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Four teams each to be relegated to ease top tier congestion

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While the top four teams of each group compete in the knockout stage, the four lowest placed teams will have to compete in a relegation match to retain their place in the tournament

Under 19 Cricket

by Reemus Fernando              

Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA), the organizers of the Under 19 Inter School Cricket tournament is set to demote four teams from each tier in both the Division I and II segments at the end of this season to reduce the congestion created by last season’s relegation fiasco.

“Since there was no relegations last season there will be an excess of teams in each Division after the two highest placed teams from lower tier and division were promoted at the end of the season. Two more teams will be promoted to higher Division and tiers at the end of this season as well. To avoid congestion it was agreed at the Executive Committee meeting and at the fixture meeting to demote four teams from each tier,” Nishantha Kumara, the Under 19 tournament secretary of SLSCA told The Sunday Island.  Currently there are twenty teams in the Division I Tier ‘A’ tournament, while there are 18 teams in Tier ‘B’. In the Division II category, there are eighteen teams each in both the Tier ‘A’ and ‘B’ segments. In each tier the league matches are played in two groups.

The number of teams in each tier increased by two teams at the end of the last season as the Ministry of Education requested the SLSCA to stop relegating teams to end a deadlock between the SLSCA and the lowest placed teams in the top tier of the Division I tournament. Some teams protested against relegation alleging that they were unaware of the relegation method at the end of the tournament.

In a bid to decrease the number of teams in each tier the SLSCA will demote four teams this season.

The four lowest placed teams in each group will have to win a relegation match played against the lowest placed teams in the other group in their tier to retain their place. The teams losing these matches (first innings points or outright) will be demoted to the lower tier or the division. In case of a no decision, bonus points will come into equation. When a match had not lasted for 70 overs the average points earned during the league stage will decide the winner.

The SLSCA has not fixed a date for the tournament to commence but has set March 15th as the deadline to finish the quota of tournament matches. While the four lowest placed teams play relegation matches the top four teams of each group will reach the knockout stage.  The knockout stage consists of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.



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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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