Sports

Labuschagne, Warner underline unrewarding day of toil for England

Published

1 year ago

2021/12/17

In what proved to be a challenging day for Australia in multiple ways, they rose to the task by grinding their way to 221/2 by the end of the first day of the D/N Test in Adelaide. Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten 95 and David Warner’s 95 were the catalysts in Australia’s defiance for a large part of the day.

The duo shared a partnership worth 172 before Warner fell to England’s short-ball ploy, missing a ton by a whisker for the second time in as many Tests. However, Labuschagne lived to survive another day, despite a few close calls, and continued to keep England at bay, adding a further 45 with stand-in skipper Steve Smith by the end of the day.

Smith, leading Australia for the first time since the Sandpaper fiasco, had to step in on the morning of the match after regular skipper Pat Cummins was deemed a close contact of a person who tested positive for COVID-19. And while he had no hesitation in opting to bat, England’s all-pace attack made life difficult for the batters.

The tone was set by the experienced duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who probed away in a testing opening spell that yielded only 11 runs in 9 overs. Through that, Broad, operating from the now-famous around the wicket angle, had Marcus Harris in trouble multiple times. He had him adjudged LBW once before it was overturned on review, but soon had him edging behind a pull to be sensationally caught by Jos Buttler.

Warner, who managed to get off the mark only off the 20th delivery he faced and after Harris’ dismissal, remained patient right through the knock. England lost two reviews while trying to trap Warner LBW and resorted to different ploys including an extended short-ball strategy through Ben Stokes, primarily.

The short-ball ploy also gave Marnus Labuschagne a couple of nervous moments when he guided one perilously close to slip and then copped a couple of blows on the body, and was eventually dropped on 21 by Buttler off an edged pull.

But as the day wore on, Warner began to take a few more chances in the second session. Joe Root was driven and lofted while Stokes was slapped over cover and pulled as he got to a second consecutive fifty, off 106 balls. Labuschagne too followed up with his 12th fifty in Tests, taking as much as 156 balls.

The duo extended their dominance even into the final session despite a few nervous moments. But just as Warner began to open up more, pulling Stokes for a boundary, he fell to England’s trap. The short ball from Stokes was slapped straight to the lone man at cover, to be dismissed on 95, which follows his 94 in the first Test.

But both Labuschagne and Steve Smith, who was welcomed with a leg trap managed to see through England’s fast-medium spells with relative ease, and while Root’s offspin threatened to induce some luck, it never came close to resulting in a wicket. England’s final throw of the dice on the day came with the second new ball.

And it very nearly paid off, as Anderson continued to be on the money. His probing spell under the lights posed a few tough questions to Labuschagne. There were multiple plays and misses before he eventually edged one trying to punch off the backfoot. However, the straightforward chance was put down by Buttler with Labuschagne on 95, ending and unrewarding day of toil for England.

Brief Scores:

Australia 221/2

( David Warner 95, Marnus Labuschagne 95*) vs England

(Cricbuzz)

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Sports

Lahiru takes five wickets as Joes take lead

Published

3 hours ago

2023/03/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Lahiru Amarasekara

Under 19 Cricket

Off-spinner Lahiru Amarasekara produced a five-wicket haul as St. Joseph’s restricted Mahinda to 127 runs on day one of the Under 19 traditional cricket encounter at Galle on Monday.

Amarasekara was ably supported by spinner Yenula Dewthusa and Muditha Dissanayake who shared the other five wickets.

With wickets falling at regular intervals, batting opener Ranmina Hettiarachchi anchored the top order with a knock of 33 runs. Chandupa de Silva with 29 runs, Tharusha Dilshan (15) and Hiruna Gallalge (17) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.

In their essay St. Joseph’s were comfortably placed at 132 for two wickets but back-to-back wickets in the last two overs placed them at 132 for four wickets at stumps.

At Welisara, Dinuka Tennakoon took five wickets but Maris Stella managed to post 268 runs as Shean Adithya top-scored with 83 runs. In reply Trinity were nine without loss.

Vihanga Nimsara and Rasindu Ilukshana were the heroes for Moratu Vidyalaya as their half-centuries helped them score 249 runs against St. Sylvester’s at Boyagane.

Match Details

At Galle: Mahinda 127, St. Joseph’s 132/4

Scores:

Mahinda

127 all out in 57 overs (Ranmina Hettiarachchi 33, Chandupa de Silva 29; Lahiru Amarasekara 5/34, Muditha Dissanayaka 2/23, Yenula Dewtusa 3/32)

St. Joseph’s

132 for 4 in 42.1 overs (Sadeesh Jayawardena 53, Naren Muralidaran 41; Shehan Hasaranga 2/39)

At Welisara: Maris Stella 268, Trinity 9/0

Scores:

Maris Stella

268 all out in 93.5 overs (Kaveen Fernando 26, Shean Adithya 83, Anshen de Silva 28, Ramith Bandara 33, Nethum Basnayake 26, Levin Fernando 22; Jayavi Liyanagama 2/40, Dinuka Tennakoon 5/74)

Trinity 9 for no loss in 4 overs

At Boyagane: Moratu Vidyalaya 249, St. Sylvester’s 5/1

Scores:

Moratu Vidyalaya

249 all out in 93.1 overs (Vihanga Nimsara 82, Rasindu Ilukshana 54; Isuru Gunasekara 2/28, Pansilu Bandara 2/50, Akila Wickramasinghe 3/48, Khanka Wickramasinghe 2/31)

St. Sylvester’s

5 for 1 in 4 overs.

Sports

Sowmiya clinches a triple crown, Silvijan bags a double

Published

3 hours ago

2023/03/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Winners posing with their awards.

Northern Badminton Championship 2023

T. Silvijan Dalima was crowned men’s singles champion while S. Sowmiya clinched a triple crown at the Northern Badminton Championship 2023 in Kilinochchi during the weekend.

At the Provincial Indoor Stadium in Kilinochchi, Silvijan met K Thusan in the final clash in which the latter retired in the second set with scores reading 21-14, 16-11 in favour of the champion. L Hentry and K Kajan were the losing semi-finalists.

Meanwhile, S. Sowmiya won all three of her open events, the women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles with respective partners.

Sowmiya clinched the women’s singles crown with a 21-15, 21-13 win over R. Ragavi in the final following her doubles title win with B. Oliviya. Sowmiya and Oliviya overcame Athmika and M. Kavinaya 21-9, 21-15 to seal the women’s doubles crown.

Earlier, Sowmiya and Silvijan, the best singles duo in the tournament, also won the mixed doubles title by defeating R. Sulacsan and S . Thanojana 21-12, 21-16 in the final.

The men’s doubles final was won by L. R. Reminsan and T. Thusyanthan who beat G. Thanukanth and R. Yuthakaran with a 21-13, 21-9 score line.

The tournament, organised by the Northern Province Badminton Association, was conducted under the guidance of Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB). SLB President Rohan de Silva and a host of top officials were among the special guests at the presentation ceremony.

Sports

St. Peter’s Tennis teams up with Yeti

Published

3 hours ago

2023/03/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

(From left): Manesh Kajan (U-17 Captain), K. D. Y. Pathiraja (Coach), Rev. Fr. Rohitha Rodrigo (Rector, St. Peter’s), Dilshan Balasuriya (Director, Yeti) and Malik Perera (CEO, Yeti). (Pic by Kamal Wanniarachchi)

St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya teamed up with isotonic sports drink manufacturer Yeti, who will meet the hydration needs of the school tennis team during their upcoming Inter-School tournaments.

Yeti will provide the St. Peter’s Tennis Team with isotonic sports drinks to meet their hydration needs and as part of the partnership, the players will also have access to the elite Yeti portfolio of sports isotonic products.

This year, St. Peter’s will have a busy schedule as they are set to participate in several age group championships including the Inter-Schools Tennis Tournament, Inter-Schools Nationals and the Arjan Perera Tennis Tournament.

The Peterites had mixed fortunes last year as they emerged overall runners-up in the Inter-Schools Tournament and their Under-17 and Under-19 Teams reached the semi-finals of the Inter-Schools National Championships.

This time the Peterites are hoping for an improved performance with five coloursmen in the Under-20 side and four coloursmen in the Under-17 team.

Yeti isotonic fluid has been specially formulated to provide superior rehydration and provide the body the necessary water, minerals and energy lost during exercise.