Sports
The Picasso of mind games
by Rex Clementine
Three generations of Sri Lankan cricketers have total admiration for one of the finest fast bowlers to grace the game – Wasim Akram. The Sultan of Swing as he is fondly known came into the international scene when Roy Dias was at his prime while Kumar Sangakkara played during the twilight of the great man’s career. Aravinda de Silva bore the brunt of Wasim’s prime and all three generations have little doubt that Wasim was the toughest bowler they faced. The former Pakistani captain is in Colombo as the brand ambassador of Lanka Premier League.
You can not teach someone to bowl fast. You either have it or don’t have it. Wasim in that way was supremely gifted. But what made his opponents to call him the most feared bowler in the game was his ability to outsmart the batsmen and set them up. That’s what someone like Lahiru Kumara perhaps lacks – all brawn and no brain.
Not often do you come across bowlers who are able to generate extreme pace and at the same time move the ball to deadly effect. The older ball was Wasim’s biggest weapon as he made batters eat humble pie with reverse swing.
As Sanath Jayasuriya once said, Wasim gives you a false assurance that you have got the measure of him by sending down a half-volley. That delivery will be elegantly put away. Sometimes he sends down another freebie the very next ball to boost your confidence even further. The next ball will be quicker and on the money and often you are either beaten for pace and bowled, caught behind or trapped leg before wicket. If cricket were a mind game, Wasim was the Picasso of it.
Wasim took two hat-tricks against Sri Lanka in Test cricket. In fact those two hat-tricks came in back to back Test matches in the Asian Test championship in 1998. Rumesh Kaluwitharana was one of the victims on that occasions. He came up with an interesting observation, “Sometimes the ball that he bowled with a short run up was quicker than the one he bowled with a longer run up.”
The run-up had been purposely shortened to fool the batsman that the fast bowler was fed up with it. On some other instances it had been done to give the batsman very little reaction time. None played the mind games better than the Sultan of Swing.
Umpire B.C. Cooray, a honest and tough man, wasn’t giving too many decisions in Wasim’s favour one day at SSC. He was furious. Not only was the umpire being firm, his fielders were a let down as well spilling chances. Wasim then sent down a vicious bouncer for which the batsman had no idea and took evasive action and then Wasim himself completed the catch taking mid-on out of the equation.
Wasim could bat too. There was this Test match in Galle where Pakistan were hopelessly placed. Then he hit a hundred to bail the side out. Wasim’s leadership was inspirational. In the toxic environment of Pakistani cricket, you need a strong leader to hold the team together and this he did exceptionally well having taken over from the great Imran Khan.
Often international cricketers play their cards close to their chests rarely letting out trade secrets. Not Wasim though. Chaminda Vaas has credited him often for teaching some of the little known secrets.
The time that Wasim spends in Colombo is an occasion for us as a nation to celebrate this athlete who has added much colour to the great game of ours. There will be a few parties at Pedris Road close to the Thurstan College swimming pool over the next few days. Lucky are the ones who are invited for these evenings where some cracking cricketing stories will be told. Not only is Wasim Akram a deadly bowler, accomplished batsman and an inspirational leader, he is also one of the finest storytellers in cricket.
[Cricbuzz]
Former Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur has voiced disappointment over remarks made by Chairman of Selectors Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who last week claimed that Arthur was reluctant to include a young Pathum Nissanka during Sri Lanka’s tour of the Caribbean in 2021.
In his first media briefing, Wickramasinghe said it was he who pushed for Nissanka’s inclusion despite Arthur’s reservations. The former coach has flatly denied the allegation, calling it wide of the mark.
“I am very disappointed with Pramodya’s comments,” Arthur told Telecom Asia Sport. “The right people know exactly how I felt about Pathum. There was never any doubt that he was our future. I don’t want any credit for Pathum’s success. That belongs entirely to his hard work. I simply gave him an opportunity because the talent was impossible to ignore.”
Arthur said Nissanka’s domestic form had left little room for debate. “He was scoring runs for fun and the sheer weight of them made it impossible not to take a look. Once he joined the squad on tour, his attitude and work ethic were truly remarkable. From that moment, there was no doubt this bloke was going places,” Arthur added.
Even before Nissanka’s elevation to the senior side, Arthur had publicly spoken of his admiration for young prospects such as Nissanka and Charith Asalanka, stressing the importance of giving emerging players a long rope. His view was simple: once talent is identified and the attitude checks out, selectors and team management must back those players through thick and thin.
Arthur arrived in Sri Lanka with a formidable résumé, having coached South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. He placed a premium on fitness and fielding and under his watch a team in transition began to show signs of turning the corner. At the end of his tenure, Arthur opted not to renew his contract and instead took up a stint in English county cricket with Derbyshire.
As for Nissanka, he has scarcely put a foot wrong since breaking into the side. There was a Test hundred on debut in the West Indies, followed last year by a match-winning unbeaten century against England at The Oval on a lively seaming pitch. In between, he made history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in ODIs. Last week, he was snapped up by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction.
Nissanka is currently ranked third in T20 internationals and is knocking on the door of the top ten in both Tests and ODIs.
73rd National Badminton Championship
Defending champions Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage made a fitting end to their campaigns of the 2025 season, by defending the Men’s and Women’s Open Singles titles as Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige clinched the Women’s Open Doubles title at the 73rd National Badminton Championship, concluded at the S. Thomas’ College Indoor Sports Complex, Mount Lavinia on Wednesday (24).
Viren clinically overcame each of his opponents from the Round of 32, all in straight sets, to reach the final. The country’s top Men’s Singles shuttler continued his form against Rasindu Hendahewa in the final, winning in straight sets to defend the title. Viren defeated Rasindu 21-10 and 21-14 to win his second national title in style.
Ranithma aptly defended her Women’s Open Singles title by recording a comfortable straight sets win against Rashmi Mudalige in an absorbing final that lasted nearly 45 minutes. Though the title decider stretched way longer than anticipated, Ranithma managed to seal the victory by recording set wins of 21-12 and 21-18 to claim the national title for the second year running.
Fourth seed pair Sanuda Ariyasinghe and Thisath Rupathunga created an upset by toppling top seeds Oshamika Karunarathne and Thulith Palliyaguru in a lengthy final that went down to the wire in the Men’s Open Doubles. Sanuda and Thisath won the first set 21-15, but the top pair bounced back to level the game one-all with a 21-18 win. But the gritty pair of Sanuda and Thisath maintained their composure to overcome the favourites 21-15 in the decider and claim the Men’s Open Doubles title.
Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige completed a successful campaign to defend the Women’s Open Doubles title from last year, this time overcoming the aspiring pair of Dilni Ambalangodage and Ranumi Manage in straight sets. Varangana and Rashmi remained unbeaten throughout, as they ended the unblemished run of Dilni and Ranumi with set wins of 21-13 and 21-18.
The Mixed Open Doubles title was claimed by Thulith Palliyaguru and Panchali Adhikari, who battled for 45 minutes to overcome Aashinsa Herath and Rashmi Mudalige 2-1 in the final. After conceding the first set by 12-21, Thulith and Panchali regrouped to claim the next two sets 21-18 and 21-15.
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