Stoinis thrills and crushes Sri Lanka

Rex Clementine in Perth

Australia are such a balanced side and that’s why their embarrassing defeat in the opening encounter of the ICC T-20 World Cup against New Zealand is hard to comprehend. The defending champions had lost by 89 runs in Sydney to their Trans-Tasman rivals and Sri Lanka had to bear the brunt of their efforts to improve the Net Run Rate. Eventually, the hosts crushed them by seven wickets with 24 deliveries to spare yesterday night.

The Aussies have so many match-winners in their ranks and someone like Steve Smith can’t even find a place in the side. They chased down a target of 158 with Marcus Stoinis starring having reached his half-century in just 15 balls. The all-rounder smashed four fours and five sixes.

Sri Lanka had their moments. Lahiru Kumara bowled with fire and hit Glenn Maxwell on the chin and the batsman was hopping around like a cat on a tin roof. Losing Binura Fernando in the very first over was a massive blow for Dasun Shanaka and the team’s injury list just keeps growing. The left-arm seamer who was flown in for the injured Dilshan Madushanka has barely lasted a week in Australia. Fernando himself is returning from injury and someone has to tell us the reasons why we have had so many injuries in recent months.

Optus Stadium in Perth is Australia’s third biggest ground and has been used for other sports like rugby too. Not too long ago the All Blacks graced here and at times fielders looked to be needing the speed and athleticism of that magnificent rugby team. Even miss-hits fell between the players.

Sri Lanka managed just two sixes in their innings both scored by Charith Asalanka, who got his break only because of injuries. Asalanka was such a hit during the last World Cup and looks to be the man destined to take Sri Lankan cricket forward. For him to be given the cold shoulder is a no brainer.

A total of 25,069 fans witnessed the proceedings yesterday. In Perth’s old ground – the WACA – it would have been a full house. Two thirds of the posh Optus Stadium where cricket shifted in 2018 was empty but the Papare band kept everyone entertained. Most of the numbers they chose were of Sunil Perera’s. Some of his finest hits although were released in the early 1980s, they are still popular even among the younger generation. Sunil may be not the baila king, with another Moratuwaite – M.S. Fernando owning that title, but he was one guy known for creativity and such talents need to be celebrated.

Sometimes a nation’s old-timers are celebrated even overseas. A couple of Aussies were wondering yesterday what Aravinda de Silva is up to these days. Aravinda may not have the numbers of Kumar Sangakkara or Mahela Jayawardene, but if there was one batsman who gave the Aussies nightmares it was Aravinda. One of the chaps who asked about Aravinda was Malcolm Conn, Australia’s celebrated cricket writer. Conn in 1999 exposed that Cricket Australia had secretly fined Shane Warne and Mark Waugh for accepting money from a bookie.

Conn won a national award for the story that brought Australian cricket to its knees. Soon, Cricket Australia put their house in order.