Sports

Sri Lanka’s no-show: A series to forget

Published

1 month ago

2025/02/11

by Rex Clementine

This has got to be one of the most spineless Test series Sri Lanka have played in their storied history stretching over four and a half decades. The Warne-Murali Trophy wasn’t just handed over – it was gift-wrapped, express-delivered, and presented with a bow to the Aussies. If you thought a lack of fight was only in politics, think again. Chamara Sampath is putting up more resistance in Parliament while Ravi Karunanayake showed more imagination in securing a National List seat for himself.

It was an utterly baffling performance. Just two months ago, Sri Lanka were in contention for the World Test Championship final. Now, they’ve slid to a sorry sixth place, courtesy of four consecutive defeats to South Africa and Australia.

What’s even more perplexing is the venue choice—Galle, the fortress where Sri Lanka have historically spun visiting teams into a web of misery. This time, however, they weren’t fit to hold a candle to the Aussies, let alone outplay them.

Credit where it’s due – the Australians did their homework. They knew exactly what was coming. Normally, when they tour, we roll out raging turners on match days while letting them practice on decent batting tracks. Not this time. The Aussies didn’t fall for the bait. Instead, they flew to Dubai a week early, fine-tuned their game on pitches turning square, and arrived in Sri Lanka with all the answers. When the series began, they were battle-ready. Sri Lanka? Clueless.

This was the fourth straight Test where Sri Lanka’s batting unit collapsed like a Jenga tower. Three failures in a row should have been enough to trigger a shake-up – new faces, fresh thinking. Against South Africa, you could argue they were still in the WTC race. But against Australia, they had no excuse. At least one, if not two, misfiring batters should have been benched.

Yet, the same old suspects kept walking back for single-digit scores. Across four innings, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, and Dimuth Karunaratne failed to register a single half-century. Oshada Fernando and Pathum Nissanka fared no better, between them failing to cross fifty even once.

Angelo Mathews did notch up a half-century, but it was a case of too little, too late. Given his experience, you expect more than just a token fifty to cement his place for the next series. He should be pulling off a Steve Smith – big hundreds, match-defining knocks. That’s what senior statesmen do.

The most embarrassing part? Watching Sri Lankan batters fumble their sweeps and reverse sweeps like schoolboys playing with tennis balls, while Usman Khawaja, Josh Inglis, and Alex Carey made the stroke their bread and butter.

Serious questions need to be asked about Dhananjaya de Silva’s leadership. Laid-back, lethargic, and far too casual – his captaincy was a recipe for disaster. His review decisions alone cost the team dearly. With a bit more thought, the story could have been very different.

His batting wasn’t any better. Casual dismissals have become his trademark, but when you’re captain, you’re expected to lead from the front – not giggle in the corner like a teenage girl in a classroom. The problem for the selectors is that there’s no clear heir apparent. Kusal Mendis with the captaincy? Surely not. Charith Asalanka? Maybe, but he’s hardly shown any interest for First Class cricket in recent years. .

Ramesh Mendis was dropped last year with a clear message – fix your control. When he was recalled, you’d expect he had ironed out his flaws. But if anything, his performances suggested nothing had changed. So why bring him back? Either the selectors misread his improvements, or they had no better options. Neither is a good look.

Then there’s the ultimate insult – Matthew Kuhnemann, a guy with just three Test caps before this series, walked into Galle and made Sri Lanka’s batters look like amateurs. A left-arm spinner with barely any international experience finished as the highest wicket-taker of the series, exposing just how dire the situation is.

This was more than just a bad series. It was a wake-up call. Sri Lanka didn’t just get their tactics wrong—they’ve got a batting unit that’s past its expiry date. If they don’t hit the reset button soon, the slide will only continue.

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Sports

Sri Lanka to host India, Philippines, Maldives at Relay Championships in April

Published

30 mins ago

2025/03/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Aruna Dharshana(in the picture) is expected to join Kalinga Kumarage, S.B.R. Madushan and Sadew Rajakaruna to form Sri Lanka's 4x400 metres relay team in April.

by Reemus Fernando

Sri Lanka Athletics has invited India, the Philippines and the Maldives for next month’s Relay Championships conducted by Sri Lanka Schools Athletics Association in a bid to provide the men’s 4×400 metres relay quartet with a chance to reach qualifying standards for the World Relays.

Currently Sri Lanka men’s 4×400 metres relay team is within the required ranking position to compete at the prestigious World Relays taking place in Guangzhou, China. The 3:04.48 seconds finish to win the gold medal of the men’s 4×400 metres at the Asian Relays in May last year has placed Sri Lanka in the 31st position in the ‘Road to Guangzhou’ rankings.

But with many competitions coming up within the next couple of months Sri Lanka Athletics wants to leave no stone unturned in their quest to keep the ranking position within the qualifying range.

The teams in the first 32 positions according to the times produced within the qualifying period (January 1, 2024 to April 13, 2025) become eligible for the World Relays taking place on May 10 and 11 in Guangzhou.

Sri Lanka’s chances of improving the current standings (31st) at this week’s World Indoor Championship in China are minimal as Olympian Aruna Dharshana, who is the fastest of the current crop of athletes will not be available for the event.

Dharshana is currently training and competing in Australia. He is looking forward to reach qualifying standards or reach the required ranking position for World Championships in the 400 metres.

The World Athletics has set a tough standard of 44.85 seconds for the men’s 400 metres. While only 17 are selected through direct qualifying standards, 31 athletes are selected through rankings for the 400 metres. Dharshana is yet yo enter rankings to be eligible for the World Championships.

Sri Lanka Athletics will field Dharshana, Kalinga Kumarage, S.B.R. Madushan and Sadew Rajakaruna for the relay event in April.

Sports

Air Force, Navy win Defence Services beach volleyball titles

Published

32 mins ago

2025/03/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Defence Services Beach Volleyball Championship 2025 was held from March 12 to 14 at the SLAF beach volleyball courts, Katunayake. During the finals SLAF Men’s team defeated SL Army (2-0) while the SL Navy Women’s team defeated SLAF Women’s team (2-0). Incidentally is the seventh Defence Services Beach Volleyball title won by the SLAF Men’s Team.

Base Commander SLAF Base Katunayake AVM Dhammika Dias graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Chairman of SLAF Volleyball, Group Captain Milinda Mendis, Senior Officers from SL Army and Navy were also present for the finals.

Sports

Entries open for Summer Season Badminton Championship 2025

Published

33 mins ago

2025/03/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

The Central Province Badminton Association (CPBA) is now accepting entries for one of Sri Lanka’s most anticipated badminton competitions, the Summer Season All-Island Open Championships 2025, which will be staged at the Municipal Council Indoor Stadium in Nuwara Eliya from April 21 to 27.

The highly followed seven-day annual badminton tournament, held during the Nuwara Eliya April Holiday Season, is known to attract Sri Lanka’s top ranked shuttlers. The National Ranking Level 1 competition, sanctioned by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), is one of the key sporting attractions of Nuwara Eliya during April every year, known to generate increasing public interest.

The championship will feature a wide range of events from Under-11 to Under-19 in the Junior category and Over-30 to Over-70 in the Senior category, with an addition of three Combined Age segment of 100+. The main attraction of the competition will be the Open events comprising Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, with an addition of a Plate Championship for the losers in Men’s and Women’s Singles.

The opening ceremony will take place on April 21st at 9:00am, followed by the preliminary rounds, leading up to the climax on April 26 with the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The excitement will continue on April 27 with the highly anticipated semi-finals and final matches, followed by the Closing Ceremony to mark the culmination of this championship.

The main draw seeding will be determined based on SLB Ranking as of April 13, followed by the draw on April 16 at 11:00am at No.2, Cambridge Terrace, Colombo 7. Entries will close on April 10 at noon. Entries can be submitted online or by contacting Sadeesha Adithya on 0761759017 and further details of the tournament are available in the prospectus published in the SLB website.

A total prize money of Rs.750,000 for all events based on the number of entries will be on offer, in addition to trophies, medals and certificates guaranteed for winners, runners-up and semi-finalists of each event of the tournament. Junior winners will receive appropriate gifts instead of prize money, according to a decision taken by the tournament organisers. The tournament is sponsored by Mobil, Li Ning, McFoil, 3M and GAC.