Sports
The Anthonian Eagles have landed on the rugby field and their claws are sharp!
By A Special Sports Correspondent
The inter-school league rugby tournament has reached its most interesting stage which is the super round and four teams-Isipatana, St. Anthony’s, Royal and St. Peter’s – have pushed through all barriers to keep their hopes alive.
Apart from the three Colombo-based schools mention must be made of St. Anthony’s College Katugastota which did well to be counted this season with an improved performance and also showing the makings of a side that could rate them as the dark horse of the tournament. Now we all know that the dark horse concept is used in sport when a side has an outside chance of winning the tournament. The Anthonians deserve this tag because they have improved with every game and given there were seven grueling weeks of rugby thus far who knows how energies have depleted in the other teams. A good example is Trinity which had to pull out of last week’s game against Zahira citing illness to at least six of their players.
The only side from Central province to make it to the final four, St. Anthony’s, has lived up to expectations this season winning four out of the six matches they’ve featured so far in the tournament. The wins came against Joes (22-12), Wesley (30-29), Kingswood (26-10) and S. Thomas’ (34-17) while they went down fighting to Isipatana (37-26) and D.S. Senanayake (23-19). That’s a pretty impressive performance under skipper Sahan Keerthisiri who has played well as fly-half and mesmerized opposition teams with his booming and well-calculated kicks this season. He is also an inspiring skipper and led with example on the field. The Anthonians are coached this season by Sri Lanka player Srinath Sooriyabandara and much is expected of this team when the super-round matches begin soon.
St. Anthony’s is a school which has produced many great rugby players in the likes of Gavin Stevens, Andre Titus, Charlie Joseph, Tuan Doole, Priyantha Ekanayake, Leroy Fonseka, Pradeep Liyanage, Prasad Betepola, Tikiri Dissanayake, Lasantha Wijesooriya, Sameera Silva, Malith Silva, Imran Bisthamin, Diunk Amarasinghe, Nihal Viper Guneratne, L.V Ekanayake, Sanjaya Amunugama, Jeewa Jayasiri, Jude Dimithri and Amir Shajahan. The school had a wonderful year in 1988 under the captaincy of Leroy Fonseka and finished as runners up in the league rugby tournament. Their next best season came in 2001 when they won the league rugby tournament under scrum half and Sri Lanka youth player Tikiri Dissanayake where they got the better of Isipatana in the final showdown at Longden Place. That year the final game in the league tournament was marred by spectator violence and the Anthonians opted out of the knockout tournament citing security reasons.
Isipatana is the other side to watch in the super round. The Green Shirts have played cohesive rugby in the seven weeks they’ve featured in the tournament under skipper Nuwan Kanishka. What’s great in this school famous for rugby is that they have a way of finding replacements for those who finish their academic education with the institute. And unlike some other leading rugby playing schools the Green Shirts are not criticized as much for poaching players from other schools to strengthen their team. The side coached by Saliya Kumara have already beaten Kingswood, S. Thomas’, St. Joseph’s, D.S. Senanayake, St. Anthony’s and Wesley. Isipatana undoubtedly is the most feared and much-fancied side to walk away with the league trophy on yet another season. A recent Facebook post about Isipatana reproduced here would confirm what’s said by this writer in this column. Once a son asked his dad the question “Dad what’s schools rugby “and the dad’s answer came spontaneously “Son it consists of three tournaments where all the schools in Sri Lanka participate to play the three finals against a school called Isipatana”.
Royal College under skipper Randul Senanayake has done well this season to earn a name as a side that destroys the opposition in the second half. Their only setback came early in the season when they were handed a 11-5 defeat by St. Peter’s in the season opener. But as the season progressed the side picked the pieces up from that defeat, rebuilt their confidence and got the better of top Division 1 Segment A sides like Science, Zahira, Dharmaraja and Vidyartha, but lost to arch-rivals Trinity in the first leg of the Bradby Shield encounter; which was counted as a tournament fixture by the organizers of the tournament. The side is coached by Dushanth Lewke who holds the post of head coach. The coaching staff at Royal is packed with past superstars in the game like Radeeka Hettiarachchi, T.A Silva and Vishwamithra Jayasinghe apart from Lewke, who captained Sri Lanka in the 15-a-side version of the game.
St. Peter’s is the second unbeaten side in the tournament this season. It could be safely said that St. Peter’s is the side that could jolt Isipatana when the two sides clash in the super round. The side is packed with steppers (fleet-footed players). The school from Bambalapitiya has enough bench strength to stay competitive during crucial games as the tournament progresses to the super round. The side is led this season by Ashen Madugasge and coached by veteran Sanath Martis. The Peterites have had resounding wins this season and they ran up the season’s highest score which came against Vidyartha who they beat 66-10. They also had a moment of glory this season when they beat Trinity 22-10; a feat that would be etched in their rugby records for sure.
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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