Sports
Yupun finishes ninth but gains valuable experience
Sri Lanka National record holder Yupun Abeykoon finished last in the men’s 100 metres but gained invaluable experience competing against the world’s best at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich on Thursday.
Abeykoon who was the only South Asian to have competed in the men’s 100 metres at the Tokyo Olympics, clocked 10.25 seconds at the Diamond League final where only the top four clocked sub 10 seconds.
With the World Championships and several other international events taking place next year the experience will augur well for the Italy based sprinter as he competed against the world’s top athletes.
Fred Kerley wins 100 and 400 metres
Fresh from making history by becoming the first man to win 100m, 200m and 400m races in the Diamond League, the USA’s Fred Kerley achieved another first with no other athlete having ever won Diamond Trophies in both the 100m and 400m.
Three years after claiming the 400m crown, Kerley won the 100m in 9.87 in Zurich as he narrowly held off Canada’s Andre De Grasse, who equalled his PB with 9.89. Kerley’s US compatriots Ronnie Baker and Trayvon Bromell were just behind them, running 9.91 and 9.96 for third and fourth place respectively.
Both Kerley and De Grasse were back on the track for the 200m final just over an hour later, when it was Kenny Bednarek – racing on fresh legs – who continued his incredible consistency to take the crown.
Adding to his record single-season tally of sub-20-second 200m times, Bednarek achieved his 11th wind-legal clocking of the season, running 19.70 as Olympic champion De Grasse – who gained a medal double in Tokyo having also claimed 100m bronze – was again the runner-up, running 19.72.
Kerley was third this time in 19.83, while Canada’s Aaron Brown was fourth in 20.13.
Meanwhile Jamaican sprint star Elaine Thompson-Herah brought an incredible season to a close with yet another record-breaking performance in the corresponding women’s 100 metres.
After an Olympic record, a Diamond League record and many more storming performances in between, this time it was the 37-year-old Weltklasse Zurich 100m record which fell as the five-time Olympic gold medallist clocked a dominant 10.65 for her ninth sub-10.80 run of the year.
It is the equal 10th fastest time in history, with Thompson-Herah herself owning four of those performances, topped by the 10.54 she ran at the Eugene Diamond League meeting to move to second on the world all-time list. The Jamaican also occupies the No.2 spot on the global 200m all-time list thanks to her 21.53 to win one of her three Olympic gold medals in Tokyo.
An ODI between Canada and Netherlamds in King City Toronto on Tuesday was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. The fixture was part of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 competition, which is part of the qualification pathway for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The match was abandoned just 4.1 overs into the Netherlands innings after they had chosen to bat. They were 15 for 1, with Max O’Dowd the batter dismissed for a duck in the second over. The pitch had uneven bounce and the batters were struck several times during the short passage of play.
On June 12, four days before the abandoned match, the ICC had issued a statement saying the pitch at King City that was used for an ODI between USA and the Netherlands on June 8 had been given an “unsatisfactory” rating and one demerit point.
“This was a pitch that fell below the standard expected for this level of cricket,” match referee Phil Thompson had said about the surface for the USA-Netherlands match. “Both captains expressed disappointment with how it turned out, and the match officials assessed it as ‘very poor’. The inconsistent bounce created challenging and potentially unsafe playing conditions. Taking all factors into consideration, I believe the pitch merits an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating.”
According to the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process, pitches that get an “unsatisfactory” rating will be given one demerit point, while an “unfit” pitch rating will result in three demerit points for the venue. Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period, and an accumulation of six demerit points will result in the venue being suspended from hosting international matches for 12 months (12 demerit points will lead to a 24-month ban).
(Cricinfo)
Joshua Da Silva and Amir Jangoo have earned recalls to West Indies’ squad for the two-match World Test Championship series at home against Sri Lanka starting later this month, while the two Josephs, Alzarri and Shamar, are back after missing the tours of India and New Zealand late last year because of injuries.
Trevin Imalch had kept wicket when West Indies last played Test cricket, in New Zealand last December, but Da Silva, 33 Test matches old, has returned after scoring 996 runs across the last two seasons of the West Indies Championship. Imlach, who failed with the bat in New Zealand with a total of 81 runs across six innings – after scoring 33 runs in his only Test in India – has been named captain of a West Indies Select XI to play the Sri Lankans in a tour match in Coolidge from June 18 to 21. Roston Chase will continue to captain the Test side.
West Indies vs Sri Lanka Tests
Jangoo, dropped after only one Test appearance, in Multan in January 2025, where he scored 0 and 30, has returned to the side following a fruitful WI Championship in which he scored 411 runs in seven innings. He finished second on the scorers’ table there, only behind Da Silva, who scored 413 in seven outing. The highlight of Jangoo’s season was the 203 not out he scored for Trinidad & Tobago against Leeward Islands
The pair of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, meanwhile, last played Test cricket during the home series against Australia in mid-2025.”Every Test series is an opportunity for us to grow as a team and strengthen our identity,” Darren Sammy, the head coach, said in a Cricket West Indies statement. “Sri Lanka are a quality side, so we know we’ll have to be at our best, but we’re excited about the challenge ahead.”For us, it’s about playing with discipline, showing character when the game gets tough, and representing the West Indies with pride. The players have been putting in the work, and we’re looking forward to putting on a strong display for our fans across the Caribbean.”
Some of the squad members are currently participating in a high-performance training camp in Antigua, which began on June 12 and will run till June 22. The members of the Test squad who were also part of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka – West Indies lost the ODIs and won the T20Is – will join the camp on June 15. The Tests will be played in North Sound from June 25 to 29 and July 3 to 7.
“This is a key component of our preparations heading into the series, providing players and coaches with valuable time to enhance and improve the skills we want to see sharpened, based on the areas we need to focus our attention on when facing this opponent,” Sammy said about the camp. “It also gives us the opportunity to put clear objectives and plans in place for the conclusion of the summer against Pakistan.
“Additionally, the four-day warm-up game prior to the series provides the chance for some of our Test hopefuls to play in high-intensity action and create the avenue for more competition within the squad ahead of the upcoming and future series.”
West Indies are currently bottom of the nine-team WTC table, having lost seven of their eight games in the ongoing cycle.
West Indies squad for Test series against Sri Lanka
Ireland Women 118/9 in 20 overs (Alana Dalzelle 14, Orla Prendergast 26, Leah Paul 10, Alice Tector 10, Louise Little 26*; Lauren Bell 1-39, Linsey Smith 1-20, Sophie Ecclestone 3-22, Charlie Dean 2-11, Dani Gibson 2-10) lost to England Women 119/6 in 17.3 overs (Dani Wyatt Hodge 16, Nat Sciver-Brunt 48, Heather Knight 26; Aimee Maguire 2-23, Orla Prendergast 2-17) by 4 wickets
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