Sports
CRICKET IN SHAMBLES
Rex Clementine at Galle Fort
Yesterday, Hulstdorf was giving a ruling on a divorce case. The judge told the daughter of the separating couple, “Now that your parents are getting divorced, whom do you want to live with? I guess it’s your mother.” The girl replied, “No, my mother beats me.” Then the judge said, ‘So, I guess you want to live with your dad, “No he beats me up too,” the girl said. Puzzled by this, the judge asked, ” So, with whom do you want to live? The little girl replied, “I want to live with the Sri Lankan cricket team. They beat nobody.”
Which is devaluing faster? Cricket or the rupee? The decline of the rupee has been steady. It’s now 200 for the Dollar. So is cricket. Our batting has collapsed four times in the last four Tests now. More time is spent by our batsmen in social media than at the crease. There is total chaos with the approach. There are question marks with regards to fitness, discipline and planning.
Yet, our board thinks that the media is their biggest enemy and not fitness, lack of discipline or unprofessional attitude of players. Not only did they sideline one of their key stakeholders, SLC also put a ban on their adoring fans. The spectators were not even allowed to watch the proceedings from the Galle Fort. It was atrocious. As if this team is playing some attractive cricket that people care to watch them. Any organization that turns their back on the fans is likely to be doomed. No wonder our cricket is doomed.
Kusal Mendis should have been handed a one year suspension when he drove on the wrong side in the middle of the night, killed an innocent man and did everything within his means to cover up his sins. The board turned a blind eye. The CEO said it was a ‘personal matter’. He should have taken a leaf out of the book of that great sports promoter Rienzie Wijetilleke who dealt with a similar matter 20 years ago by sacking the player. He never played for Sri Lanka again and lost his job at HNB. Our CEO has lived up to his name, ‘Well left Ashley.’
Our former captain Suranga Lakmal was seen playing cards in the dressing room in the first Test when the batting was collapsing but SLC treated him with kid’s gloves. Instead of sending him home that night, the board sent home some rookies. Lakmal is too powerful. He returned to play the second Test and his mind looked to be elsewhere.
We have a Sports Minister who wants to remain in the good books of players. He sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil. Occasionally he bats for the likes of Jeevan Mendis. He thinks that by sitting next to Mumbai’s greatest sensation or Rajastan’s latest sensation for a meeting and posting pictures on social media, the real issues will be sorted. Namal baby is too immature for the job. Instead of managing sports, he should go back and engage in his hobbies, maybe driving fast cars, or rifle shooting. If not, how about putting up a rugby team at Navy and getting all other rankers at the Welisara Camp to cheer him and his brothers.
Our planning has been atrocious. We are playing a series on spinning tracks without a spin bowling coach on board. The team’s most incorrigible guy has been backed to bat number six. That was asking for trouble. Our cricket is so defensive. They don’t want to play Lakshan Sandakan. We asked why? We are told that he is leaking too many runs. They have forgotten the basic principle that in Test match cricket it’s perfectly fine to buy your wickets.
Then there is Vishwa Fernando. He takes a five wicket haul in South Africa and he is benched for the next Test. We at least hoped he would return for the second Test but he’s benched from that too. Instead, the card games hero gets the game.
Ideally, Lakmal, Mendis, Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne all should pack their bags. But nothing will change. They will be all back for West Indies. The party will continue.
This is not a case to say that this set of administrators are bad and we need another set. With cricket elections fast approaching, we don’t want to fall into that trap.
We have been yelling to reduce teams in First Class cricket. Last four Sports Ministers have turned a blind eye to that plea. The board doesn’t want to antagonize clubs. What do Sports Ministers have got to lose? Have they been well looked after by the Board? As long as they do not reduce the teams in First Class cricket nothing will change. We do not have an ‘A’ team at the moment. The man who once said that ‘A’ team cricket is a waste of money is set to contest this year’s elections after a brief break. There is one solution though. Let’s write to the ICC and say that we are withdrawing our Test status. Let’s allocate that time to play a franchise based T-20 tournament and another T-10 tournament. Let’s all make some money. Hell with Test cricket. As if, our white ball team is covering themselves in glory.
After three one-sided, low-scoring encounters, the fourth T20I between India and Sri Lanka exploded into a run-fest in Thiruvananthapuram, with both sides posting their highest totals in women’s T20Is. India’s big score of 221 for 2 proved too much for Sri Lanka, who fell short by 30 runs, handing the hosts a 4-0 series lead with one match remaining. India missed two catching opportunities and a stumping chance, while Sri Lanka gave away three, but the batting dominance was decisive.
Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma set the tone with blistering half-centuries to power India’s innings, while Chamari Athapaththu kept Sri Lanka in the chase with a fighting 52. Despite a few late cameo efforts, the visitors couldn’t overcome India’s dominant batting display.
Shafali and Mandhana delivered a masterclass in aggressive opening batting, putting together 162 runs off just 92 balls – the highest opening partnership for India in women’s T20Is. Shafali continued her purple patch with a third successive T20I half-century, while Mandhana, who had managed only 40 runs in the first three matches, roared back to form. The innings also saw Mandhana climb to the top of the charts for most runs (1,703) in women’s internationals in a calendar year, underlining her dominance.
India’s openers were relentless from the outset, racing to 61 without loss in the powerplay with 12 boundaries. Shafali’s innings was built on control and placement – her first six came only after her fifty, a loft over long-off in the 11th over – and she finished with 12 fours and a six.
Mandhana, meanwhile, struck 11 fours and three sixes, though her innings briefly dipped in tempo. After racing to 24 off 14 balls, she moved to 28 off 24 during a short lull before accelerating sharply to reach her half-century off 35 deliveries. From there, she cut loose, using the feet to loft the spinners and driving straight with authority.
The contest decisively tilted in overs 11 to 13, when India tore into the attack. The 11th over went for 15 runs, followed by a 20-run 12th and an 18-run 13th, each featuring two fours and a six. Any hopes Sri Lanka had of restricting the damage vanished as India surged from 85 for no loss to 120 in just two overs.
India brought up 150 in only 14.2 overs, making light of the Sri Lanka captain’s assessment at the toss that 140 would be a competitive total.
Sri Lanka had to wait 92 balls for their first breakthrough and struck again in the following over, the 17th, but any momentum was swiftly snuffed out by Richa Ghosh. With Harleen Deol replacing Jemimah Rodrigues, who was recovering from a mild fever, India promoted Ghosh to No. 3 for the death overs – a move that paid rich dividends. Having faced just one delivery in the series before this match, Ghosh made an impact, blasting 40 off 16 balls and adding an unbroken 53-run stand with Harmanpreet Kaur.
Ghosh announced herself by heaving her second ball over Nimasha Meepage’s head for four. After a relatively quiet 17th over, she found her range against the same bowler, striking two more boundaries. The onslaught peaked against Kavisha Dilhari, one of Sri Lanka’s more experienced bowlers, as Ghosh went into overdrive. She smoked three sixes and a four to plunder 23 runs from the 19th over, punishing anything in her hitting arc and underlining India’s ruthless finish.
Sri Lanka began their chase aggressively, with Hasini Perera taking charge. She tore into Renuka Singh’s first over, hitting three boundaries, while Arundhati Reddy, making a comeback in place of the rested Kranti Gaud, conceded 17 off the second over. By the end of four, Sri Lanka had raced to 52 for 0, with the opening stand between Perera and Athapaththu putting on 59 runs off 34 balls.
Athapaththu struck the chase’s first six, charging down the track and clearing long-off off Deepti Sharma in the third over. Both left-handers punished anything too full or short, though Perera fell in the sixth over, holing out to Harmanpreet at mid-off off Reddy’s offcutter.
Athapaththu kept the momentum going, adding 57 runs off 46 balls with Imesha Dulani for the second wicket. Athapaththu moved from 20 off 15 balls to fifty in the next 19 deliveries, hitting three sixes and as many fours. However, her innings ended when she mistimed a charge over the off side, gifting a catch to Mandhana at long-off off Vaishnavi Sharma. At that stage, Sri Lanka needed 106 runs from 42 balls. Despite a few late cameos, the chase fell short.
On a night dominated by big scores, Vaishnavi emerged as the standout bowler, picking up two crucial wickets for just 24 runs. Introduced into the attack after the powerplay, she began by floating the ball outside off stump to entice the batters before gradually attacking the stumps and testing the left-handers with clever variations.
After dismissing Athapaththu in the 13th over, she also removed Harshitha Samarawickrama for a 13-ball 20 in the 17th, when the batter looked threatening. Her disciplined lines and sharp changes of pace helped India keep Sri Lanka’s scoring in check.
Brief scores:
India Women 221 for 2 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 80, Shafali Verma 79, Richa Ghosh 40*, Harmanpreet Kaur16*; Malsha Shehani 1-32, Nimasha Meepage 1-40) beat Sri Lanka Women 191 for 6 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 52, Hasini Perera 33, Imesha Dulani 29, Harshitha Samarawickrama 20, Kavisha Dilhari 13, Nilakshika de Silva 23*; Arundhati Reddy 2-42, Vaishnavi Sharma 2-24, Shree Charani 1-46) by 30 runs
(Cricinfo)
A private function will be held on Monday, December 29 at Melbourne’s Spicy Wicket Restaurant to celebrate Asanka Gurusinha’s iconic Boxing Day century at the MCG, the first and still the only hundred by a Sri Lankan at the grand old ground that staged the game’s inaugural Test and has long been cricket’s festive showpiece in Australia.
Sri Lanka featured in the 1995 Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a match remembered as much for controversy as for courage. Umpire Darrel Hair repeatedly no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing in front of a stunned crowd of 55,000, turning the contest into a cauldron.
It was a one-sided affair dominated by Mark Taylor’s Australians. Forced to follow on, Sri Lanka were staring down the barrel before Gurusinha dug in to produce a back-to-the-wall 143. It was the left-hander’s career-best Test score and more importantly helped Sri Lanka avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat.
“Any Test hundred is a moment to remember, but to do it against Australia, facing McDermott, McGrath, Warne and Reifel at the MCG is very special,” Gurusinha told Telecom Asia Sport. “It didn’t sink in 30 years ago, but I know now why it’s special. I always enjoyed batting on pitches with bounce and seam and Australia was a place I loved playing.”
“Coming up against the best team in the world at the time and that formidable bowling attack is something that will stay with me forever,” he added.
Gurusinha also paid tribute to those behind the celebration. “I want to thank my good friends David and Cathy Cruse for organising this event. All my family will be there and it’s great to have Aravinda de Silva as chief guest. I played against him at school level for eight years and then alongside him for 12 years for Sri Lanka. He’s a dear friend.”
Gurusinha made his Test debut in 1985, straight out of school as a 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batter. His sound technique soon demanded promotion and he settled into the No. 3 slot, becoming the side’s human sandbag, valuing his wicket, batting time and wearing down attacks during marathon vigils that tested bowlers’ patience as much as their stamina.
A key member of Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning squad in 1996, Gurusinha willingly shelved his natural strokeplay to play the anchor’s role, allowing the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva to cut loose. He struck a vital half-century in the final against Australia, earning praise from captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who famously labelled him the unsung hero of Sri Lanka’s World Cup triumph.
Gurusinha retired prematurely at the age of 30 soon after that World Cup success, migrated to Australia and has since made Melbourne his adopted home, fitting, perhaps, that the city where he played his finest innings will now raise a glass to a knock that has aged like fine wine.
Royal scored a first innings win over Gurukula after they restricted the team from Kelniya to 215 runs in reply to their 302 in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ match at Reid Avenue on Sunday.
For the home team open bat Hirun Liyanarachchi scored back to back half centuries. He remained unbeaten on 56 in the second innings.
For the visitors Ohas Sadew picked up six wickets.
Scores
Royal 302 for 9 decl. in 80 overs (Hirun Liyanarachchi 50, Dushen Udawela 25, Ramiru Perera 60, Yasindu Dissanayake 41, Thevindu Wewalwala 36, Manuth Disanayake 42, Udantha Gangewatta
22n.o.; Ohas Sadew 6/101) and 130 for 2 in 39 overs (Hirun Liyanarachchi 56n.o., Rehan Peiris 59)
Gurukula
215 all out in 75.2 overs (Sahas Induwara 35, Denura Dimansith 79, Janith Mihiranga 44; Himaru Deshan 2/65, Ramiru Perera 2/58) (RF)
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