Sports

How Kiwis bailed Sri Lanka out of cricketing isolation

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

New Zealand opens High Commission in Colombo

by Rex Clementine

New Zealand and Sri Lanka relations are expected to grow further with the New Zealand High Commission now opened in Colombo. Michael Appleton, a cricket lover is their High Commissioner.

The Kiwis are much admired sportsmen and two years back when they were playing a warm-up game in Negombo, the fans realized that it was Kane Williamson’s birthday and some of them went to the nearby Perera & Sons and ordered a cake. Soon after the cake arrived, they started singing Happy Birthday to one of the modern day greats of the game and Williamson acknowledged by spending a few moments with the fans and taking a bite from the birthday cake.

New Zealand teams over the years whether it is Black Caps or All Blacks have earned much admiration over here and Sri Lankans’ most favourite Kiwi got to be their former cricket captain Late Martin Crowe.

Sri Lanka did not host any international cricket for five years from 1987 to 1992 and Australia were the first team to visit the island to end the isolation. In December 1992, the Kiwis followed the Aussies and Sri Lanka were in danger of suffering another lengthy isolation after Navy Commander Clancy Fernando was killed by a suicide bomber in front of Taj Samudra where the cricket team was staying.

The New Zealanders wanted to go back home but Sri Lankan cricket authorities made an appeal to the tourists to remain as their withdrawal would be a huge blow to the sport. Despite Martin Crowe urging his players to stay back, five of them opted out of the tour. Crowe was quick to bring back replacements from home including retired opener John Wright.

The series went without any incidents and Sri Lanka was able to host England, India, South Africa and West Indies, the following year. Had the Kiwis withdrawn in 1992, the situation would have been entirely different.

There have been other instances where those running cricket in New Zealand have gone out of their way and helped Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan cricket team was in New Zealand when the tsunami struck in 2004 causing severe destruction in the country. Some of the loved ones of the players were hurt by the boxing day disaster.

SLC appealed to their counterparts in New Zealand and the series was postponed at a massive cost to the hosts. The following year New Zealand hosted Sri Lanka in March for the Test matches and again in December for the ODIs.

Over the years there has been many goodwill gestures and support on the cricket field between the nations and they will be taken further with the opening of New Zealand’s High Commission in Colombo.

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Sports

Gibson, Dean knock over New Zealand for 80 as England cruise to series win

Published

9 hours ago

2026/05/26

Priyan

Dani Gibson and Charlie Dean picked up three wickets each [Cricinfo]

England’s bowlers demolished New Zealand’s batting line-up to set up an emphatic seven-wicket win in the third and final T20I at Hove for a 2-1 series victory.

Career-best figures of 3 for 14 for Dani Gibson combined with 3 for 13 for stand-in skipper Charlie Dean allowed England to bounce back from a 14-run loss in the second game in Canterbury on Saturday, bowling New Zealand out for a paltry 80 with five balls to spare.

That previous defeat was made all the more disappointing for the hosts by the fact that they had their opponents in a similar precarious position at 11 for 4 before the White Ferns hit back. There were to be no similar batting heroics this time from Sophie Devine, or anyone else for that matter, as the visitors collapsed to 33 for 6 on the back of another excellent powerplay by Libsey Smith in which she took 1 for 6 from two overs before Gibson chimed in with the big wickets of Melie Kerr and Devine.

Sophie Ecclestone returned to the bowling attack after missing the second match with a tight hamstring and bowled with excellent economy to take 1 for 11 and Issy Wong bowled Jess Kerr, New Zealand’s top scorer with just 20, to finish with 1 for 20.

England lost both openers inside the powerplay, but reeled in the target with 6.1 overs remaining.

New Zealand’s performance was cause for concern in their last competitive match before next month’s T20 World Cup, where they will be the defending champions. England may expect a tougher contest from India when they meet for a three-match T20I series starting on Thursday, but are yet to regain regular opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt ahead of their home World Cup.

Both New Zealand openers were out to premeditated reverse sweeps. Suzie Bates replaced Georgia Plimmer at the top of the order, having dropped right down in the series opener in Derby and sat out the second game, as the White Ferns looked to avoid another poor start with the bat. But Bates managed just 3 off 11 before she spooned a typically miserly Smith straight to backward point. Izzy Gaze had struck Wong for four and six through fine leg and long-on but when Dean brought herself into the attack in the final over of the powerplay, she struck with her third ball, which turned in, beat the bat and crashed into the stumps.

With their side in deep trouble, the softest dismissals were to come as Gibson struck twice in her first over. Melie Kerr picked out Maia Bouchier at mid-on then Devine, who scored 45 and 87 in her two previous innings this tour, could only shake her head in dismay, almost as the ball was being gathered at mid-off from her miss-hit attempt at a lofted drive. Devine was out for a five-ball duck and from 29 for 2, the White Ferns were 30 for 4.

New Zealand were pinning their hopes on experienced duo of Maddy Green and Brook Halliday for a rescue mission but when Dean pinned the latter on the front pad, it took a smart review by England’s acting captain to reveal a fairly straightforward lbw. Then Ecclestone chimed in with a beauty that rearranged Izzy Sharp’s stumps.

New Zealand had lost 5 for 5 in the space of 3.1 overs, then Gibson returned to remove Green, thanks to a sound catch by Bouchier, running round from midwicket to wide long-on. From 58 for 7 the tail fell away, Smith claiming her second when Nensi Patel failed to review an lbw given as the ball struck her in the stomach kneeling to sweep, but replays showed impact was outside the line.

Alice Capsey, opening again while Wyatt-Hodge is on maternity leave, couldn’t reprise her unbeaten 74 from the first match of the series in Derby, which England won convincingly, also by seven wickets. She was trapped lbw by offspinner Patel’s first delivery which pitched on middle and turned onto the inside of Capsey’s thigh pad. Fellow opener Sophia Dunkley managed 22 off 21 before she fluffed a pull straight to mid-on from Bree Illing.

New Zealand missed an opportunity to remove Heather Knight on 4, sweeping towards deep square leg where Halliday strode in and dived forward to get both hands to the ball very low before it popped out of her grasp as she hit the ground. But even when Melie Kerr had Knight caught at backward point off a reverse sweep, New Zealand couldn’t haul themselves out of the mire left by their batters.

Brief scores:
England Women 81 for 3 in 13.5 overs (Sophia Dunkley 22, Mala Bouchier 19*, Heather Knight 18; Bree Illing 1-20, Nensi Patel 1-07, Melle Kerr 1-18) beat New Zealand Women 80 in 19.1 overs (Isabella Gaze 17, Maddy Green 14, Jess Kerr 20; Linsey Smith 2-15, Issy Wong 1-20, Sophia Ecclestone 1-11, Charlie Dean 3-13, Dani Gibson 3-14) by seven wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Solid Royal Challengers Bengaluru, surging Gujarat Titans clash for direct final ticket

Published

9 hours ago

2026/05/26

Priyan

Royal Challengers Bengaluru [RCB] might look at Gujarat Titans [GT] across the ring in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2026, and wonder if they helped create this monster. When GT went to Bengaluru on April 24, they were still a conservative side straddling the middle of the table, and happy with a 57-ball hundred from their opener. But they have been a changed unit since RCB cruised to that chase of 206 against them that day.

Since that match, the halfway point for GT, their run rate has increased by nearly a run per over. That is 20 runs per innings. By the time they faced RCB next, they were giving more importance to balls remaining than to wickets in hand while chasing. When batting first, GT were looking to score above par; there has been a pair of 229s in the two matches they have batted first in since that Bengaluru debacle.

The thing with GT is that they have a team with such strong basics that they don’t need to make only subtle changes to their approach. Their control rate has gone from 80% to 75%. A little more risk, a lot more rewards. Their bowling has only become more streamlined over this period with Jason Holder adding constant threat to an already good attack. The result is a 6-1 win-loss record in the second half of their tournament.

RCB, though, have been solid throughout, carrying forward the change in approach that took them to the title last year. They won five in the first half and four in the second. They have consistently looked to finish matches early or set above-par scores when batting first. A second consecutive top-two finish is just rewards for being the most consistently good side over this period.

They will want to make it straight from Dharamsala to Ahmedabad, where they won their first title last year. Not only to make the final but to also hope to avoid meeting GT in a final at their home, something that should be the right of defending champions. Not least because GT are on a four-match winning streak at home, which includes two wins despite losing the toss.

RCB have used the fewest number of players this IPL, a sign of a settled unit. It would certainly have been fewer if not for the injury to Phil Salt, who is now back in India and racing against time to be ready in time for the playoffs. If he doesn’t make it, though, it brings in the temptation to drop Suyash Sharma for Jacob Duffy considering Suyash has not had a great IPL, and night games in Dharamsala can negate spinners. In fact, Dharamsala hosted the only completed match this season where no spin was used.

Venkatesh Iyer has made a case for himself in the limited opportunities he has got, but Salt should be a no-brainer as opener if he is fit.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable): Virat Kohli, Phil Salt/Venkatesh Iyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Jitesh Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy/Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam

GT have played the second-fewest number of players. They seem to have their first XI figured with Nishant Sindhu being persisted with as the extra batter. Their only doubt remains around the Impact Player: extra fast bowler in Prasidh Krishna or extra spinner in R Sai Kishore or Manay Suthar.

Gujarat Titans (probable): Shubman Gill (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Nishant Sindhu, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna/R Sai Kishore/Manav Suthar

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Aken shines in St. Sylvester’s massive win over Sri Rahula

Published

19 hours ago

2026/05/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Aken Thilakawardhana produced an impressive all-round display as St. Sylvester’s registered a huge 101-run victory over Sri Rahula, Katugastota in their Under 17 Division I first round cricket encounter at Katugastota on Monday.

‎Chasing a target of 219 runs for victory, the home team never looked in contention as wickets fell at regular intervals before they were bowled out for 117 runs in the 34th over.

‎St. Sylvester’s bowlers struck early to put Sri Rahula under pressure, with Sasiru Dineth and Sakuna de Silva reducing the hosts to 18 for three wickets. Aken then joined the attack to further dismantle the batting line-up, claiming three wickets to cap an outstanding all-round performance.

‎Aken, who had earlier contributed a valuable 48 runs with the bat, finished with impressive figures of 3 for 24.

‎Sri Rahula’s innings was led by Savinu Mendis, who top scored with 28 runs, but lacked support from the other batsmen as St. Sylvester’s maintained control throughout the chase. Sasiru Dineth returned figures of 3 for 33, while Sakuna de Silva too two for 23.

‎Earlier, put to bat first, St. Sylvester’s posted a competitive 218 all out in 49.2 overs after receiving a brisk start from opener Adithya Ranamukage. He raced to a half-century in just 35 deliveries, smashing nine boundaries and two sixes in an aggressive knock.

‎Nithil Herath contributed 25 runs, Keshan Perera made 27, while Aken added 48 to strengthen the innings. Vihanga Perera also chipped in with 23 runs.

‎For Sri Rahula, Chamindu Sathsara was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 55, while Shehan Weddagala, Praboth de Silva and Savinu Mendis claimed two wickets apiece.

‎‎

Scores:

‎St. Sylvester’s

218 all out in 49.2 overs (Adithya Ranamukage 50, Nithil Herath 25, Keshan Perera 27, Aken Thilakawardhana 48, Vihanga Perera 23; Shehan Weddagala 2/31, Chamindu Sathsara 3/55, Praboth de Silva 2/24, Savinu Mendis 2/31)

‎Sri Rahula Katugastota

117 all out in 33.2 overs (Savinu Mendis 28; Sasiru Dineth 3/33, Sakuna de Silva 2/23, Aken Thilakawardhana 3/24). (RF)