Sports
Other teams now forced to plan for CR and Lewke!
By A Special Sports Correspondent
So that prediction made during the launch of the inter-club league rugby tournament a few months back by none other than the sport’s main sponsor-Nippon Paint-that there could be a new winner this season (2023/24) is slowly coming true.
The battle is only half won, but what mattered was that CR&FC caused a dent in Kandy SC’s ego and showed to the rest of the teams in the competition that the Nittawela side can be beaten at home and in front of a vociferous crowd. CR&FC played the game at a furious pace and scored a couple of tries when Kandy was napping. The final score read 38-26 in favour of the ‘Red Shirts’ which eventually put them in the top spot in the points table followed by Kandy SC, CH&FC and Havelock SC in second, third and fourth place respectively. The try CR’s Manika Ruberu scored with the kick-off was a classic example to give the message that no team can afford to take time to settle down even if the game is just seconds old. CR had seven points on the board as a result with the game not having even completed the first minute of play.
One could clearly see the intricate planning and reading of the game by CR coach Dushanth Lewke. He has come a long way as a coach and has infused his charges with the knowledge needed to stay in this game and be counted. It was not easy, perhaps, with Kandy SC having recruited Johan Taylor to assist Fazil Marija, the official head coach. Marija, compared to Lewke, counts more ‘experience’ and ‘achievements’ as a player; both in international and domestic rugby. He even sees a stand in his name at the Nittawela Stadium. They played against each other and also together because Lewke also had a short stint with Kandy SC before crossing over to CR&FC, the club he represented before hanging up his boots. Lewke’s club rugby career began with CH&FC. Both players won their national jerseys around the same year (2003): Lewke representing Sri Lanka at the Asian Quadrangular against Arabian Gulf and Marija winning his first national jersey when he was chosen to represent the country against Hong Kong in the IRB/ARFU match against Hong Kong. Interestingly both players have ancestral connections to rugby; Lewke’s dad (Nimal) being a former national rugby coach and Marija connected to a family clan where his first cousins are former national rugby players Nilfer Ibrahim and Dev Anand. The bottom line is that Lewke has game-changing potential as a coach and Marija has to bring in that game-changing attitude he showcases as a player into his coaching career. From a coaching perspective, it’s still easy to separate the men from the boys.
Back to the game, it was CR’s lightning speed that undid Kandy SC. After Ruberu touched down the try that scrum half Kavindu de Costa produced underscored that the Red Shirts were going to capitalise on a half-hearted defence, napping and lapses in concentration by the opposition. The penalty that Kandy had to pay was immense; the Nittawela side saw their goal line being crossed on six occasions and all with ease. The other try scorers for CR were Adeesha Weerathunga (2), Kushan Tharindu and Gemunu Chethiya.
This performance by CR definitely shook Kandy from its foundation. Even shifting the experienced Srinath Sooriyabandara (Soori) from full-back to his pet position of scrum half couldn’t produce that expected second-half rally to turn the result of the game. Kandy SC made so many other replacements in the second half through utter desperation. There were some moments of excitement in the Kandy camp, however, when Tharindu Chathuranga and Nigel Ratwatte scored two dazzling tries and made the home team’s score read 21 against Kandy’s 26; all very early in the second half. This score remained unchanged till the last 12 minutes of the game. Then CR produced another burst of tries which came off the efforts of Kushan Tharindu and Adeesha Weerathunga. Kandy’s last try of the match came from Dilan Ekanayake. The only hitch for CR was that they gave away more yellow cards (3) than Kandy SC (2).
Kandy SC has the second round and be in contention. The second round sees the top four teams in the league tournament contesting for the Cup Competition. The bottom four teams will vie for honours in the Plate Championship. Interestingly none of the three forces teams together with Police has made it to the Cup Competition.
Kandy still has the potential to finish the season on a high. It has one of the best grounds and training centres in the central hills. They also have the support of a loyal fan base and sponsors who have been unwavering in backing this side. On a note of concern do we see appointed skipper Lavanga Perera taking decisions and leading the side when on the pitch? That role is played by the Ratwatte brothers and we can clearly see that. This piece of writing is not to undermine the knowledge and commitment that the Ratwattes bring to the game. But Kandy SC must also give thought to nurturing leadership qualities in players; especially when someone has been given the reigns as captain.
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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