Sports
The Emperor at 60!
by Rex Clementine
Arjuna Ranatunga hasn’t spared any sacred cow. All those years ago, he targeted Shane Warne calling him an ordinary cricketer and there was no love lost between the two of them. Yet, when there was a ceremony remembering Warne in Galle last year ahead of the Australia – Sri Lanka Test match, he not only showed up but urged a few of his team mates to come along. Exterior is rough and tough but interior is soft and kind.
Sportsmen rewrite record books. But Arjuna more often rewrote the rule books. He also upset the apple cart, told the Board Chairman once to get out of the Sri Lankan dressing room, broke a few glass ceilings and was a pain for successive administrations of the sport both here and overseas. He turns 60 today.
As India cements owner N. Srinivasan made a regal entry into cricket governance, everyone was careful not even to talk anything out of turn. The business tycoon was known for his ruthlessness. Influential figures in cricket who knew inside out of the devout Brahmin warned that never to cross Srinivasan’s path. But Arjuna took on Srinivasan.
He was the only one. The rest of them, including the founding members of the ICC – England and Australia fell in line with him and agreed for the Big Three takeover of the ICC and a larger portion of ICC revenue to India. Only Arjuna spoke out. This is an unfair world and cricket is an unfair sport. It’s not supposed to be that way. Forget the world. At least cricket is supposed to be a fair playing field.
Srinivasan taught Arjuna a bitter lesson. He contacted Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge and promised a tour of India that would bring US$ 10 million to SLC. But only on one condition. The government had to get rid of Arjuna as the Board Chairman.
Lokuge said deal. Arjuna was out. That Lokuge went and signed a television deal with a backlisted company and plundered millions of dollars is a different story.
The rule of the day seems that in cricket everyone should make money. Ministers, Presidential Advisors, Lawyers, Law Enforcement Officers and even us reporters. To hell with cricket. Even if the national cricket team’s performance has hit an all time low it doesn’t matter as long as the board is making profits. It is fine if we don’t play international cricket for nearly three months when the IPL is on. The important thing is not to antagonize India.
You thought the Srinivasan episode would have taught Arjuna a few lessons. No. He has not learned a single thing.
Srinivasan though only had clout being the big boss of BCCI. His successor Jay Shah not only has clout, but he has even political power being the son of India’s Interior Minister and number two of the ruling BJP after the Prime Minister.
You knew what was in store for Arjuna when he ridiculed Shah. It was stupid. It was politically incorrect. The most sensible thing to do these days is to go with the flow. That is what Australian boss Mike Barid is doing. That is what Richard Thomson, the Chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board is doing, That is what right right is doing.
Why go and take on of all people Jay Shah? But that is Arjuna for you. He calls a spade a spade. Diplomacy is not his best trait. We all agreed that during the Asia Cup having a reserve day for just the India – Pakistan game was insane. But no body said a word. No one wants to antagonize the BCCI. Arjuna did. He called it ridiculous.
An Indian reporter asked him what he would have done if he were Sri Lanka’s captain. “I would have walked out with my team without playing the tournament. It’s not fair. Let them play an India – Pakistan final. This is not how I play cricket,” he said. How we long for those days. It would have been a nightmare for the ICC to deal with this guy.
At a time when our captains are happy to stand and take selfies with Virat Kohli, here’s one man who could have given Kohli as much as the Indian captain dishes out to others. At the age of 60 and being the grandfather of two, at least now you hope that Arjuna plays it safe. But that is not what he is. He has been always that combative kind of guy.
Playing his first game against his idol Sunil Gavaskar, Arjuna had goosebumps. It was a surreal moment. But the competitive nature in him compelled him to take on the Indian captain and get under his skin.
Gavaskar wasn’t upset but was impressed by what he saw in the teenager. He quietly went up to Board Charmian Gamini Dissanayake and told him, ‘Look after that boy. He will change Sri Lankan cricket one day.’
At times you tend to think that Arjuna is old school, but his observations on the game are quite sharp. India had come to Colombo for the Under-19 World Cup in 2006. One Rohit Sharma impressed him.
In subsequent years when the Indian senior team visited Sri Lanka and reporters interviewed him he kept on asking why Rohit Sharma is not part of the senior side. The Indians wondered why he is so obsessed with Rohit Sharma. The proof was there soon in what Rohit has gone onto achieve in the game.
Arjuna’s humour is quite unique too. For all these guys who have gone onto play the game at the highest level they have their humorous side.
Once he was captaining a World XI team against an Australian XI in Adelaide in an exhibition game. Ashwin Ferro, a reporter from Mid-Day newspaper from Bombay had gone to Adelaide for reporting.
A few World XI players were having niggles and the reporter had to play the game. Arjuna looked at him and said, ‘Hey you. You are bowling the first over.’ The poor reporter asked, ‘Why me.’ Arjuna replied. ‘You are from Bombay right. Most Ranji Trophy wins and all. Yes, you are bowling the first over.’
It’s been a glorious 60 for the captain cool. There are many wishes on his birthday and one of them is that he doesn’t change. You need that one voice to tell the powers that be to where to get lost.
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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