Sports
Mahanama’s book reveals Ranil backed Thilanga undermining Amarasuriya
by Rex Clementine
Among those who follow the gentleman’s game closely, many regard UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as Mr. Clean. But if they get hold of Roshan Mahnama’s new book, they will have a second opinion. Mahanama in his autobiography ‘My Innings’ goes onto claim that Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister in 2002 stopped then cricket chief Hemaka Amarasuriya from attending an ICC Meeting and instead nominated Thilanga Sumathipala.
“We were appointed to mange Sri Lanka Cricket due to a prevalent issue at the time, till fresh elections appointed a new committee. However, this was a very brief stint as the level of politics involved was contrary to my work ethic and principles. As an example, the Interim Committee decided that the Chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya should attend the ICC annual meeting. However, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe overruled and said that Thilanga Sumathipala who was not even part of the committee at the time, would attend instead,” writes Mahanama.
To give a bit of background, Sumathipala had been ousted a year prior to that as cricket chief by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and he would avenge his ouster by triggering multiple crossovers that crashed CBK’s Peoples’ Alliance government and Wickremesinghe’s UNP came into power. Sumathipala and the UNP had a deal and Wickremesinghe paved the way for Sumathipala to make a comeback at Maitland Place.
This is Mahanama’s second book on cricket and it was launched just before the festive season. Like the first one, it is selling like hot cakes. The book has some interesting anecdotes, mostly Mahanama’s observations during his long stint as a Match Referee with the ICC.
Often, cricket fans have wondered why Brian Lara batted wearing sunglasses during certain stages of his career. With fast bowlers operating at 140kmph it’s not the most sensible thing to do, that too in fading light. But Lara had his own ways. Mahanama’s book gives you a clue to his eccentrics.
“Memories go back to my first Test match in St. Lucia. I was walking out to the middle with the West Indies captain Brian Lara. I noticed that he was wearing dark sunglasses despite it being overcast and the possibility of rain and I made a casual comment with regards to it. Brian replied in typical Caribbean style, ‘Rosh, I came back at 5 am, and I need to hide my eyes from the camera.’ Such was the culture in the Caribbean and the brilliance of the individual he flayed the bowling to all parts and scored a hundred in quick time as well.”
Mahanama goes onto explain in the book some of the challenges that he faced in the early days as an ICC Match Referee.
“During my early days, I vividly recall some umpires intentionally used to call me ‘Ranjan’ repeatedly. I perceived this to be done as a side jab or indication that they believed that I had received my appointment due to Ranjan Madugalle, as it was only Sri Lanka who had two members on the Elite Panel of seven referees. I handled the issue patiently and professionally. Once I became more confident in my role, I used to at times reply in jest that, ‘you can only take a horse to the water, but you can not make it drink.’
Mahanama’s book also deals with some of the issues facing Sri Lankan cricket and most cricket enthusiasts tend to agree with his sentiments.
“Since the 1996 World Cup, for over two decades most of the administrators at the top have remained unchanged. They transfer from one position to the next and make changes with individuals such as coaches and selectors who are involved with cricket operations. However, it is ensured that they themselves or individuals associated to their ideology remain in key positions. A profound change is now required,” he notes.
“The constitution of SLC and the Sports Law of the country needs to be changed drastically. The present system where appointments are made through an election of club representatives numbering over a hundred small clubs, some of which are unheard of, leaves significant room for mismanagement by certain individuals. Such votes are easily bought over, which leads to the monopoly created by the same individuals who keep getting themselves re-elected. Hence, a complete revamp is needed,” he goes onto point out.
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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