Sports
Remembering Martin Crowe
by Rex Clementine
Anyone who debuts as a teenager has got to be a special talent and to do it against the Aussies makes it even more special. Martin Crowe was 19 when he debuted against Greg Chappell’s side of which the attack was spearheaded by Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.
Crowe was a natural. He had so much time to play his shots. Technically sound and so pleasant on the eyes.
Crowe was destined for greatness from a young age. He was 21 when Somerset picked him as the county’s overseas signing. Guess whom he replaced? A certain Viv Richards.
What made Martin Crowe a cut above the rest was not just his technique or stroke-play, he was a keen student of the game and a fierce competitor. Sri Lanka’s maiden Test win overseas should have come in 1991 in Wellington but Crowe’s competitive nature put an end to it. In the same game, he broke Glenn Turner’s record for the highest individual score (259) by a Kiwi in Tests. But cruelly was dismissed one run short of a triple hundred. That one run would have meant that he became the first New Zealander to score a triple hundred in Tests. The worst thing was that he was dismissed by the harmless medium pace of Arjuna Ranatunga.
Tactically, he was brilliant. New Zealand were cruising in the 1992 World Cup as Crowe used Mark Greatbatch as an opener during field restrictions and handed the new ball to spinner Dipak Patel surprising opponents.
By the time Crowe retired he was New Zealand’s highest run getter in both forms of the game. He could have done more but knee injuries restricted him. He quit at 33.
More than his batting exploits or captaincy skills, Sri Lankans will remember him for one thing, for saving the county from cricketing isolation.
There was no international cricket played in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1991 due to the war. In 1991, Ian Pieris was President of Board of Control for Cricket and S. Skandakumar was the Secretary. They attended the ICC meeting and appealed to the rest of the cricketing word to tour Sri Lanka. Australia had given an undertaking to come in September 1992 followed by New Zealand later that year. Over the next 12 months, India, West Indies, England, Pakistan and South Africa were scheduled to come.
The Australian series was a grand success but when the Kiwis landed there was trouble. Navy Commander Clancy Fernando was killed in front of Taj Samudra hotel where the teams were putting up. Troubled by the suicide attack, just outside their team hotel, the New Zealand team wanted to go home.
Not only the tour but cricket’s future in Sri Lanka was in jeopardy.
It was captain Martin Crowe who decided to stay on and convinced his team to do so. Yet, all his team didn’t agree. Some players wanted to go back home. Crowe ensured replacements were flown in from New Zealand and the tour went on uninterrupted.
Sri Lanka owe it to Crowe for ensuring the tour went on. Had it been interrupted, the country would have faced another long isolation without cricket.
In 2016, Martin Crowe lost his battle with cancer and died at the age of 53 sending the cricketing world into mourning. He was certainly someone ahead of his time and the World Test Championship that’s currently in play was first mooted by him. Crowe certainly was a friend of Sri Lanka. Impressed by cheerleader Percy Abeysekara’s passion for the game, Crowe once gave away his Man of the Match award to the cheerleader. Several years later upon hearing that Crowe was unwell uncle Percy organized a bodi pooja. He called up journalists asking them to put a reminder in the papers so that fans could turn up for the event. He promoted the event with these words, ‘I crow, you crow, we all crow, for Martin Crowe.’
Is it 2023 again ? Mumbai Indians [MI] and Delhi Capitals [DC], two consistently good teams with all-star line-ups, meet again in the WPL final. While DC have breezed into the final this season, MI are coming in battle-hardened, having had to take the circuitous route by playing three matches in four days to get there.
DC have been strong in most departments, and have got their selection calls right throughout the season. Their captain Meg Lanning hit form late in the tournament, Shafali Verma has continued to churn out the runs at the top of the other, and the move to promote Jess Jonassen to No. 3 has paid off. But for DC to look more threatening, they’d want their middle order to step up further. Their middle order (Nos. 4 to 7) collectively averages 17.50, the lowest this season, and have struck at 116.66, which is the second-lowest among all teams.
MI’s line-up also drips with power and strength. Powerplay bowling has been one of DC’s strongest suits, but only MI have bettered that. DC’s bowlers have taken 50 wickets at 23.84 in this phase, while MI have 61 wickets at 22.68.
For MI,Nat Sciver-Brunt has been at her brutal best, Hayley Matthews has delivered with both bat and ball, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur has hit high tempo. The rest of the line-up, though, has blown hot and cold.
But MI will be playing at their home ground – a venue where they’ve lost just once in seven games – and that tilts the scales in their favour. DC, though, have had a good seven days break, and will be coming in without the pressure of having had to scramble for a place in the final. Two heartbreaking finals later, will third time be the charm for them?
MI had promoted Amelia Kerr to the opening slot, and pushed Yastika Bhatia down the order for a couple of games. While Yastika was able to make quick runs from her new position, Kerr, who hasn’t been in the best of form with the bat, wasn’t able to capitalise on her starts. The order went back to what it was in the Eliminator against Gujarat Giants (GG), but neither player made an impact. Will MI switch their positions again to get the best out of Yastika?
MI had also brought in left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque in place of Parunika Sisodia for the Eliminator. Will they pick Ishaque again for the final after she bowled just one over against GG?
DC, who were last in action on March 7, are unlikely to make any changes to their line-up.
Mumbai Indians (probable): Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque
Delhi Capitals (probable): Meg Lanning (capt), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce (wk), Niki Prasad, Minnu Mani, Shikha Pandey, Titas Sadhu
[Cricinfo]
Dinara de Silva secured a place in the singles semi-final and also booked a spot in the doubles final at the ITF Junior Circuit J30 Week 1 tournament continued at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Friday.
Dinara de Silva overcame a first set defeat to beat Gwen Emily Kurniawan of Indonesia 2-1 (4-6, 6-0, 6-1) in the quarter-final.
Dinara is set to meet Shivali Gurung of Nepal in the semi-final.
In the doubles semi-final Dinara joined China’s Yijia Zhao to beat Japan’s Sakino Miyazawa and Eyuyo Shida 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.
Debutant Malki Madara’s three-for combined with two-fors from Kavisha Dilhari and Inoshi Priyadharshani set up a comfortable victory for Sri Lanka in the T20I series opener in Christchurch. Chamari Athapaththu’s unbeaten 64 off 48 balls then took the visitors home with seven wickets in hand. This was Sri Lanka’s first T20I win in New Zealand and second win overall against New Zealand in the format.
Emma McLeod (44) was New Zealand’s highest scorer but only two of her team-mates got into double figures, and there was only one partnership that stretched past 20 balls.
Despite Priyadharshani dismissing Georgia Plimmer early, the hosts got off to a decent start thanks to captain Suzie Bates’ 14-ball 21. Madara, Sri Lanka’s fourth bowling option, brought on in the fifth over, got the big wicket of Bates which dried up the scoring. The next two overs went for just five runs.
Dilhari, the seventh bowler, struck twice upon being introduced in the ninth over as New Zealand slipped from 39 for 1 to 52 for 4. Maddy Green being run out cheaply had New Zealand play with caution as illustrated by the next two partnerships which produced a combined 29 runs off 41 balls.
McLeod, who had three fours in her first five balls, finished without adding to that tally across her 46-ball innings. She was the last New Zealand batter to fall as Madara ended the innings in the penultimate over.
Athapaththu then hit seven fours and took Sri Lanka to 46 for 0 at the end of the powerplay. Jess Kerr removed Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama in successive overs while Dilhari’s innings was cut short by a run out. Sri Lanka slipped to 66 for 3 but that didn’t stop their captain from attacking.
She hit Eden Carson for four immediately after Dilhari’s exit and smacked two sixes and a four off Bree Illing, the first of the sixes brought up her fifty off 43 balls. It left the hosts no room to make an unlikely comeback as Sri Lanka romped to a victory with 35 balls to spare.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women
102 for 3 in 14.1 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 64*, Kavisha Dilhari 12, Nilakshika Silva 12*; Jess Kerr 2-18) beat New Zealand 101 in 18.5 overs (Suzie Bates 21, Emma McLeod 44, Jess Kerr 10; Sugandika Kumari 1-18, Malki Madara 3-14, Kavisha Dilhari 2-18, Inoshi Priyadharshani 2-25, Chamari Athapaththu 1-10) by seven wickets
(Cricinfo)
Our government has reaffirmed its commitment to breaking barriers that limit women’s full participation in the economy, recognizing their vital role in national development. – Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
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