Sports
SLR must put players in a bio bubble
Sri Lanka’s national players haven’t had international exposure at any form of rugby for a long time due to the present pandemic
by a Special Sports Correspondent
Sri Lanka’s sports scene is similar to a hatchling stepping into the world. Like the newborn learning to cope with new territory, Sri Lanka’s sportsmen and women have to carefully tread wherever they go due to the pandemic that’s raging.
Compared to other sports our rugby players have done little to get their training off the ground during this challenging environment. For their ill luck the inter-club rugby sevens tournament became a nonstarter because Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), a co host of the event, announced that it wasn’t in a position to go ahead with the tournament because of the pandemic. The tournament was to be organised by SLAF under the supervision of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) to celebrate the former’s 70th anniversary. Most club players who committed themselves even went into a bio bubble to prepare for the tournament. But all efforts channeled towards having a much needed rugby event proved futile in the end.
On the administration side of the equation there is SLR President Rizly Illyas who is struggling to kick start rugby events in the island. Just the other day he was quoted in the newspapers stating that Sri Lanka had received hosting rights for two Asian Rugby Sevens tournaments. However what catches the eye of this writer is a comment Illyas made regarding the announcement of the two tournaments. The SLR President says he is aware of the challenges posed by the pandemic to conduct a tournament of such magnitude. But most importantly he adds ‘We can’t sit back and wait’. That thought can create the platform to launch future rugby activities.
To conduct an international rugby tournament SLR needs the support of the Sports Ministry and Ministry of Health. According to informed sources Illyas is not enjoying the best of support from ‘other influential parties’ who can help the first rugby tournament to get off the ground after rugger activities came to a stop several months ago.
Rugby can take a cue from cricket, badminton, table tennis, chess and athletics. The national cricketers are making tours abroad and continue to be reimbursed despite the pandemic developing into a third wave and disrupting human life activities.
According to sources the majority of domestic rugby players are not getting remunerated hence the difficulty in getting them into a bio bubble and have an international tournament. Unlike the national cricketers the country’s best rugby players are owned by the clubs and not by the rugby controlling body. The SLR has to get its first rugby activity off the ground for the year 2021. Compared to rugby, which is starving, the international cricket calendar is chockablock. SLC CEO Ashley de Silva was quoted in newspapers saying that Sri Lanka hosting the Asia Cup would be put back, due to the pandemic, till late as after the 2023 cricket World Cup. This he says is because the national cricket teams of all countries have a packed schedule.
Even sports must be viewed from a human angle. As much as sports administrators use psychology to motivate players these players must be encouraged when sports activities have come to a standstill. They can take a cue from the Sunera Foundation, founded by Sunethra Bandaranaike. The foundation conducts workshops for differently abled persons. Workshops are conducted so that participants are able to feel, be seen and can express themselves in a creative manner. Rugby players must be made to feel that they are wanted and given opportunities to express themselves through sports.
From the perspective of player wellbeing Sri Lanka Badminton conducted an online fitness programme for the players titled ‘keep shuttle fit’. National coaches and players, members of the ‘challenge pool’ and junior players took part in the programme conducted in the mornings on weekdays. Even a sedentary sport like chess has got off the ground and the country’s national players are at present contesting the Asian Continental Chess Championship via online participation. Sri Lanka’s chances are carried at this chess tournament by Ranindu Liyanage, Minul Sanjula, L.M.S.T de Silva and Theekshan Dinuwan. The tournament is held from May 20-30.
All sports draw ‘oxygen’ form the National Olympic Committee (NOC). This is because the NOC facilitates travel of sportsmen and women to events like the Olympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. A top NOC official has been quoted in the newspapers that plans are underway to field teams for the Commonwealth Games (UK) and Asian Games (China). The NOC is concerned about how the Sri Lankans will perform, hence the committee has said that it wishes to see two sets of players being sent for the two events to enhance medal prospects and limit injuries.
In any given situation what matters is not how challenging the situation is, but how big the person put in charge of the situation is. All national sports bodies must have an innovative and determined president to make sure their respective sports don’t lose players. Just the other day we read in newspapers that some of our national cricketers are contemplating premature retirement because of reduced payments to them. But the SLC has made alternate plans to reimburse players with the best available paying scheme. The idea is to keep the players in the game during difficult times. Given the present situation this writer hears of a sad story from the south. A known rugby coach is now undertaking home painting contracts in the absence of any money coming his way from rugby coaching. There is another rugby coach, possessing a bike license, who has taken up transporting food and has signed up with a food delivery company.
Going down memory lane to the late 1980s most defence establishments allowed their players to represent domestic clubs in SLR conducted tournaments at a time when the JVP insurgents threatened security forces personnel with death if they didn’t quit their places of employment. Careers of many rugby players were saved as a result of far thinking by the SLR (Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union back then).
The SLR has to come to the fore and sign contacts with players with the motive of putting them in a bio bubble when future international tournaments approach. This is the best time for the SLR to break the monopoly on players by clubs and look to the future and escape from the pandemic blues.
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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