Sports

Can Dimuth emulate Sanga and Aravinda?

Published

4 years ago

2022/04/3

by Rex Clementine

One reason why Sri Lanka’s Test cricket has not deteriorated as fast as the two white ball formats is their captain Dimuth Karunaratne. With consistent performances and match winning knocks, Dimuth has rescued his team time and again. Despite playing less than a handful of Test matches in 2021, he finished the year as world’s third highest run getter and this year he has been even better having emerged as number six ranked batsman in the world. His efforts have been recognized with Yorkshire offering him a contract. He thus becomes the first Sri Lankan to play for Leeds, where traditions are strictly adhered to than Lord’s.

Yorkshire was the last county to include overseas players. Sachin Tendulkar broke that barrier in 1993. Yorkshire is like the Manchester United of football having won more Championships than any other county. They have got 32 County Championships plus a shared title in 1949.

Many are the Sri Lankans who have played County Cricket. But just two of them have featured in Championship winning teams. Dr. Churchill Gunasekara, the first Sri Lankan to play County Cricket, was part of the Middlesex side that won the double in 1920 and 1921 while Farveez Maharoof 91 years later was part of the Lancashire side that won in 2011.

Every Sri Lankan cricketer has benefited by playing County Cricket. Aravinda de Silva was the first to be drafted in by a County after the country gained Test status. He played for Kent and finished with 1781 runs in 16 games. He averaged 59 with seven hundreds including two double hundreds, His much cherished moment with Kent came in a one-day game when he made a hundred in the Benson and Hedges final at Lord’s against a Lancashire attack spearheaded by Wasim Akram. His efforts opened doors for many other Sri Lankans.

Kumar Sangakkara represented three Counties. He started with Warwickshire, had a stint with Durham and finished with Surrey, whom he represented for three seasons. His last season in south London in 2017 was stunning. Sanga topped the batting charts finishing with 1491 runs in 16 innings at an average of 106 and eight hundreds. That included a record five successive centuries.

County Cricket brings a best out of a player. You are the overseas professional and you are expected to be the key player of the side. Aravinda did it having gone as the replacement for Carl Hooper and so did Sanga having gone to Birmingham in 2007. Both returned as better players when they put on Sri Lanka colours.

In his very first Test match after the Kent stint, Aravinda made a match winning hundred in Faisalabad and Sri Lanka went onto win the series.

Immediately after Warwickshire, Sanga in his next two Tests hit 52, 192, 92 and 152. He was unstoppable.

Aravinda averaged 37 in Tests before Kent and 45 after. Of his 20 Test hundreds, 13 came after County Cricket. We all know that Sanga averaged 57 in Tests. After Warwickshire he in fact averaged 60 in Tests and 24 of his 38 Test hundreds were scored after that.

Dimuth averages 39 in Test cricket as of now. Expect that to go up once he returns from England. There’s hardly a professional atmosphere in our domestic cricket. Players learn what it means to be a professional player by being involved in an atmosphere like in England.

Dimuth came close to signing up a County contract on a few occasions but national commitment or injury saw him missing out. He’s finally got a break with Yorkshire. Better late than never.

North England is not the kind of place you want to live in April and May. It will be bitterly cold with temperature barely touching double digits. At nights, it goes minus. This transition will make a good Test cricketer a great one.

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Sports

Heavy reliance on Nissanka leaves Sri Lanka short on answers

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/9

Thilina Walpola

Sri Lanka depend so much on Pathum Nissanka in white ball cricket and when he fires, the team wins and when he fails, they flop

The first T20 International against Pakistan in Dambulla underlined, yet again, how heavily Sri Lanka lean on their talismanic opener Pathum Nissanka. When he gets going, Sri Lanka can push into the 180 plus scores that win you games. When he fails, the innings tends to unravel like a loose sweater. On Wednesday night, they were skittled with four balls to spare.

Ranked third in the world in T20Is, Nissanka has been a model of consistency over the past 24 months, scripting more than his share of Sri Lanka’s recent successes. But cricket’s law of averages is an unforgiving umpire. When he departs cheaply, the rest of the batting order too often looks short of ideas and shorter on intent.

That brings the debate around Kusal Janith Perera into sharp focus. If the selectors believe KJP belongs in the squad, then he must be in the playing XI. He remains one of the few in the current set-up who can clear the ropes against both pace and spin, a necessity in T20 cricket. Leaving that firepower unused doesn’t make sense.

Charith Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis offer adequate part-time spin options and with the bat both are better suited to the demands of T20 cricket than Dhananjaya de Silva. The Test captain was previously cast in a similar role ahead of the last T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA, a move that failed to deliver dividends and was quietly shelved after the tournament. Curiously, the same experiment has resurfaced, funnily enough, on the eve of another World Cup.

Sri Lanka may well be the only international side juggling three different captains across formats, with all three turning up in the T20 XI. How can that be?

A top order of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis, followed by Kusal Perera at number three, gives the batting unit a far more settled look. Crucially, that trio has the ability to maximise the six overs of Powerplay, when the field is up.

Further down the order, Dunith Wellalage at number eight could provide a safety net if there is a collapse. At present, the top order is overly dependent on Nissanka and without Wellalage, the lower order offers precious little resistance once the chips are down.

With a home World Cup around the corner, Sri Lanka need to finalise their combinations rather than shuffle the pack. Experimentation is part of the process, but doing so this close to a global event is a gamble with long odds.

While Sri Lanka have made reasonable strides in Tests and ODIs, the T20 format continues to throw up worrying signs. There was at least a sense of gradual progress under Charith Asalanka and Upul Tharanga, slow, perhaps, but forward. What is unfolding now feels like a return to square one, dusting off old plans that previously backfired and hoping, against evidence, for a different result.

Rex Clementine ✍️
in Dambulla

Sports

Tissa stun Zahira

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/9

Thilina Walpola

Malindu Dilshan

Under 19 Cricket

Tissa Central, Kalutara produced a stunning nine wicket victory over Zahira College, Maradana as spinner and skipper Malindu Dilshan led the way with a six wicket haul to rattle the visitors for 39 runs in the second innings in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘A’ match at Kalutara on Thursday.

‎Both schools topped 200 runs in their first innings and a draw was the likely result before Dilshan came up with a stunning spell to restrict Zahira.

‎They knocked off the win need of 86 runs in just 18 overs.

‎Tissa stun Zahira at Kalutara

‎Scores

‎Zahira 261 all out in 68.5 overs (Tharusha Nawodya 83; Viswa Naduranga 5/45, Tharuka Samanjith 4/58) and 39 all out in 26.5 overs (Malindu Dilshan 6/16, Ishara de Silva 2/06)

‎Tissa

215 all out in 56.1 overs (Nethsara Yasmitha 66, Mindew Hansana 45; Tharusha Nawodya 7/95) and 86 for 1 in 18 overs (Sadew Dilshan 33n.o., Ishara Silva 30n.o.)

‎Division I Tier B Cricket

‎Sanjana century powers Moratu Vidyalaya,

‎‎A 152 runs stand for the second wicket between Deneth Sithumina (54) and Sanjana Senevirathne (111)‎and an unbeaten 39 (in 32 balls) inclusive of three fours and three sixes from number ten batsman Menuka Kothalawala powered Moratu Vidyalaya to 288 runs against St. Anne’s at Moratuwa.

‎Moratu MV 288, St. Anne’s 57/4 at Moratuwa

‎Scores

‎Moratu MV

288 all out in 77.4 overs (Deneth Sithumina 54, Sanjana Senevirathne 111, Menuka Kothalawala 39n.o.; Sanuja Dissanayake 5/85, Yashmith Jayasundara 2/28, Nesad Weerasekara 2/93)

‎St. Anne’s 57 for 4 in 15 overs (Ishan Khan 24n.o.; Menuka Kothalawala 2/27, Vihanga Nethsara 2/21)

‎St. Sebastians’ 145, Isipatana 81/6 at Kanuneriya

‎Scores

‎St. Sebastians’ 145 all out in 35.1 overs (Dinindu Dilan 48, Maheesha Sithum 25; Thrindu Naveen 2/39, Menula Dambakumbura 5/40, Dimuthu Tharuka 2/13)

‎Isipatana

81 for 6 in 24 overs (Dewshan Deneth 24; Maheesha Sithum 3/19, Sachintha Sandeep 2/13)

Sports

Coe commits World Athletics support to Jamaica

Published

13 hours ago

2026/01/8

Priyan

President Sebastian Coe has confirmed at the culmination of his official visit to Jamaica that World Athletics will provide financial and technical support and resources to be distributed through the National Federation in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

“During my time here, we have looked at how World Athletics and the International Athletics Foundation can best support redevelopment efforts both financially and through programmes delivered in conjunction with the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), and with the support of NACAC Athletics, to help athletes continue to train and compete,” said Coe.

“The International Athletics Foundation will provide financial support of US$100,000, with the distribution of funding through an agreed process as per previous solidarity funds via the JAAA, and programme support focused on ensuring athletes from the impacted western side of the island can continue to train and compete in regional and global championships, including the CARIFTA Games in Grenada in April and the World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon, USA, in August.

“Our funding will be allocated to areas such as transport and accommodation to ensure impacted athletes have access to facilities for training and competition, and replacement of equipment, rather than infrastructure, considering that this is a local and national government responsibility.”

Coe also confirmed that World Athletics will support a new 5km road race to be launched in Jamaica with the President himself as Patron – with the objective of raising funds in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa and encouraging the local population to benefit from becoming more active.

“We should not underestimate the power of sport, and especially athletics as the mother of all sports and Jamaica’s national pastime, to help the people overcome the challenges Hurricane Melissa has presented, and its role in helping to rebuild the nation, to help return to a semblance of normality, to re-energise the population, and to improve mental health and promote resilience in the face of such adversity,” added Coe.

On his official visit from 4-7 January, Coe made courtesy call visits to Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Minister of Culture, Entertainment, Gender & Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding and Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby, and visited the British High Commission, accompanied in each meeting by JAAA President Garth Gayle and other members of the JAAA Executive. Coe also met Jamaica Olympic Association President Christopher Samuda and visited several schools and colleges to witness training and meet athletes and coaches.

“Jamaica is a nation synonymous with athletics and one of the powerhouses of our sport,” said Coe. “It is impossible to think of athletics without names like Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Yohan Blake or Elaine Thompson-Herah.

“From Jamaica to the world, this small island nation punches far above its weight on the international scene thanks not only to the natural talent of its athletes, but also the steady leadership provided by JAAA, which, along with the support of government and other stakeholders, has ensured the infrastructure is in place for generations of athletes to enter the pipeline to elite international level.

“Athletics is deeply embedded in Jamaican culture, driving high participation, public engagement and national unity. Their athletes serve as powerful global ambassadors, strengthening Jamaica’s international brand and soft power.

“Evident from my visits to local schools over the past days, I have seen for myself the rich talent pool that points towards a continued bright future for the sport in Jamaica as it looks to not only win more global titles but also build a broader participation base and host future World Athletics events.”

Coe also thanked Jamaica’s Usain Bolt for working with World Athletics on the promotion of the inaugural Ultimate Championship.

“For a number of years our sport was dominated by Usain – a colossal figure to whom we owe an enormous debt of gratitude,” he said. “Jamaica’s own son did so much to elevate our sport on a global scale, and we are delighted that Usain has agreed to support the promotion of our new global championship. We look forward to welcoming him and many Jamaican athletes to Budapest in September 2026.”

[World Athletics]