Sports
St. Thomas’ record ‘historic victory’ against Ananda
by Reemus Fernando
St. Thomas’ College, Matara achieved a ‘historic first’ as they beat Ananda College, Colombo by five wickets to retain their top position in the points table in the Under 19 Division I tier ‘B’ tournament yesterday.
St. Thomas’ are not a traditional rival of the schools cricket powerhouse of Colombo. Despite playing cricket for more than hundred years, they only meet Ananda in tournament matches. According to officials of St. Thomas’ it is the first time they have beaten the Anandians. The home team achieved the feat well before lunch on the final day as the tournament’s highest run scorer Pesandu Sanjan scored an unbeaten 23 runs to seal the five wickets win in the low scoring affair. Sanjan led from the front in the bowling attack as well taking six wickets in the second innings to bundle out Ananda for 49 runs. It is the third outright victory of the tournament for the team captained by Sajan.
At Galle, Mahinda beat St. Sebastian’s Katuneriya by an innings and 46 runs as Senuka Dangamuwa rattled the visitors for 72 runs with a five wicket haul in the second innings. Mahinda are the second placed team in the points table behind St. Thomas’.
Results
St. Thomas’ beat Ananda by five wickets at Uyanwatta
Scores
Ananda
95 all out 44.2 overs (Kenul de Zoysa 26, Lithma Perera 22; Vihanga Sankalana 2/14, Pesandu Sanjan 3/14, Manuga Guruge 3/26) and 49 all out in 20 overs (Pesandu Sanjan 6/22, Manuga Guruge 4/19)
St. Thomas’ Matara
85 all out in 25.2 overs (Manuga Guruge 18; Ashinsa Nainayaka 2/21, Kaveesha Mendis 2/04, Dasith Batugahage 4/30) and 64 for 5 in 18.2 overs (Kumesh Nawanjana 17n.o., Pesandu Sanjan 23n.o.; Sharada Jayaratne 4/31)
Mahinda beat St. Sebastian’s Katuneriya by an innings and 46 runs at Galle
Scores
St. Sebastian’s
83 all out in 32.3 overs and 72 all out in 38.1 overs (Arosha Udayanga 3/26, Senuka Dangamuwa 5/38, Kaveen Rukshan 2/04)
Mahinda
201 all out in 52.4 overs (Dulsith Dharshana 106, Sehas Ashinsa 22, Arosha Udayanga 25; Maheesha Sithum 3/73, Vihanga Theekshana 3/26, Damsith Subashana 2/44)
Matthew Kuhnemann has been cleared to join the Australia Test squad in Sri Lanka after recovering sufficiently following surgery to repair a thumb fracture.
Kuhnemann, the left-arm spinner, had broken his right thumb while playing in the BBL last week, but has been able to bowl in training this week. He will reach Sri Lanka over the weekend along with Oliver Peake, the young Victorian batter, who has been invited as a development player.
On Thursday, around 24 hours before confirmation he would join the tour, Kuhnemann had said that his surgically repaired thumb was almost pain-free as he bowled, batted and fielded in Brisbane.
Kuhnemann, 28, is a key member of the Australia side for the two Tests in Sri Lanka, with both Tests in Galle on what are expected to be turning pitches. But his tour looked in jeopardy when he was struck on the thumb during Brisbane Heat’s game against Hobart Hurricanes last Thursday.
He was driven to the hospital that night by Heat team-mate Daniel Drew, and he had the dislocation put back into place before having surgery the following morning to put a pin in the fracture. His recovery since then has been quick.
At Allan Border Field on Thursday, Kuhnemann bowled eight overs and also batted, facing throwdowns from Heat and Queensland bowling coach Andy Bichel. While fielding, he took a few catches, all overseen by Heat physio Adam Smith.
Kuhnemann is one of three frontline spinners in the Australia squad, alongside Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy, though the squad does have a number of part-timers, Travis Head the best among them.
Steven Smith, the stand-in captain for the series with regular captain Pat Cummins on paternity leave, was the other injury concern for Australia after he picked up an elbow injury during the BBL. Smith, who has a history of elbow problems, sustained the injury to his right arm, the one he had surgery on in 2019, while throwing in the field for Sydney Sixers in their match against Sydney Thunder last week.
He was also cleared to join the squad at their training camp in Dubai after seeing a specialist about the elbow issue.
The two-match World Test Championship (WTC) series doesn’t have a bearing on the final after Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India 3-1 to book their place in the WTC final, where they will take on South Africa, but the visitors are aiming for a first series win there since 2011.
The two Tests will be played from January 29 and February 6, and will be followed by two ODIs – on February 12 and 14 – that will help Australia prepare for the Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19. Sri Lanka haven’t qualified for the tournament.
[Cricinfo]
Nepal, made sure hosts Malaysia‘s campaign ended as it had gone all along as they eked out a seven-wicket win in the later match in Johor. Captain Puja Mahato was the standout performer for Nepal, first picking up four wickets with her medium pace and then top-scoring in the small chase.
Malaysia, who came into the match after putting up scores of 23, 31 and 59 in the group stage, only managed 45 in 16.5 overs this time after being asked to bat. Nurimaan Hidayah was the only batter to get into double-digits as she scored 15 from 23 balls, with Mahato (4 for 9) and left-arm spinner Rachana Chaudhary (3 for 5) doing most of the damage.
The chase was straightforward, and Nepal got there in 11 overs for the loss on three wickets, with Mahato scoring a 32-ball 23 not out. Marsya Qiatina Binti Abdullah, the left-arm spinner, picked up all the wickets to fall.
Brief scores:
Malaysia Women Under 19s 45 in 16.5 overs [Nuriman Hidayah 15; Pooja Mahato 4-09, Riya Sharma 1-05, Rachana Chaudhary 3-05, Seemana KC 1-09] lost to Nepal Women Under 19s 47/3 in 11 overs [Pooja Mahatoa 23*; Marsya Qistina Binti Abdullah 3-18] by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
Chamari Athapaththu has been named in ICC’s Women’s T20 team of the year 2024
Chamari Athapaththu had a delayed start to her ODI year, playing her first match in April, but she wasted no time making an impact. She struck a half-century in the second ODI against South Africa before producing a career-best knock of 195* in the final match. She has scored 458 runs and captured 9 wickets in 9 matches.
Her outstanding form carried into Sri Lanka’s home series against West Indies, where the team secured a 3-0 clean sweep. Athapaththu played a pivotal role, smashing a brilliant 91 in the final ODI, narrowly missing out on a century by just nine runs.
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