Sports

Future is scary and we need to act now

Published

3 years ago

2023/12/17

Thilina Walpola

Sri Lanka Under-19 crashed out of the Asia Cup in Dubai after humiliating losses to UAE and Bangladesh

by Rex Clementine

fans had barely recovered from the shock of the national cricket team’s disastrous campaign in the World Cup in India where they had finished ninth, failed to qualify for Champions Trophy and had suffered embarrassing defeats including to Afghanistan and Bangladesh. This week, the Under-19 team did not cover themselves in glory having gone down to UAE and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup.

It’s a pity that Bangladesh had been hiring Sri Lankan coaches for two decades to build their cricket and are producing results, but we are depending on coaches from overseas and are hitting new lows. That Bangladesh has been beating Sri Lanka in age group competitions for quite sometime now is nothing new, but the UAE loss came out of the blues.

It remains to be seen what excuses the pandits running cricket will come up with now for the humiliation in the Under-19 Asia Cup. Their excuses for the World Cup debacle were laughable indeed. When the senior team crashed, they claimed that the fitness levels of the players were below par but conveniently forgot that the system they had put in place had been implemented for well over two years.

As for the governing body, they brushed aside the World Cup flop claiming that cricket did not need urgent remedial measures pointing out at last year’s Asia Cup success. They are of course basking in past glories.

Unless authorities realize that they have issues to address and fix the problem, we are not going to come out of the lean patch.

There are issues that need to be addressed from school cricket where younger teams aren’t encouraged to win. The points system in place is bizarre. The structure in place does not encourage all-round cricketers and that is certainly not keeping pace with the moving trends of world cricket.

Obviously, now that the Under-19 team has crashed, questions will be asked whether players were picked on merit and whether there was any favouritism? You can brush aside these concerns saying that the loss to UAE was one off and the team will be well equipped to face the challenges during the Under-19 World Cup where they are pooled alongside Namibia, Zimbabwe and Australia in Group ‘C’.

The Under-19 team is not alone in failing to set decent totals. The senior team has faced the same problem and collapses are becoming very much part of Sri Lankan cricket culture. That trend needs to change and the only way it can change is by identifying players who will fight it out when the going gets tough.

Too many flashy players throwing their bats around taking risks too early in their innings has cost all Sri Lankan teams in recent years. Batting Coaches have failed to address the issues and find remedies.

The senior side finished as the worst fielding unit spilling as many as 16 catches during the World Cup. It is agreed that there are too many players who have not met fitness standards and their excesses have been excused. The same features haunt the junior team as well and we need to find a way out.

One man handpicked the coaching staff for both the senior and junior teams and the roles of those coaches need to be examined together with the role of the man who recommended them.

Much hype has been made with former captain Sanath Jayasuriya being appointed as the Consultant Coach of the High-Performance Center. While Jayasuriya will be able to identify grey areas and change the culture of players who come under the HPC, the urgent need is to introduce the changes to the senior side for that outfit has failed totally.

You would have expected a bigger role for Sanath. Something like Team Director where he would be able to address key issues and give priority to neglected disciplines like fielding, strategy and playing smart cricket. Your skill levels need not be extraordinary for you to be a good fielding unit. All what needs is the right attitude. Playing smart cricket is not rocket science but Sri Lanka in recent years have come up with some dumb strategies.

There is a new selection panel in place as well and while they are expected to address some key areas their predecessors failed to look into; their selection policy will be interesting to see.

Like in every walk of professional life, in cricket too we will be better off if selected individuals only perform the roles they are entrusted with. One reason why Sri Lanka failed pathetically during the World Cup was because the Consultant Coach was getting involved in selections as well and it proved to be a disaster.

The warning signs were there for the West Indies for many years, but they failed to address burning issues pertaining to their cricket and they have not only faded away but are not competing in global tournaments anymore. Sri Lanka are going on the same path and unless they address the issue urgently they will have to face the music.

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Ronaldo apologizes for Portugal walkout; says Jesus broke promise

Published

5 hours ago

2026/10/7

Priyan

Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal's leading scorer (Aljazeera)

Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Portugal ‌coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word, saying a failed agreement to publicly ⁠explain his omission ⁠against Norway drove him out of the camp, but insisting he remained available after any punishment.

In a lengthy statement, the 41-year-old gave his account of the dispute ⁠that prompted his departure from Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match versus Denmark last week.

Ronaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which the forward would miss the Norway and Denmark ⁠matches to manage his fitness. However, on the day of the Norway game, the coach told him he would play for 30 minutes.

“Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from halftime onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn’t called on,” Ronaldo said.

“The manager had broken his word to me.”

Portugal’s ‌captain and all-time leading scorer said a subsequent meeting with Jesus, attended by his club side Al Nassr’s sporting director Simao Coutinho, produced an agreement for the coach to clarify events at his next news conference.

According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, had respected Jesus’s decisions and that the coach asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.

Ronaldo said the agreed notes did ⁠not require Jesus to apologise to him but said the coach’s ⁠public remarks bore no resemblance to their private discussion.

“It was the second time he had broken his word to me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.”

The statement provided Ronaldo’s account⁠, but on Sunday, after Portugal’s win over Norway, Jesus denied he had made any agreement with the player, nevertheless leaving the door open ⁠for his return.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) did not immediately respond ⁠to a request for comment about Ronaldo’s statement.

Ronaldo apologised for failing to greet supporters after the Norway match and for leaving his teammates, accepting that his captaincy made his conduct more serious.

“The consequences of my actions must be assessed ‌and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation,” he said.

Despite the rupture, Ronaldo said he was not limiting his international ambitions to a farewell appearance.

“If I’m physically fit, playing for my club – scoring ‌goals, ‌I hope – after serving whatever suspension is imposed on me, I’ll be available, as I’ve always been until now, to compete and win for our national team,” he added.

(Aljazeera)

Sports

Nalanda on the cusp of reaching knockout stage as unbeaten run continues

Published

6 hours ago

2026/10/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Rusandu Silva has nine wickets against his name after three matches.

by Reemus Fernando

Nalanda College, Colombo continued their unbeaten run to come closer to securing a berth in the knockout stage as they beat Gurukula College by nine wickets in the Under 19 Division I Tier A Limited Overs Tournament match played at Campbell Place on Tuesday.

‎With Rusandu Silva continuing his impressive run in the tournament, Nalanda did well to restrict the team from Kelaniya to just 113 runs (in 35.4 overs).

‎After two outings Rusandu had six wickets against his name coming to this match.‎Rusandu and Methuka Perera claimed three wickets each. ‎Lithum Wijekumara also impressed with two wickets, while Santhul Wijeyarathne took one.

‎Adeepa Pinsara was the only batsman to make a contribution of note as he top-scored with 35 off 49 balls, including four fours and two sixes, while Javindu Madusanka made 20.

‎In their chase Nalanda made light work of the modest target, reaching 114 for one, scoring at a rate of over a run a ball.

‎Nadul Jayalath cracked an unbeaten 62 from just 52 balls. His innings contained four fours and five sixes. He received valuable support from Lithum Wijekumara, who scored 35 off 42 deliveries with six boundaries.

‎Ranmith Senarath completed the successful chase with an unbeaten 10 off seven balls, including two fours.

‎Nalanda lost only one wicket as the opening pair added 89 for the first wicket. Jayalath and Senarath then finished the contest comfortably, securing a convincing nine-wicket victory with many overs to spare.

‎It was Nalanda’s third successive victory in the Tier A tourney after having beaten Thurstan (155) by seven wickets and St. Servatius’ Matara (187) by four wickets in the first two matches.

‎As of now, they are the leading team in Group G where they have only St. Joseph’s Darley Road to meet before the knockout stage.

‎With just two teams advancing to the next stage from each Group Nalanda are almost assured of their place.

Sports

Wins for Hayley’s Group ‘A’ , HNB ‘A’ and CDB on Saturday

Published

6 hours ago

2026/10/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

33RD SINGER – MCA Super PREMIER LEAGUE

Hayley’s Group ‘A’, HNB ‘A’ and CDB registered wins by defeating Colombo Aces, Fairfirst Insurance and SLC Youth in the matches of the Mercantile Cricket Association’s Super Premier League cricket tournament on Sunday (04).

The MCA Super Premier League is sponsored by Singer Sri Lanka for the 33rd consecutive year.

At the Bloomfield Cricket ground, Nishan Madushka, Pulindu Perera and Minod Dhanuka smashed half tons as Hayley’s Group ‘A’ registered their second win of the tournament defeating Colombo Aces by six wickets.

At the Thurstan ground, Nipun Dhananjaya and Muditha Lakshan posted eighty plus scores to help CDB amass 307/8, which the bowlers defended by 71runs.

At the Colts Ground Milan Rathnayake starred with bat and ball [71 and 3-24] to help HNB ‘A’ overcome SLC Youth by 41 runs. Rehan Pieris topped SLC Youth score card with a 108 ball 77 with six fours and a six.

At Bloomfield Ground Colombo:

Hayley’s overcome Colombo Aces by six wickets

Colombo Aces 222/10 in 49 overs

[ Kavin Bandara 62, Dinura Kalupahan 50; Dhanajaya Lakshan 2-14, Ramesh Mendis 4-36]

Hayleys Group A 227/4 in 25.2 overs [Nishan Madushka 61, Pulindu Perera 51, Minod Bhanuka 54; Dinura Kalupahana 2-35]

At Thurstan College Ground:

CDB BY 71 runs

CDB 307/8 in 50 overs

[ Vishsd Randika 53, Nipun Dhananjaya 86, Muditha Lakshan 89; Himesh Ramanayake 3-49, ]

Fairfirst Insurance 236/10 in 46.4 overs

[Sanoj Dharshika 58, Yasiru Rodriga 78; Movin Subasinghe 3-27, Lahiru Madushanka 2-16]

At Colts ground;