Sports

Cricket’s craze with keepers who can bat

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/17

Rex Clementine
in Galle

In the year 2006, Sri Lanka were hosting the ICC Under-19 World Cup. The hosts were skippered by Angelo Mathews. There was a game at SSC between New Zealand and Pakistan and former Test captain Arjuna Ranantunga had come along to watch. Chatting to reporters, he said that he saw something special in Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed. It was a short game where Pakistan chased down a target less than 100 runs in ten overs. Not sure what had impressed Arjuna, but he was highly taken up by Sarfraz. We were given a glimpse of Sarfraz’s leadership in the final of that tournament at RPS between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

Pakistan had been shot out for 109. For an Indian side comprising Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, this was a cake walk you thought. But India were in for a rude shock as Sarfraz attacked with his quicks. He used only three of them and mighty India surrendered as they were bowled out for 71 inside 20 overs as Pakistan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. They owed it to their skipper. What had impressed Arjuna earlier during the group game was Sarfraz’s attacking instincts. The moment he saw an opportunity, he pushed the opposition to the brink. He was willing to give up boundaries in a bid to keep up the pressure and as a result Pakistan won a final that they did not deserved to.

Sarfraz’s attacking instincts were visible when he skippered Pakistan’s senior side. He is calm, doesn’t get rattled, gambles with attacking field placings and bold bowling changes. He may not be leading the world’s most talented cricket team but Pakistan benefited thanks to their smart captain who was creative and unafraid.

Pakistan often under-perform in big tournaments. Their last major victory in an ICC event was in the Champions Trophy in England in 2017. Pakistan had barely qualified for the event and were ranked last. But Sarfraz inspired a young team to punch above their weight. In that tournament, Sri Lanka had almost delivered Pakistan the knockout punch in Cardiff. Then that dropped catch of Pakistan captain by Thisara Perera and the rest is history. Sarfraz came for the press conference and rubbed salt into Sri Lankan wounds when he said, ‘I will remember that dropped catch for the rest of my life and Thisara will remember it for the rest of his life.’

Pakistan is a team that often has deep divisions. Sarfraz brought them together. While his leadership skill has been appreciated, not much has been said about his honesty. In 2017, Sri Lanka were playing Pakistan in UAE and there was an approach to corrupt a game and Sarfraz reported it immediately. Given the reputation his country has had with corruption allegations, this won them a lot of admirers. Sarfraz was taking the team in the right direction.

Sarfraz is in Sri Lanka at the moment. But he’s no longer the captain. He may not even play any of the two Tests. He’s just a back up wicketkeeper. He’s out of favour because he is not the best wicketkeeping batsman in his country. Well, he’s got three Test hundreds unlike our man. But Pakistan feel there are other batters who add value to the side.

The question you need to ask is when someone has exceptional leadership skills, he is a very good keeper and a decent batsman should that be not good enough for him to hold onto a place in the side?Cricket’s craze to back wicketkeepers who contribute significantly with the bat is driving away some of the best keepers and leaders in the game.

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Agha calls for ‘sportsman spirit’ after controversial dismissal

Published

11 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

20 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

21 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.