Sports
Guy de Alwis – Fearless and forthright
Former wicketkeeper batsman’s eighth death anniversary today
by Rex Clementine
Today falls the eighth death anniversary of one of Sri Lankan cricket’s early heroes – Guy De Alwis. A swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman, De Alwis made his Test debut in 1983 in Christchurch along with six other players after the national team had been depleted following the rebel tour to South Africa.
De Alwis was a regular member of the side in 1980s and his finest moment with the bat came in the 1983 World Cup when he posted back to back half-centuries, needless to say in double quick time.
As a schoolboy, De Alwis represented S. Thomas’ College and made an immediate impression making a half-century in his first Royal-Thomian encounter following in the footsteps of another fine Thomian wicket-keeper batsman – Ajit Jayasekara.
Post retirement he was heavily involved in coaching and then took over as Chairman of Selectors in 2002. His tenure as Chief Selector was one of the most successful ones in our cricket as De Alwis provided opportunities for many young players.
With De Alwis, no one owned permanent positions or slots in the side. Consistency was the currency for selection. He regularly rested seniors for dead rubbers and wasn’t afraid to shuffle the batting order with the backing of coach Dav Whatmore. His ways of challenging the seniors brought the best out them.
Not that De Alwis was against seniors. He was instrumental in bringing back forgotten players like Hashan Tillakaratne and Aravinda de Silva into the ODI outfit and both players proved to be huge assets as Sri Lanka finished the 2003 World Cup as losing semi-finalists. Six months prior to that, Sri Lanka were joint winners in the Champions Trophy after the final against India was a washout.
In modern day cricket, being a selector is a tough ask as you are constantly under pressure due to numerous requests by politicians to accommodate various players. With De Alwis it was no exception but the fearless man he is, Guy always maintained the integrity of office. He did not bow down to pressure and eventually politicians had their way removing him as Chairman of Selectors.
But Guy’s guts and fearlessness was appreciated by many. He was far-sighted, innovative and honest; attributes that those who wish to be selectors need to have. His death eight years ago at the age of 52 was a massive blow for the game. Cricket lost a dear friend.
Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were on target as France surged past Morocco 2-0 to book their place in the World Cup semifinals.
Mbappe curled in his eighth goal of the tournament on 60 minutes on Thursday before Dembele doubled Les Bleus’ lead six minutes later to settle a clinical victory at the Gillette Stadium outside Boston.
The win sends the 2018 champions into a last-four showdown against either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.
African champions Morocco had been tipped to pose a serious threat to France’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final.
But Didier Deschamps’ men were always in control against a limited Morocco side who failed to register a single shot on goal until an 83rd-minute free-kick by Azzedine Ounahi was parried away by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
France, though, struggled to find a breakthrough, and missed the opportunity to take the lead on 28 minutes when Mbappe saw a penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Mbappe had won the penalty after being brought down by Noussair Mazraoui but was forced to wait several minutes before being allowed to take the kick after a protracted VAR check.
Morocco managed to hold out to half-time, but it was always only a matter of time before France’s relentless pressure paid off.
The breakthrough came on the hour mark, with Mbappe bending a brilliant right-foot shot past Bounou from the edge of the area.
Paris Saint-Germain star Dembele made the game safe in the 66th minute, striding forward menacingly from midfield before steering a low finish into the bottom corner.
France now await the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.
[Aljazeera]
111th Vision Care Colombo Championship
Aahil Kaleel of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and Akesha Silva of Newstead College, Negombo emerged as the boys’ and girls’ Under-18 singles champions respectively at the 111th Vision Care Colombo Championship, played on Sri Lanka Tennis Association’s clay courts.
Aahil staged a remarkable comeback in the boys’ Under-18 final to defeat Rehan Gunawardhane 1-6, 6-4, 10-5 after dropping the opening set. The S. Thomas’ player enjoyed an impressive run to the title, overpowering Dehan Wickramasinghe 6-1, 6-1 in the quarter-finals before edging Mayooran Kubheran in a thrilling semi-final 4-6, 7-5, 10-7.
In the girls’ Under-18 final, Akesha Silva was crowned champion after Sahansa Damsiluni retired while trailing 1-0. Akesha booked her place in the final with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 victory over Gethmi Fernando in the semi-finals. Her toughest challenge came in the quarter-finals, where she outlasted Sandithi Usgodaarachchi 6-3, 6-7(4), 14-12 in a marathon encounter.
Akesha Silva
In the boys’ Under-18 doubles semi-finals, Mayooran Kubheran and Ashlin de Silva defeated Ranida Ranaweera and Ashmal Mohamed 5-4, 4-1, while Methika Wickramasinghe and Jayin de Seram overcame Jamal Sabry and Lithum Jayabandu 4-1, 2-4, 10-2 to set up the championship final.
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