Central by six wickets.

Sports

Galle Gallants back to winning ways

Published

9 hours ago

2026/07/25

Thilina Walpola

Sahan Arachchige starred for Galle Gallants

Galle Gallants got back to the winning track after their first loss against Dambulla Sixers on 22 July to make it three wins out of four games as they outclassed Jaffna Kings by 60 runs on Thursday at the Rangiri International Stadium in Dambulla.

After all the five teams have played four games each, Galle Gallants sit atop with six points, while Kaps, Sixers and Kings have four points each. Royals have two points only.

After being asked to bat first, Gallants lost Sam Harper and Charith Asalanka early with 16 runs on the board in three overs. At this point, Chris Lynn and Chamika Karunaratne put on 48 runs with the former dominating the stand as he ended up with a 22-ball 46 before departing.

Gallants slipped to 110-6 in 14.2 overs before their top-scorer Sahan Arachchige and Mohammad Nawaz arrested the collapse with a game-changing 68-run stand off 30 balls. Arachchige hit four fours and three sixes in his 36-ball 63, while Nawaz hit two sixes and as many fours in his 27 off 16 balls.

Vijayakanth Viyaskanth hit a six off the two balls he faced as Gallants posted a strong 193-8 in 20 overs. Dilshan Madushanka and Lizaad Williams picked up two wickets each. Shakib Al Hasan, Dunith Wellalage and Mohammad Shiraz had one wicket each to their name.

In reply, Jaffna Kings’ chase never got going as they were rocked by three wickets each from Tharindu Ratnayake and Eshan Malinga. They slipped to 33-4 with Akif Javed and Dasun Shanaka also sharing a wicket each.

Only Wellalage managed to put up some fight with the bat and it was because of his 39-ball 56 that Jaffna Kings managed to salvage some pride and closed in on the loss margin. Wellalage hit four fours and as many sixes in the lost battle that he waged as Kings went from 99-8 in 12.3 overs to 133 all out with Williams unable to walk out to bat due to injury.

David Wiese was the only other batter to cross the 20-run mark as he scored 22 with the help of three fours. Ratnayake finished with three for 19 in four, Malinga with three for 13 in three, while Viyaskanth also picked up a wicket.

Brief Scores

Galle Gallants won by 60 runs

Galle Gallants: 193/8 in 20 overs

]Sahan Arachchige 63 (36), Chris Lynn 46 (22), Mohammad Nawaz 27 (16); Dilshan Madushanka 2/35 (4), Lizaad Williams 2/37 (4)

Jaffna Kings: 133/9 in 17.5 overs

[Dunith Wellalage 56 (39), David Wiese 22 (20); Eshan Malinga 3/13 (3), Tharindu Ratnayake 3/19 (4)]

Sports

Arachchige, Rathnayake and Malinga pump Jaffna

Published

1 day ago

2026/07/24

Priyan

A 36 ball 63 by Sahan Arachchige and three wickets each by Eshan Malinga [3-13] and Tharindu Rathnayake [3-19] helped Galle Gallants defeat Jaffna Kings by 60 runs in the 10th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026. Galle Gallants lead the points table with three wins from four outings.

Scores:
Galle Gallants 193/8 in 20 overs [Chris Lynn 46, Sahan Arachchige 63, Dasun Shanaka 12, Dinura Kalupahana 10, Mohammad Nawaz 27; Mohamed Shiraz 1-23, Dunith Wellalage 1-13, Shakib Al Hasan 1-27, Dilshan Madushanaka 2-35, Lizaad Williams 2-37]

Jaffna Kings 133 in 17.5 overs [Kamil Mishara 15, Ibrahim Zadran 11, David Weise 22, Dunith Wellalage 56; Dasun Shanaka 1-21, Tharindu Rathnayake 3-19, Akif Javed 1-22, Eshan Malinga 3-13, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 1-32]