Sports
Pathum Nissanka story brings tears to your eyes

by Rex Clementine
There have been very few positives to write about our cricket team in recent times, but watching the first Test in Antigua was fully worth burning the midnight oil as young Pathum Nissanka became the fourth Sri Lankan to score a hundred on debut. This is a guy who has averaged 67 in First Class cricket over the last three years. Okay, we know records in our First Class cricket aren’t much to boast about, but such stats were worthy of earning someone a maiden Test cap because our stars aren’t exactly covering themselves in glory.
After being snubbed for the ICC Under-19 World Cup despite being a prolific run-getter, Pathum Nissanka Silva kept pursuing his dream by piling up hundred after hundred for NCC before finally being drafted into the senior side ahead of the tour of the West Indies. If his on-field exploits have been stirring, his off-the-field story is even more heart touching.
Sunil Silva, Pathum’s father, was the ground boy of Kalutara Esplanade, the cricket ground in the heart of the town. The ground is not visible from the road, but if you happened to travel to Galle or Matara by train, you cannot miss this ground. Having a bit of cricket knowledge made Sunil his son’s first cricket coach. They lived in abject poverty and to make ends meet, Pathum’s mother sold flowers near the Kalutara bodiya (temple) to devotees.
Colombo schools are constantly on the lookout for fresh faces, asking District Coaches to keep them in the loop if there’s any bright talent around. Pathum was making big runs for Kalutara Vidyalaya and quite a few schools including S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia were interested in him. But it was Isipatana that got to him first. It was quite a struggle.
Sunil Saluwadana, the brilliant cricket coach of Kalutara Vidyalaya, reluctantly agreed to let him go so that he could make progress in Colombo, but convincing his parents turned out to be not so easy. Not that they didn’t like the move to Colombo. It was just that locating their tiny house turned out to be a nightmare for the visiting party.
Isipatana Coach Pradeep Nishantha had travelled with one of his friends, Nilantha Amarasinghe, whose son captained Isipatana recently. As they were struggling to locate the house, Pradeep asked Pathum’s parents to come to Kalutara bodiya. It was at the bodiya that Pathum’s admission papers to Isipatana were signed. That both his parents didn’t have even basic education is a different story. “Not too sure whether any other child has signed his admission papers at Kalutara bodiya. This is the greatest blessing you can get. You will have a bright future,” Pradeep recalls telling young Pathum five years ago.
To reach Pathum’s house, you have to turn left from Kalutara junction and go some six kilometers along the Palathota road. He lives in one of the government-built houses for people affected by the tsunami.
Colombo life is hectic and expensive too. Pathum needed some assistance to make ends meet. While Isipatana College’s Junior Old Boys’ Union did chip in, that wasn’t enough to meet costs. So his coach turned to his friend Nilantha Amarasinghe. Nilantha is employed at Jayaratne Florists, and apprised his bosses of this bright prospect. The premier florists helped him with a monthly allowance. They were the happiest to know that young Pathum had been picked for the tour of West Indies and gifted him Rs. 250,000 as pocket money during his visit to the Caribbean.
Arjuna Ranatunga played with a bat that promoted his friend’s chicken shop – Sam’s. Mahela Jayawardene played with a bat that promoted Thilanga’s newspaper – Lakbima. Pathum may well use a logo for the bat that says, ‘The best undertakers in town – Jayaratne’.
After finishing up at Isipatana, Pathum went back to Kalutara and represented Badureliya CC. Then, former Test captain Hashan Tillekeratne persuaded him to make a shift back to Colombo to play for NCC.
Not just asking Pathum to make the move, Hashan made sure he looked after the boy, treating him like one of his own sons. NCC has a reputation for looking after young talent from outstation. Another tradition at NCC is to treat everyone as an equal – seniors and juniors all get paid the same amount. It helped that he had some very good seniors in the club like Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Perera. There were good mentors at the club as well like Ranjit Fernando, Malan Ranasinghe, Duminda Perera and Leslie Hewage.
There were temptations, of course. There is this notion that you have a better chance of representing Sri Lanka if you cross the road from NCC. More recently, another neighbouring club of NCC has got more political clout, with one of our former Test captains calling the shots at the Sports Ministry. So the done thing these days is to jump over the fence of NCC and not cross the road. But Pathum remained loyal to NCC, and has been richly rewarded.
Often, when things go well, we tend to forget that there are issues which need to be addressed. Here’s one of them. Pathum has been a top-order batsman all his life. Why Sri Lanka played him at number six is beyond comprehension.
There was similar hope when Kusal Mendis came on to the scene in 2015. A son of a three-wheeler driver, Kusal’s was a case of sheer hard work being able to take you places, irrespective of your social status. But Kusal’s father has turned out to be such a social menace that he is not only influencing senior police officers but is alleged to be threatening victims as well after his notorious son’s infamous hit-and-run last year.
It is very important that when young players earn millions on a monthly basis, they are properly guided. Most agents who are managing players only bother about promoting their images on social media. Values mean nothing to them. Hence, we are left with incorrigible youngsters like Kusal Mendis. Let’s hope Pathum’s story will be different. Sri Lankan cricket needs it to be different, badly.
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MLC 2025: Boult’s sixes help MI New York eliminate Unicorns in thriller

MI New York and San Francisco Unicorns rode a rollercoaster in Dallas with unending twists and turns, till inaugural champions MINY edged last year’s runners-up Unicorns to a two-wicket win. In a game that featured several small but crucial contributions from various players, Trent Boult stood out with his returns of 2 for 19, and even more the back-to-back sixes towards the end of the tense chase of 132, which took MINY to victory and to Qualifier 2 and eliminated Unicorns.
MINY will now face Texas Super Kings to decide who takes on Washington Freedom in the MLC 2025 final.
Unicorns were lagging behind in the game almost from the start, when they were reduced to 16 for 5 in the powerplay. The twist came when No. 8 Xavier Bartlett powered them to a respectable 131 with a 24-ball 44.
MINY were then cruising in their chase with an opening stand of 43, before Mathew Short’s three strikes started their slide and Hasan Khan’s two double-wicket overs added to the Unicorns comeback. MINY were left needing 24 to get off 19 balls but with only two wickets in hand. The final twist came when Boult smashed two sixes off Hassan to turn the equation into a comfortable five to win from nine balls. MINY did not falter thereafter.
MINY made the most of their decision to bowl, with Boult and Nosthush Kenjige removing Unicorns’ top four for single-digit scores. While Boult had Tim Seifert and Jake Fraser-McGurk edging behind, Kenjige had Short and Sanjay Krishnamurthi out caught. The last wicket was thanks to a sharp running catch, with Boult running backwards from short third and finishing with a juggle.
Unicorns’ problems were compounded when Hassan Khan was involved in a mix-up with Cooper Connolly, falling short to a direct hit from Nicholas Pooran while on a golden duck.
Bartlett then rebuilt the innings in partnerships with Hammad Azam and Brody Couch, smashing towering sixes down the ground. He helped Unicorns race from 50 to 100 in just four overs after the halfway mark, and finally fell when he slapped a slow and short delivery from Kieron Pollard straight to midwicket in the 18th over. Rushil Ugarkar dismissed Liam Plunkett and Couch on either side of Bartlett’s wicket to finish with 3 for 19.
A rain break delayed the start of the chase but didn’t reduce any overs. Monak Patel and Quinton de Kock were going steady, scoring 37 runs in the powerplay. But then came Short’s double blow: he trapped de Kock lbw from around the wicket, and four balls later struck the top of middle stump by going through Pooran’s bat and pad.
Monank led the chase, going at just over a-run-a-ball. But he soon pulled a Short delivery to deep square leg and MINY were 81 for 3. The alarm bells went off when Pollard, who had scored two fifties in the last three games, chipped an innocuous delivery to long-on. Fraser-McGurk took a diving catch, and suddenly, Pooran was looking worried in the dugout.
The alarm bells rang much louder when Hassan struck on consecutive deliveries, first going through Michael Bracewell’s pull to knock his stumps over, and then drawing an outside edge from Heath Richards that stuck in Seifert’s gloves. MINY were now 98 for 6, still 34 adrift with 31 balls to go.
Hassan struck two more times in the 17th over. MINY were in a lot more trouble, with the equation soon reading 19 to get from 12. Boult stepped up with consecutive sixes off Hassan and even farmed the strike to deny Kenjige much exposure.
In the end, Kenjige himself went on to hit the winning runs with three balls to spare.
Brief scores:
MI New York 132 for 8 in 19.3 overs (Quinton De Kock 33, Monank Patel 33, Michaell Bracewell 18, Trent Boult 22*; Xavier Bartlett 1-27, Hassan Khan 4-30, Mathew Short 3-22) beat San Francisco Unicorns 131 in 19.1 overs (Cooper Connolly 23, Hammad Azam 11, Xavier Bartlett 44, Brody Couch 19; Rushil Ugarkar 3-19, Trent Boult 2-19, Nosthush Kenjige 2-43, Tristan Luus 1-32, Kierron Pollard 1-11 ) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
Spinners set up historic series win for India Women

After their 3-0 ODI series sweep in 2022, India Women achieved another milestone with their first T20I series victory on English soil. The result is especially significant, coming less than a year before they return to these shores in pursuit of their maiden T20 World Cup title.
Wednesday’s victory at Old Trafford was shaped by India’s spinners – Radha Yadav and Shree Charani – who picked up a combined 4 for 45 in eight overs to restrict England to 126 for 7 after they chose to bat for the second match in a row.
Four overs are all it took for India’s openers – Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana – to prove those runs were hardly adequate. Where England hit all of eight fours in their innings, they conceded nine in four overs alone. India’s openers put on 56 in seven overs to set the tone for a dominating win.
India applied early pressure with spin, removing both England openers inside the powerplay. After being struck for a four and a six by Sophia Dunkley in her first three deliveries, Charani hit back in the same over, as Danni Wyatt-Hodge miscued a slog to long-on.
Dunkley, looking in fine touch, fell in the sixth over as she was lured into an uppish drive by Deepti Sharma, who cleverly deceived her in flight with Radha completing a sharp diving catch at point. The wicket was a significant one, taking Deepti past Nida Dar’s tally to become the leading wicket-taker among spinners in Women’s T20Is. Overall, Deepti is now only six behind Megan Schutt’s tally of 151.
Tammy Beaumont showed glimpses of a revival, as she took the attack to Sneh Rana in hitting her for two well-placed cuts to split a packed off-side ring in the eighth over. But her counterattack was short-lived; she holed out to long-on attempting to go big off Radha. India soon had a double-strike five balls later when Alice Capsey was lbw attempting a reverse sweep off the hugely impressive Charani. England slumped from 68 for 2 to 93 for 5 by the 15th over.
The innings stagnated through the middle overs, with no boundaries coming off the bat from the middle of the 10th over until the end of the 19th, for 56 deliveries. Poor running between the wickets added to England’s struggles, including a costly mix-up that led to Charlie Dean’s run-out from backward point. India’s ground fielding, catching and cutting off angles was massively impressive. Arundhati Reddy proved pivotal in the deep, taking three well-judged catches at long-on during this dry spell.
Right towards the end, marking her 100th T20I in front of a home crowd, Sophie Ecclestone finally broke the boundary drought in the 19th over, shoveling Amanjot Kaur to the midwicket fence. She topped that off with two slog sweeps for sixes off Deepti, taking advantage of the wind, to give England a late surge. They closed on 126, the final over producing 16.
Shafali came out firing, matching England’s short-pitched attack with fearless aggression. Hard lengths and deliveries dug into the pitch posed no threat as she simply backed away to swing, shovel and slap her way to three fours and 14 runs in the second over off Lauren Filer, setting the tone for India’s chase. Coming off two low scores at the start of the series and left out of the ODI squad, this was a crucial knock for her confidence.
Not to be overshadowed, Mandhana joined the charge as she took the attack to Dean with a clean strike over mid-on. The pair raised the half-century of their partnership in the seventh over to keep the pressure on England. Ecclestone fell just short of catching Shafali on 29, running back from mid-off at the end of the powerplay. But England didn’t have to pay for it, as Shafali hacked one to deep square on 31.
India soon lost Mandhana too as she sliced a catch to short third, and the visitors went boundary-less for 40 balls from overs 7.2 to 13.6, Jemimah Rodrigues breaking the drought with a lofted hit off Lauren Bell. Harmanpreet Kaur too struggled for timing, and was nearly worked over on a number of occasions by Ecclestone, as she teased her in flight, loop and guide in a terrific exhibition of spin bowling – her figures reading 3-0-11-1 at one stage.
It wasn’t until India needed 27 off 34 that Harmanpreet managed a boundary, off her 20th delivery – a lofted hit over extra cover off Dean. The struggle was over as she put the next ball away to the deep square leg fence. Victory wasn’t far away from there on.
Harmanpreet and Rodrigues put on 48 off 42, along the way ensuring India didn’t slip up like they did earlier in the week. While Harmanpreet wasn’t around to see her team home, Rodrigues remained unbeaten on 24, bringing up the winning runs with a paddle as India cruised home with 18 balls to spare.
Brief scores:
India 127 for 4 in 17 overs (Smriti Mandhana 32, Shafali Verma 31,Jemimah Rodrigues 24*, Harmanpreet Kaur 26; Charlie Dean 1-29, Sophie Ecclestone 1-20, Issy Wong 1-18) beat England Women 126 for 7 in 20 overs (Sophia Dunkley 22, Alice Capsey 18, Tammy Beaumont 20, Paige Scholfield 16, Sophie Ecclestone 16*, Issy Wong 11*; Amanjot Kaur 1-20, Deepti Sharma 1-29, Radha Yadav 2-15, Shree Charani 2-30) by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Sri Lanka eye T20 climb as Bangladesh series begins

Having turned the corner in One-Day Internationals with seven series wins out of nine since the Champions Trophy heartbreak, Sri Lanka now shift focus to the shortest format where their progress has been more of a stop-start affair.
Ranked seventh in T20 Internationals, Sri Lanka begin their three-match series against Bangladesh at Pallekele today aiming to tighten screws ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, which they will co-host with India.
“We’ve made headway in ODIs, but T20s still remain a work in progress,” skipper Charith Asalanka told reporters on the eve of the game. “Our target is to get into the top five. The key is consistency and for that we need to get our combination right.”
Sri Lanka have done changes to the middle order. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamindu Wickramasinghe were given a go, but both have been sidelined for the series. In their place return the seasoned campaigners: Chamika Karunaratne and former captain Dasun Shanaka.
Shanaka is expected to bat at number six, but may float up the order depending on the situation, while Karunaratne slots in at number seven.
“We’re trying to be flexible. Shanaka can be used as a floater if we need early acceleration,” Asalanka explained.
Sri Lanka have about 15 games left to fine-tune their plans before the World Cup and Asalanka stressed the need to back players with extended runs rather than short-term trials.
“With seven months to go, we have time on our side. Managing workloads and keeping players in form is vital,” he said. “If the LPL goes ahead before the World Cup, that will give us another window to assess options.”
Among the key tactical moves is a role change for Avishka Fernando, who has been moved down the order after years at the top.
“Avishka batted at number four for Jaffna in the LPL and did a good job. We’ve earmarked that role for him. He’s no longer just an opener,” Asalanka revealed.
Sri Lanka, however, have been dealt a blow with the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga. The talismanic leg-spinner suffered a hamstring injury in the final ODI and has been ruled out of the series.
“Wanindu is our white-ball superstar, so missing him is a big setback,” Asalanka admitted. “But Jeffrey Vandersay has been quietly effective in recent years, and this is his chance to step up.”
The three-match series will be played across three venues – Pallekele, Dambulla and RPS – which Asalanka believes is a good thing.
“World Cups don’t happen at one ground. Playing across three different venues helps us adapt. It’s good preparation,” he said.
Rex Clementine at Pallekele
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