Sports

Joes, Petes, DS and Royal qualify for semis

Published

4 years ago

2022/05/9

Marlon Fernando of St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala played an outstanding game but couldn’t help his team to the semis as DS Senanayake, College won the quarter-final of the All Island Under-20 basketball tournament worked off at Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday.

All Island Under-20 Schools basketball tournament

by Rex Clementine

For more than two years, school children had suffered as there had been little basketball due to the pandemic. But when all restrictions were lifted and the sport resumed, the teams put up a grand show. The knockout stages of the game was shifted to Sugathadasa Indoor stadium to give schoolboys and girls a flavour of international basketball and there were some tight games that were witnessed yesterday with some of them keeping you in the edge of your seat.

The day didn’t start well though with Gateway College, Kandy failing to turn up for their quarter-final against St. Peter’s. Gateway argued that they are unable to get their players for competitions due to exams but the question was asked whether had their withdrawal been notified earlier, the team that finished third in the group could have got a game. St. Peter’s, hence received a walk-over.

The second quarter-final between St. Joseph’s and Ananda was a closely contested affair. After a tight first half, where Joes led by one point (28-27), there was some excellent basketball dished out by both teams trying seizing the initiative. Joes, probably the better team in the competition, at times looked set for a comfortable win having secured a double digit lead, but Ananda kept coming back equaling the scores.

In the end, Joes’ superior bench strength and the presence of Shehan Fernando, their captain, who has come close to featuring for the national team, proved to be too good as they won by five points. The final score was 62-57.

Gateway, Colombo are playing a young team in the competition and they failed to match the skills of Royal College, but the experience would do a world of good for them. Several Gateway players are eligible to continue for the next couple of seasons and that augurs well for a team that always punches above its weight. There was certainly no shame in losing to Royal by ten points (72-62).

The best game of the day was between St. Anne’s Kurunegala and D.S. Senanayake College. The Annites with some brilliant shooters had the game in the bag but some blunders towards the crucial stages of the game cost them dearly. They did well to send the game to extra time but DS prevailed in that period winning by just one point (63-62) to break the hearts of a large crowd that had turned up for the game from Kurunegala.

In a game where the pendulum swung frequently, the coaching staff of both teams had to be on their toes coming up with smart strategies and counter moves.

Marlon Fernando of St. Anne’s despite ending on the losing side put up a superb performance and we could be seeing a star in the making. If only the Annites had passed the ball more often to their key performer, this could have been a different story.

St. Peter’s will meet Royal College in the first semi-final today at 7am followed by the second semi between DS and Joes.

In the girls’ semis, meanwhile, Holy Family Convent and Mahamaya Vidyalaya, Kandy emerged winners and will meet in the finals on Tuesday.

HFC beat St. Joseph’s Girls School, Nugegoda comprehensively 85-31 while the semi between Good Shepherd Convent and Mahamaya went to overtime and the Kandy girls won by four points. The scores were leveled at 39-39 at the end of the full time and Mahamaya edged out Good Shepherd 45-41 in the extra-time.

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Agha calls for ‘sportsman spirit’ after controversial dismissal

Published

5 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

Salman Agha reacted furiously after his controversial dismissal [BBC]

Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.

Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.

Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.

“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”

Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.

“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”

Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”

He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.

“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.

Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”

Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.

[Cricinfo]

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Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Grands Prix to be cancelled

Published

14 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

The grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were scheduled for next month (BBC)

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.

A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.

Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.

Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.

The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.

Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.

But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.

The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.

(BBC)

Sports

Rehan, Ramiru guide Royal on day two

Published

14 hours ago

2026/03/14

Thilina Walpola

Royal College made steady progress in reply to their arch rivals’ first innings total as skipper Rehan Peiris and Ramiru Perera guided them to 175 for four wickets at stumps on day two of the 147th Battle of the Blues at the SSC ground on Friday.

‎Royal needed only 51 overs to reach their end-of-day total after S. Thomas’ College had earlier adopted a cautious approach before being bowled out for 302 runs.

‎Royal suffered an early setback when open batsman Hirun Liyanarachchi was dismissed for naught in the very first over, caught behind by Aaron Kodituwakku off the bowling of Gimhan Mendis.

‎Skipper Rehan Peiris then steadied the innings, repairing the early damage with two useful partnerships. He first added 41 runs for the second wicket with Udantha Gangewatta and followed it up with a 34-run stand for the third wicket alongside Sri Lanka Under-19 skipper Vimath Dinsara.

‎Dinsara struggled to find fluency during his stay at the crease, managing 11 runs off 30 balls before being trapped leg-before by Gimhan Mendis, who finished the day with two wickets.

‎Rehan continued to anchor the innings and produced the most productive stand of the Royal innings when he combined with Ramiru Perera for a vital 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The Royal skipper’s determined knock finally ended on 63 when he was dismissed by Ludeesha Matarage.

‎From there, Ramiru Perera and Yasindu Dissanayake ensured there were no further setbacks, batting cautiously until bad light forced the umpires to call off play.

‎Perera remained unbeaten on 70, an attractive innings that included ten boundaries, while Dissanayake provided solid support at the other end as Royal closed the day strongly.

‎Earlier in the day, resuming from their overnight score, the Thomians continued with their ultra-cautious approach, scoring at just over two runs per over. Reshon Solomon top-scored with 66 runs, while Ludeesha Matarage and Raphael Hettige chipped in with useful contributions in the twenties.

‎S. Thomas’ were eventually bowled out for 302 just before the lunch interval on the second day, having consumed 124 overs during their four-session first innings.

‎Gagan Gamage was the pick of the Royal bowlers with impressive figures of four wickets for 49 runs. He received good support from Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi, who claimed three wickets for 64 runs, while Himaru Deshan picked up two wickets for 43. Ramiru Perera also chipped in with a wicket to complete the Thomian innings.