Sports
Time to tip the hat to NSL’s top guns
Sri Lanka’s First-Class cricket has long cried out for reform, and finally, some bold strokes are being played. The playing field has been trimmed down in recent seasons – deadwood cleared to raise the stakes. But the googly of the season was the axing of SSC, the grand old club with a trophy cabinet full of stars. It raised eyebrows, but the message from the top was loud and clear – no room for reputation alone. The long-term plan? Slim the domestic First-Class circuit to a lean, mean ten-team league. That’s a shot well worth taking.
Towering above the club scene is the National Super League (NSL), now firmly established as the litmus test for national selection. This year’s edition went down to the wire, with Galle emerging champions on a first-innings lead over Dambulla in a rain-hit final at SSC – a draw on the scorecard, but a win on the balance sheet.
One man who set the NSL ablaze was Ravindu Rasantha de Silva. The former Sri Lanka U-19 and S. Thomas’ College opener piled on the runs like a man on a mission – 563 runs at a Bradmanesque average of 93, with three centuries and a mammoth 206 not out, the tournament’s highest score. He didn’t just knock on the selectors’ door – he’s banging it down.
Another comeback kid was Pathum Nissanka, who had been on a bit of a lean patch in both Test and First Class cricket. But he cashed in with a double ton that may have just saved his Test spot ahead of the Bangladesh series.
Oshada Fernando and Avishka Fernando, old boys of St. Sebastian’s College, also came to the party, finding form at just the right time. The two Fernandos were among the few batters who batted with intent and purpose – a welcome sign with a new Test cycle on the horizon.
But if there was one player who bowled his heart out, it was Akila Dananjaya. The off-spinner spun a web around batsmen, grabbing 37 wickets – a staggering stat considering the next best tally was a mere 15. Akila’s showing could tempt selectors into throwing him a red-ball lifeline, but caution must be the watchword. His history with suspect actions is no secret. Unless his remodelled action is rock solid, the call-up could backfire.
One of the most heartening takeaways from this year’s NSL was seeing players traditionally pigeonholed as white-ball specialists embracing the grind of the longer format. Charith Asalanka skippered Colombo and anchored the innings when it mattered, while Dunith Wellalage was the real revelation – batting like a top-six player and bowling with the guile of a veteran. With a batting average of 39 and bowling average of 19, the all-rounder ticked every box. He may not earn a Test cap just yet, but he’s definitely warming up in the nets for future call-ups.
The story doesn’t end at home. Several NSL stars carried their form overseas, donning Sri Lanka ‘A’ colours in the UAE and delivering the goods. Against Afghanistan ‘A’, the likes of Lahiru Udara and Sonal Dinusha struck hundreds in the first innings, while Nuwanindu Fernando, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, and Pavan Ratnayake joined the party with second-innings tons.
On the bowling front, Isitha Wijesundara stole the spotlight with a ten-wicket match bag – a performance worthy of a standing ovation.
With Dimuth Karunaratne’s retirement and four consecutive Test defeats hanging over the national team like a dark cloud, there’s no time for sentiment. The selectors need to pad up and make bold calls. The new World Test Championship cycle kicks off in June, and if ever there was a time to blood fresh talent, it’s now.
by Rex Clementine
For a little while in Washington Freedom’s chase against San Francisco Unicorns in the MLC 2025 opener, it looked like we might be in for something special. As it turned out, all the special stuff was already done in the first half by Finn Allen, whose record breaking 51 ball 151 powered Unicorns to 269 for 5, and despite a promising start, scoreboard pressure told on Freedom, who eventually went down by a massive 123 runs.
Freedom, the defending champions, got what they wanted after they won the toss and opted to field, Jack Edwards getting rid of Tim Seifert and Jake Fraser-McGurk falling to Saurabh Netravalkar inside the powerplay. But Allen was already looking ominous, and the six-over phase ended with Unicorns on a solid 67 for 2.
The real mayhem, though, came in the middle overs. The seventh over, bowled by Mitchell Owen, went for just four runs, but Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Finn’s partner, set the agenda in the next, taking Rachin Ravindra for 24 runs – with four consecutive sixes. Allen then hit Owen for three sixes in the next over, which went for 21, and was followed by 12, 20, 12, 12 and 22 in the next five, as Unicorns got to 194 for 3 after 14. At that stage, with Allen past his century – he got there off 34 balls – even 300 wasn’t out of the question.
Allen didn’t let up, and reached his 150 off just 50 balls on the last ball of the 17th over, but the scoring rate had fallen – only in comparison, of course – a little bit by then, and Allen’s dismissal for 151 off the first ball of the 18th meant Unicorns would need a new star to keep them going.
Hassan Khan was that man. He hit three fours and three sixes in an 18-ball 38 not out, and though not 300, Unicorns’ 269 was still a huge score, studded with records: no one has hit more sixes in a T20 innings than Allen’s 19, no one has scored 150 in a T20 quicker than Allen, no one has scored more runs in an MLC match than Allen, among other records.
Owen and Ravindra were quick off the blocks for Freedom in their chase. In fact, where Unicorns got 67 for 2 in the powerplay, Freedom had 89 for 1. The wicket of Ravindra, though, appeared to hurt the momentum, since he was going faster than Owen at that stage.
The flourish at the start had come from Owen, who was on 36 from 13 by the end of the third over. But Ravindra then got going, hitting Xavier Bartlett for four sixes off the first four balls in a 25-run over. But he was dismissed by Liam Plunkett in the sixth, and Owen went in the seventh, and then it was steadily downhill for Freedom.
Edwards, the No. 3, and Ben Sears, the No. 10, were the only others to get into double figures as Freedom hurtled towards the inevitable, folding for 146 in 13.1 overs. Haris Rauf and Hassan picked up three wickets each for Unicorns, while Carmi le Roux got two.
Unicorns next play on Saturday afternoon local time, against Los Angeles Knight Riders, while Freedom are in action later the same day, against Seattle Orcas.
Brief scores:
San Francisco Unicorns 269 for 5 in 20 overs (Tim Seifert 18, Finn Allen 151, Sanjay Krishnamurthy 36, Hassan Khan 38*; Saurabh Netravalkar 1-57, Jack Edwards 2-39, Mitchell Owen 1-33, Ian Holland 1-30) beat Washington Freedom 146 in 13.1 overs (Rachin Ravindra 42, Mitchell Owen 39, Jack Edwards 21, Ben Sears 15*; Haris Rauf 3-30, Liam Plunkett 1-09, Hassan Khan 3-38, Carmi Le Roux 2-35, ) by 123 runs
[Cricinfo]
Bangladesh Cricket Board on Thursday (June 12) announced Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the new ODI captain, replacing Najmul Hossain Shanto, “for the next 12 months”. The surprising decision comes less than a month ahead of three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on July 2.
Shanto, who recently stepped down from T20I captaincy in order to concentrate on his batting, was all set to continue as ODI captain though the board think-tank felt otherwise.
“The Board felt that Miraz’s consistent performances with the bat and ball, his ability to fight and inspire the team and his energetic presence on and off the field make him an ideal candidate to lead the ODI side during a transitional time,” Chairman of BCB’s Cricket Operations Committee Nazmul Abedeen said. “We believe he has the temperament and maturity to take Bangladesh forward in this format.
“We take this opportunity to thank Shanto for the positivity and character he has demonstrated as captain. He remains very much a part of the leadership group and we know how important his batting is to the team.”
With 1617 runs and 110 wickets in 105 ODIs, Miraz is currently ranked No. 4 among allrounders in the ICC ODI rankings – the highest for any Bangladeshi player. He is also a part of the elite club – comprising Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, and Shakib Al Hasan – who have achieved the 1000 runs and 100 wickets double in the 50-overs format at the highest level.
“It is a huge honour for me to be entrusted with this responsibility by the Board,” Miraz said in a statement released by the BCB. “Leading the country is a dream for any cricketer and I am grateful for the confidence the Board has shown in me.
“I have every faith in this team. We have the talent and the belief to play fearless cricket. I want us to perform with confidence, play without inhibition and continue giving our best for the country.”
Mehidy has previously led the national side in four ODIs in Najmul’s absence.
With this move, the BCB has once again reverted to different captains for different formats, a formula they followed earlier when Tamim Iqbal led the ODI side while Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah captained in Tests and T20Is respectively. Currently Najmul is leading the country in the longest format, while Litton Das is the T20I skipper.
Shanto, who scored 1565 runs averaging 34.77 in 49 ODIs including three centuries and 10 fifties, made 564 runs in 13 ODIs that he captained in, averaging 51.27. He lost nine games and won four during his tenure as Bangladesh’s ODI captain.
For two hours in the middle of day two, Australia had one hand on the WTC mace after taking a 74-run first-innings lead at Lord’s. For the next two, South Africa did their utmost to prise their fingers from it, and for the one after that, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc fought them off with a 61-run eighth-wicket partnership. As things stand, Australia still have a few fingers on the mace after a gripping day of Test cricket.
It was, once again, a day for bowlers. Fourteen wickets fell on day two, the same number as the first day, for a total of 28 wickets in six sessions.
Pat Cummins stole the early headlines when he became the first visiting captain to take a five for at Lord’s and then went on to pluck his 300th Tet wicket. Then it was over to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, who had Australia 44 for 3 before Lungi Ngidi, back in the Test side after ten months and coming off a poor first innings, redeemed himself with three wickets in a nine-over spell that broke Australia open.
Where things stand at the end of the day is that South Africa will already have to pull off the fourth-highest sucessfyl chase at Lord’s, and do it against Australia’s unrelenting attack. That means it’s probably still advantage Australia after a breathless seven-and-half-hours in a final that has hit fast-forward.
South Africa resumed the day on 43 for 4, 169 runs behind Australia’s 212, and on a go-slow. Temba Bavuma had laboured his way to 3 off 37 overnight as South Africa’s innings ground yo a halt. but he showed more initiative on the second morning. He struck two glorious lofted drives in Mitchell Starc’s second over of the day and looked to be finding his touch. Bavuma was on 17 before he was given out lbw off a Josh Hazlewood delivery that nipped in and struck his back pad, and he reluctantly reviewed. To everyone’s disbelief including Bavuma’s, Snicko showed an inside-edge. Bavuma went on to drive Hazlewood and Starc over the covers and pull Cummins into the stands for six in what looked like an increasingly authoritative stay at the crease.
His partnership with David Bedingham grew to 64 and it took a moment of magic in the field to separate them. Bavuma drove Cummins in the air and to the right of Marnus Labuschagne, who dived full length at cover and pouched it with both hands.
Bavuma’s dismissal sent South Africa back into their shell. Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne scored 17 nervy runs in the next 52 balls and both looked vulnerable: Bedingham was drawn into a false stroke by Hazlewood and Verreynne was on 1 when he edged Beau Webster just short of Smith at second slip. But the moment of controversy came when Bedingham edged Webster onto the flap of his pad. Alex Carey moved towards him in an attempt to take a catch and the ball bobbled into and then out of Bedingham’s pad flap. At that moment, Bedingham reached for the ball and dropped it close to his foot. Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith began appealing for obstructing the field, and there was some excitement before it was decided the ball was dead. Bedingham responded by hitting the next ball, a half-volley, for four and South Africa went to lunch on 121 for 5, 91 runs behind.
More drama ensued after the break when Cummins hit Verreynne on the pad as he shuffled across, and the ball deflected to fine leg. Verreynne attempted a run, Cummins turned to appeal, and the pair collided, by which point a throw had come in and there was also the chance of a run-out. Cummins asked for a review on the lbw and replays suggested the ball would have gone on to hit leg stump. Three balls later, Jansen handed Cummins a simple return catch, and at 126 for 7, South Africa were in disarray.
Cummins completed his five-for when he had Bedingham caught behind off a thin edge three overs later and then got his 300th when Rabada nailed a pull to Webster at deep square. Cummins finished with 6 for 28 in a final analysis that included six maiden overs out of 18.1 and barely a bad ball. Crucially, he gave Australia an important lead that could still have a decisive say on this game.
The same could be said of South Africa’s collapse. They lost 5 for 12 in 35 balls; Australia had lost 5 for 20 at around the same time on day one.
South Africa came out looking flat as Labuschagne took Rabada’s opening over for seven. Rabada and Jansen bowled three no-balls in the first four overs, but started to find their rhythm when Rabada hit Labuschagne on the pad in his third over and then induced an outside edge.
In the next over, Jansen thought he had Khawaja caught behind and Bavuma burned a review to see daylight between bat and ball. It took until the 11th over for things to start happening for South Africa. For the second time in the match, Rabada struck twice in an over, against the same two batters. Khawaja was caught behind poking outside off and Cameron Green edged to third slip. Smith sought to restore order with a straight drive that went for four. Australia went to tea on 32 for 2, 106 ahead.
As was the case on day one, the evening session could only be described with one word: mayhem. Jansen bowled a marathon spell either side of the break and was into his eighth over when he offered Labuschagne a full one that was just short of driving length, and he nicked off.
Khawaja, Labuschagne and Green had collectively scored 49 runs in this match, the worst return by an Australian top three since 1890.
Then came Ngidi. After three unspectacular overs post-tea, he went fullish and straight. Smith missed and was hit on the back pad and Bavuma was convinced to review again and was successful this time. Ngidi then hit Webster on the back pad with a ball that tailed in and the No. 6 reviewed unsuccessfully. In the next over, Wiaan Mulder beat Travis Head’s inside-edge and the ball ricocheted off his pads onto the stumps, and then came the delivery of the evening: Ngidi’s yorker to Cummins. It thudded into middle and off and Australia were 73 for 7.
But just as South Africa may have started to sniff something special, their momentum drained away. Carey and Starc put on 61 for the eighth wicket at a good clip – 4.31 runs an over – before Rabada had one last word on the day. He got the ball to move back into Carey from around the wicket and had him out lbw in an over peppered with no-balls. All told, Rabada bowled five on the day and six in the match and South Africa have overstepped 19 times.
They’ll worry about that as much as what could have been in the final over when Jansen dropped Starc at gully, off Mulder, off the third-last ball of the day. By then, South Africa had moved the fielders behind the bat closer in, as several balls had dropped short, and Jansen’s attempts to juggle were not as successful as they had been on the first day. Australia go into the third day with a lead of 218 runs and two wickets in hand.
Brief scores:
Australia 212 in 56.4 overs and 144 for 8 in 40 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 22, Alex Carey 43; Lungi Ngidi 3-35, Kagiso Rabada 3-44) lead South Africa 138 in 57.1 overs (David Bedingham 45, Temba Bavuma 3; , Pat Cummins 6-28, Mitchell Starc 2-41) by 218 runs
[Cricinfo]
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