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Dinara’s presence in tennis has been magical!

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Dinara de Silva has taken the Sri Lankan junior tennis scene by storm (picture by Kamal Wanniaarachchi)

By A Special Sports Correspondent

Sri Lanka’s new tennis sensation Dinara De Silva has taken the court by storm and is knocking on the door to achieve greater successes.

Her leap to stardom began last year when she won the National singles crown beating one of her favourite players in the sport; Angelika Kurera.

And this year she followed that spectacle by winning the singles crown at the SSC Open where she beat her schoolmate Saajida Razick in the finals.

The clock has turned full circle for Dinara. Till last year she couldn’t compete at open events because of an ITF age rule; which prohibits junior tennis players from contesting against seniors till they reach age 14. Beating Angelika was perhaps one of her best moments in the game because one rarely gets to beat a player who you admire when the latter is still actively involved in tennis. Till a few years ago Dinara was just a little girl watching the seniors play and dreaming to emulate them. Now she is a feared opponent and even the seniors have to take her presence in a tournament seriously. On a note of encouragement she has said that she was given a huge welcome and much encouragement by the seniors when she stepped into playing in their league.

This year she added another feather in her cap when she was picked to represent Sri Lanka at the first round of the ITF Junior Circuit Tennis tournament (Colombo) where she shone for her country. The other players who did well at this tournament were Methvan Wijemanne and Vichinthya Nilaweera. She has qualified to play in the second round of the tournament which is now in progress at the SLTA courts in Green Path.

In a recent newspaper interview young Dinara had spelt out as her immediate goals to place herself within the top 100 ranked players in the world in the under 18 category. This target she hopes to reach within the next three years. Her present world ranking among juniors who are playing singles is 968 as at January 29, 2024. This apparently is her career best international ranking to date in the singles event.

One factor that stands in good stead for her is that she has supportive parents who encourage her involvement in tennis. However, at the initial stages of trying out sports, Dinara had dabbled in cricket. Her promise and potential shown in hand-eye coordination in the bat and ball game had prompted her dad to send her for tennis practices. Thus began a journey in tennis where she has delivered and done justice to the choice her dad made in picking a sport for her.

She is still a schoolgirl and does her studies at Bishop’s College, Colombo. She has represented her school at tennis, but despite her enthusiasm and appetite for tennis ‘winning’ at the sport came after much hard work and a long wait. According to newspaper articles about her she now practices at the Dineshkanthan Tennis Academy. But she still remembers her first tennis coaches who helped her cut teeth in the sport. She thanks them for introducing her to the sport and helping her in a manner in which the seeds of interest for tennis were planted in a manner in which this teenager would stick with the sport for a long time.

Playing tennis at national level can be very competitive for such a small girl like Dinara. She is aware of her work load in tennis and avoids walking in the path to ‘burn out’. This is why she may have skipped some tournaments which she would have contested in the recent past.

She has been quoted in newspaper interviews saying that tennis demands much physical work and a lot of expenses have to be met just to stay in the game. Right now other than playing tennis and managing her studies she has no time to enjoy some of the fun aspects of life any other teenager would love to experience. Though she must attend physical classroom sessions to pursue her education here in Sri Lanka she has said that in other countries tennis players have the option of following their studies via online education and spend the rest of the time of the day at the tennis academy. This is one area where Sri Lanka’s education authorities must focus on and make the necessary adjustments if they want the island’s teenage sportsmen and women to balance their school education and involvement in professional sport.

Looking forward to from what she achieved at the SSC Open and the recently concluded ITF Junior Circuit matches she hopes to make the Sri Lanka team at the Billy Jean King Cup (July/August), the Qualifier for Asia Oceania Main Event (April/May) and the Junior Billy Jean King Cup (under 16) Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifier Team Event which is scheduled in Colombo.

This girl who started playing tennis even before she started schooling in the Grade One class has come a long way. She remembers crying before a match when she was new to tennis, but if there are any tears that are shed now they have to be associated with the sweet successes of victory.

When a player young as her achieves stardom and becomes a teenage prodigy she builds a culture around her in what she is good at. The influence she is now able to create on other teenagers through tennis can be very ‘infectious’.



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England face Australia in the battle of champions

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Jos Buttler has Jofra Archer back to bolster the England bowling attack [Cricinfo]

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]

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South Africa up against their bogey team in batter-unfriendly New York

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Paul van Meekeren with Sybrand Engelbrecht after Netherlands' win over South Africa in the 2023 ODI World Cup [ICC]

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]

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Mustafizur, Rishad, Hridoy dazzle in Bangladesh’s tight two-wicket win over Sri Lanka

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Mahmudullah's unbeaten 16 proved crucial as Bangladesh lost late wickets [ICC]

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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