Sports
Trinity’s Althaf passes his toughest rugby test at the Bradby
By A Special Sports Correspondent
Trinity produced one of their best performances at rugby this season and most importantly showed how to play against a much favoured side like Royal this season in the first leg of their Bradby Shield encounter on Saturday (July 22).
Whatever said about Royal in pre-match previews Trinity sucked out Royal’s energies throughout a 70 minute blockbuster encounter and ran away worthy winners with a 13 points to 10 win at Pallakelle; a home turf which has brought the Kandy crowd in numbers when the Trinitians are at rugby. In other words Royal were given a taste of their own medicine. We have seen how the Royalists have snuffed the life out of teams in the second half this season and the Colombo boys were quite surprised when Trinity did that to them in front of a vociferous home crowd.
The Trinity players played a few notches less than their potential, but the game produced enough punch to keep an appreciative crowd at the edge of their seats. This was thanks to a rugby lesson Trinity gave everyone at the stadium in how to groom a player for the future. And the recipient of the lesson was young 16-year old fly half Shan Althaf who was easily the pick among the Trinity players in the game against Royal.
Althaf was struggling in the first half with his kicking boots and kicked astray three vital penalties; all which were taken within kicking range. Then someone in the bench or may be the skipper then decided that Trinity would pursue with the young lad in the kicking department for the rest of the game. We remember former Sri Lanka cricketer Marvan Atapattu’s zero zero days. The cricket management or coaches at that time pursued with Atapattu and the player went on to become the captain of the national side and also one of the best openers in the game.
Althaf has many more seasons ahead of him; three more if this writer’s calculations are right. He might even captain Trinity in the future.
St. Peter’s College Bambalapitya did well to beat Science College 29-0 last week which helped them remain unbeaten this season after six weeks of rugby.
There is also another aspect to this Althaf episode. The coaching staff at Trinity must have seen huge potential in the lad to play him so early or at such a young age in the First XV side. It’s damn hard to come in so young and play in such a physical game like rugby union; even though the competition is at school level. But present day rugby is played at a time when gym facilities and supplements available for sportsmen and women are at a very advanced level. Hence being the youngest member of the side doesn’t really matter because the body can be conditioned and nourished to take some big knocks on the rugby field. Althaf wearing the number 10 jersey fed his three quarters without being selfish and also tackled hard to excel in defence. The total points he contributed to the side was eight out of the 13 that Trinity piled up. We can remember some very young players who donned the first XV jersey in school rugby at a tender age. S. Thomas’ had prop Naren Perera who was 15 when he wore the blue- black jersey, Isipatana had Champika Nishantha (Playing as a utility player) who was 13 when he wore the green jersey and Nalanda had Centre Manjula Damith who was also 13 when he wore the First XV jersey. Damith and Champika went on to represent Sri Lanka at rugby.
Royal will be licking their wounds, but they have an experienced coach in Dushanth Lewke who is capable of putting the boys through their paces and getting them ready for the second leg of the Bradby which is scheduled for August 5 (Saturday) at Royal Sports Complex.
Isipatana College under the captaincy of Nuwan Kanishka did well to see off their opponents with much ease this season in the six outings they’ve had thus far. Last week they beat Wesley 24-11 at Havelock Park. Another side that has already booked their passage to the super round in the schools’ league rugby tournament is St. Peter’s which has remained unbeaten this season. They beat Science 29-0 at Bambalapitiya last week. The other schools which are in with a chance of filling the remaining two slots are Royal, S. Thomas’, D.S. Senanayake and St. Anthony’s which have one more game each left in the first round of the tournament. In the latest standings of the points table after six weeks of school rugby Isipatana and D.S. Senanayake occupy the first and second places respectively in Division 1 Segment A Group 1 while St. Peter’s and Royal occupy first and second places in Division 1 Segment A Group 2.
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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