Sports
Kamindu Mendis – a star in ascent
There was a time – not too long ago – when Sri Lanka’s batting collapses were as predictable as monsoon rain in May. But in Galle, the tables turned. Bangladesh, after sitting pretty at one stage, lost six wickets for 37 runs in a classic case of snatching defeat from the jaws of dominance. And when Sri Lanka, on the fourth morning, lost Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis in quick succession, the familiar ghosts of Galle past began to stir. Bangladesh were roaring, tails up and on the hunt. But one man stood firm amid the ruins: Kamindu Mendis.
This wasn’t a flash in the pan. Kamindu has been building a reputation for precisely these moments. Since his entry into the Test fold, Sri Lanka’s lower order has begun to wag with purpose. He’s become a master of the unglamorous art – batting with the tail, a discipline requiring both brains and bravery. Time and again, he’s played the shepherd, farming the strike, shielding the rabbits and frustrating bowlers with a cat-and-mouse game that’s as much mental chess as physical endurance.
In this innings, his 84-run alliance with Milan Rathnayake was pure grit stitched with guile. Milan, no mug with the bat, wasn’t content to just survive. Bangladesh tried the old trick – bring the field up, deny the single and have a crack at the tailender. Kamindu, like a wily old fox, flipped the script. He pierced the infield with boundaries, forcing the fielders back. And once they realised Milan could hold a bat, the horse had well and truly bolted.
There’s a quiet evolution in Kamindu’s batting. Once slotted at number seven, he now bats at five – a promotion that has given him more time at the crease and a canvas to construct an innings. And he’s painting quite the picture.
Post-Angelo Mathews, the question beckons: Should Kamindu move up to number four? That’s a call for the selectors, but there’s a twist in the tale. Like Hashan Tillakaratne in his pomp, Kamindu has become a dependable finisher, someone who knows how to squeeze the last ounce of juice from the innings. Sometimes, the art of batting with the tail is too rare to be relocated.
And here’s a nugget for the romantics: last year, Kamindu entered rarefied air when he matched the immortal Don Bradman – both men reaching 1000 Test runs in 13 innings. Of course, no one dares compare mortals to The Don, but to breathe that same statistical air is something to savour.
So what makes Kamindu tick?
He keeps things disarmingly simple. There are no exaggerated flourishes and urgency to his batting. He stands still, plays late and lets the ball come to him. There’s elegance in that economy – class without clutter.
His shot selection is risk-averse, yet never pedestrian. His understanding of tempo – when to accelerate, when to drop anchor – is a hallmark of maturity. It took Angelo Mathews a few years to master that art; Kamindu seems to have cracked it already. And dare one say it, he does so with a sounder technique than the retiring stalwart.
Spin or seam, pace or patience Kamindu handles them all with aplomb. It’s no surprise that IPL franchises came sniffing this year. He may not be the showiest player on the park, but he’s one of the smartest – the thinking man’s cricketer.
If this upward curve continues, there’s little doubt: Sri Lanka haven’t just unearthed a reliable middle-order bat – they’ve found a cornerstone for the future. Pathum Nissanka is another one and on their broad shoulders Sri Lanka’s future will be built.
Rex Clementine ✍️
in Galle
While young opposition MPs continue parroting tired old slogans without once owning up to the sins of their political leaders, who led their parties straight into the wilderness, they would do well to take a leaf out of Charith Asalanka’s book.
Sri Lanka’s white-ball skipper fronted the media after a humbling T20 series defeat to Bangladesh and unlike the politicos dodging accountability, Asalanka fronted up, took it on the chin and didn’t sugarcoat the situation.
The 27-year-old admitted that his team had been outplayed, accepted that solutions were not just around the corner and stressed the importance of chipping away until answers emerged.
But even the best captains can only do so much. Cricket, like nation-building, is not a one-man show. It takes a team effort and right now, Sri Lanka’s is looking shaky, alarmingly so, with the T20 World Cup which they will co-host just months away.
At present, the side leans heavily on its openers, particularly the mercurial Kusal Mendis. For years, Mendis was the great hope who never quite delivered, like a Rolls Royce engine fitted into a tuk-tuk. But now, when he gets going, Sri Lanka more often than not end up on the right side of the result. Conversely, when he falls early, as he did in Dambulla and at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Sri Lanka’s innings collapses like a house of cards.
In those two games, Mendis was sent packing cheaply, and Sri Lanka’s totals, 94 and 132, were never going to trouble the scorers. Bangladesh cantered home both times, completing comprehensive wins.
Asalanka’s main concern is the lack of power-hitters in his ranks. While global heavyweights boast line-ups stacked with batters striking at 130 or more, Sri Lanka’s cupboard looks bare. Only a couple of players in the squad touch that strike-rate threshold.
Julian Wood, the much-vaunted Power-Hitting Coach is expected in Colombo soon for a week-long clinic. But while Wood might be able to polish a few rough diamonds, the question remains, why hasn’t Sri Lanka’s system produced natural big-hitters in the first place?
Bhanuka Rajapaksa is the country’s cleanest striker of a cricket ball, when he’s in the mood, he can hit a bowler onto the next postal code. But inconsistency, questionable fitness and fielding lapses have seen him fall out of favour. If he could just plug those holes, the selectors might hand him a longer rope.
Then there’s Avishka Fernando. In the nets, he’s a six-hitting machine with effortless power and sublime timing. But come match day, he shrinks.
It’s perhaps time to cast the net wider, to the ‘A’ team and emerging squads, for hitters who can clear the ropes and change the tempo. The clock is ticking.
Equally puzzling is the treatment of Sri Lanka’s pace trio: Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, and Eshan Malinga. If they’re good enough to land IPL contracts, why are they warming the bench in national colours? Chameera, in particular, hit 140+ kmph regularly during the ODI series and had Bangladesh hopping about, yet didn’t feature in the T20s.
Sri Lanka’s showing in the last T20 World Cup was forgettable. They didn’t even clear the first round. The loss to Bangladesh in Dallas should’ve rung alarm bells loud enough to wake the dead. A total overhaul was expected. while handing Asalanka the reins was a step in the right direction, the core group from that campaign remains largely unchanged.
With the World Cup looming large, it’s time for a serious stocktake. The current unit looks like it’s caught in the nervous nineties, hesitant, unsure and lacking the firepower to finish an innings strong.Unless Sri Lanka pulls up its socks soon, the dream of lifting a global title on home soil may remain just that, a dream.
by Rex Clementine ✍️
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will provide 622 ‘Grays Cavallier’ white cricket balls for the Super Premier, Premier League and ‘C’ division league tournament organised by the Mercantile Cricket Association (MCA).
The ‘C’ division league cricket tournament is currently underway with the participation of 12 teams while 10 teams have entered for the MCA Super Premier and MCA Premier tournaments respectively. The Super Premier tournament will be played from September to November while the MCA Premier League will be played from July to September.
Sri Lanka Cricket has been extending its support to the Mercantile Cricket Association since 2017 by providing the full requirement of white cricket balls for their top three tournaments.
Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket Bandula Dissanayake handed over the consignment of cricket balls for this years tournament to MCA’s president Mahesh de Alwis at a ceremony held at the Legends Wing of the MCA last Thursday.
Oleksandr Usyk further cemented his place as one of boxing’s greats by stopping Daniel Dubois in round five to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion.
The Ukrainian put on a masterclass in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium to dash Dubois’ dreams of being the first Briton to unify the division in the four-belt era.
Usyk, 38, put Dubois down twice in the fifth and the Londoner was unable to return to beat the count the second time round.
He also stopped Dubois in 2023 and extends his perfect record as a professional to 24 victories.
“I’m sorry Dubois, it’s sport. My people wanted this win,” Usyk told DAZN.
“Nothing is next. It’s enough. Next, I want to rest. My family, my wife, my children, I want to rest now. Two or three months, I want to just rest.”
Dubois – who beat Anthony Joshua to defend his IBF title in September – tastes defeat for the third time in 25 contests as a professional, with each of those losses coming inside the distance.
Usyk reclaimed the IBF title, which was stripped from him just weeks after unifying the division in 2023, and added it to his WBA (Super), WBO and WBC belts.
“I have to commend him on the performance, I gave everything I had. Take no credit away from that man, I’ll be back,” Dubois told DAZN.
“I was just fighting, trying to pick up round by round. It is what it is.”
[BBC]
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