Sports

It’s high time cricket regulated its pace of play

Published

2 months ago

2023/03/27

Thilina Walpola

Umpires must be empowered to enforce rules such that players don’t waste time on the field needlessly

by Ian Chappell

I have often wondered, “Who really loves the game of cricket?”

Is it the first-class player like myself, who had his pads and boots cleaned by the room steward, and whose matches are played on well-manicured fields with meticulously prepared pitches? Or is it those who play in the park on boiling-hot Saturdays, having pegged down a matting pitch, then chasing balls around a tinder-dry outfield?

I’ve come to the conclusion that first-class players love the game in a calculated manner. Although it may change with the money in cricket, you basically have to love the game to play it decently. Nevertheless it’s a calculated enjoyment, as first-class players are always chasing trophies, prize money and contracts.

However, the people who have a real love for the game are those who perform in the park even when it’s parched and the only reward is a cold drink at the end of play. Maybe I could do that for a week, two at the most, but then I’d be looking for other pursuits.

Those dedicated cricketers also regularly attend big matches. When both types mutter in unison, “Get on with the bloody game”, it’s time to evaluate top-class cricket’s speed of play.Using timers is one way to speed up the game. However, it’s better if umpires are empowered by the administrators to ensure cricket keeps moving at an acceptable speed.Other sports I watch, like baseball, rugby league and tennis, now have a timer. The timers are designed to speed up games where administrators are acutely aware that spectators want to see plenty of playing action.

Surely people don’t switch on their devices or go to a ground to watch cricketers adjust their gloves every ball, chat with their batting partner in the middle of an over, change gloves regularly, or down unofficial drinks. These can possibly be decreed health measures or might be purely down to superstition, but they often completely ignore the etiquette of the game.

If a bowler is about to begin his run-up, a batter must be in position to receive the delivery. That used to be, and still should be, part of the etiquette of the game.It’s pretty obvious when players deliberately waste time to avoid another over leading into a break. In that case the player should first be warned, and if they transgress again, then there have to be consequences.

Players are lucky I’m not an umpire. If a batter deliberately wasted time and wasn’t ready to face up, I’d let the bowler deliver and if he hit the stumps, I’d give it out. There would be a huge outcry, but drastic action would ensure that batters don’t cause a problem in the future.

The time captains take talking to bowlers about field placings – I’m not including T20 cricket – is sometimes inordinately long. The captain should be spoken to by an umpire and told to keep the game moving.Umpires must be given license to insist that players don’t purposefully waste time. In turn, the umpires should be backed to the hilt by the judicial system. All players should be made aware of their obligation to the public; they deserve a fair day’s play for what is often an expensive outing at the cricket.

It’s easy to conclude that either most administrators don’t understand the angst slow play causes, or that they are only concerned by the bottom line. Either way the pace of play is not being properly administered.Test matches being completed inside the allotted time frame should not be an acceptable excuse for tardy over rates.

Administrators themselves are guilty of slowing the game. The DRS, replays to decide boundaries, and sight-board advertising are three obvious cases, but there are others like the front-foot no-ball law that are poorly thought out.

There’s a place for pageantry to enhance the importance of games but it should never impinge upon play. The pace of play and over rates are crucial issues where the paying spectator deserves consideration in producing an entertainment package. (cricinfo)

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First sprinter to run 100m in under 10 seconds dies

Published

2 hours ago

2023/06/6

Priyan

Jim Hines held the world record in the men's 100m for nearly 15 years (pic BBC)

US sprinter Jim Hines, the first man to run the 100m in under 10 seconds, has died at the age of 76.

He broke the record in 1968 when he recorded a hand-timed 9.9 seconds at the US Championships. Hines then broke his own record shortly after while winning gold at the 1968 Olympics, where an electronic timer in Mexico City recorded him at 9.95. His record held for nearly 15 years until Calvin Smith ran a time of 9.93 in 1983.

That is the longest length of time an athlete has held the record for the men’s 100m since the International Amateur Athletic Foundation began keeping track – 110 years ago.

His death was announced in a statement by World Athletics. The organisation said it is “deeply saddened” by the news. Both the Olympics and USA Track and Field shared tributes to Hines on Twitter. “The sport has lost a legend,” USA Track and Field said.

Hines was born in the state of Arkansas in 1946 but was raised in Oakland, California.

He had an early love of sport, namely baseball, but showed a real talent for sprinting as a teenager. He attended Texas Southern University where he ran for the Tigers track team before competing in national championships and the Olympics.

In addition to winning the 100m at the Mexico Olympics, he was also part of the US 4x100m relay team which won a gold.

He ended his sprinting career shortly after the Olympics and joined the NFL. He spent three years in the league, playing for the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs.

(BBC Sports)

Sports

Silverwood promises to address dot ball issue

Published

4 hours ago

2023/06/6

Sahan Weerasooriya

Rex Clementine
at Suriyawewa

Leading up to the World Cup Qualifiers starting in less than two weeks’ time in Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka’s Head Coach Chris Silverwood promised to address the team’s dot-ball woes.

In the first ODI against Afghanistan which the hosts lost by six wickets here on Friday, there were 158 dot balls with the batters struggling to rotate the strike. That is a huge amount coming up to more than 25 overs. Although the number was cut down to 128 in the second game, Sri Lanka would like to do better than that.

“The dot ball issue is something that we are addressing. A lot of people are talking about it I know. We need to rotate the strike better and put the pressure back on the bowlers. The boundary percentage went up in the last game. Getting a balance between the two will help us to score above 300,” Silverwood told journalists.

Silverwood, the former England Head Coach, also welcomed the return of seniors Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne back into the side bringing more stability to the batting unit. Mathews was left out for game two, but that appears to be part of the team’s strategy to give everyone in the squad a go.

“Angelo was brought into the squad to boost the batting lineup and bring confidence into the side. He has experience of playing big matches. The fact is we must prepare the whole squad to cover ourselves to face any situation.

“Dimuth is making a comeback into the ODI side and he played superbly. He had a good Test series against Ireland. His tempo is very good. He gave us something to build on. The openers added 80 plus for the first wicket. Every partnership after that was scored at less than run a ball. It shows what we can do when we have a good start,” noted Silverwood.

Dhananjaya de Silva came up with a match-winning effort in the second game bowling his off-spin so well picking up three wickets that included the prize scalp of Ibrahim Zadran and earlier his less than run a ball 29 had helped Sri Lanka to a match-winning total of 323 for six.

“Dhananjaya is at six and has to adapt to situations whether it be setting a target or chasing one. The first game he played a superb inning. Today we saw him capitalizing after we had a great start. He kept the momentum going. Obviously scored quickly which is exactly what we need to get over 300. We want to keep pushing the barriers. When it comes to his bowling, he has been threatening to do it for a while.”

Sports

Tharushi dazzles with two golds

Published

4 hours ago

2023/06/6

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka’s mixed relay team with their medals. (from left) Jayeshi Uththara, Tharushi Karunaratne, Susantha Fernando (coach and manager), Shehan Dilranga and Vinod Ariyawansa.

Asian Junior Athletics Championship

by Reemus Fernando

Ratnayake Central, Walala runner Tharushi Karunaratne won back to back gold medals as Sri Lanka reaped a haul of three medals on day two of the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in South Korea on Monday.

Karunaratne won the gold medal in the women’s 800 metres before running the vital anchor leg for her team to clinch gold ahead of strong Indian and hosts’ teams in the 4×400 metres mixed relay.

Gold medals Sri Lanka won yesterday were its eighth and ninth since the commencement of the biennial championship in 1986.

Competing in her pet event, Karunaratne was hardly challenged as she led from the first 100 metres to finish in a time of 2:05.64 seconds. Karunaratne, had set an Asian (junior) leading time just outside the current national record to earn her ticket to the event in South Korea. “I am really proud of her achievement. I was not expecting her to run close to her personal best as she had given her best in the 400 metres,” Susantha Fernando her coach told The Island after she clinched her first gold. She won the silver medal of the 400 metres on Sunday.

In the mixed relay she started in the third position but when the Indian counterpart who had won the gold in the 400 metres individual event tumbled at the start she grabbed the opportunity to fight for the first place and there was no turning back for her from there on. Jayeshi Uththara who won the 400 metres bronze, Shehan Dilranga and Vinod Ariyawansa were the others to form the mixed relay team.

She finished in a new Sri Lanka record time of 3:25.41 seconds. She was also a member of the team that had set the previous national record at the World Junior Championships. While the country’s senior athletes are yet to run the mixed relay at an international event, the junior athletes’ performances had been considered as National Records.

Kahawatta Central triple jumper Malith Yasiru was the other medallist of the day. Yasiru cleared 15.82 metres, seven centimeters shy of his personal best, to win the bronze ahead of India’s Sukhpreet Singh. Japan’s Miyao Manato who was the only athlete to clear the 16 metres mark (16.08m) and China’s Ma Yinglong (15.98m) won the gold and silver medals respectively.

With the two gold medals won yesterday the country has nine gold medals against her name at these championships now. Sri Lanka’s first gold medals of these championships were won by Damayathi Dharsha (100m) and Susanthika Jayasinghe (200m) in Jakarta Indonesia in 1994. The country had to wait till 2012 when it hosted the event in Colombo to witness the next gold. Dulaj Madusanka and Shivanthi Kumari Ratnayake won golds in the men’s and women’s 400 metres at the Sugathadasa Stadium while also anchoring the 4×400 metres relay teams to bronze and silver.

At the last edition in Gifu, Japan the country won three golds with Aruna Dharshana winning the men’s 400 metres with a championship record time of 45.79 seconds. Dharshana also ran a vital leg to win the 4×400 metres gold. The other gold came in the women’s 3000 metres steeplechase when Parami Wasanthi clocked a National Junior Record time of 10:21.54 seconds to win.