Sports
Cracking the Avishka Fernando code
by Rex Clementine
Cabinet Minister Bandula Gunawaradene once said that Rs. 2500 is sufficient for a person to live a month. The argument did not go down well with the public. This is what happens when successful tuition masters try their hand in guiding the national economy. On the same note, it is a tricky subject for not so successful cricket writers to give suggestions on how the national cricket team should function. Nevertheless, it is good to be an armchair critic once in a while as long as you don’t get your calculations totally wrong like Bandula sir.
So, we have been sold this theory that Avishka Fernando has a chink in his armour opening the innings and that he is better off playing at number four. With gents like Mickey Arthur and Mahela Jayawardene being the theorists, the press took the bait, hook, line and sinker. Well, the two gents were asked to explain their theories. They played their cards close to their chests. Apparently, they did not want to let the cat out of the bag. Fair enough.
The closest it came to was that during Power Plays with field restrictions on and the inner circle cramped, Avishka struggled to find the gap and rotate the strike.
Some did not buy into that theory. Jaffna Kings, Avishka’s franchise owners certainty didn’t. They batted him at his usual position and the Moratuwaite came up with a stunning display hitting five consecutive sixes in an over this week. The bowler at the receiving end was T.M. Sampath, the younger brother of former captain T.M. Dilshan.
Avishka has always batted top of the order. He is so exciting to watch and there’s little doubt that he’s Aravinda’s heir given the time he has got to play his strokes and the natural flair. If it is true that why Sri Lanka wanted him to go down the order was because he was struggling to rotate the strike when field restrictions were on, it is defensive thinking, some could argue. We are a nation that got hold of not just one opener but two of them and told them to go helter-skelter upsetting the bowlers’ rhythm. Why can we not do the same with Avishka? Fair question.
You can not criticize Avishka’s demotion altogether for that tactic allowed Pathum Nissanka to move up the order and how well he has performed there. Sri Lanka were desperately searching for someone to bat through the 20 overs, often getting bowled out without utilizing their quota of 20 overs. Pathum has solved that problem. He plays the anchor role so well and occasionally brings up Steve Smith like strokes that you can only sit back and marvel.
Over the years, in Sri Lankan cricket we have converted some of our finest talents as opening batsmen. They have all done terrific jobs top of the order. But to get an opening batsman to bat at in the middle order is almost unheard of. Also the theory that Avishka is fine to open batting in ODIs but not in T-20s doesn’t add up. One of Dav Whatmore’s theories was that your best players needed to ‘consume the larger amount of overs’ when it came to white ball cricket.
There’s some fault in Avishka too. He was going to make his Test debut early this year against England in Galle but was sent home having failed a fitness test. Apparently the Sri Lankan team manager at that time, former fast bowler Ashantha de Mel, had lower skinfolds than Avishka! A little bit of discipline, common sense and interest in what you are supposed to do can take you places. On the other hand, lack of intent will see your talent going down the drain and if you are not disciplined you have so much to lose.
Mickey Arthur’s fitness regime needs to be commended. No Sri Lankan coach has stressed on fitness as much as Mickey and his theory of ‘my way or the highway’ worked wonders. Mickey after all was someone who sacked Mitchell Johnson of all people for failing to do his ‘homework’. Taking on Avishka would have been child’s play for him. There is only one language that some players understand.
Coming back to the question whether Avishka should open or bat at four, it is an interesting debate. People like Mickey, who has coached four international teams and Mahela, who has turned everything he touched in coaching into gold need to be given the benefit of the doubt. But then, they taught us at school that only the Pope is infallible. Maybe MJ too when it comes to cricket.
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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