Sports
Nirmala prefers to nurture talent over being dragonslayer at TT
By a Special Sports Correspondent
Table tennis veteran Nirmala Jayasinghe sees a competitive atmosphere around him, but he still believes extending the hand of camaraderie to youngsters who are hungry for success and practicing hard.
Jayasinghe is a coach cum player and has been playing for the national team for the past 14 years (2010-2023). He is aged 41 now and spends much of his time sharing knowledge with players and nurturing young talent. He worked 17 long years for Mass Holdings, a giant in the merchandising business, but has now quit his place of employment and concentrates on making a living through his involvement in table tennis.
One might ask him whether it’s wise to share knowledge with youth players who have the age advantage over him when he too envisions retaining his slot in the national team. This is his response, “I believe that a senior player like me must do his part to nurture young talent. These young players must come up and older players like me can benefit by playing against young players possessing new skills and fitness. I too improve my skills when playing against up and coming players”.
Jayasinghe has completed the ITTF –PIT Level 1 coaching exam, ITTF Level 2 coaching exam and has now qualified for the ITTF Level 3 coaching course. He coached Kingswood College Kandy for 8 years and also had stints with Girls’ High School Kandy and the University of Peradeniya as table tennis coach. He wishes to see table tennis in Sri Lanka being lifted a few notches and for that he has two recommendations. “You either have to send the coaches abroad and train them at the next level or send players abroad and get them exposed to new knowledge,” opined Jayasinghe.
He remembers playing table tennis for his alma mater Vidyartha College Kandy from a very young age. That was a time when the school had the influence of a legend in the sport called Thilina Piyadasa. Jayasinghe remembers playing table tennis at that time when this great player was around. Piyadasa left Sri Lanka in 2007 and the responsibility of taking over table tennis in the Central Province fell on players like Jayasinghe. This is one reason why he has juggled a playing career with a coaching. A player with a large heart always sees the sport as a bigger entity than his personal goal. Players in the likes of Udaya Ranasinghe and Prasad de Silva came up and dazzled here and abroad thanks to his influence on them in coaching. Both Ranasinghe and De Silva are old boys of Vidyartha College. Thanks to the commitment and guidance given to the sport by players like Jayasinghe table tennis is today among the top most popular sports in Kandy.
As the years rolled on he became national champion (2012) and has emerged as men’s open singles champion in ranking tournaments over 10 times. He also plays in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles events. It was a little late when he was picked to represent the national side for the first time because he had reached the age of 28 by then. At that time (2010) he was the only known national player from Central Province to make it to the national team.
He has had the good fortune of representing Sri Lanka at top events like Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Lusofonia Games and the South Asian Games. Jayasinghe said that he has played his best table tennis when competing against European talent. For the record he won a second place in the ‘Fifth Division’ at the World Table Tennis Championships in 2012 held in Germany. He won a Silver medal at the South Asian Games in 2016, a Bronze medal at the 3rd Lusofonia Games in India in 2014 and finished among the best 8 players in the South Asian Region Qualifying Championships in 2022 and held in Nepal.
He is a married man and said that he receives the fullest support from his wife Sachi for his endeavours in table tennis. He has two daughters and both of them are playing the sport at a competitive level. “Unlike before I have time for my family and don’t wish to move out from where I live when pursuing my table tennis coaching because there is much support for me here in Kandy for whatever I do” said Jayasinghe.
Jayasinghe is a household name in table tennis at home and a lovely personality who’ll stop at nothing to extend a helping hand to a player in need of advice or coaching. Fans will remember him for the shots he has played at the tables and the victories he has recorded in the sport. But what will stand the test of time are the memories associated with him for being a such a humble guy and not allowing any of his success go to his head.
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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