Sports

Bearding the lion in its own den

Published

6 years ago

2020/08/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

36th Anniversary of Sri Lanka’s first ever Test match at Lord’s – Part 2

by Rohan Wijeyaratna

By now it was clear Gower and the selectors had grievously erred in under estimating the visitors, while over-estimating themselves. Far from being overawed, Sri Lanka had risen to the occasion and set in motion a prolonged leather hunt, that was fast becoming an embarrassment to England. As they drearily dragged themselves on to the field for the third successive day at Lord’s, the truth slowly dawned upon all, that England hadn’t seen off even half the visiting side yet.

The only wicket for the day

But let’s not get too far ahead of the story. The wicket of Ranatunga midway through the second afternoon was the only success England enjoyed on day two. Possessing a composure and temperament that was well beyond his years, Ranatunga played a commendable hand for one so young in consolidating the Sri Lankan middle order. He enjoyed some luck along the way when Gower spilled him in the gully when on 66, but by lunch on day two, Sri Lanka were healthily placed at 271 for three, with Ranatunga on 74 and Wettimuny on 137. England had toiled hard in the morning session for no return.

Reputedly, the English crowds are the fairest in the world. It is a repute they wear very well. On this occasion they were genuine in their appreciation of the Lankan batting, even though it was at the expense of their own team. Tragically, with a Test hundred at Lord’s beckoning him, Ranatunga playing forward to Agnew, allowed a shaft of light to remain between bat and pad and was castled through it. He had made 84 in 248 minutes of batting, having added 148 for the fourth wicket. Sri Lanka were 292 for four, when Duleep Mendis walked in.

Unfinished business

Mendis knew he had some unfinished business in England. As previously mentioned (The Island – 23rd May, 2020), he could have won his side a famous victory nine years before, in the inaugural Prudential World Cup, but by knocking himself out via his own outer edge to a Thomson ‘screamer’ at a time when he had the Australian attack by its throat, he failed to fulfill that dream. That was when fate intervened and prevented what threatened to be a major tournament upset, when he and Sunil Wettimuny were involved in a furious attack on Ian Chappell’s men. Now at Lord’s, Mendis had Sunil’s younger brother for company and the stage could not have been better set for him to deliver a vintage ‘Mendis Special’. The wicket held no terrors; the bowling was near pedestrian; his team was well placed, and the man at the other end was looking like the Rock of Gibraltar by the minute! In short, Mendis could not have asked for a better setting to make the stage, indubitably his!

A man apart

England on the other hand seemed reminded that Mendis met his nemesis in 1975 whilst hooking. Thanks possibly to some old rope well swallowed, their bowlers determined they would give him a working over, with the short ball. Accordingly, Allott began with a hurried delivery that pitched and arrived head high to Mendis on an inconvenient off stump trajectory. Somewhat taken aback and definitely hurried, the batsman managed a reflex hook down to long leg – a shot of no great conviction. This encouraged all other leather flingers to smack their lips, dreaming of possibilities. Soon it was Agnew pitching short at Mendis. Back and across went the portly skipper, picking up the ball from his off and hooking it down to long leg for four. Agnew bowled slightly short again and Mendis – now going back, smoked it venomously wide of extra cover for four, to bring up the 300. With each shot he now played, Mendis assumed greater authority. Agnew next bowled a more fullish length and Mendis drilled it right back at him, like a blast from a cannon. It was a stinging blow and technically a chance, though Agnew had no hope in hell of catching it. A back footed square slash to a wide, short, Agnew delivery seemed almost violently dismissive. Everyone by now had come to realize they were watching a very special passage of play in the match, and a very special person enacting it. Everyone had also begun to realize that Duleep Mendis was a man apart, from those who preceded him.

But England hadn’t still lost hope. On came England’s man for all seasons – Ian Botham; now specifically tasked to remove this bothersome Mendis. It took no great intelligence to figure Botham would try and bounce out Mendis, and it took no even greater intelligence to figure, Mendis would accept the challenge. The crowd was expectant. The moment of truth had arrived.

Mendis versus Botham

A languid drive from Wettimuny to deep point brought him on to 154; the highest score by any batsman in his country’s first Test in England. It also brought Mendis on strike. Botham resuming, ran in and delivered. It was a mean bouncer on the off stump and curving in; head high and rising. There was a flurry of activity and in the blink of an eye the ball had disappeared into the Mound stand backward of square for six! The momentarily stunned crowd now broke into loud cheer. Not to be outdone, Wettimuny in the next over from Ellison, gloriously executed a cracking cover drive off his back foot to bring up his best score in Test cricket – 160 off 383 balls in 514 minutes of batting. The ball was now back in Botham’s hand for the following over.

Botham with his best days of pace behind him, was still, stubborn as a mule. He hadn’t probably heard that in the far outposts of the great empire, there were men who were no respecters of reputations. Possibly with such a bulldog mindset, Botham ran in and bounced again. Out came the hook shot in a flash; six more over square leg and into the Mound Stand! Although visibly wounded, Botham was still not ready to give up. Repositioning the two men he already had for the shot on the leg side boundary, he bounced one last time. It was on a middle and leg line and inconveniently close to Mendis’ head. Mendis undaunted, hooked yet again! The ball evaded the two men on the fence and ended up in the Mound stand for a third successive time. A visibly angry Botham was now seen muttering some ‘unprintables’ at his captain, for no doubt persisting with this daft idea of bouncing Mendis out. The Lankan skipper had now moved to 49, hammering three sixes off Botham in two overs and leaving no one in any doubt as to who was bossing the show in this particular contest. With each of his blows over the ropes, the crowd erupted, and with the third, the cheering rose to a crescendo. This was sensational stuff! Duleep Mendis the Lankan lion had bearded the British lion in its own den! At tea, Sri Lanka were 370 for four with Mendis on 52 and Wettimuny on 173.

Ran ‘em ragged

It took only 14 balls after tea for play to be suspended through bad light for 94 long minutes. Hence when play resumed, close of play was extended well beyond six o’clock. Between Mendis’ arrival and the eventual close of play, the score had surged by another 142 runs with Mendis making exactly one hundred of them. They came off 112 deliveries and mostly in fading light; sometimes almost too dark to recognize the dusky Sri Lankan skipper from 22 yards away! Thrice Mendis refused the offer of light and finally when he accepted, it was only after he had reached three figures. By now he had shown that between him and those that came before, there was a clear distinction. While most of the others applied grace and beauty from a bygone era around their technical correctness, Mendis’ method remained simple. He either blocked it or smashed it. And there was nothing vulgar about it at all. It was just that when in the mood he had this god given ability to reduce any bowling attack to pulp, without slogging. Simply put, Mendis ran England ragged. He was without doubt, the master of all he surveyed, that afternoon.

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Sports

Harsh lessons for Sri Lanka in England

Published

37 mins ago

2026/09/20

Thilina Walpola

Pathum Nissanka

by Rex Clementine

Sri Lanka have conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead to England in the three match T20I series and were staring down the barrel of a whitewash heading into Saturday’s final game at Old Trafford.

Despite travelling to the UK well in advance and playing warm up games to acclimatise to conditions, Sri Lanka have barely landed a punch. Both defeats have come by massive margins and more worryingly, they have exposed just how far the team has fallen behind the leading sides in T20 cricket.

The shortest format has been Sri Lanka’s Achilles heel for some time. Despite several players featuring in the IPL and other franchise leagues, not to mention having a domestic competition of our own in the LPL, the batting continues to lack the firepower required to consistently clear the ropes.

But the bigger concern is the lack of creativity. Sri Lankan cricket was once renowned for innovation and audacity although firepower was not our forte.

There was T.M. Dilshan, who turned conventional batting on its head by scooping the ball over the wicketkeeper and eventually had the shot named after him. Before him came Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva, two fearless stroke makers who destroyed bowling attacks and ended many an international career along the way.

Even Kumar Sangakkara, as he grew older, reinvented his white ball game, adding strokes and finding new scoring areas. It is therefore disappointing to see the current crop so reluctant to think outside the box. You wonder why Sri Lanka are no longer producing that kind of clever, inventive batsmanship.

One glaring issue is that Sri Lanka went into the World Cup with largely the same set of batsmen. It did not work. Yet the selectors have done precious little since to look beyond the established names and back someone who could provide a breath of fresh air.

If there is to be a change, the name being spoken about appears to be Niroshan Dickwella. At 33, however, that can hardly be described as a forward-thinking move. Dickwella has plenty of experience, but he is certainly not an investment for the future. The sooner the selectors recognise that, the better.

One man who appears to have slipped through the cracks is Avishka Fernando. He has been in red hot form for SSC in domestic cricket this season and crucially, he can play genuine pace and is capable of hitting quick bowlers back over their heads.

There may be concerns over his fitness, but if the skill is there, pick the player and get the coaches and trainers to work on the fitness. You cannot manufacture that ability to take on high class fast bowling quite so easily.

Sahan Arachchige and Pavan Rathnayake should also be part of the conversation. The selectors need to give serious thought to whether certain players should be specialists rather than trying to squeeze the same names into all three formats.

The harsh lesson from the England series is that Sri Lanka’s T20 cricket is miles behind the pace. We appear at least five years behind the leading teams. England, India, Australia and New Zealand are operating in a different league, and several other nations have also overtaken us.

That is the bitter truth this series has laid bare. There is little point sugar coating it. Sri Lanka need to bite the bullet, accept where they stand and take remedial measures.

Our approach to T20 cricket itself needs a rethink. The traditional Sri Lankan template seems to be to take a few risks during the six over Powerplay, with the loss of a couple of wickets considered acceptable, consolidate from overs seven to 15 and then launch at the death.

When everything clicks, that might get you 180.

For England, 180 is no longer the destination. They attack from ball one, keep attacking through the middle overs and when it comes off, threaten scores in the region of 230 or 240. There is no lengthy consolidation phase because their philosophy is built around relentless pressure on the bowling side.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are trying to play yesterday’s T20 cricket in today’s game.

That is why this series should be treated as a wake up call rather than simply another defeat overseas. The problem needs to be addressed head-on from selection and player development to power hitting, innovation and the very philosophy with which Sri Lanka approach the format.

Otherwise, reaching the semi-finals of a global white ball event could remain an unfulfilled ambition for a long time to come.

Sports

Tharanga carries nations hopes

Published

41 mins ago

2026/09/20

Thilina Walpola

Rumesh Tharanga in action (pic Aljazeera)

When Sri Lanka’s athletics contingent lines up in Nagoya later this week champion thrower Rumesh Tharanga will carry the nation’s hopes as the track and field team vie to better the records of the last edition.

‎The presence of the world number one ranked javelin thrower in their team is the biggest positive as the team try to fill the vacume created by the absence of Tharushi Karunaratne, the 800m runner who delivered the country’s first track and field gold in 21 years at Hangzhou 2022.

‎Tharushi’s absence leaves one man carrying an outsized share of Sri Lanka’s medal hopes.

‎There was a gold drought before Tharushi rewrote history at the last Asian Games.

‎Sri Lanka had gone without an athletics gold at the Asian Games since Damayanthi Dharsha’s 400m win in 2002.

‎Then, Karunaratne stunned a field that included an Olympic finalist to win the women’s 800m in Hangzhou, clocking 2:03.20 and setting off national celebrations. She also won an Asian Championships gold with a championship record in the 800m in 2023, becoming the face of Sri Lankan athletics’ modest but real resurgence.

‎Her absence this time not only leaves out a medal contender but the symbol of that resurgence. It puts real pressure on the rest of the team to prove Hangzhou wasn’t a one-off.

‎Tharanga, a genuine world-beater

‎Unlike most “hopes,” Tharanga’s case isn’t built on potential — it’s built on a season few Asian throwers have ever produced. He became the first Sri Lankan to clear 90m, hit a national record 92.62m at the Rome Diamond League, beat two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra to win both the Zurich Diamond League and the Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow, and capped it with victory at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest. He’s won 12 of 13 competitions in 2026, with his lone defeat a second-place finish in Rabat. Going into the Games, he’s ranked world No. 1.

‎Sri Lanka isn’t hoping for a surprise breakthrough this time, it’s expecting a coronation. Tharanga isn’t filling Karunaratne’s shoes as a plucky underdog story — he’s arriving as the outright favourite in his event, a status Karunaratne never carried into Hangzhou.

‎Tharanga’s build-up hasn’t been trouble-free. On his return flight from Budapest, five of his competition javelins — including the ones behind his three 90m-plus throws this year — arrived broken, reportedly at the hands of Turkish Airlines baggage handlers. His coach, Tony Prasanna, called it “a rude shock” and flagged the psychological toll of losing the exact equipment that produced a record-breaking season, just days before the Games.

‎Tharanga remains the clear favourite for javelin gold at Aichi-Nagoya.

‎For a small athletics program still building on Karunaratne’s breakthrough, Tharanga’s expected gold isn’t just another medal — it’s proof of continuity. A single stunning result in 2022 could be dismissed as a fluke; a dominant, world-class season from a different athlete in a different event, three years later, tells a different story: that Sri Lankan athletics is producing sustained international-level talent, not isolated miracles.

‎If Karunaratne’s Hangzhou gold announced that Sri Lanka could win at this level, Tharanga’s expected gold in Nagoya would confirm it wasn’t a one-time thing — at a Games where the team badly needs that reassurance in her absence.

‎‎Sri Lanka’s Track and Field Team

‎‎Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage – Men’s Javelin Throw

‎Kalinga Kumarage – Men’s 400m, Mixed 4 x 400m Relay, Men’s 4 x 400m Relay

‎Kalhara Idupa Silva

‎- Men’s 400m, Mixed 4 x 400m Relay,

‎Men’s 4 x 400m Relay

‎Sumedha Jagath Ranasinghe – Men’s Javelin Throw

‎Sadew Rajakaruna – Men’s 4 x 400m, Mixed 4 x 400m Relay

‎‎Omel Shashintha Silva

‎- Men’s 4 x 400m Relay

‎Pasindu Lakshan Kodikara – Men’s 4 x 400m Relay

‎Harsha Karunarathna

‎- Men’s 800m

‎Aruna Dharshana

‎- Men’s 4 x 400m Relay

‎Roshan Ranatunga

‎- Men’s 110m Hurdles

‎‎Ayomal Akalanka

‎-Men’s 400m Hurdle

‎Tharusha Dinushan Mendis – Men’s High Jump

‎J. H. Gayan Sampath

‎- Men’s Long Jump

‎‎Jithma Shenari Wijethunga

‎- Mixed 4 x 400m Relay, Women’s 4 x 400m Relay

‎Sayuri Lakshima Mendis

‎- Mixed 4 x 400m Relay, Women’s 4 x 400m Relay

‎‎L. G. Araliya Sathsarani

‎- Mixed 4 x 400m Relay,

‎Women’s 4 x 400m Relay

‎‎H. L. Nadheesha Dilhani Lekamge – Women’s Javelin Throw

‎‎Nethmika Madushani Herath – Women’s Triple Jump, Long Jump

‎‎Takshima Nuhansa Kodithuwakku – Women’s 800m

‎‎Nadeesha Ramanayaka

‎- Women’s 4x400m Relay

‎‎F. D. Chalith Piumal – Men’s 4x100m

‎Dineth Induwara Weeraratna

‎- Men’s 4x100m Relay

‎‎Merone Julian Wijesinghe – Men’s 4x100m Relay

‎Y. Chamod Mahinsasa Yodhasinghe

‎- Men’s 4x100m Relay

Latest News

Pakistan face familiar Sri Lanka in Asian Games semi-final

Published

7 hours ago

2026/09/19

Priyan

Fatima Sana and Chamari Athapaththu have been vital to their teams (Cricinfo)

Sri Lanka hold a slight edge over Pakistan heading into Sunday’s semi-final, although contests between the two sides have generally been close in this format. Their most recent meeting came in the Asia Cup semi-final, where Sri Lanka overcame Pakistan despite an all-round threat from Fatima Sana.

In the Asian Games quarter-final, Pakistan were pushed hard again, surviving a Thailand scare in a rain-affected chase of 92. They slipped to 47 for 4 before Sana came to their rescue, reinforcing the reliance on captain when their batting has faltered

Neither side has been entirely convincing with the bat of late. Pakistan suffered collapses against Thailand and India in the Asia Cup, while Sri Lanka struggled against Indonesia and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka, however, have been able to lean on their spinners to keep them in control of games.

For Pakistan, the challenge will be to find a way through Sri Lanka’s spin attack while avoiding another batting collapse. Can Pakistan avenge their Asia Cup semi-final defeat, or will Sri Lanka make it two wins in a row against them?

Sri Lanka and Pakistan have an even T20I record, with both teams winning 11 of their 25 meetings. One match ended in no result. Sri Lanka won their most recent meeting, in the Asia Cup semi-final on September 11.

It will be a battle of two captains. Fatima Sana has taken 29 wickets 8n 19 matches this year, while Chamari Athapaththu has 26 in 20 matches in the same period, making them the leading wicket-takers for their respective teams this year. With the bat, Sana has struck 475 runs at an impressive strike rate of 148.90, while Athapaththu has 638 runs at 143.04. Athapaththu is also coming off a 63 off 37 against Malaysia. Sana, meanwhile, was instrumental in Pakistan’s recent meeting with Sri Lanka, scoring an unbeaten 47 and taking four wickets in the Asia Cupmuneeba semi-final.

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Muneeba Ali is missing the Asian Games because of her mother’s illness. Gull Feroza kept wicket in Muneeba’s absence and opened the batting against Thailand.

Pakistan (probable): Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza (wk), Ayesha Zafar, Fatima Sana (capt), Aliya Riaz, Eyman Fatima, Tuba Hassan, Eman Naseer , Umm-e-Hani, Tasmia Rubab, Nashra Sandhu

For Sri Lanka, Nilakshika Silva fractured her finger during the Asia Cup and was sidelined for the Asia Games. Vishmi Gunaratne was dropped from the squad, with Sri Lanka giving batter Hansima Karunaratne and seamer Rashmika Sewwandi a chance in the opening game.

Sri Lanka (probable): Imesha Dulani, Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Rashmika Sewwandi, Mithali Ayodhya, Chamudi Praboda, Sugandika Kumari

(Crickinfo)