Sports
International Cricket returns to Suriyawewa
Rex Clementine
at Suriyawewa
Suriyawewa is the hometown of some notorious gangsters in the country. The area was also notorious for many nefarious activities; cannabis and hooch were freely available until the Special Task Force intervened and cleaned up the area, a decade or so ago.
When former President Mahinda Rajapaksa wanted an international cricket ground in his electorate, Sri Lanka Cricket did a case study and chose Suriyawewa.
While the stadium was under construction around 2010, it took you nearly nine hours to reach it from Colombo. Now, thanks to the Southern Expressway, you can get there in a mere three and half hours. If it is a day game like the Afghanistan-Sri Lanka matches to be held on Friday, you can travel to the ground and return home the same day. Not for the reporters though, whose work starts after the game is over.
Even after getting out of the expressway at Suriyawewa, you tend to marvel at the roads that lead to the ground and the nearby airport. Even the common man feels like Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna when behind the wheel on these roads.
Initially, the idea of an international ground in this godforsaken area looked like a left field choice. Not anymore.
There is no better place for playing cricket than Suriyawewa, which is hot and humid. The British and the Aussies love it. That’s why England chose this place for their pre-Test camp when they came here amidst COVID in 2021.
When former leg-spinner D. S. de Silva was handpicked to head the cricket board in 2009, many wondered why. The reason was that President Rajapaksa knew here was a man who could make his wish come true– an international cricket stadium in the Hambantota district.
However, DS may have not presented all the facts to the President. It was thought that the stadium was built on an ICC grant to the SLC. But that wasn’t the case. Eventually, the SLC couldn’t pay the State Engineering Corporation or Ports Authority that built the stadium. President Rajapaksa had to intervene and he wrote off the debts.
The ground was built for the 2011 World Cup, but it fell behind schedule. When Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage broke the news to the President, he reportedly launched into a tirade.
Aluthgamage, despite all the criticism he gets, headed straight to Suriyawewa and camped himself at the ground for several weeks to ensure that ICC’s demands were met by the next deadline.
To Aluthgamage’s credit, the project got necessary approvals. It must be mentioned here that some of the leading venues in India like Calcutta were rejected. Calcutta is India’s first ever Test cricket ground and it is the backyard of cricket supremo Jagmohan Dalmiya.
Once the airport at Hambantota came in, the construction of an international stadium close to it made some sense. Teams have flown there directly ahead of cricket series.
More and more teams are exploring the possibility of playing there because cricket boards can afford chartered aircraft. Sadly, due to politics, matches were not played there for some time But authorities are realising the immense potential there and have started treating the ground fairly.
COVID was a good wake-up call, and with options for venues being few and rare, Suriyawewa proved to be a godsend. With a wildlife park in close proximity and other tourist attractions around, we will see more games being played here in years to come.
Obviously, the interest for cricket in the area is tremendous as quite a few time fans have crashed the gates and usually it is house full with 35,000 fans rooting for the Sri Lankan team. Authorities will do well to ensure transportation facilities to fans as many of them walk back home after games across thick jungles.
Lot of cricketing talent is emerging from and around this area as well. Pramod Madushan, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka are all from the Hambantota district. It should be found out why Hambantota produces mostly fast bowlers.
The school that produced a Sri Lankan Test captain in Suranga Lakmal, Debarawewa Central has fallen on hard times and is struggling to make ends meet as cricket equipment is so expensive these days. While international grounds in Hambantota are good, it is of little use if schools in the area cannot afford to play there.
Taking a leaf out of President Rajapaksa’s book, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured the Gujarat Cricket Association built a stadium in his beloved Ahmedabad. The IPL final three days ago was played there but there is criticism about the Narendra Modi Stadium as some boundaries are less than 60 metres.
No such problems at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium as every boundary is at least 100 metres. This indeed is a superb facility. There’s seating capacity for over 300 journalists and more importantly the hospitality that you get deep down south is out of this world.
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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