Sports
Medhani qualifies for World Junior Championships
Country’s women’s 4×100 metres relay team (from left). Safia Yamic (ran in the heats), Medhani Jayamanne, Lakshika Sughandi, Amasha de Silva and Shelinda Jansen.
by Reemus Fernando
Lumbini College sprinter Medhani Jayamanne once got an earful from her famous aunt Susanthika Jayasinghe for mentioning her name during a media interview. From then on her coach Umanga Surendra has taken extra care. Whenever a journalist speaks to her, Umanga would request them to be careful in mentioning the Olympian’s name. Yesterday Jayamanne qualified for the World Junior Athletics Championship with a stunning 24.08 seconds feat in the women’s 200 metres final at the 60th Interstate Athletics Championship in Patiala India. “Now anyone would be proud of her performance,” Umanga told The Island after her triumph.
Just more than an hour after anchoring country’s women’s 4×100 metres team to silver Jayamanne breasted the finish line of the 200 metres in a time of 24.08 seconds to win silver and also to achieve qualifying standards for the World event in Kenya. According to Sri Lanka Athletics statistician Saman Kumara, it is the fourth fastest time by a Sri Lankan junior athlete in history. She overtook Rumeshika Ratnayake to take the fourth place in a list dominated by Jayasinghe, Damayanthi Dharsha and present sprinter Shelinda Jansen with whom she shared the relay silver yesterday.
While Shelinda clocked 24.07 seconds at the Youth Olympics, Rumeshika’s fastest time as a junior was 24.09 seconds. Rumeshika was the only absentee among country’s future female sprinters who produced a good performance in the 4×100 metres relay yesterday.
Sri Lanka conceded the women’s 4×100 metres gold medal to India in the home straight but there was lot to take heart from the spirited performance as the team returned a time of 44.55 seconds, the fastest feat in nearly two decades on the final day of the 60th Interstate Athletics Championship where the country’s team was competing on India’s invitation.
India anchored by Dutee Chand took the advantage of a poor baton change in the last exchange zone by Sri Lankans to win the gold. India clocked 44.15 seconds. Sri Lankans finished in a time of 44.55 seconds as teenager Jayamanne failed to regain the lost ground. Sri Lanka were given a promising start by Lakshika Sughandi and national champion in the 100 metres Amasha de Silva and Shelinda Jansen sprinted fast enough for Sri Lanka to enter the home stretch as leaders. But inexperienced Jayamanne conceded the lead as she turned back to collect the baton. But she soon overcame the gloom as she bettered the target qualifying time (24.35 secs) in the 200 metres.
An ODI between Canada and Netherlamds in King City Toronto on Tuesday was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. The fixture was part of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 competition, which is part of the qualification pathway for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The match was abandoned just 4.1 overs into the Netherlands innings after they had chosen to bat. They were 15 for 1, with Max O’Dowd the batter dismissed for a duck in the second over. The pitch had uneven bounce and the batters were struck several times during the short passage of play.
On June 12, four days before the abandoned match, the ICC had issued a statement saying the pitch at King City that was used for an ODI between USA and the Netherlands on June 8 had been given an “unsatisfactory” rating and one demerit point.
“This was a pitch that fell below the standard expected for this level of cricket,” match referee Phil Thompson had said about the surface for the USA-Netherlands match. “Both captains expressed disappointment with how it turned out, and the match officials assessed it as ‘very poor’. The inconsistent bounce created challenging and potentially unsafe playing conditions. Taking all factors into consideration, I believe the pitch merits an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating.”
According to the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process, pitches that get an “unsatisfactory” rating will be given one demerit point, while an “unfit” pitch rating will result in three demerit points for the venue. Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period, and an accumulation of six demerit points will result in the venue being suspended from hosting international matches for 12 months (12 demerit points will lead to a 24-month ban).
(Cricinfo)
Joshua Da Silva and Amir Jangoo have earned recalls to West Indies’ squad for the two-match World Test Championship series at home against Sri Lanka starting later this month, while the two Josephs, Alzarri and Shamar, are back after missing the tours of India and New Zealand late last year because of injuries.
Trevin Imalch had kept wicket when West Indies last played Test cricket, in New Zealand last December, but Da Silva, 33 Test matches old, has returned after scoring 996 runs across the last two seasons of the West Indies Championship. Imlach, who failed with the bat in New Zealand with a total of 81 runs across six innings – after scoring 33 runs in his only Test in India – has been named captain of a West Indies Select XI to play the Sri Lankans in a tour match in Coolidge from June 18 to 21. Roston Chase will continue to captain the Test side.
West Indies vs Sri Lanka Tests
Jangoo, dropped after only one Test appearance, in Multan in January 2025, where he scored 0 and 30, has returned to the side following a fruitful WI Championship in which he scored 411 runs in seven innings. He finished second on the scorers’ table there, only behind Da Silva, who scored 413 in seven outing. The highlight of Jangoo’s season was the 203 not out he scored for Trinidad & Tobago against Leeward Islands
The pair of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, meanwhile, last played Test cricket during the home series against Australia in mid-2025.”Every Test series is an opportunity for us to grow as a team and strengthen our identity,” Darren Sammy, the head coach, said in a Cricket West Indies statement. “Sri Lanka are a quality side, so we know we’ll have to be at our best, but we’re excited about the challenge ahead.”For us, it’s about playing with discipline, showing character when the game gets tough, and representing the West Indies with pride. The players have been putting in the work, and we’re looking forward to putting on a strong display for our fans across the Caribbean.”
Some of the squad members are currently participating in a high-performance training camp in Antigua, which began on June 12 and will run till June 22. The members of the Test squad who were also part of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka – West Indies lost the ODIs and won the T20Is – will join the camp on June 15. The Tests will be played in North Sound from June 25 to 29 and July 3 to 7.
“This is a key component of our preparations heading into the series, providing players and coaches with valuable time to enhance and improve the skills we want to see sharpened, based on the areas we need to focus our attention on when facing this opponent,” Sammy said about the camp. “It also gives us the opportunity to put clear objectives and plans in place for the conclusion of the summer against Pakistan.
“Additionally, the four-day warm-up game prior to the series provides the chance for some of our Test hopefuls to play in high-intensity action and create the avenue for more competition within the squad ahead of the upcoming and future series.”
West Indies are currently bottom of the nine-team WTC table, having lost seven of their eight games in the ongoing cycle.
West Indies squad for Test series against Sri Lanka
Ireland Women 118/9 in 20 overs (Alana Dalzelle 14, Orla Prendergast 26, Leah Paul 10, Alice Tector 10, Louise Little 26*; Lauren Bell 1-39, Linsey Smith 1-20, Sophie Ecclestone 3-22, Charlie Dean 2-11, Dani Gibson 2-10) lost to England Women 119/6 in 17.3 overs (Dani Wyatt Hodge 16, Nat Sciver-Brunt 48, Heather Knight 26; Aimee Maguire 2-23, Orla Prendergast 2-17) by 4 wickets
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