Sports
Worcester; tiny but out of this world
Rex Clementine in Worcester
Obviously, everyone love going to world famous cricket grounds in England like Lord’s, The Oval and Old Trafford. That’s where Sri Lanka will be playing their three Test matches this summer. Usually, the English and Wales Cricket Board gives the Sri Lankans at least one Test in a small centre like Cardiff, Chester-Le-Street or Southampton. But this year they will be playing all three maches at big venues. There’s growing respect for our cricketers around the globe.
Small cricket grounds, however, have their own charm. Usually, people in these small places are extraordinarily friendly and everyone from the security guard to the Director of Cricket try to make you feel at home. Not just Worcester, it’s the same everywhere whether you visit Canterbury, Taunton, Bristol or Hove.
The specialty of Worcester is that it is one of the most scenic cricket grounds in the world with the Worcester Cathedral, built in 1084 as the backdrop. The Cathedral is the resting place of King John. Until 1976, the Cathedral owned the ground, but the County bought it for 30,000 British Pounds. There’s been some refurbishment done in recent years without losing the old charm. Many English cricket grounds like Old Trafford, Southampton, Derbyshire now have hotels within the clubhouse and Worcester has gone the same direction to make ends meet.
While room occupancy brings them revenue, these facilities are also used for functions and conferences and as a result the County doesn’t have to depend on the dole outs given by the ECB entirely. Maybe this is something that a facility like Galle Stadium can think of. With its stunning backdrops of the Indian Ocean and Dutch Fort, Galle ground will be highly sought after.
Another unique feature of the ground here is the Ladies Pavilion and the afternoon tea that is served there. The tea is accompanied by varieties of cake, jam and cream and it is absolutely delicious.
A short ten minute walk from Foregate Street Station, Worcester’s ground is located in an area called New Road. Since the ground is located next to a river, often it gets flooded during the winter and sometimes water doesn’t recede during early summer as well. That has been one of the major challenges faced by the County and Worcester is now contemplating a move from its current location although it has been home for them for 125 years having been established in 1899.
Tom Graveney, Graeme Hick, Basil D’Oliveira and Moeen Ali are some of the outstanding cricketing talents to emerge from Worcester. Glenn Turner, Tom Moody, Shoaib Akthar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas are some of the leading overseas signings of the County.
Moody took up coaching at Worcester once he was done with his playing days and that’s where he met Vaas. It was Vaas who recommended Moody to Sri Lanka Cricket and the lanky Western Australian went on to have a successful two year stint as the national cricket team’s Head Coach from 2005 to 2007.
One of Sri Lanka’s best moments in cricket came here in Worcester as the venue hosted the final of the ICC Trophy in 1979. Sri Lanka went on to beat Canada in the final, a win that gave the team a ticket to the ICC World Cup that followed. This win was a major moment to help Sri Lanka win Test status. Mr. Anura Tennakoon posing for cameras with the ICC Trophy with the Worcester Cathedral in the backdrop is one of the iconic images at the ground.
Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.
Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.
Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.
“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”
Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.
“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”
Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”
He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.
“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.
Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”
Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.
[Cricinfo]
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.
A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.
Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.
Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.
The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.
Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.
But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.
The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.
(BBC)
Royal College made steady progress in reply to their arch rivals’ first innings total as skipper Rehan Peiris and Ramiru Perera guided them to 175 for four wickets at stumps on day two of the 147th Battle of the Blues at the SSC ground on Friday.
Royal needed only 51 overs to reach their end-of-day total after S. Thomas’ College had earlier adopted a cautious approach before being bowled out for 302 runs.
Royal suffered an early setback when open batsman Hirun Liyanarachchi was dismissed for naught in the very first over, caught behind by Aaron Kodituwakku off the bowling of Gimhan Mendis.
Skipper Rehan Peiris then steadied the innings, repairing the early damage with two useful partnerships. He first added 41 runs for the second wicket with Udantha Gangewatta and followed it up with a 34-run stand for the third wicket alongside Sri Lanka Under-19 skipper Vimath Dinsara.
Dinsara struggled to find fluency during his stay at the crease, managing 11 runs off 30 balls before being trapped leg-before by Gimhan Mendis, who finished the day with two wickets.
Rehan continued to anchor the innings and produced the most productive stand of the Royal innings when he combined with Ramiru Perera for a vital 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The Royal skipper’s determined knock finally ended on 63 when he was dismissed by Ludeesha Matarage.
From there, Ramiru Perera and Yasindu Dissanayake ensured there were no further setbacks, batting cautiously until bad light forced the umpires to call off play.
Perera remained unbeaten on 70, an attractive innings that included ten boundaries, while Dissanayake provided solid support at the other end as Royal closed the day strongly.
Earlier in the day, resuming from their overnight score, the Thomians continued with their ultra-cautious approach, scoring at just over two runs per over. Reshon Solomon top-scored with 66 runs, while Ludeesha Matarage and Raphael Hettige chipped in with useful contributions in the twenties.
S. Thomas’ were eventually bowled out for 302 just before the lunch interval on the second day, having consumed 124 overs during their four-session first innings.
Gagan Gamage was the pick of the Royal bowlers with impressive figures of four wickets for 49 runs. He received good support from Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi, who claimed three wickets for 64 runs, while Himaru Deshan picked up two wickets for 43. Ramiru Perera also chipped in with a wicket to complete the Thomian innings.
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