Sports
Injuries a concern as Sri Lanka prepare for Asian Rugby Sevens
By A Special Sports Correspondent
Sri Lanka’s rugby players got the opportunity to come out of the woods and be back in the game with their participation at the Warrior Cup rugby sevens held recently in Colombo.
New players impressed during the two days of rugby and the sport found a new winner in Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club who won the Cup Championship; probably for the first time in the domestic seven-a-side rugby history of the game.
The tournament featured mostly players from the security forces establishments and the Police and also two clubs, which are struggling to stay on their feet. CH & FC did well to win the ‘Plate Championship’ and saw five of its players named in an initial national squad of 20. The squad is preparing to contest the upcoming Asian Sevens Series scheduled to be hosted in Dubai on November 19 and 20.
Havelocks SC looked quite ordinary on day one, but played better on the second day to finish as winners of the ‘Shield’ competition. One of the local favourites Havelocks SC had many ‘youth’ in its line-up, but none of them were named in the initial national squad announced soon after the tournament. According to reliable sources many players named in the squad are carrying injuries-sustained at the domestic sevens tournament- which would mean that there will be new names added to the squad as training progresses with coach Nilfer Ibrahim and the watchful eyes of Ben Gollings, who serves as the Consultant Director of Rugby Sevens.
Probably the injuries were expected because the players were in ‘cold storage’ for a good part of the past one and a half years due to restrictions on sport due to Covid regulations.
Despite the rustiness shown by players at the domestic rugby sevens, expectations are high that they’ll bounce back to their usual strengths as they go through the training sessions conducted by experts hired for the task.
Sri Lankans have the knack for the abbreviated form of rugby union and have kept their heads high in the Asian Sevens Series with some telling performances in the past. There have been many occasions when Sri Lanka showed the potential and had good preparation for the Asian Sevens, but teams like Hong Kong and Japan have often taken the game away from the islanders.
This season is going to be a challenge for the players. This is because the national pool has been formed with players being drafted from as many as five different clubs; in the past the best sevens players came from Kandy SC, CR & FC, and Havelocks SC. But this time around Havies didn’t have their players in the initial pool and the players from Kandy and the Longden Place club were not considered for selection because they didn’t take part in the domestic sevens championships.
Rugby critics however point out that some of the national players who could not be involved in the recent selection tournament should be considered for selection taking into account past performances and their services to national rugby. It would be unthinkable for Sri Lanka to compile a winning line-up at an international rugby sevens tournament without players in the calibre of Danush Dayan, Kavindu Perera, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Jason Dissanayake and Tarinda Ratwatte; who are all members of the Nittawela Club.
Sri Lanka has been pooled along with teams like UAE and Asian giants China in ‘Pool B’. The teams forming ‘Pool A’ are South Korea, Philippines, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
The initial Sri Lanka squad for the Asian Sevens Series was picked by a selection committee headed by former Sri Lanka skipper Asoka Jayasena. This squad is likely to include new faces, according to informed rugby sources.
Training concurrently with the men’s national team is a women’s rugby pool which will also contest the tournament in Dubai.
The following is the initial national squad picked to go into training for the Asian Sevens: Nuwan Perera, Ishara Madushan, Ramith De Silva, Anjula Hettiarachchi (Air Force), Sachith Silva, Iroshan Silva, Vageesha Weerasinghe, Suranga Kasun (Police), Sudharaka Dikkubura, Nalaka Maduranga, Lasantha Kumara, (Army), Adeesha Weeratunga, Kanchana Ramanayake, Chathura Senevirathne, Nishon Perera (Navy), Samual Ogbebor, Hirantha Perera, Kushan Indunil, Reeza Raffaideen, Janidu Dilshan (CH&FC).
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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