Sports
‘Warriors Sevens’ to end rugby drought
by a Special Sports Correspondent
Probably for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka rugby a-seven-a-side tournament-featuring division one clubs- will be played on October 30 and 31 in Colombo without the presence of spectators.
Rugby, like most other sports, has felt the blow from the Covid 19 pandemic and there hasn’t been any rugby activity for the past one and half years except for a friendly rugby encounter which featured players from Sri Lanka Air Force and CH & FC a few months ago.
The truth is that Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) failed to start rugby in the island during the pandemic even though some other sports associations did. Track and Field, tennis, table tennis, cricket and badminton managed to have activities for the players and National Olympic Committee managed to send the island’s representatives to contest the Olympic Games which was held in Japan a few months ago. Even at the Olympics there was a rugby sevens event and Fiji won the title underscoring the fact that rugby can be held during difficult times like this if the necessary precautions and health guidelines are followed.
SSP Nizam Jamaldeen, one of the organisers of the upcoming club rugby sevens- titled ‘Warriors Rugby Sevens’-said that players taking part in the tournament would be going into a bio bubble and the tournament would be played under strict health guidelines and without spectators. “The players have suffered without rugby for almost two years now, so the Police and the security forces were asked to organise a seven-a-side tournament. We have the blessings of Sri Lanka Rugby and Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Football referees and sponsors. Dialog is one of the sponsors and the organisers are optimistic in finding more sponsors before the tournament kicks off,” said Jamaldeen who is also a former national rugby player and a present rugby administrator.
According to the organisers of the tournament the teams that have accepted invitations to contest the tournament are Police Sports Club A, Police Griffins, Sri Lanka Air Force A, Sri Lanka Air Force B, Navy Sports Club A, Navy Sports Club B, Army Sports Club A, Army Colts, CH & FC and Havelocks Sports Club.
Interestingly Kandy Sports Club and Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club have decided against taking part in the tournament due to lack of time to prepare for the event.
Sri Lanka was running the risk of losing a good number of players due to rugby inactivity before this tournament came along. And this tournament greatly serves the task of keeping the players in the game. Most players are in the game because it’s a lucrative occupation and the absence of rugby activities has made them shelve their boots and find other forms of employment that have no connection to rugby.
SLR, some time back, wanted to tie up with Sri Lanka Air Force and have a club rugby sevens tournament, but that never got off the ground with the authorities citing the pandemic as the key reason among other issues for the event being a non-starter.
In rugby all over the world the season starts with a seven-a-side tournament because that’s the method used to select promising players to form the pool for the upcoming gruelling 15-a-side rugby season. According to the organisers of the ‘Warriors Rugby Sevens’ the national rugby selectors would be present at the games to select the national pool for future overseas assignments.
Sri Lanka’s rugby sevens has a decorated history. From the day Policeman K.F Jenkins introduced the abbreviated form of rugby to Sri Lanka on February1, 1931 the islanders have picked up the game with the enthusiasm that a child has for a new toy and enjoyed a fair share of luck at the international scene too.
It must be mentioned here that the fifteen-a-side version of rugby was played in the island before that and its ‘little brother’ (Rugby sevens) though arriving later proved to be a better bet for the pint-sized islanders when locking horns with hefty players in the international scene.
Rugby sevens, unlike today, didn’t know what professionalism was and Asian teams made good progress and could be counted when contesting the much looked forward to Hong Kong ‘Sevens’ tournament. Sri Lanka had the honour of contesting the maiden event of this tournament in 1976 and was a regular till other Asian and African teams moved up in rankings and shoved Sri Lanka out of contention. Sri Lanka won the ‘Bowl’ Competition in 1984. Sri Lanka is not a regular at the professionally organised World Rugby Sevens Series where the stop at Hong Kong is just one of the legs in a series where there are nine other stops when the players starting travelling and playing.
It’s good that the forces and the Police are in the forefront and organising this sevens rugby tournament. But critics would sure have their reservations because without CR&FC and Kandy SC the event will definitely lack the sparks and glamour. For the record the players from Kandy had wanted to field a team at the upcoming tournament under the name Kandy ‘Lions’, but their request was turned down along with several other similar requests coming, of course from Division B sides, because the authorities were not going to take responsibility for the players’ welfare given the challenging health situation in the country.
Spectators will have to catch the action from Police Park on these two days from televisions at their living rooms at home. Rugby needs the spectators, cheering and that sense of camaraderie, but the times don’t permit any of that. Rugby has its way of connecting and given the ‘new normal’ spectators would soon find a way to relate to rugby on the tv screen and find contentment. Let the games begin!
Opening alongside Tammy Beaumont , Smith scored 58 runs off just 30 balls as England were bowled out for 176 off the last ball of their innings. Freya Sargent and Aimee Maguire each took identical figures of 3 for 30 from four overs for the hosts.
Charis Pavely the 19-year-old left-arm spinner then took 3 for 19 on debut to help England bowl Ireland out for just 109 in reply, Orla Prendergast the only home batter to pass 25 with her 34-ball 52.
Isssy Wong playing her first T20I in a year, was England’s next-best bowler with 2 for 14, including Ireland captain Gaby Lewis, who had said her side were targeting a 2-0 series win in the T20s after her side won the third ODI, a dead rubber.
“I’ve been out the team for a couple of years now in the T20s,” Smith said. “”I’ve always said I don’t really feel like I’ve had my go at the top of the order so it’s nice to get out there and get some runs today. It was a really good pitch, I think, but I just keep things really simple when I bat. When it comes off, it comes off, it might not always look pretty, but I felt really good, seeing the ball well, and it came off today.
“It’s always exciting when you get the call up. I didn’t get to go in the ODIs, which I was disappointed with but you’re never really going to say no to an England call-up. It’s obviously tough missing the last few games for Stars because I’ve got an important role there, but it felt like this was a chance for me to put my name into the hat.”
Smith played the last of her eight T20Is before this one two years ago, when England hosted India, scoring 13 not out from 14 balls and taking 1 for 19 as England won by seven wickets to seal a 2-1 series victory. She has played just one ODI, against West Indies in 2019.
In this year’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, she sits tenth on the leading run-scorers list with 402 runs at 36.54 and a strike rate of 87.20, while in the Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 competition she was 15th with 206 runs at 20.60 and 124.84.
On Saturday, Smith said she had been receiving updates as her South East Stars side defeated Southern Vipers by three wickets to reach next weekend’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final against Sunrisers. “Definitely looked a bit close… but excited for them,” she added.
Pavely was one of four debutants in the match against Ireland, along with Georgia Adams, Paige Scholfield and Seren Smale.
With England’s first-choice squad preparing for next month’s T20 World Cup, a number of players took their chance to show what they can do, led by Smith, who struck 12 fours in her innings. Mady Villiers making her first England appearance in the format, was England’s next-highest run-scorer with 35 off 15 balls. Villiers also took 1 for 9 from 2.3 overs and was instrumental in running out Predergast.
But it was Pavely who shone with the ball when she had Rebecca Stokell caught behind by Smale for a five-ball duck, bowled Arlene Kelly for 1 and took a return catch to remove Ava Canning, Ireland’s next-best batter with a run-a-ball 25.
The teams face a fast turn-around with the next match to be played on Sunday, also in Dublin.
Brief scores:
England 176 in 20 overs (Bryony Smith 58, Tammy Beaumont 27, Seren Smale 25, Mady Villiers 35; Freya Sargent 3-30, Aimee Maguire 3-30, Jane Maguire 2-25 ) beat Ireland 109 in 18.3 overs (Orla Prendergast 52, Ava Canning 25; Mahika Gaur 1-23, Kate Cross 1-27, Issy Wong 2-14, Charis Pavely 3-19, Maddy Villers 1-09) by 67 runs
(Cricinfo)
Rex Clementine in London
Test match wins overseas have been rare for Sri Lanka. Extremely rare that other than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, they recorded a Test win against any other nation way back in 2019. It came in South Africa when the team won back to back Test matches in Durban and Port Elizabeth to become the first Asian side to win a series in South Africa.
That is why the recent win at The Oval was special. It indeed came against many odds with many predicting a 3-0 whitewash to the hosts, whose new style of batting has earned the admiration of fans.
England’s strategy seems that there should be no more draws. That’s fine. But when you disrespect the basics of the game it comes back to haunt you. England can get away with this style of play against Sri Lanka and West Indies, whom they beat this summer. But when they play their bigger brothers Australia and India, they will face harsher realities and with that public condemnation.
England batters, even those who are out of form charging down the track to seamers and Ollie Pope not willing to give up his attacking field set even when the target was down to double figures were bizarre indeed.
Take nothing away from the manner Sri Lanka played. They assessed the conditions well, changed the composition of the side and more importantly believed in their skill set.
Kamindu Mendis had already cemented his place in the Test side but for someone who was playing in England for the first time to play with the confidence he did, is proof that we are going to see greater things from him.
The selectors resisted the move to push him up the order but next week against New Zealand, he is likely to move up higher in the order to number five and once Angelo Mathews moves on, should own that number four slot where many of our stars from Aravinda de Silva to Mahela Jayawardene have batted.
The reason for Pathum Nissanka to be sidelined from Test match cricket was a recurring back injury. With two World Cups coming up in October 2003 and May 2024, they wanted him to focus only on white ball cricket. Now that both events are over, he is back in the fold again. Bat pad is the fielding position for any player who is trying to find his feet in the side and the selectors will be discussing whether it is worthwhile to let Pathum field there.
While the reasoning for him to be kept away from Test cricket for two years are understandable, he should have played in England from the first Test. The quicks simply had no answers to his batting. The ball always does something in England and even when you are on 80, there are some balls that make the batsman look like not set yet. Which is why Pathum was looking for runs always, and it paid off. It was not just brutal bashing. He played straight drives earlier on and the cross batted shots came on only after he had spent an hour in the crease.
Lahiru Kumara needs just four wickets to claim 100 wickets in Tests and he bowled so well in the second innings at The Oval and he has come a long way from overcoming fitness issues. He had copped hefty fines for having high levels of skinfolds and he has responded well.
Kumara is the senior seamer, but Asitha Fernando has certainly emerged as the leader of the attack on this tour. Chris Woakes in these conditions is a prime contender to emerge as the leading wicket taker but Asitha with his 17 wickets showcased his skill test and became the first bowler since Rumesh Ratnayake in 1991 to take a five wicket haul at Lord’s.
Milan Ratnayake is another player who stood out with the bat and the ball and on the field. An all-rounder with immense potential, the selectors should see whether he could fit into the T-20 side.
All in all, it was a satisfying series and with a bit more luck, Sri Lanka could have won this sereis. They had their moments at Old Trafford but fell about 50 runs short.
The manner in which the fast bowling unit performed and young players contributed on their first tour to England are all indications that this team will go on to do something special moving forward.
Latest News
Amid persistent rain, one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand called off without a ball bowled
The first ever Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand ended on a sad but predictable note as the game was called off without a ball being bowled. It was only the eighth such instance in the Test history and the first since 1998.
There was an air of inevitability around the call after there was no play in the first four days and heavy rains ended the last two as early as 9.15am. The rain returned on the fifth morning, prompting the umpires to pull the plug at 8.45am.
The clouds hung low and the covers were drenched yet again at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground. A pool of water had formed near one of the boundaries and a few puddles were scattered across the uncovered grass in the outfield.
The match was subject to weather concerns even before the opening day. When there was no play on the first two days despite the weather being sunny during playing hours, the outfield and the preparedness of the venue came under the scanner.
Apart from the New Zealand players getting a couple of hours of practice in a net next to the pitch on the second afternoon, there was no cricketing action in any form across five days. The ACB blamed the unseasonal rain for it – there has been over 1200mm of rain over the past week in Greater Noida.
Afghanistan’s next assignment is the three-match ODI series against South Africa in Sharjah. New Zealand will now travel to Sri Lanka for two Tests, which are part of the World Test Championship. After that, they will face India in India in a three-Test series. The Greater Noida Test, which was not part of the WTC, was supposed to help them acclimatise to the subcontinent conditions but it was not to be.
(Cricinfo)
Bryony Smith makes most of her chance to lead England victory
Fairly heavy showers about 50 mm are likely at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts
Corruption fighter raises concerns over unwarranted redacting in asset declaration
-
Editorial6 days agoMuch ado about nothing signifying something
-
News1 day ago
Anura criticises Ranil’s erratic behaviour
-
News1 day ago
Prez poll 2024: ITAK alleges bid to confuse Tamil electorate, reiterates backing for Sajith
-
Editorial4 days ago
‘Poster boys’ and monsters
-
News2 days ago
ITAK reaffirms support for Sajith Premadasa
-
News1 day ago
Immigration and Emigration Chief ordered to appear before SC for failing to comply with order
-
News6 days ago
Advancing sustainability in private sector through innovative financing solutions
-
Business2 days ago
ASUS expands its lineup with next-gen AI laptops for students
