Sports
Mendis 87 leads Sri Lanka’s batting charge on day one
Impressive knocks from almost the entirety of the Sri Lankan top order, particularly Kusal Mendis, gave Sri Lanka a promising start in their pursuit of an unlikely World Test Championship final berth, as they put up 305 for 6 on the opening day of the first Test at Hagley Oval. However the persistence of Tim Southee and Matt Henry, who picked up five wickets between them, ensured the visitors would at no
point run away with proceedings.
At the close of play Dhananjaya de Silva was at the crease unbeaten on 39, with Kasun Rajitha alongside him on 16. That Rajitha is even at the crease with just six wickets down speaks towards the length of Sri Lanka’s tail. Rajitha, however to his credit, has thus far provided an able foil during the 37-run stand.
The first hour or so of the morning session saw Henry and Southee beat the edge with regularity, and their relentless lines and lengths – just outside off, angled in, shaping away, off a good length – eventually paid off. Ironically, it was one drifting down leg that did the trick, as Oshada Fernando was strangled down leg.
That however brought Mendis to the crease, and Sri Lanka’s approach was transformed. Carrying over his recent white-ball form, Mendis accounted for 15 of the 21 boundaries scored in the session, on the way to a 51-ball 73 at the break – he would end on 87 off 83. His partnership with Dimuth Karunaratne meanwhile would yield 137.
A majority of his scoring came on the leg side, particularly behind square. Henry and Neil Wagner were punished as they looked to test the diminutive Lankan with some short stuff, while Southee and Blair Tickner were whipped in front of square for deliveries that veered a little too full or straight.
There were a few dicey cuts over gully as well, but Mendis’ only genuine moment of peril came when he was yet to get off the mark. A ball nipping back off a good length had seen him struck in front of middle on the back pad. The umpire felt this was hitting middle and off, but DRS showed the ball bouncing over the stumps – something neither the New Zealand players nor on-air commentators could quite believe.
Mendis’ aggression coincided with New Zealand’s seamers losing the lengths that had served them so well in the early part of the morning. They would correct this after lunch, however, and within the first hour of the second session they would see the backs of both Mendis and Karunaratne.
Mendis was surprised by one that jagged back in off a length from outside off, as he failed to offer a stroke and was struck on the back leg, while Karunaratne was out caught on a loose drive an over later, offering a thick edge to second slip.
While the pair were at the crease Sri Lanka had been cantering along at nearly five an over, however the scoring rate slowed a touch once Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal set about their rebuild.
Both underwent testing periods, with New Zealand’s battery of seamers teasing both edges of the bat. However the pair remained unflustered, and once the bowlers began to tire, the runs began to flow – much like in the morning session.
The pair of Blair Tickner and Daryl Mitchell in particular afforded the Lankans a degree of comfort, and in the final over before tea Chandimal took full advantage with three consecutive boundaries – the first an uppercut over the slip corden, and then two consecutive off-drives.
Following a brief rain stoppage at the start of the final session, Mathews and Chandimal proceeded to push the scoring at around four an over, but the hosts would strike back one final time.
Chandimal would be the first to fall, edging a drive into the slips – a rare slip in an otherwise disciplined innings. Mathews would stay a bit longer alongside Dhananjaya, before he too edged one to first slip, one ball after becoming the third Sri Lankan to reach 7,000 Test runs.
When Niroshan Dickwella was trapped leg before shortly after, going for a sweep off the part-time off spin of Michael Bracewell, it looked like Sri Lanka had thrown away their enterprising start. But Dhananjaya and Rajitha have ensured that it was just about Sri Lanka’s day.
The ICC has decided to send officials to Dhaka this weekend to meet the BCB’s top brass in a bid to resolve the impasse over Bangladesh travelling to India for the T20 World Cup that starts in three weeks.
The ICC’s team is expected to provide the BCB with security details including an independent assessment as part of the discussions. The development comes days after the BCB reiterated its stance of not sending Bangladesh to play in co-hosts India’s venues owing to “security concerns.” So far meetings and discussions have taken place via video conference; this will be the first time the two parties will meet in person.
During the January 13 virtual meeting, the BCB asked the ICC to move Bangladesh, who are placed in Group C, outside India. However, the ICC said it would not tweak the original schedule, with the tournament start date – February 7 – less than a month away. Bangladesh are scheduled to play on that opening day, against West Indies, in Kolkata.
With relations between India and Bangladesh tense in recent times, the BCB sent a letter to ICC on January 4 stating it would not be safe for Bangladesh to travel to India for the World Cup where its four group matches are scheduled. That was in response to the BCCI “authorising” Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh left arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman. No specific reason was given for that decision.
A Risk Assessment report for the World Cup, compiled by an independent security agency, and accessed by ESPNcricinfo, says the threat to teams playing in India is in the moderate-high band but there is “no information to indicate a direct threat against participating teams.”
The ICC shared that security assessment report with the BCB in their last call, which indicated no specific or heightened threat to the Bangladesh cricket team in India. The assessment was shared with the BCB’s security team and concluded there was no overall threat to the side, but pointed to low to moderate risks in some venues and low to nil in others – standard ICC categorisations around the world that do not ordinarily constitute sufficient reason to move games.
[Cricinfo]
Steven Hogan’s century, which included a 186-run stand with Nitesh Samuel, helped Australia brush aside Ireland for an eight wicket win in Windhoek.
After being put in to bat, Ireland openers James West and Freddie Ogillby were off to a slow start, before John James struck to remove West for 11. Sebastian Dijkstra was the next one to go, with Charles Lachmund pinning him in front in the 18th over. That brought Rob O’Brien to the crease, who then slowly rebuilt the innings in Ogilby’s company to put up a 43-run stand.
Offspinner Will Malajczuk, however, denied Ogilby his half-century, having him caught behind for 49 in the 29th over. O’Brien continued to build steadily and found the boundaries occasionally, before departing for a 98-ball 79 in the 49th over, helping push Ireland’s total to 235.
Australia got off to a strong start in the chase, with Malajczuk hitting a four and six in the first over. After he fell in the third over, Samuel and Hogan continued to build towards the target, scoring their half-centuries off 62 balls and 50 balls respectively. Their 100-run stand came up in the 21st over, and Hogan continued to find boundaries, bringing up his ton off 97 balls in the 32nd over.
Medium-pacer Luke Murray provided the breakthrough in the 36th over, having Hogan caught behind for 115. In his 111-ball stay, Hogan hit 11 fours and a six. By then, Australia needed only another 20 runs to win. Ollie Peake then joined Samuel, who finished unbeaten on 77, and together they completed the chase with 62 balls remaining to get Australia off to a rollicking start.
Brief scores:
Australia Under 19s 237 for 2 in 37.2 overs (Steven Hogan 115, Nitesh Samuel 77*; Luke Murray 1-46) beat Ireland Under 19s 235 for 7 in 50 overs (Freddie Ogilby 49, Rob O’Brien 79; Charles Lachmund 3-41) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
England Under 19s 210 in 46.5 overs (Ben Dawkins 33, Caleb Falconer 66; Ali Raza 2-36, Ahmed Hussain 3-38, Abdul Subhan 2-24, Momin Qmar 2-45) beat Pakistan Under 19s 173 in 46.3 overs (Farhan Yousaf 65; Alex Green 2-21, James Minto 2-23, Ralphie Albert 2-23) by 37 runs
Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf lacked support even as he fought back from 85 for 6 in their chase of 211 against England. Yousaf scored 65 off 86 deliveries, but the next highest score from Pakistan was Momin Qamar’s 18*. Eventually, they were bowled out for 173 as England started with a 37 run win after themselves being rescued by Caleb Falconer.
England’s No. 5 arrived at 67 for 3 in the 16th over, which soon became 90 for 4 after 19 on a slow pitch where the ball kept low. But Falconer then added 80 for the fifth wicket with Ralphie Albert, and dominated that partnership. He scored 50 of those runs, and on the way, brought up a run-a-ball half-century in the 29th over.
Four overs later, Ahmed Hussain broke that partnership by bowling Albert for 25, and finished with 3 for 38 off his ten overs. Falconer fell for 66 off 73 deliveries soon after, and England’s tail folded quickly.
In the chase, Alex Green and James Minto reduced Pakistan to 28 for 3 in the ninth over. There were only brief recoveries thereafter: Hussain and Yousaf added 26, while Yousaf and Huzaifa Ahsan had a stand of 23. Batting with the tail, Yousaf kept Pakistan’s faint hopes alive. But once he was caught off Minto, Pakistan needed another 67 to win with two wickets remaining. That turned out to be too much for their tailenders.
Brief scores:
England Under 19s 210 in 46.5 overs (Ben Dawkins 33, Caleb Falconer 66; Ali Raza 2-36, Ahmed Hussain 3-38, Abdul Subhan 2-24, Momin Qmar 2-45) beat Pakistan Under 19s 173 in 46.3 overs (Farhan Yousaf 65; Alex Green 2-21, James Minto 2-23, Ralphie Albert 2-23) by 37 runs
[Cricinfo]
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