Sports
Lalith says the ‘player’ label still fits him perfectly
By A Special Sports Correspondent
Former table tennis national champion Lalith Priyantha says he was never the best player that the country produced. But he keeps winning at every veterans’ tournament he enters. Just recently he won a triple crown at the Veterans’ Table Tennis Championships, held for the year 2022. He played with lightning speed when he was young and continues to play the same fast game even today at the age of 57. He still gets the ‘wow’ response from the crowd and destroys his opponents; like in the good old days when he represented Akbar Brothers and won the national singles crown on three consecutive years (1988, 1989 and 1990).
He made his start with humble beginnings and grew into something big that even the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka (Board of Control for Table Tennis in Sri Lanka back then) could not handle. He was the rebel in the eyes of the administrators and the darling of the crowd. He was clinical in his approach; there was no fancy foot work during games and boasting before a match like boxer Mohammad Ali did. He was an executioner and he killed them all with his ‘rubber’. The ideal term that describes him would be swift assassin.
Lalith is still the same. Now he is a table tennis coach and also sells insurance. The appetite shown to win at table tennis tournaments is also shown in his quest to reach a stable and successful life. He enjoys his favourite brand of distilled spirits in the evening and has a stock answer for those who complain about costing of living rising high in Sri Lanka. “If the cost of living is rising and your salary is not enough earn a little more. Never sacrifice the things that you love to do in life” is how he resonated his answer when this scribe asked the same question during an interview with him at his residence in Kotikawatte.
Lalith has great public relations skills. He has courtesy, convincing power and the knack to learn fast. When one compares him with other table tennis players of his era Lalith is streets ahead in the life he has created for himself outside the ‘world’ of table tennis. He lets off this vibe of having a successful life and sincerely hopes others would pick it up from him; like catching infleuza! This could be because he belongs to an era where players who played the game back then spoke in English, were happy and were gainfully employed. He too had this life as a competitive sportsman.
But there are a fair share of critics who envy his great run in the sport. They want a change in champion at the veterans’ singles event which Lalith has won at over 50 such tournaments. He has a few ‘medicines’ for good health and happiness, but he sadly says that there is no cure for jealousy. At this recently concluded veterans’ tournament, played at S.Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia Gymnasium, he beat Chaminda Rodrigo in the singles final and teamed up with Dietmar Doering in the doubles final to beat Gamini Moraes and Thilakananda. In the mixed doubles he was partnered by Ira Ruwanpathirana from the preliminary matches onwards till they successfully completed a rout and won the final showdown too.
However he extends a helping hand to anyone who seeks his assistance in sports or outside the sporting arena. Some of those people who receive his help are those who at one time wished he’ll fall. He credits his toughness endure challenges to the three ‘Ds’ he practices; dedication, devotion and determination.
He could be termed as one of the administrators in table tennis who sincerely promoted and worked towards the welfare of the sport. He was the president of the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka; first in the accounting year 1999-2000 and then again for the accounting year 2000-2001. The best thing which happened during his tenure as president was players receiving certificates and medals at the semi-final stage of tournaments. The result? “For the first time in the sport’s history, after many years, the stadiums were full with spectators even on the final day of table tennis tournaments. The other good thing which happened to the sport during this time was the TTASL’ officials finding sponsorships for the players who were selected for overseas tournaments. “No player had to go with a begging bowl to sponsors in search of funds. I had my way of convincing sports ministry officials that the players had to have funds and the tours would give much international exposure to the players,” said Lalith. That was how strong an administrator he was and between serving the TTASL as an official he has also time and again accompanied the national men’s and women’s table tennis teams as Sri Lanka coach on one-off tours.
Still, despite all those successes, Lalith never misses an opportunity to play in veterans’ tournaments. He feels he has had enough as an administrator. He had his moment of glory at the International Veterans’ Table Tennis Championships Sri Lanka hosted in 2017 and went on to beat Indian Sunil Babras in the early stages of that tournament. However, Babras bounced back and played strongly before winning the singles crown.
There is some spark that ignites within him when he gets an opportunity to play even today. Now, despite battling fitness issues due to lack of time to practice, he still enters all veterans’ tournaments. When this writer asked whether he has anything to prove to the table tennis commune at home and himself by still wanting to play he had this to say, “I still want to be known as a player.
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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