Sports
Dilruwan leaves having not fulfilled immense potential
by Rex Clementine
Of all Jesus’ disciples, Peter is the most famous one. Peter was there at every sermon, at every miracle Jesus performed and even cut off an ear of a guard when Jesus was about to be arrested. But, Peter was not Jesus’ favourite disciple. The favourite disciple of Jesus was John. Like Jesus, every leader had his favourite disciple. Some of our political leaders had Mervyn Silva while some other leaders had Sagala Ratnayake. Cricketer Dilruwan Perera was one such having been coaches’ favourite disciple. He announced his retirement from international cricket yesterday.
The national cricket team had many match winners since the big three retired in 2015. There was Dimuth Karunaratne, who was prolific overseas. Angelo Mathews was cut above the rest while Rangana Herath became the most successful left-arm bowler in the history of the game, pace or spin. But for Sri Lanka’s coaches from Graham Ford to Mickey Athur, their favourite was Dilruwan Perera.
Why is that the case you may wonder? That’s because Dilruwan did all the ‘dirty work’. If you needed a bowler to hold one end up, Dilruwan was your man. If there was an end from which your star bowler didn’t want to bowl, Dilruwan would gladly accept the role. If you needed someone to step up as night-watchman when Wahab Riaz was reverse swinging the ball to deadly effect, Dilruwan was your man. All the donkey’s work and thankless tasks were kept at the doorstep of Dilruwan and how well he performed them.
Dilruwan was a classical off-spinner. If you have no idea his impact on Sri Lankan cricket, be mindful that he was the nation’s fifth highest wicket taker in Test match cricket. The press often asked him why he didn’t try the doosra. His answer was curious. He used to say that it would be the end of his career if he tried the doosra. It could be taken in many contexts. One is that all his contemporaries who bowled the doosra chucked. Two is that ICC wanted to weed chucking out of cricket. Three is that it is impossible to bowl the doosra without bending your arm. Dilruwan would never explain his theory. He made us to find out the answer. He was quite a cheeky bloke.
You also tend to get the feeling that here was a man who never fully realized his potential. Dilruwan scored 95 runs on his Test debut against Pakistan in 2014. He should have scored more than the seven half-centuries he ended up with in Test cricket. His Test average of 18 hardly does justice to the immense talent he possessed as a batsman.
Some famous names of Sri Lankan cricket have been opening partners of Sanath Jayasuriya. There’s Roshan Mahanama, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Marvan Atapattu. Dilruwana opened batting as well with Sanath in an ODI against Australia at MCG. Such was his potential.
Dilruwan’s best game with the ball was against the Aussies in 2016 in Galle when he claimed a match bag of ten wickets for 99. Well, he did claim another match bag of ten wickets for only 78 against South Africa two years later also in Galle, but any performance that helps you beat the Aussies is special.
Some problems Dilruwan never overcame. He claimed more wickets in Test match cricket off no balls than the number of gazettes that Mahindananda has revoked as Minister of Agriculture. His fielding remained horrendous and there have been some costly drops
It’s been more than a year since Dilruwan last played for Sri Lanka. The demand to finish the kilometer run in less than eight minutes and 35 seconds was a killer blow for a 39-year-old. But to his credit, Dilruwan didn’t throw in the towel as soon as the time limit was set in place. He tried. He’s leaving the game having given some fine memories. But the question will always be asked could he have done more? He surely could have.
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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