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Mercantile Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka: 65 Years on

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By Eric Motha
Founder member and former president of
Mercantile Table Tennis Association

The Inter Club Championships of the Mercantile Table Tennis Association (MTTA) were successfully conducted in September as a prelude to the Open Championships scheduled for November 2022.

The MTTA has grown in stature and popularity over the passage of time with an array of dedicated officials totally committed to continuing the saga that commenced in the mid 50’s with delegates from the Mercantile Sector and Commercial Banks. It behoves us to recall and remember Messrs. Robin L Rutnam, M. Balaji, AK Nesaratnam, NM Udeshi, Charlie Daniel, Noshir Lakdawalla, C. Paramananthan who guided the destinies of the Association during the formative years. The baton was then handed over to charismatic Chandrakant Mohanlal Vasa whose contribution was unique in many aspects. He will always be remembered with respect and affection by all those who had the fortune of teaming up in implementing several programs during his tenure.

In 1969 history was created when the inaugural “BOUNCING BALL” was organized when Noshir Lakadawalla was president. The event, a first in the Mercantile sector, was revived after a hiatus by energetic Vice President Rodney St. John. It proved the ideal forum for the TT players and guests to join in revelry and camaraderie at the conclusion of the Association’s program. On a sad note Noshir Lakadawalla passed away this year in USA. He held the distinction of having won the National Men’s title whilst as a student at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and aged 15.

Vasa possessed a vision for the MTTA and during his Presidency extending over a decade and ushered in a new era with a marked increase in the number of TT players in the Mercantile sector and securing sponsors, a requisite for a viable sports organization. He was ably assisted by a team comprising Rodney St. John, W. Daluwatte, AK Issadeen, Rasakantha Rasiah, Annesley Gomez, Lucian Alles, Leonard Perera, NE Thangarajah, Sarath Gunaratne, Sunimal Salgadoe. Francis Legrand, Austin Fernando, Ajith Gamage, MR Jabir, Sunil Meewewa, Darlon Pereira, DM Munasinghe, Shirley Botejue, ACM Rauff, D’Oliviera, Tony Antonius and Robert Joseph among others. The writer succeeded Vasa at the helm followed by GEP Jayatileke, MR Jabir, Sarath Gunaratne, Ajith Gamage, Rajive Wijetunge, Vimarshana Gammanpila, Sukhita Samarakkody and Chanaka Perera the current President.

It is on record that several officials of the MTTA were elected to serve in the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka. They were involved in both Associations and carried out their duties with equal candour and dedication solely motivated by an innate desire to serve. The officials were: Sarath Gunaratne, Rajiva Wijetunge, Lalith Priyantha (Presidents) V. Gammanpila and Ashan Wickramanayake (VP) Ajith Gamage, Reza Latiff and Dhananjaya Dharmarathne (Secretary) and Gamunu Prabath (Asst. Treasurer)

It is a matter of pride that the MTTA had through the decades produced a galaxy of players who emerged as national champions and ranked players and represented the country at international tournaments with success: NM Udeshi, Charlie Daniel, Chrys Gunaratne, Noshir Lakdawalla, Paul Thambinayagam, RK Singham, K Arichandran, KC Chandraraj, Pesi Pestonjee, Annesley Gomez, Suresh Melvani, Ashok Melvani, Angelo Santiago, Rasakantha Rasiah. Sarath Gunaratne, MB De Silva, Ramesh Dharamdas, George Van Hoff, I Jayasiri, Lalith Priyantha, Shabbar and Shabbir Hussain,WA Buddhasiri,Nihal Gunaratne, Lalith PereraThilina Piyadasa, Nirmala Jayasinghe, KST Chalitha Rangana, Chameera Ginige.

Belle Weerakoon, Cuckoo Fonseka, Nandini Daniel, Srini Lucas, Carol Rudolph, Swarna Peiris, Namal Gunasekera, Shyamalee Dias, Tamara Hewage, Kalpani Herath, Srimali Wimalaratne, Deepika Kotinkaduwa, Saranga De Silva, Sachie Tennekoon. My apologies for omissions, if any.

Thilina Piyadasa has annexed the National Men’s Championship for a record seven times.

Rajiva Wijetunge holds a prolific record as an administrator, selector and player having participated in MTTA tournaments for 40 years and helped Ceylon Tobacco and MAS Holdings to win the ‘A’ Division Championships on several occasions. He won the Veterans Singles Championship too. Rajiva holds the record of being the 1st Sri Lankan to win a Medal for TT at the World Masters Games held in Canada in 2006. He also won medals for Sri Lanka with creditable performances at the World Masters and Masters Championships in South Africa and New Zealand adding to his laurels. The Association had the privilege and patronage of sponsors and Vice Patrons since its inception. Messrs. M. Balaji, NM Udeshi. AK Nesaratnam, Ana Punchihewa, Dr. IA Ismail, LCR Wijetunge, Inayet Akberally, Aloy Ratnayake and Chandrakant Vasa made a significant contribution.

Sukhita Samarakkody during his term as President organized a very successful Awards Night. The tradition will continue with the Colours Awards ceremony scheduled for December 10, 2022 under the chairmanship of Chanaka Perera, the current President.

Rajiva Wijetunge, Ajith Gamage and M Ruzaik Jabir teamed up well with Vimarshana Gammanpila, Sukitha Samarakkody and the incumbent President who followed them in office with their advice and necessary assistance in furthering the activities of the MTTA with diligence and commitment. The amalgam between the MTTA and TTASL was a key factor in the smooth functioning of both sports bodies. It is encouraging to learn that this partnership in promoting Table Tennis at the Mercantile and National levels proved a great success.



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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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