Sports
Rugby milestones for Suri, Mithun and Nuwan
By A Special Sports Correspondent
Domestic rugby in Sri Lanka is making steady progress in its first complete club rugby season after the covid pandemic really crippled the game in the club scene during the past two years.Kandy Sports Club is making great headway in the season and watching all this progress with a sense of contentment is scrum half Srinath Sooriyabandara (Suri) who represents the Nittawela Club for the eighth consecutive year.
There is much talk about Sooriyabandara right now because he just turned 34; which makes him a very senior player in domestic rugby in both club and national rugby after having stepped into the senior category of rugby in 2009. One of the unique achievements of his is that he has represented Sri Lanka at rugby at three consecutive Asian Games.
Sooriyabandara is a stepper; a rugby jargon used to highlight the fact that a player can run pretty fast. This player also can take a few knocks on the field and has had his share of injuries. In a newspaper interview he had once said that he would love to erase all the injuries he has suffered which was his answer to the question ‘what would you erase from your life if given a chance’.
Sooriyabandara has been around for a while; hence he has made some vital combinations with players in the likes of Nigel and Tharinda Ratwatte and before that with rugby legend Fazil Marija. As scrum half he has paired off with some of the best fly halfs in the game.
He came as acting skipper for the Asian Sevens Series in the absence of regular skipper Sudarshana Muthuthantri. But then there were seniors in the caliber of Gayan Weeraratne to guide him. That was the start to his leadership in rugby and he went on to captain the national side on many occasions; his role as captain at the last Commonwealth Games in Birmingham serving as a feather in his cap.
He got his opportunity to play alongside Marija. At the ‘Mumbai Sevens’ he played alongside Marija and helped Sri Lanka emerge the victor. Sri Lanka beat Malaysia 22-17 in the final at that tournament. If one takes Sooriyabandara, Tharinda, Nigel and even Mithun Hapugoda the country is now blessed with some able senior rugby players who have been around for a while. Sooriyabandara commenced his rugby career at Isipathana College in Colombo and showed enough promise that he would continue into the senior level and graduate to the national side. But despite all his achievements in rugby union he still cherishes the moment he was presented with the Isipathana College rugby jersey and rates that as the crowning moment in his rugby career.
After leaving school he represented CR&FC and shifted to Upcountry Lions and then Navy Sports Club before settling down at Kandy Sports Club. At the Nittawela Club it was not easy for him to cement his place with Roshan Weeraratne playing in his pet position. But as he put in the years and moved to the next level of playing and with Weeraratne hanging up his boots Sooriyabandara made himself the number one choice to wear the number nine jersey for Kandy SC and Sri Lanka. Critics believe it’s encouraging and inspiring to see such an aged player making continuous headway in the game and also retaining his slot with the number one domestic team in the island. He is now at the peak of perfection and it is interesting to see how much longer he can hold on to his pristine condition as a semi-professional sportsman. He has played 13 years of rugby as a senior player and retirement must be a topic flashing in his mind now and then. But the game he plays from the base of the scrum suggests that Sooriyabandara has some unfinished business to attend to as a player.
This guy doesn’t need any motivation to tie up his boot laces and get on the field. We read somewhere in an interview Sooriyabandara saying he makes it a point to give off his best in whatever he does. That leaves him with being made to answer the question ‘what he would do the day he cannot give off his best? Many great players who were in the Kandy SC side left the ‘game’ before a coach or the club hierarchy told them ‘the decline has commenced’. Great players like Marija have taken to coaching and are running their own rugby academies. The grass is greener in areas outside the playing area at the Nittawela Club.
Havelocks Sports Club back division player Mithun Hapugoda reached the milestone of playing his 100th domestic rugby game. Hapugoda has been playing domestic rugby since 2012. He too is of the same age as Sooriyabandara; hence we see a rugby product of stellar quality. But there are other qualities in Hapugoda to talk about. This player has been loyal to Havelocks Sports Club which is commendable because players do switch their alliances with clubs ‘for a few dollars more’. He has had a pretty decent career as a rugby player and played in positions like winger and full back and also as scrum half when the need arose. That’s the caliber of this player. More than the skill he possesses as a utility player Hapugoda has catered to the need of shifting his playing position to meet the demands of the situation; underscoring the thought that ‘the club is more important than the individual’.
We have seen the best of Hapugoda in both 7s and 15-a-side rugby and what stands out in him is that he is a team player. He had his education at Mahanama College and this academic institute can take pride in producing an individual like him.
The other player who has come under the limelight this season is Air Force Sports Club back division player Nuwan Perera. He accumulated 100 points recently while playing as fly half for Air Force. The Airmen are going great this season and are now contesting the Plate Championship of the Inter-club League rugby tournament.
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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