Sports
Stoinis’ power-hitting against Rauf the game-changer, says Wade
After helping Australia cross the finish line, Matthew Wade commended his batting partner Marcus Stoinis for the way he took on Haris Rauf in the 17th over and said that was possibly the turning point of the match. The slog overs also saw Hasan Ali dropping Wade off Shaheen Afridi in the 19th over, with the ‘keeper-batter cracking the next three balls for sixes to seal their spot in the final.
“I don’t think any of them [the drop and missed run-out chances] were the turning points of the match,” Wade said at the post-match press conference on Friday. “I think the way Marcus Stoinis batted at the end, to be honest, was probably the turning point of the match. I think when I came out there, he might have hit the spinner [Shadab Khan] for six, the first ball when I got out there. I think that kind of play, in my eyes, he’s really gutsy in those decisions that you make out in the middle, win you games. He could’ve easily blocked that ball he went for, hit a six and then that total comes down a little bit more.
“But I think the turning point of the game I thought was Marcus’s over against Rauf. I thought that kind of swung the momentum our way and gave us an opportunity to win the game. It’s just an easy thing to do to focus in on missed chances. Yes, maybe it would have gone down late in the last over, but I’m still confident we could have gone home,” he added.
Both Wade and Stoinis mostly bat at the top of the order for their respective teams in the BBL. Both players though have a good understanding, evidenced by the fact that the duo has batted together for Victoria and Australia for a period of 6-7 years. Wade also observed that batting with Stoinis gives the player at the other end ‘confidence’ as the all-rounder is renowned for playing the big shots.
“It’s confidence, I think. Confidence in your ability to be able to finish the game. To be able to bat with Marcus has been awesome. Obviously [I’ve] played a lot of cricket with him at Victoria and early on in his career. Obviously saw him grow into the cricketer he is today. To go out and bat with him certainly gives you a lot of confidence. I know if I can just hang with him for four or five overs, then he’s going to find the boundary. He’s too good and strong not to. So, the reason that me and him are working well towards the back end is we know each other’s game so much.
“In the optional sessions, the day before the game, you’ll find me and Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis go down again in closed sessions because we haven’t got a lot of match practice. It’s been invaluable to see what those guys are doing in training, especially Stoiny, work out his strengths, when he’s hitting the ball at his best. And he can see me do exactly the same thing.”
Wade also employed the lap shot against Afridi. The wicketkeeper-batter said that he had that shot in his arsenal for a long period of time, and he used it to manoeuvre the field. “I’ve had those [scoops and laps] for a longish period of time. I’ve been playing them from early on in my career as well. But, yes, certainly it was something I needed to tap back into a little bit more when I’m batting down the bottom.
“It’s easy to have the fine leg up a lot of the time at the end, but someone that laps, it kind of opens up the whole field for you. You’ve got to either have mid-off up or third man up or one of the fielders on the off side. It kind of opens the whole field up for you a little bit.”
Bangladesh’s veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has finally been cleared of suspect action after suffering months of negativity regarding the same. The 37-year-old had failed the test twice but the latest results suggest that Shakib has finally managed to clear the air around his bowling action.
The development comes as a huge sigh of relief for Shakib who had been excluded for Bangladesh’s Champions Trophy squad as the selectors didn’t want to pick him as a specialist batter. Having been suspended to bowl meant that the all-rounder couldn’t take part of the ICC event which had been earmarked as a farewell tournament for him in international cricket.
The phrase third-time lucky proved right for Shakib who cleared his latest bowling action test in England. When contacted by Cricbuzz, he confirmed the news with an understandable air of happiness.
“The news is right (passing about the bowling test) and I am cleared to bowl again,” Shakib said.
Shakib’s bowling action first came under scrutiny during a County Championship match for Surrey against Somerset in September 2024. Subsequently, the England and
Wales Cricket Board [ECB] suspended him following an independent evaluation that declared his action illegal.
Shakib then underwent two separate reassessments, first in England and then in India, failing both attempts, following which he was suspended from bowling.
Sri Lanka at World Indoor Athletics Championships
In the absence of Aruna Dharshana, Kalinga Kumarage is shouldering an extra burden in living up to the reputation of Asian Champions in the 4×400 metres relay when the World Indoor Championship commences in Nanjing China on Friday.
The men’s 400 metres is Sri Lanka’s biggest strength in track and field events though two javelin throwers currently dominate world athletics top lists for the 2025 season. With the track and field season still in its start, the country’s top sprinters were yet to flex their muscles when the opportunity arose for the 400 metres sprinters to compete at the World Indoor Championships.
Kalinga Kumarage
Kumarage is the only experienced campaigner in the men’s 4×400 metres relay team scheduled to compete against world leading USA, Jamaica, Hungary, Nigeria and China in the men’s 4×400 metres final. Both Aruna Dharshana and Kalinga Kumarage had been involved in some of the fastest relay performances for Sri Lanka at international arena including the Asian Games, Asian Championship and Asian Relays. But Dharshana is not available for the event as he is currently competing in Australia. Kumarage is the only member from the gold winning team at last year’s Asian Relays competing in Nanjing. However, it will be a huge opportunity for Randima Madushan and the two juniors Sadew Rajakaruna and Omel Shashintha when they brush shoulders against top sprinters in a global final.
Apart from the relay, Kalinga will also compete in the men’s 400 metres where he will look to produce a top performance in a bid to improve his rankings.
Sri Lanka is fielding its biggest contingent to a world indoor championship this year. The team is inclusive of sprinter Chamod Yodasinghe who will compete in the 60 metres, hurdler Kaveesha Bandara (60 m hurdles) and the men’s and women’s 4×400 metres relay teams.
***
Rajakaruna clarifies on behalf of Dharshana
Asanka Rajakaruna, the coach of leading 400 metres specialist Aruna Djarshana said that his charge was unaware of the 4×400 metres relay invitation extended by World Athletics to Sri Lanka for this week’s World Indoor Championships.
He said this with reference to our article on Tuesday which quoted a Sri Lanka Athletics official as having said that Dharshana had decided to stay in Australia to complete his commitments and was not available for the World Indoor Championships.
“We were not informed about the World Indoor Championships. We have always given priority to national duty. Dharshana would have taken the opportunity with open arms had he been informed of the opportunity to compete at the World Indoor Championship,” Asanka Rajakaruna told The Island.
Sri Lanka received the invitation to include relay teams for the World Indoor Championships well after Aruna Dharshana left for Australia.
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.
by Reemus Fernando
Ambassador of Indonesia to Sri Lanka calls on PM
Former IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon further remanded until April 03.
Local Authorities poll on 6th May
-
Foreign News5 days agoSearch continues in Dominican Republic for missing student Sudiksha Konanki
-
Features5 days agoThe Royal-Thomian and its Timeless Charm
-
Sports3 days agoSri Lanka to compete against USA, Jamaica in relay finals
-
News6 days agoDPMC unveils brand-new Bajaj three-wheeler
-
Features5 days ago‘Thomia’: Richard Simon’s Masterpiece
-
Editorial7 days agoCuriouser and curiouser!
-
Features7 days agoWomen’s struggles and men’s unions
-
Latest News6 days agoDebutant Madara, Athapaththu fashion Sri Lanka women’s first T20I win in New Zealand