Sports
No saint without a past, no sinner without a future
by Rex Clementine
Our criticism of Niroshan Dickwella hasn’t gone down too well with some people.After a career with the Sri Lankan side that lasted for nearly ten years, Dickwella was finally axed last year in favour of Sadeera Samarawickrama. He is back in the reckoning now having joined the team in Bangladesh as a last minute replacement for Kusal Perera.
Dickwella and his successor Samarawickrama have contrasting lifestyles. But that’s none of our problem. As the great Richie Benaud, one of the finest journalists once said, ‘Our job starts when players go on to the field and it ends when they come out of it. What they do in between is none of our business.”
Our evaluation of Dickwella is purely based on what he has done on the field. Yes, there is a bit of anger. As we said last week, Dickwella is the most talented person to play for Sri Lanka since Angelo Mathews. Add to that his fighting spirit and a sharp cricket brain, we even predicted that if someone were to emulate Arjuna Ranatunga, it had to be Dickwella.
Any coach who has worked with him from the great Graham Ford to affable Mickey Arthur would vouch for his precious talent. But what he has done with that talent is disappointing indeed.
Early in his career when Sri Lanka toured India, during a Test match in Calcutta we saw for the first time what Dickwella is capable of. It was a Test match that Sri Lanka were going to lose. But Dickwella saved it.
His time-wasting tactics and getting under the skin of the opposition was great to watch. More than that was his game awareness when he reminded the umpire the rule of three players behind square on the leg-side had to be a no ball. You had not seen that kind of combativeness since the days of Arjuna.
Dickwella stood up to Virat Kohli, of all people. They had a go at each other. Given the helm with which Kohli is held in world cricket, most people get their tail between the legs when Kohli has a crack at them. Opponents are just happy to click selfies with the Indian captain after the game. Not Dickwella. He stood his ground and told Kohli where to get off.
The Indian captain, known for his competitiveness, didn’t have an axe to grind with Dickwella after the incident. At the post-match media briefing he appreciated the confrontational attitude and told us that we are seeing a special talent. That was like music to the ear.
“I like to see that character. I liked that competitiveness on the field. He is someone who takes a lot of pride in his cricket, impressed with what I have seen so far from him. He has got great ability to do something very special for Sri Lankan cricket,” Kohli said in response to a question posed by Sunday Island.
“In the heat of things, I will do anything for my team to win. Dickwella is like me. Afterwards we had a chat on the flight. When your opponent is competitive you’ve got to respect that. He is a very feisty character and that works for his game. Credit for him for maintaining that and I am sure he will do many good things for Sri Lankan cricket.”
Then in the final Test match in Delhi, Sri Lanka were again staring down the barrel. A partnership between Dickwella and Roshen Silva helped them save the blushes. Sri Lanka had already lost the series having been beaten in Nagpur in the second Test. To everyone’s surprise Dickwella told his partner not to settle for a draw but try and chase down the target.
“We have anyway lost the series. It doesn’t matter whether we lose 1-0 or 2-0. But if we try and win this game, it will be our first Test win in India. We will create history,” those were Dickwella’s words to his partner.
Roshen Silva wasn’t so adventurous. He wanted to play for a draw. We all came home from that tour thinking what a precious talent we have unearthed. Sky was the limit we thought for Dickwella.
Well, we all know what Dickwella has gone on to achieve and done for Sri Lankan cricket. He has been an absolute waste of talent. You can not blame the administration at all. They have realized his skills and given him ample opportunities. But he has failed to grab them.
However, having said that, there is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future. Hopefully, Dickwella’s second coming brings the best out of him. Kudos to the selectors and the management for the manner in which they have guided him along this time. They’ve given him an ultimatum wanting more accountability. That’s the way it should have been always.
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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