Connect with us

Sports

Chamari’s team commence campaign for the Commonwealth Games slot today

Published

4 years ago

on

Chamari Athapaththu said that it was vital for their team to win the tournament after having missed qualifying for the 50-over World Cup.(File Pic)

The ICC Commonwealth Games Qualifier 2022 commences at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday as Bangladesh, Kenya, Malaysia, Scotland, and Sri Lanka vie for the lone remaining slot at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

The round-robin T20 tournament to decide who joins the seven teams already qualified for Birmingham – Australia, Barbados, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa – commences with a match between Bangladesh and Malaysia and will see Bangladesh and Sri Lanka face off on the last day.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu said that it was vital for their team to win the tournament after having missed qualifying for the 50-over World Cup. Her team will encounter Scotland today.

Chamari Athapaththu: “Apart from the World Cup, the Commonwealth Games (cricket competition) is the other major tournament to be held in 2022. Obviously, it won’t wipe out the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup but will give us some amount of solace.

“We have a very good chance of winning this tournament and qualifying for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. We have experienced players as well as talented youngsters in our side, with the likes of Harsitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari the ones to look out for.”

England and six other highest-ranked ICC Members in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings as of 1 April 2021 qualified directly for the Commonwealth Games, with the slot for the West Indies going to Barbados since athletes from the Caribbean will be representing their countries and not the West Indies (as they are affiliated with the ICC). Barbados were nominated by Cricket West Indies (CWI) on the basis of their win in the 2019 CWI T20 Blaze Tournament.

Women’s cricket will be part of the Commonwealth Games for the first time ever in what is seen as a huge opportunity to take the game to new fans. It will only be the second time that cricket will feature in it after a men’s competition was part of the Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

Bangladesh captain Niger Sultana has the chance of leading her team into the Birmingham Games to cap a fine year that has already seen them qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in March-April.

Nigar Sultana: “We are very confident. It was not easy for us to return to competitive cricket after the disruptions of training and matches because of Covid-19. However, we are well prepared now, having played in different conditions during the past few months.

“I think our middle-order batting has been excellent in recent times. As this is a T20 tournament, I am expecting the opening batters to get us off to quick starts. We have experienced campaigners to compliment the youthful exuberance in our team. It’s going to be a combined effort from all of us if we do well here.

Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce understands that it won’t be easy for her team but is still aiming to win the Qualifier.

Kathryn Bryce: “Every time we go into a tournament the main objective is to try and win. There’s only one qualification spot available, so we know it’s going to be a challenging task coming up against the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who’ve been near the top of the world stage for a long time now. They have a lot of experience but we’re looking forward to testing ourselves against them.

“It’s been a challenging build-up with COVID-19 still affecting things, but we’ve managed to get together as a squad to train together regularly. We’ve been indoors over the winter period, but I think there have been some good camps during the preparation and I’ve seen some good progression, so I believe we’ll be ready for the tournament.

“There are lots of players in the team who are starting to stand up and as a team we’re not really relying on a small number of people anymore which is really exciting to see. Obviously, Abtaha Maqsood has a really big summer playing in The Hundred and I think her quality will hopefully come through and has the potential to win us some matches.”

Kenya captain Margaret Ngoche wants to make the most of the opportunity of playing against teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Margaret Ngoch: “We want to utilize and maximize all the opportunities that will come our way in terms of experience and talent showcasing. We want to interact with other teams with the aim of building a great cricketing network and learn more from them. We want to ensure that we are among the top teams, and we are coming with a winning mentality.”

“We know that this is a tournament like we have never experienced before. We will be playing with teams that have played in the World Cup. One of our major weapons is our mental capacity and experience that we have gathered through the years. The training and practice matches are just a way to polish the already effective tools that we possess. We have really invested in our mental capacity because our 100% is better than the rest.”

Malaysia captain Winifred Anne Duraisingam is hoping to gain the edge from familiar home conditions.

Winifred Anne Duraisingam: “It feels good to play hosts after not being able to play the last two years. Malaysia is blessed with good weather and of course, our hospitality and food will, I hope, be a great experience for the teams coming in.

“In terms of advantage, we are certainly comfortable as we know the ground conditions and we hope this will give us an edge as we do our best. Without a doubt, the strength of our team is in fielding and bowling. We are currently hard at work with our batting and we can see the improvements.

“Kinrara Oval has hosted many international tournaments including ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2008, the Women’s Asia Cup, and many other ICC and ACC (Asian Cricket Council) events. The pitch is very lively and is good for both batting and bowling.”

Match schedule (local time):

18 Jan:

Malaysia vs Bangladesh (09h30); Sri Lanka vs Scotland (13h15)

19 Jan:

Kenya vs Bangladesh (09h30); Scotland vs Malaysia (13h15)

20 Jan:

Kenya vs Sri Lanka (09h30)

22 Jan:

Scotland vs Kenya (09h30); Sri Lanka vs Malaysia (13h15)

23 Jan:

Bangladesh vs Scotland (09h30); Malaysia vs Kenya (13h15)

24 Jan:

Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (09h30)


Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Colts win First Class title

Published

22 mins ago

on

2026/04/2

By

Major Club 3-Day League 2025 - Champions - Colts CC

Colombo Colts Cricket Club finished off the First Class season with flying colours with their unbeaten run enabling them to win the title. Colts played seven games in the Super Eight segment and won one and drew seven games. Ace Capital gave them stiff competition and finished second.

Former Sri Lanka Under-19 cricketer Wanuja Sahan capped off a sensational season as he was Player of the Tournament. Sahan captured 54 wickets in ten games with his left-arm spin and produced 484 runs with the bat.

Major Club 3-Day League 2025 – Most Valuable Player – Wanuja Sahan, Ace Capital

NCC’s Lahiru Udara continued to top run charts amassing 908 runs in ten matches averaging 60 in ten games with one double hundred and three centuries.

Dilum Sudeera of Police was named Best Bowler after finishing wth 61 wickets.

SSC meanwhile having lost First Class status the last season fought their way back to regain top status and their campaign was spearheaded by Nipun Dhananjaya, who was named Best Batsman in Tier ‘B’

Tier ‘B’ 3-Day League 2025-26 – Best Batsman – Nipun Dhananjaya – SSC

Continue Reading

Sports

GCC Blue and Kingfisher reach U-15 final

Published

24 mins ago

on

2026/04/2

By

GCC Blue 2026 U15 and Kingfisher C A U15 advanced to the final of the Global Cricket Club Under-15 Tournament after winning their semi-final matches in contrasting fashion.

‎In the first semi-final, GCC Blue 2026 U15 recorded a thrilling 2-wicket win over Apex Cricket Academy – Blue 2026 U15.

‎Apex, batting first, made 149 for 9 in 28 overs, with Anuhas Wickramasinghe top-scoring with 72 off 71 balls. Himash Silva starred with the ball for GCC Blue, taking 3 for 13, while Navith de Silva claimed 3 for 37.

‎In reply, GCC Blue reached 150 for eight in 27.2 overs, thanks to Hiruka Edirisooriya’s 46 off 34 balls and an unbeaten 37 off 26 balls by Onath Rodrigo, who was named the Player of the Match.

‎In the second semi-final, Kingfisher C A U15 outplayed Muthuwal Cricket Academy U15 by 70 runs.

‎Kingfisher posted 194 for nine in 28 overs, with Janadeepa Okash scoring 31 and Akash Dissanayake adding 29. For Muthuwal, Radil Anthony picked up three wickets.

‎Muthuwal were then bowled out for 124 in 22.5 overs, despite Sivakumar Navneeth’s fighting 56. Akash Dissanayake produced the best performance of the match with 4 for 8, while Sasindu Dilshara supported well with 3 for 19. Dissanayake was named the Player of the Match.

‎The final of the GCC Under 15 invitational cricket tournament 2026 between GCC Blue and Kingfisher C A promises to be an exciting contest and will be held on 04th April 2026 at Thurstan Cricket Ground commencing at 01.00 pm.

‎Fingara CA to encounter ARS Academy in U-13 Invitational Tournament final

‎Fingara Cricket Academy and ARS Academy advanced to the final of the Global Cricket Club Under-13 Tournament after winning their respective semi-finals.

‎Fingara Cricket Academy defeated GCC Blue 2026 U13 by 31 runs in the first semi-final. Batting first, Fingara made 203 for 6 in 30 overs with Thisanga Thewsara top-scoring with 49, while Kenul Binuka made 40 and Nethma Nilaksha Perera added a quick 35. In reply, GCC Blue were limited to 172 for 7. Nethma Nilaksha Perera starred with the ball as well, taking 3 for 23, and was named the Player of the Match.

‎In the second semi-final, ARS Academy U13 beat NP Cricket Academy U-13 by 6 wickets. NP Cricket Academy were bowled out for 93 in 25 overs, with Lasindu Rathnayake scoring 27. ARS Academy chased down the target, finishing on 97 for 4 in 20.1 overs, thanks to Akash Thilakarathne’s 36. Manula Mihisara was the standout performer with 3 for 16 and won the Player of the Match award.

‎The final will be played on 04th April 2026 at Thurstan Cricket Ground, Bauddhaloka Mw.Colombo 07 at 8am

Continue Reading

Latest News

Amelia Kerr hits 139-ball 179* as New Zealand pull off record chase to level series

Published

15 hours ago

on

2026/04/1

By

Amelia Kerr ended with 179 not out off just 139 balls [Cricinfo]

It was the Amelia Kerr show at Basin Reserve on Wednesday as she played the sort of innings that would go into cricket folklore if it were played at a World Cup instead of a bilateral series, to completely hog the limelight in a match with three other knocks of note and a total of 696 runs in 99.4 overs. Amelia scored 179 not out in 139 balls. And as New Zealand crossed South Africa’s 346 with two balls left, it became the highest successful chase  in women’s ODI history.

The result hardly seemed like when New Zealand, faced with a chase of 347, lost Suzie Bates in the fifth over, bowled by Ayabonga Khaka. Amelia settled in fast, but by the midway stage, New Zealand were four down, Kayla Reyneke striking twice and Sune Luus once as Georgia Plimmer, Maddy Green and Brooke Halliday all fell without making a significant contribution.

Amelia finally found the partner she needed in Isabella Gaze, the wicketkeeper-batter at No. 6. Together, the two of them 120 runs in 82 balls, Amelia scoring 47 of those runs in 34 balls to Gaze’s enterprising 68 in 48, studded with 11 fours.

By the time Gaze fell, becoming the first of two wickets in the game for Masabata Klaas, New Zealand had bounced right back and were in with a strong sniff. Amelia, by then on 113 off 97 balls, looked in the mood.

And then, with the lower-order batters for company, Amelia did what she had to: speed up. She scored a-run-a-ball 23 in a 40-run stand with Izzy Sharp, then 25 in 12 balls with her sister Jess, Rosemary Mair came and went, and then Amelia finished the job in the company of debutant Kayley Knight with two balls left. Amelia had reached her century – her fifth in ODIs, which includes a double-century – off 90 balls, and the 79 she scored after that came off just 49 more.

Earlier, South Africa would have felt happy with their performance with the bat after New Zealand had won the toss and asked them to bat, having lost the first game batting first, though not out of choice.

New Zealand struck early, removing Tazmin Brits in the eighth over, but then had to wait till the 28th before they got lucky again. In between, Laura Wolvaardt (69 in 74 balls) and Anneke Bosch (91 in 90) had added 132 runs in 124 balls, and South Africa were clearly on top.

South Africa continued to get strong partnerships with many of their batters settling in and showing form: 44 between Bosch and Luus (40), 34 between Luus and Sinalo Jafta (37), 40 between Jafta and Chloe Tryon (52*), 36 in just 18 balls between Tryon and Nadine de Klerk (18), and 25 in 12 balls for the unbroken seventh wicket between Tryon and Reyneke (9*). All of that added up to a very healthy total despite Bree Illing’s 3 for 60 and Knight’s 2 for 65, and South Africa would have expected the finish the night with the series in the bag, till Amelia decided otherwise.

Brief scores:
New Zealand Women 350 for 8 in 49.4 overs  (Amelia Kerr 179*, Isabella Gaze 68; Ayabonga Khaka 3-51, Kayla Reyneke 2-54, Masabata  Klaas 2-61) beat South Africa Women  346 for 6 (Anneke Bosch 91, Laura Wolvaardt 69, Chloe Tryon 52*, Sune Luus 40; Bree  Illing 3-60, Kaylee Knight 2-65) by two wickets

[Cricinfo]

Continue Reading

Trending