Sports

Sri Lanka better off with Mathews in ODIs

Published

3 years ago

2023/03/19

by Rex Clementine

Over the years, we have seen the cricket team rebuilding after an extended period of poor run and when that happens a few seniors are given the cold shoulder. Although these tough decisions are taken with the best interest of the game in mind, there have been occasions that some selectors have settled old scores.

Rebuilding at times don’t go to plan. Sometimes they backfire and the very players whom you have dropped prove yourself wrong scoring heavily either in domestic cricket or in a different format of international cricket. At times these players are recalled but when that happens the selectors who had dropped them have moved on and a new set have taken over.

This time though it’s quite different as the same selectors who introduced the aggressive youth policy have taken a step back, either they are honest people who have realized their mistake or they are desperate given the dreadful scenario facing the ODI outfit.

Sri Lanka need to win three out of three games in New Zealand if they are to qualify automatically for the World Cup or else they will have to play the qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June.

Mathews is going to be a crucial cog in the wheel as Sri Lanka ensure that they keep their World Cup record intact having played in all editions of the tournament since the inaugural one in 1975. In Trivandrum early this year, Sri Lanka were shot out for 73 runs after India had posted 390 for five in their 50 overs. It was a massive 317 run defeat, the heaviest in the history of ODI cricket by any team.

Having seen that the selectors have got cold feet and were left with Hobson’s choice but to recall Mathews, who has scored nearly 6000 runs at an average of over 41.

There are many questions about the selectors’ choices. Carried away by their youth policy they played T20 players in the ODI format and today those players can’t even find a place in the T20 side. Bhanuka Rajapaksa is a case in point. Plus they experimented with too many all-rounders and still too many of them have persevered eventhough results have been pretty ordinary. It’s the same policy that England tried out for so long when they were pathetic in limited overs cricket two decades ago. Sadly, our selectors have borrowed a leaf out of England.

Mathews selection is certainly a step in the right direction but much more needs to be done moving forward. Kusal Janith Perera, who hasn’t played any international cricket since November 2021 is also back in the reckoning after shoulder surgery. He’ll initially feature only in T20s but soon should come into the ODI mix too as Sri Lanka try to qualify for the World Cup.

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Tucker 94* headlines Ireland’s thrashing of Oman

Published

11 mins ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Lorcan Tucker goes big [Cricinfo]

Ireland muscled the highest score of the 2026 T20 World Cup en route to a dominating win over Oman in Group C to keep their Super Eights hopes alive, at least mathematically.

Lorcan Tucker, standing in for the injured Paul Stirling, muscled 94 not out as Ireland walloped 235 for 5. They hammered eight sixes in the last three overs alone – more than Oman had in the tournament until then – and the last five overs produced 93 runs.

In response, Oman were bowled out for 139 with two overs left unused, the innings characterised by a rush of wickets following an early turbocharge from 44-year-old Aamir Kaleem, who muscled 50 off 29 balls.

Playing his first game of the competition, left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed struck thrice in the powerplay to leave Ireland in trouble at 45 for 3 after five overs. Each of the three wickets had a different skill at play: Tim Tector was dismissed with an arm-ball, Ross Adair was beaten in flight as he skied one to mid-off, and Harry Tector was bowled, done in by dip and turn.

There was more trouble for Ireland as Kaleem, also a left-arm spinner, struck to remove Curtis Campher in the eighth over. Two balls later, he should have had Tucker on 18, but for a missed stumping by Vinayak Shukla. Deceived in flight, Tucker seemed to have been stumped down leg, but third umpire Ahsan Raza deemed Shukla to have broken the bails with the hand in which he didn’t have the ball. Replays, though, seemed to indicate both gloves were in contact with each other. Had it been given, Ireland would have been 65 for 5.

For the first 14 overs, Oman’s mantra was pace off. And that meant Tucker had to adjust to a slow surface. Out went the agricultural heaves, out came the scoops and paddles. Tucker and Gareth Delany raised their half-century stand off just 33 deliveries, with Tucker getting to his half-century first with a ferocious sweep behind square off Kaleem. This was only the second half-century by an Irish captain, after Andy Balbirnie, in a men’s T20 World Cup.

With their spin options exhausted by 14 overs, Oman turned to their seam options in a bid to restrict Ireland. This is when Delany chose to leave his imprint on the game, muscling Jiten Ramanandi for two sixes off his first two deliveries in an 18-run over. Then he went after Faisal Shah, flat-batting a six off a slower-length ball to raise a 28-ball half-century. That was to be the start of the carnage that saw Ireland muscle 93 off the last five overs.

Tucker began the 18th over on 60 and ended it on 86 as he took apart Mohammad Nadeem with three sixes and two fours. Suddenly, a first century by an Irish batter at a men’s T20 World Cup loomed, but George Dockrell’s cameo – 35 not out off nine – provided the perfect finish. Ireland had smashed an incredible 156 off their last ten overs.

Jatinder Singh fell for his third low score, while Ashish Odedara, playing his first game, was run out taking a casual stroll. After two ordinary outings, Kaleem showed what he is capable of in a sensational powerplay take-down, reminiscent of his half-century against India at last year’s Asia Cup. When he got to a half-century, off just 28 deliveries, he became the oldest half-centurion in men’s T20 World Cup history. At 97 for 2 in the 11th over, Oman were well on track.

Then from 107 for 3, they slumped to 108 for 5 before Josh Little, the left-arm seamer, picked up the wickets of Ramanandi and Nadeem Khan to inflict further damage. By then, it looked increasingly likely Oman wouldn’t even bat their overs. And they didn’t, the margin of defeat of 96 runs, much bigger than it seemed when Kaleem set them up in the first half.

Brief scores:
Ireland 235 for 5 in 20 overs (Ross Adair 14, Harry Tector 14, Lorcan Tucker 94*, Curtis Campher 12, Gareth Delany 56, George Dockrell 35*; Shakeel 3-33) beat Oman 139 in 18 overs (Aamir Kaleem 50, Hammad Mirza 46, Sufiyan Mehmood 10; Mathew Humphreys 2-27, Barry McCarthy 2-32, Josh Little 3-16, George Dockrell 1-06) by 96 runs

[Cricinfo]

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High risk of rain in marquee India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup game in Colombo

Published

6 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will be hosting India and Pakistan on Sunday [Cricinfo]

Two days out from a will-they-won’t-they India vs Pakistan contest, the weather in Colombo has largely been clear. But the Sri Lanka Department of Meteorology has warned of a low-pressure system developing in the Bay of Bengal, which indicates a high risk of rain that could disrupt the marquee World Cup game on Sunday evening.

The weather forecast for Sunday in the Khettarama area of Colombo, where the R Premadasa Stadium is located, shows warm and humid conditions to start the day, with temperatures peaking around 30° to 31°C. However, scattered thunderstorms are predicted throughout the afternoon, with a 50-70% chance of rain.

With the game set to begin at 7pm local time, some models suggest heavy thundershowers in the hours before the scheduled start, which might lead to a delayed toss, or a shortened game. While clouds are expected to linger, some forecasts indicate a slight clearing trend after 8pm, though isolated showers remain possible through the night.

The Premadasa, however, features a sophisticated drainage system and specialised ground staff protocols designed to handle Colombo’s tropical downpours. And unlike many international venues that only cover the pitch, the Premadasa has enough covers to protect the entire playing area. This prevents the outfield from soaking up water in the first place.

The staff also manually push water from one cover to the next until it reaches the perimeter drains. This method is often faster and more effective than using mechanical super soppers. Under standard conditions, the ground typically becomes fit for play within 45 to 60 minutes after heavy rain stops.

There’s also some rain expected the day before, on Saturday, which could disrupt India’s scheduled training session at the ground.

The weather in Colombo has otherwise been largely dry, making any rain unseasonal for this time of the year. So far, none of the matches in Sri Lanka of this T20 World Cup has been impacted by inclement weather, even though there have been a few close calls – such as Sri Lanka’s match against Oman, where rain was predicted but fell hours after the match ended.

Both India and Pakistan, meanwhile, currently have four points each after playing two games. But India are ahead in Group A due to a superior net run rate of 3.050 to Pakistan’s 0.932. If rain in Colombo forces a washout, both sides will get one point each as there is no reserve day for group-stage matches.

[Cricinfo]

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New Zealand and South Africa look ahead to Super Eights in low-pressure contest

Published

6 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

South Africa beat Afghanistan in their last game in what was a matter of inches [Cricinfo]

Wednesday afternoon’s all-time classic in Ahmedabad was a game of inches. A couple of inches this way or that, and Saturday night’s game, at the same venue, could have had a whole lot more riding on it.

But as things stand, New Zealand and South Africa look set for safe passage out of Group D and into the Super Eights, leaving Afghanistan bemoaning fate and small margins, and praying for miracles from UAE and Canada – or is probably unlikely to cut it.

There’s no mystery about which of the Super Eights groups New Zealand and South Africa will end up in either. Pre-tournament seedings already decided that.

So this game, which could have been one of the tastiest clashes of the tournament, pitting two title contenders and featuring several tactical sub-plots, doesn’t really have much riding on it at all.

It could still turn out to be one of the games of the tournament, of course, because that can happen when you put two T20 teams of elite power and skill on the field together. But the title of this section, big picture? There isn’t much of it at all.

He is one of South Africa’s greatest cricketers of all time, but is Kagiso Rabada under some pressure to hold his place in their first XI in T20Is? He has the pace and skills to operate in any phase, but he has had an indifferent time in T20Is of late. Rabada averages 34.55 with the ball since 2025, with an economy rate of 9.82. But in his defence, he has only played nine T20Is in this time, thanks to injury and workload management. The chaotic 20th over against Afghanistan, during which Rabada overstepped twice, shouldn’t put his spot in danger. But he’ll want to pick himself up and remind the world of the impact he can make at his best.

Rachin Ravindra looks like he could be the archetypal modern-day T20 No. 3, but his international record in the format is… not good, with a strike rate of 135.19, an average of 19.09, and just three half-centuries in 40 innings. All that doesn’t take away from Ravindra’s potential – which he has shown in flashes in recent weeks, in a pair of cameos against India – and he could make a big difference on Saturday if he and his fellow left-handers in New Zealand’s line-up could get stuck into Keshav Maharaj’s left-arm spin.

New Zealand played the same XI against both Afghanistan and UAE, and they seem unlikely to make any changes unless a used pitch prompts them to pick an extra spinner in Ish Sodhi.

New Zealand (probable): Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (capt), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy

South Africa replaced seam-bowling allrounder Corbin Bosch with spin-bowling allrounder George Linde when they played Afghanistan. They might, however, worry about having two left-arm fingerspinners in Linde and Maharaj against a New Zealand side with four left-hand batters in their likely top eight. Bosch, therefore, could come back in.

South Africa (probable): Aiden Markram (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch/George Linde, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi

[Cricinfo]