Sports
SLR must put players in a bio bubble
Sri Lanka’s national players haven’t had international exposure at any form of rugby for a long time due to the present pandemic
by a Special Sports Correspondent
Sri Lanka’s sports scene is similar to a hatchling stepping into the world. Like the newborn learning to cope with new territory, Sri Lanka’s sportsmen and women have to carefully tread wherever they go due to the pandemic that’s raging.
Compared to other sports our rugby players have done little to get their training off the ground during this challenging environment. For their ill luck the inter-club rugby sevens tournament became a nonstarter because Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), a co host of the event, announced that it wasn’t in a position to go ahead with the tournament because of the pandemic. The tournament was to be organised by SLAF under the supervision of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) to celebrate the former’s 70th anniversary. Most club players who committed themselves even went into a bio bubble to prepare for the tournament. But all efforts channeled towards having a much needed rugby event proved futile in the end.
On the administration side of the equation there is SLR President Rizly Illyas who is struggling to kick start rugby events in the island. Just the other day he was quoted in the newspapers stating that Sri Lanka had received hosting rights for two Asian Rugby Sevens tournaments. However what catches the eye of this writer is a comment Illyas made regarding the announcement of the two tournaments. The SLR President says he is aware of the challenges posed by the pandemic to conduct a tournament of such magnitude. But most importantly he adds ‘We can’t sit back and wait’. That thought can create the platform to launch future rugby activities.
To conduct an international rugby tournament SLR needs the support of the Sports Ministry and Ministry of Health. According to informed sources Illyas is not enjoying the best of support from ‘other influential parties’ who can help the first rugby tournament to get off the ground after rugger activities came to a stop several months ago.
Rugby can take a cue from cricket, badminton, table tennis, chess and athletics. The national cricketers are making tours abroad and continue to be reimbursed despite the pandemic developing into a third wave and disrupting human life activities.
According to sources the majority of domestic rugby players are not getting remunerated hence the difficulty in getting them into a bio bubble and have an international tournament. Unlike the national cricketers the country’s best rugby players are owned by the clubs and not by the rugby controlling body. The SLR has to get its first rugby activity off the ground for the year 2021. Compared to rugby, which is starving, the international cricket calendar is chockablock. SLC CEO Ashley de Silva was quoted in newspapers saying that Sri Lanka hosting the Asia Cup would be put back, due to the pandemic, till late as after the 2023 cricket World Cup. This he says is because the national cricket teams of all countries have a packed schedule.
Even sports must be viewed from a human angle. As much as sports administrators use psychology to motivate players these players must be encouraged when sports activities have come to a standstill. They can take a cue from the Sunera Foundation, founded by Sunethra Bandaranaike. The foundation conducts workshops for differently abled persons. Workshops are conducted so that participants are able to feel, be seen and can express themselves in a creative manner. Rugby players must be made to feel that they are wanted and given opportunities to express themselves through sports.
From the perspective of player wellbeing Sri Lanka Badminton conducted an online fitness programme for the players titled ‘keep shuttle fit’. National coaches and players, members of the ‘challenge pool’ and junior players took part in the programme conducted in the mornings on weekdays. Even a sedentary sport like chess has got off the ground and the country’s national players are at present contesting the Asian Continental Chess Championship via online participation. Sri Lanka’s chances are carried at this chess tournament by Ranindu Liyanage, Minul Sanjula, L.M.S.T de Silva and Theekshan Dinuwan. The tournament is held from May 20-30.
All sports draw ‘oxygen’ form the National Olympic Committee (NOC). This is because the NOC facilitates travel of sportsmen and women to events like the Olympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. A top NOC official has been quoted in the newspapers that plans are underway to field teams for the Commonwealth Games (UK) and Asian Games (China). The NOC is concerned about how the Sri Lankans will perform, hence the committee has said that it wishes to see two sets of players being sent for the two events to enhance medal prospects and limit injuries.
In any given situation what matters is not how challenging the situation is, but how big the person put in charge of the situation is. All national sports bodies must have an innovative and determined president to make sure their respective sports don’t lose players. Just the other day we read in newspapers that some of our national cricketers are contemplating premature retirement because of reduced payments to them. But the SLC has made alternate plans to reimburse players with the best available paying scheme. The idea is to keep the players in the game during difficult times. Given the present situation this writer hears of a sad story from the south. A known rugby coach is now undertaking home painting contracts in the absence of any money coming his way from rugby coaching. There is another rugby coach, possessing a bike license, who has taken up transporting food and has signed up with a food delivery company.
Going down memory lane to the late 1980s most defence establishments allowed their players to represent domestic clubs in SLR conducted tournaments at a time when the JVP insurgents threatened security forces personnel with death if they didn’t quit their places of employment. Careers of many rugby players were saved as a result of far thinking by the SLR (Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union back then).
The SLR has to come to the fore and sign contacts with players with the motive of putting them in a bio bubble when future international tournaments approach. This is the best time for the SLR to break the monopoly on players by clubs and look to the future and escape from the pandemic blues.
Bangladesh posted their first Test win in the West Indies in 15 years when they beat the hosts by 101 runs in Jamaica. It was a remarkable comeback by the visitors after their big defeat in the first Test in Antigua, with the series finishing 1-1. It was cathartic for a side that lost their last five Tests so emphatically, as the likes of Taijul Islam, Jaker Ali and Nahid Rana scripted their third away win in 2024 – their most in a calendar year.
Left-arm spinner Taijul took 5 for 50 in the fourth innings to help bowl out West Indies for 185. It was his 15th five-wicket haul, fourth abroad and a first in the Caribbean after 10 years. Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Rana took the other five wickets.
Rana took his maiden Test five-wicket haul in the second innings, helping bowl West Indies out for 146.
Bangladesh had made only 164 in their first innings, but their revival in the second innings was a notable one too. This was courtesy Jaker, who cracked five sixes and eight fours in a counter-attacking 91. Jaker scored 62 out of Bangladesh’s 75 runs in the morning session of the fourth day.
West Indies will feel they gave away a great start in the Test match when Jayden Seales returned remarkable figures of 5 for 4 from 15.5 overs. A fired up Seales however leaked runs in the third innings as Bangladesh shifted the momentum in a feisty third afternoon.
On the fourth morning, Jaker held Bangladesh’s key to grow their lead from 211. It didn’t start well for him, as Alzarri Joseph pinged him on the top of his helmet. The Bangladesh physio Bayezid Islam Khan took a bit of time to clear Jaker, with the BCB wary of his history of concussions.
The situation compounded when Bangladesh lost back to back wickets.
Taijul edged a short ball on 14, after he and Jaker added 34 runs for the sixth wicket. Mominul Haque completed his second Test pair when he fell off his fourth ball. He looked visibly ill as he walked off, with Bangladesh’s tail now exposed.
With his back to the wall, Jaker went after the West Indies attack. He hooked Kemar Roach over wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva for a boundary. Jaker then timed a pull shot off Alzarri for his first six, which took him to his third consecutive fifty in his first three Tests. He is only the second Bangladesh player with the feat after Zakir Hasan.
Jaker got on a roll in the next two balls. He flayed at a short ball to get a four over the slips, and then followed it up with a hooked six. Jaker smashed Roach over wide long-on in the next over, but he fought back with two more wickets. Roach removed Mahmud and Taskin in consecutive overs.
Jaker however had one more burst of boundaries in him. He smashed Shamar Joseph for two fours in an over, both pull shots, before launching Roach for his fourth six, straight down the ground. His fifth six was off Shamar, hoicked over midwicket, before falling to a catch in the deep later in the over.
Taijul got to work as early as the fifth over when he had Mikyle Louis in a tangle. Attempting to drive the ball, Louis edged the ball on to his front foot, with Shahadat Hossain claiming a diving catch at forward short leg.
Sensing the need to grab the momentum, Brathwaite went after the Bangladesh bowling. He had already picked up a boundary with a square-cut, but after the lunch break, he drove Mahmud through the covers. He launched Taijul over wide long-on for a six, but Keacy Carty couldn’t quite get the bowlers away at the other end.
Taskin had Carty caught behind for 14, after a build-up of dot balls, before Taijul accounted for the big one of Brathwaite. He troubled the West Indies captain a few times, before getting one to turn and pop on the shoulder of Brathwaite’s bat. Mahmudul Hasan Joy ran to his right from slip, to complete a tumbling catch. Taijul then got one to pitch on a rough patch and spin back through Alick Athanaze’s huge gap between bat and pad. Athanaze, who went for an expansive drive, looked confused about his approach in his six-ball stay.
All this time, Hodge kept his shape, looking sharp as he picked up regular boundaries. He slapped Rana and cut Taskin in consecutive overs. He struck Mehidy for two fours in an over, before going inside out against Taijul before tea.
West Indies started the third session on a happy note. Hodge got to his fifty off the first ball after the interval, but he fell shortly afterwards too. Hodge played back to a Taijul delivery that kept very low, trapping him lbw. Keshav Maharaj and Shoaib Bashir have also got him out in similar fashion before.
Taskin then cleaned up Justin Greaves with one that kept a little low too, but the batter didn’t make an effort to get low enough to meet the ball. Joshua Da Silva’s miserable series ended when Taijul had him lbw, again another West Indies batter falling lbw to a ball that they could have played off the front foot.
When Mehidy brought around Mahmud for a second spell, he made an instant impact. He removed Alzarri and Roach to bring Bangladesh to the brink. Then came the big moment when Rana, who changed the momentum of the game with his first-innings five-for, removed Shamar with a yorker to seal the hard-fought win.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 164 (Shadman Islam 64, Jayden Seales 4-5, Shamar Joseph 3-49) and 268 (Jaker Ali 91, Shadman Islam 46, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 42; Kemar Roach 3-36, Alzarri Joseph 3-77) beat West Indies 146 (Keacy Carty 40, Kraigg Brathwaite 39; Nahid Rana 5-61, Hasan Mahmud 2-19) and 185 (Kavem Hodge 55, Kraigg Brathwaite 43, Taijul Islam 5-50, Hasan Mahmud 2-20) by 101 runs
[Cricinfo]
Rex Clementine in Port Elizabeth
Batting coach Thilina Kandamby has urged his batsmen to take a leaf out of former captain Hashan Tillakaratne’s book, drawing inspiration from the grit and guts Tillakaratne displayed during Sri Lanka’s 2002 tour of South Africa. Back then, Tillakaratne weathered a relentless storm of short-pitched deliveries, enduring bruises and blows before etching his name in the history books as the first Sri Lankan to score a Test century on South African soil.
“If you look back at that hundred, Hashan took several hits on his body but stood tall to complete a memorable innings,” Kandamby told The Island. “Dinesh Chandimal showed a similar fighting spirit in the second innings in Durban. He deserved a hundred for the way he batted. It’s a shining example for others to follow.”
Sri Lanka’s campaign in Durban began on a nightmarish note as they collapsed for a paltry 42 runs in the first innings—their lowest total in Test cricket history—leaving them climbing an uphill battle for the rest of the game.
“We failed to read the conditions properly, and our shot selection left much to be desired,” Kandamby admitted. “The key in situations like these is patience. The longer you stay at the crease, the more the odds tilt in your favor. In the first innings, their bowlers only had to bowl one spell each, but by the second innings, when they returned for their third and fourth spells, they were clearly tiring. I’m not making excuses, but it’s worth noting that it was our first time batting on a center wicket this series.”
Kandamby emphasized the importance of seeing off the new ball, describing it as the foundation upon which big innings are built. “There’s no point in swinging wildly or being overly aggressive early on. You’ve got to bide your time, put away the loose deliveries, and survive that crucial first hour. Once you do, the game starts to tilt in your favor.”
Sri Lanka entered the South African series riding high at third place in the World Test Championship standings, with an eye on making the finals at Lord’s next June. However, the defeat in Durban saw them tumble to fifth, their hopes hanging by a thread.
“It’s incredibly frustrating,” Kandamby said, not mincing his words. “South Africa were down a bowler, and we should have exploited that advantage. Take Marco Jansen, for instance—we didn’t even make him bowl a second spell. The silver lining, though, was our improved showing in the second innings. We were far more organized.”
For young Kamindu Mendis, it was a baptism by fire. The promising batter, who had made a habit of churning out centuries or half-centuries in his fledgling Test career, fell flat in Durban.
“Kamindu is an upbeat character,” Kandamby said. “The guys were teasing him, saying, ‘What happened to your streak of centuries?’ But this is Test cricket—such setbacks are part of the game. He’s in good touch, but his shot selection let him down. I have no doubt he’ll rise to the occasion in Port Elizabeth.”
Kandamby didn’t hold back in praising the bowlers, who found themselves thrown back into the cauldron just 14 overs after dismissing South Africa for under 200 in the first innings. Despite the daunting task, they stepped up without complaints, recognizing the batsmen were in dire straits.
“Hats off to the bowlers,” Kandamby said with evident pride. “They barely had time to catch their breath, but they took up the challenge without a grumble. They knew the team needed them, and they delivered.”
A century by former St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa batsman Vimath Dinsara stood in good stead for Sri Lanka Under 19s as the youth team pulled off a stunning seven runs victory to complete the group stage unbeaten at the Under 19 Asia Cup in UAE.
Sri Lanka Under 19s were in trouble after electing to bat first in Dubai. They were two wickets down for 15 runs when Dinsara dropped anchor with his valuable knock. He saw wickets falling at regular intervals from the other end but managed to bat through to the final over for Sri Lanka to post 228 runs.
He was the last man out after having scored ten boundaries.
Dinsara was in line to take up the first XI captaincy at St. Sebastian’s but moved to Royal College Colombo just before the start of the season.
With Dinsara there are two Royal players in the Sri Laka Under 19 team.
In their essay Bangladesh were in control for a better part of their chase but some crucial run outs and skipper Vihas Thewmika’s vital three wicket haul helped Sri Lanka Under 19 pull off victory.
Scores
Sri Lanka
U19s 228 all out in 49.2 overs (Vimath Dinsara 106, Lakvin Abeysinghe 21, Viran Chamuditha 20, Vihas Thewmika 22; AL Fahad 4/50, Rizan Hossan 3/40)
Bangladesh
U19s 221 all out in 49.3 overs (Zawad Abrar 24, Kalam Siddik 95, Debasish Deba 31; Vihas Thewmika 3/37)
Jaker, Taijul and Rana script Bangladesh’s first win in West Indies since 2009
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