Sports
World Cup title continues to elude as batting fails
ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup
by Reemus Fernando
Sri Lanka probably had the best lead up to the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, a multifaceted coaching staff, a captain who had played Youth International matches since 2018, and a team heavily laden with all-rounders, yet a maiden Under 19 World Cup title continued to elude them as Afghanistan ended Sri Lanka’s unbeaten run in the crucial quarter-final in Antigua on Thursday. One might see the excessive number (four) of run-outs as the main cause for defeat but as it could be seen from the group stage, the team were still in search of a batsman who could bat it through to the end.
A vast majority of Sri Lanka Under 19 bowlers having the ability to bat down the order was giving the team an edge over their counterparts. But was it something that the team could solely rely on? Did not Sri Lanka miss the service of a batsman in the calibre of Pawan Pathiraja?
Pathiraja was the most consistent batsman in the run-up to the ICC World Cup and played the much-needed anchor role when the team were in trouble. He was the key batsman in Sri Lanka’s series victories over both Bangladesh and England Under 19s in the run-up to the World Cup, though he was not at his best at the Under 19 Asia Cup where he had only one half-century.
The team management had been given the best available players after a systematic selection process followed by Sri Lanka Cricket’s selectors. Despite the absence of Schools Cricket during the pandemic period, the selectors had done an admirable job in picking a formidable side. Everything looked hunky-dory until the World Cup commenced as the team had two series victories and the runner up title of the Under 19 Asia Cup against their name.
Sri Lanka Under 19s remained unbeaten during the group stage where there was a shared responsibility in the batting department. There were just three half-centuries of which two were scored in adversity. While skipper Dunith Wellalage scored 52 runs to launch a fightback to beat Australia, Sakuna Liyanage top scored with 85 runs in the opener against Scotland to help the team secure a positive start to the tournament. The only other half-century was by Sadeesha Rajapaksa who scored 76 runs in the final group match against West Indies.
With no batsman showing consistency during the Group stage it was intriguing to note the absence of Pathiraja in the last three matches of the World Cup. Until the World Cup, Pathiraja had played in 13 matches and had batted on 12 occasions. He had aggregated 475 runs, the highest by a Sri Lankan batsmen. Apart from Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Pathiraja was the only batsman to have scored a Youth ODI century. He was out for naught in the first World Cup match against Scotland and was not picked again.
Sri Lanka’s bowling and Wellalage’s selection of bowlers, at various junctures, were truly remarkable. His decision to keep faith in Vinuja Ranpul in the quarterfinal is a case in point. Playing his first match of the World Cup, Ranpul bowled his first eight overs at a stretch. Despite not taking a wicket in his first five overs he was persevered with and he produced results in his sixth and seventh overs and triggered a collapse. He took five wickets for ten runs, though it was in vain. He played no part in the World Cup until the quarter-final and fans would not even have seen him bowl if not for an injury to Matheesha Pathirana.
Sri Lanka will now take on South Africa on Monday in the competition to decide the final standings of teams.
Of the bowlers, Wellalage still has the chance to leave the World Cup as the highest wicket-taker. As of Friday (28) Wellalage had 16 wickets in four matches. That was four more than the second-highest wicket-taker, Joshua Boyden of England U19s.
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Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup: Australia begin with huge win against Scotland
Australia opened their Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup with a dominating nine-wicket win over Scotland in the Group D game in Bangi, Malaysia.
Fast bowler Caoimhe Bray starred with figures of 3 for 1 in 3.2 overs while left-arm quick Eleanor Larosa and left-arm legspinner Hasrat Gill shared five wickets among them to help Australia skittle Scotland for a mere 48 in 15.1 overs. Australia chased down the target in 6.4 overs with opener Katy Pelle remaining unbeaten on 29 off 18 balls.
In Kuching, rain played spoilsport with the match between Samoa and Nigeria abandoned without a single ball bowled. The Pakistan–USA fixture also ended similarly in Johor, with the match abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Meanwhile, in the Ireland–England match in Johor, England rode wicketkeeper-batter Jemima Spence’s 37 not out off 27 balls and Charlotte Lambert’s 14-ball 25 to post a competitive 144 for 7. Ireland were put under pressure when they lost two early wickets inside four overs, however, rain forced the game to end in no result.
Scores:
Australia crushed Scotland by
Scotland Women Under 19s 48 in 15.5 overs [Emma Walsingham 12, Charlotte Nevard 10; Elenaor Larosa 3-07, Caoimhe Bray 3-01, Hasrat Gill 2-10, Tegan Williamson 1-06, Julliet Morton 1-08] lost to Australia Women Under 19s 49/1 in 6.4 overs [Kate Pelle 29*, Innes Mckeon 12; Naymah Sheikh 1-02] by nine wickets
England vs Ireland ends without a result
England Women Under 19s 144/7 in 20 overs [Davina Perrin 26, Charlotte Stubs 31, Jemima Spence 37, Charloett Lambert 25; Freya Sargent 1-41, Kia McCartney 1-09, Lara McBride 1-19, Ellie McGee 2-20] vs Ireland Women Under 19s 28.2 in 3.5 overs [Alice Walsh 10, Rebecca Lowe14*]
Bangladesh overcome Nepal by 5 wickets
Nepal Women Under 19s 52 in 18.2 overs [Sana Praveen 19, Seemana KC 10; Nishita Akter Nishi 1-13, Faominda Choya 1-07, Anita Akter Soba 1-06, Jannatul Maoua 2-11] lost to Bangladesh Women Under 19s 53/5 in13.2 overs [ Sadia Islam 16, Sumaiya Akter 12; Rachana Chaudhary 1-16, Riya Sharma 1-10, Seemana KC 1-10, Puja Mahato 1-11] by five wickets
South Africa beat New Zealand in 11 overs per side game
South Africa Women Under 19s 91/7 in 11 overs [Jemma Botha 32, Simone Laurens 21, Karabo Meso 25; Tash Wakelin 2-18, Rishika Jaswal 1-21, Anika Todd 1-12, Ayaan Lambat 3-06] beat New Zealand Women Under 19s 69/5 in 11 overs [Emma McLeod 34, Eve Wolland 12*; Kayla Reneke 2-15, Monalisa Legodi 2-08] by 22 runs
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Noman, Sajid share nine West Indies wickets as Pakistan dominate day two
Noman Ali and Sajid Khan put on a spin-bowling masterclass on a surface they found to their tastes, taking nine of the ten wickets to skittle West Indies out for 137 in less than a session. Either side of that, Pakistan fared better with the bat, putting up 230 in the first innings despite a collapse after Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan’s 141-run stand was broken.
But they pulled away from the visitors in the final session with a commanding second-innings show with the bat. That was spearheaded by their captain Shan Masood, whose half-century drove Pakistan’s lead to 202 with seven wickets still in hand. The dominant story of a day when 19 wickets fell, though, came in the middle session, where West Indies had little answer to Noman and Sajid, who bowled all but 14 deliveries of their innings.
Sajid started the dismantling in just his second over when he dismissed Mikyle Louis and Keacy Carty off successive balls, even as Carty fell thanks to a superb slip catch from Mohammad Hurraira. By the end of his third over, Sajid had four wickets as West Indies floundered, unable to either defend or attack against an unerringly accurate spin duo.
Noman joined the fun, getting drift and turn to clip the edge of Justin Greaves’ off stump. It was the first of five wickets for the left-armer, who was beginning to get huge rip off the barely formed footmarks.
As the innings proceeded, West Indies began to adopt a more bellicose outlook, trying to swindle some runs along the way. But there was limited success as multiple batters dragged it on to their stumps, before the final two partnerships flourished. Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican began to play belligerent shots, with Warrican utilising the back of the bat while playing the reverse sweeps a handful of times.
From 66 for 8 at one stage, West Indies added 71 for the last two wickets. After Motie and Warrican had a partnership of 25, it was only during the last-wicket stand between Warrican and Jayden Seales when West Indies dominated the spinners. Both batters connected cleanly as they hit the spinners over cow corner for multiple sixes.
That forced Pakistan into bringing on Abrar Ahmed for the first time. Eventually, Abrar did end the partnership, but only after the pair had plundered 46 runs off 21 balls. Seales failed to pick up a googly and miscued it straight up, as Rizwan took the catch and ended the punchy counterattack.
If West Indies thought that their collapse against spin meant they too would be among the wickets in the final session, Masood and Hurraira soon disabused them off that notion. Seales, whose pace and seam movement had made him the surprise pick of the bowlers on the first day, reprised his potent threat but without the wickets that would reflect this in the scorecard.
Masood, meanwhile, was proactive in his use of the feet, and adept against spin bowling, eager to attack and expand the lead even further before the day was done. Some untidiness crept into the bowling; there were 12 byes as the spin became as tricky to handle for the bowlers as it was for the batters. But Warrican was dangerous with the one that carried on with the arm, and got both his wickets that way – Hurraira at first, before Babar Azam played for the spin and found himself rapped in front of middle.
West Indies were unfortunate not to snare Kamran Ghulam too when a miscued sweep struck him on the arm as he got down low. The umpire raised the finger, although HawkEye, incongruously, projected the ball to be rising well above the stumps.
As if to compensate, West Indies were gifted the wicket of Masood. He called for a run and didn’t quite realise that Ghulam was well down the pitch in response, and found himself stranded in the middle of the pitch. Thus, Masood was left with little chance of getting to the non-striker’s end, before Warrican whipped the bails off.
Earlier, during the morning session, West Indies took four wickets for 13 runs to trigger a Pakistan collapse. That started by breaking the stand between Shakeel and Rizwan, leaving West Indies two wickets away from wrapping the hosts up. Shakeel and Rizwan had begun with the same authority with which they had ended the first day. But once Kevin Sinclair snared Shakeel 16 short of what would have been his fifth Test hundred, Pakistan’s resistance melted away.
Only a punchy rearguard partnership between Sajid and Khurram Shahzad prevented West Indies from running through the innings even sooner, but Pakistan were still bowled out for 230 on the stroke of lunch.
West Indies had begun the day by sticking to disciplined and tight lines, at one point conceding six runs in seven overs as Seales and Warrican locked in. But neither batter offered up chances during this time, and when Pakistan negotiated the first hour without loss, West Indies were in danger of being shut out of the game.
But the first ball after drinks brought joy for West Indies. Sinclair lured Shakeel forward before getting the ball to grip, and then taking his edge. As if it had been forgotten, the pitch suddenly began to remind everyone how hostile it could be to batters against quality spin, as the ball hissed and spat off the surface.
Salman Ali Agha was deceived in the flight from Warrican to drag on before Pakistan imploded. A bizarre mix-up between Rizwan and Noman saw the former turn his back on Noman to leave him unsuccessfully scrambling to return to the non-striker’s end. But an attempted reverse sweep off the next delivery ended Rizwan’s own innings, as a sharp review from West Indies finished Rizwan’s innings on 71.
It was only an entertaining stand from Sajid and Shahzad that saw a few more runs flow for Pakistan, before the innings petered out. Sajid launched Sinclair over cow corner for six amid a little flurry as Pakistan added 25 quickfire runs. But Warrican returned to fold the innings, making short work of both, as West Indies took the last six wickets for 43 runs in a session of two halves. It was a harbinger for the rest of the day, when the wicket-taking continued unabated.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 230 in 68.5 overs (Saud Shakeel 84, Mohammad Rizwan 71; Jayden Seales 3-27, Kevin Sinclair 2-61, Jomel Warrican 3-69) and 109 for 3 in 31 overs (Shan Masood 52, Muhammad Hurraira 29; Jomel Warrican 2-17) lead West Indies 137 in 25.2 overs (Jomel Warrican 31*, Jayden Seales 22; Noman Ali 5-39, Sajid Khan 4-65)by 202 runs
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Kithma takes all ten wickets in T. B. Jayah trophy encounter
Under 19 Cricket
by Reemus Fernando
Off spinner Kithma Withanapathirana achieved the rare feat of taking all ten wickets in an innings as Ananda dismissed Zahira for 131 runs on day one of the T.B. Jayah Trophy traditional cricket encounter at Maradana on Friday.
Introduced to the attack as the fifth bowler Withanapathirana broke the opening stand (66) between Ranidu Malith and Zayan Ismath in the 18 th over before taking three wickets in the 24th over to trigger a collapse.
Apart from the top three batsman no one reached double figures as the home team were bowled out in the 56th over.
Withanapathirana has played vital roles in both the batting and bowling departments. Incidentally, his absence was felt greatly in the match against St. Thomas’ which Ananda lost by five wickets.
Scores
Zahira 131 all out in 55.2 overs (Ranidu Malith 41, Zayan Ismath 31, Maswooth Mohideen 25; Kithma Withanapathirana 10/29)
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