Sports
Player unity stands tall despite rugby’s divisions
By A Special Sports Correspondent
The Inter-club Nippon Paint sponsored league rugby tournament is set to make an ambitious start on December 1 (Friday) for the 2023/24 season with Havelocks Sports Club hosting Air Force Sports Club at the Park Club under lights. The kick-off is scheduled for 6.30 pm.
Rugby is a game of nerves and knowledge more than a contest between muscled men as of now. Today one needs the knowledge to take the ball forward and enough of information about where the opposition is weak. We have to see what the coaches have to offer this season; especially young coaches like Dushanth Lewke (CR&FC), Saliya Kumara (Havelocks SC), Shamly Nawaz (Army SC) and Fazil Marija (Kandy SC). From the three mentioned above Lewke reads the game the best and has produced results. Under the latter’s guidance CR&FC won the knockouts and performed exceptionally well during the league tournament.
Kandy Sports Club has maintained its stature as a rugby ‘institute’ ever since a revolt by members in a leading Colombo club back in the 1990s; which sparked an exodus of players to Nittawela. Since winning the league for the first time in 1994 Kandy SC has won this piece of silver wear for a record 23 times; the last being during the 2022/34 season under the leadership of Damith Dissanayake. The strength of Kandy SC is that the club can make its match-winner sit on the bench and still win a crunch game. Does that leave the players in a position where they cannot bargain unnecessarily when the time comes to renew playing contracts? We hear of just one casualty at the club and that is Suhiru Anthony who has crossed over to CR&FC and leads them this season. The Nittawela club is led this season by the fast running Lavanga Perera, who has shone for the side in both the ‘sevens’ and 15-a-side versions of the game.
As much as the country is divided in politics, so are the rugby clubs, but not necessarily the players. That’s why players are able to freely cross over to other clubs. In this rugby set-up it’s the clubs that own the players and look after their interests. If there is any little grey area associated with the cream of players there among them a few who don’t give their heart and soul when representing the nation at overseas tournament. This was once confirmed to this writer last season by the chief rugby selector at that time Asoka Jayasena. For the record the divisions among the clubs and the animosity against the rugby administration was shown in no uncertain terms when some clubs followed the sports minister’s orders and ganged up against SLR; showing their will to serve a stabilizing committee which was put in place to see to a constitution change at the SLR. Another sour point last season was Kandy SC protesting against playing at a neutral venue for the Clifford Cup and eventually pulling out of the tournament.
But coming back to the inter-club season it’s a different ball game. This writer believes in the saying ‘there is no game without players’. This was the catch-phrase for an advertisement regarding a leading brand of cigarettes which once sponsored the domestic league rugby tournament in this country. Rugby in Sri Lanka is about player management and clubs must take a bow for doing that since the game in the island went semi-professional some years ago.
One of the clubs which couldn’t retain some of its best products was Havelocks Sports Club. The best examples for such loses are Sanjeewa Jayasinghe and Dhanushka Ranjan. Both players ended up in Kandy. But still, despite these episodes, the Park Club has been a force to be reckoned with and has given the best teams in the league a run for their money. The only real loss this season would be last season’s coach Sanath Martis who has taken up the reins at CH&FC. The Park Club this season is led by Azmir Fajudeen.
Another team to watch this season is Navy Sports Club; a team which in the past was an institute that served as ‘the rugby home’ for at least two out of the three boys of the Rajapaksa family. Navy started becoming a force when Namal and Yoshitha played for the ‘sea going force’, but then the Sailors lost their sting in rugby after one brother crossed over to another club and the other hung up his boots to take up serious politics. Still Navy SC produces good rugby and had with them players in the likes of Samuel Maduwantha, Dinesh de Silva, Radeesha Senewiratne, Gihan Madusanka and Thilina Weerasinghe last season. The latter leads them this season. The only notable casualty this season for them is Adeesha Weerathunga who has joined the ‘Red Shirts’ this season.
Some of the other teams that could be in contention of high finishes this season are Police SC (Led by Mohan Wimalaratne), Army SC (led by Ashan Bandara) and Air Force SC (led by Parkrama Ratnayake).
There is a solid team build up at the Gymkhana Club (CH&FC) with the side being led this season by Avantha Lee and coached by rugby veteran Martis. The side finished at the bottom of the points table in the league tournament last season, but surprisingly produced some exciting rugby and was featured in some closely contested games as well. A question that rugby critics pose is how Sri Lanka Rugby SLR) can motivate a team like CH&FC- which had a low finish last season- when there is no relegation system in club rugby when compared to the schools tournament? In the schools’ rugby tournament the last placed team in the points table is demoted to playing in a lower division the next season.
Matches of the Nippon Paint Inter-club league rugby tournament will be officiated by an elite panel of referees assigned by the Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Football Referees.
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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