Sports
Second tier tournaments vital to nurture rugby talent
By A Special Sports Correspondent
The conducting of the Governor’s Cup seven-a-side rugby tournament for provincial union teams catered to two interests in the sport; one is giving youth more opportunities to play rugby and the second is to have second tier tournament because all rugby players who are adults cannot find slots in A Division rugby teams.
Western Province’s men and women stole the honours at the one-day seven-a-side rugby tournament which was fairly competitive despite the fact that A Division players were not encouraged to take part at this event.
Tournaments of this nature take our memories back to the glorious years of rugby where even the B Division tournament was keenly contested. This writer remembers how players in the likes of Saman Jayasinghe, Hisham Abdeen, Chandrishan Perera, Baratha Hegoda and even the legendary Fijian Apisai Nagata played for B division teams. This tournament gave former ageing players an opportunity to slip on their boots and be involved in the game. Most of these players took the B division tournament very seriously. One of the teams formed to really give a run to the much fancied B Division teams was Kurunegala RFC. There was one year in the past when Kurunegala RFC won the B Division rugby title and had in their team past greats like Abdeen, Chandrishan and Nagata (Who was coach cum player).
Some of the competitive teams in the B Division tournament in the past were Police ‘Griffins’, CH ‘Kabaragoyas’, Havelocks ‘Bambaras’, Army ‘Colts’, Puffins RFC (Comprising working expatriates stationed in the island), Air Force ‘Chipmunks’, CR&FC ‘Bees’ and Navy ‘Dreadnaughts’. There were newspaper headlines in the past which caught the eyes of readers when a team like Havelocks’ Bambaras smashed Police Griffins at Police Park. On one such occasion a newspaper headline read ‘Bambaras swamp Police Park’. The headline in one of the Sinhala newspapers carried regarding the same match had more punch and read ‘police pitiyata bambara praharayak’ (which translated to English would read Police park comes under attack by honey bees). Sometimes the Sinhala language is much stronger compared to English when an idea has to be conveyed fast and effectively; especially when on the rugby field. When the opposition team used to get some ‘support’ from the referee we have heard in the past comments made in English like ‘Be careful now, the opposite team is playing with 16’. Conveying this message in Sinhala would be much simpler when someone shouts ‘refa hora’-referee you’re not honest!
There were times in the past when teams like Bambaras, Kabaragoyas, University, Bees and Colts could attract large and appreciative crowds for B Division matches. Most of these matches served as family gatherings because by the time one had retired from A Division rugby the player was married and came for matches as a father of many children. The B Division tournament gave an opportunity for past great players to gradually make an exit from the sport and not allow mood swings and depression to set in and fill the void created by retiring abruptly from the sport.
But now both the A Division and B division tournaments are played by either semi professional players or very young amateur players and they don’t show the enthusiasm showed in the past to stay back after a game and socialize. There was much fun and frolic after games in the B division tournaments in the past with beer shandy served in glasses and laid on tables accompanied by tasty mouthwatering snacks and bites.
Today much of those food items and drinks are on the taboo list for professional or serious rugby players.
The recently concluded provincial rugby tournament for the Governor’s Cup also reminds us that the B Division League rugby Tournament was revived last year after a lapse of four years. In this tournament- played for the Rudra Rajasingham Memorial trophy- Army’s ‘Four Wings’ emerged the victor in the finals beating Griffins 24-23. Six teams took part in the tournament. Last season we also saw the conducting of the Plantation Sevens rugby tournament; another event that keeps youth and older rugby players getting less opportunity to play rugby on their toes. The SLR should also consider having the Under 24 rugby tournament for clubs because all these lesser glamorous tournaments will help players play enough games during a season and stay fit and focused on rugby.
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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