Sports
Sri Lanka express dissatisfaction after Gunathilaka ‘Obstructing the Field’ decision
Second Sri Lanka – West Indies ODI tonight
By Rex Clementine
Cricket contests between Sri Lanka and West Indies generally have been good natured but on Wednesday the teams were involved in an ill-tempered game as opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was given out ‘Obstructing the Field’ during the opening ODI at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. He became the first Sri Lankan cricketer to be dismissed in that fashion.
Obstructing the Field is such a rare dismissal in cricket and only Len Hutton has been dismissed in that fashion in Test match cricket while there are less than handful of such incidents in all international cricket put together – Tests, ODIs and T-20s. It is one of the ten methods a batsman could be dismissed in cricket. Law 37 of Laws of Cricket says that any batsman to be dismissed in that fashion, there has to be ‘willful obstruction’.
Gunathilaka’s intentions did not look like deliberate. The left-handed batsman had posted a half-century while adding 105 runs for the first wicket with skipper Dimuth Karunaratne as Sri Lanka got off to a solid start. Then in the 21st over, Gunathilaka was given out Obstructing the Field when he trampled on the ball as Kieron Pollard was searching for a run out opportunity at the non-striker’s end.
Debutant Pathum Nissanka had set off for a run but Gunathilaka, who had advanced down the pitch, sent him back. He did not see where the ball was and while recovering to the crease, accidentally knocked on the ball.
Pollard, who is also West Indian skipper, appealed and umpire Joe Wilson referred it to the third umpire. His soft signal was out. The third umpire had enough evidence to overturn the decision but he opted to go with the original decision ruling the batsman out. It was all happening in double quick time and Gunathilaka was hard done by.
The Island
learns that Sri Lanka’s team management expressed their dissatisfaction with regards to the dismissal.
Usually, in ODI cricket, one of the on-field umpires and the third umpire are neutrals but in this age of the pandemic, the International Cricket Council has decided to field local umpires for all international games. However, as cricket moves forward while dealing with the pandemic, the need to get the best match officials follow quarantine processes and be available for international games has been felt.
There was lot of support for Gunathilaka with former West Indian captain Darren Sammy – who won two T-20 World Cups – tweeting in support of the Sri Lankan batsman. ‘Don’t think that was willful at all. I wouldn’t have appealed,” Sammy said.
The dismissal proved to be a bitter blow for the Sri Lankans – who collapsed and were shot out for 232 runs after being well placed at 105 for none. The run chase was child’s play for the hosts who reached the target with eight wickets and three overs to spare. Shai Hope made 110 and was involved in a 143 run stand for the opening wicket with Evin Lewis.
Sri Lanka were sloppy with their running between the wickets with Angelo Mathews and Pathum Nissanka being run out.
Nissanka, who has been a prolific run scorer in domestic cricket, was one of the debutant for Sri Lanka in the first ODI with Ashen Bandara being the other. Both players aged 22 are from Galle. Nissanka looked a very busy player pushing his seniors for quick runs while Bandara became the fifth Sri Lankan to make a half-century on debut. Sunil Wettimuny, Chamara Silva, Kusal Mendis and Ashan Priyanjan are the others.
The second ODI will take place today; also in Antigua with the game getting underway at 7pm Sri Lanka time. All-rounder Dasun Shanaka will be not available for selections as he only ends his quarantine on Saturday and his participation for Sunday’s final ODI too remains doubtful as he would have had little training under his belt.
Shanaka is not the only player Sri Lanka have missed during ODIs. Kusal Janith Perera, Avishka Fernando, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis all are missing.
West Indies won the three match T-20 series 2-1. The teams will play two Tests after the ODI series.
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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