Day: October 18, 2021

Dubai, October 17, 2021 (PPI-OT):Scotland sent shockwaves through the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a six-run win over Bangladesh and captain Kyle Coetzer explained that this is a result that has been a long time in the making.

The Scots booked their place at the tournament back in 2019 but have spent much of the Covid-19 pandemic having to readjust their plans as tours and matches have been postponed.

That has left plenty of time for planning and despite some early struggles in Oman, it all came together as Chris Greaves inspired the team to victory that puts Scotland in a strong position in Group B.

And for Coetzer, who was part of the Scotland team that beat Bangladesh back in 2012, it was also important to remember just how many sacrifices the team has had to make simply to get here.

He said: “It’s a huge win for us, it’s something we’ve been planning for a long time. It’s been a long two years since the qualifying tournament.

“Until a month ago we had played two games of cricket as a group so there was a lot of planning behind the scenes, a lot of guys working hard and it sometimes seemed you were working for nothing because our tours kept getting cancelled. So that was really hard for us to manage.

“But now we’re reaping the rewards of keeping the faith that this tournament would come around and we would be a better team for it when we arrive out here.

“There have been a lot of sacrifices for many players, associate cricket is very hard and to get the opportunity we do when we get out here, it’s important to take it because otherwise if you get brushed aside people don’t appreciate how hard associate cricket is. We’ve made some good strides and I’m really proud.”

Batting first, Scotland found themselves in trouble as Mahedi Hasan (3/19) and Shakib Al Hasan (2/17) made inroads and reduced their opponents to 53 for six.

However, Greaves hit 45 off 28 deliveries to carry the team to 140 for nine, before taking two wickets as the chase fell short with Coetzer impressed by the belief of his side, who he knows are capable of more.

He added: “It’s a special feeling to beat Bangladesh. It’s not the first time we’ve beaten them but we know the strength in depth in their squad.

“I think they gave us a lesson at the start of the innings with the skill that they put on show. It took a real fighting effort today. I was saying to our guys that we’re never out of the game and always believe. We’ll be looking for a more wholesome performance next time.”

Next up for Scotland is a clash with Papua New Guinea, who were well beaten by Oman in their opening game.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, take on the hosts in desperate need of a win, and for skipper Mahmudullah, it was their batting that faltered in this encounter, with Mushfiqur Rahim’s dismissal for 38 proving the crucial moment in the match.

He said: “I think Mushy’s (Mushfiqur) wicket was the turning point because Mushy was looking good today. Probably a set batter has to stay but I think as a batting unit, we are disappointed so it’s a concern. We need to see where we made those mistakes and try not to repeat those mistakes in the next game.

“I think the bowlers were on the right track, we picked up six wickets before they had scored 60 runs but after that, they had a good partnership. I have to give credit to those batters who built the partnership for Scotland, they played better cricket than us. We were just not good enough tonight.

“We’re really disappointed. On that wicket and that ground, I think 140 was very much gettable. As a batting unit, we made a lot more mistakes than the right things. So we need to see the areas where we could have done better and we need to pull our socks up and try to win the next game.”

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, October 18, 2021 (PPI-OT):Sri Lanka’s bowlers brilliantly restricted Namibia before Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Avishka Fernando helped chase down a modest total in style to start their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 campaign with an impressive seven-wicket victory.

Competing in the tournament for the first time, Namibia came into the competition as a team in form ­ winning 18 of the 22 T20Is they had played in their history, including three warm-up matches – but the 2014 champions showed their class in all three phases.

Sri Lanka were alert in the field and all five bowlers used took at least one wicket, with mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana’s three for 24 the highlight as Namibia were all out for just 96.

Namibia did take three early wickets in response but Rajapaksa (42 not out) and Fernando (30 not out) added a brilliant unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 74 in just 8.2 overs to see them home with 39 balls to spare.

The Sri Lankan team sported black armbands and both teams partook in a moment’s silence before the match in memory of the country’s first Test captain, Bandula Warnapura, who died on Monday aged 68.

With Sri Lanka having won the toss and chosen to bowl, Chamika Karunaratne set the tone by beating the edge of Stephan Baard’s bat with the first ball of the match, although the Namibian opener did reach a milestone when a glorious cover drive for four moved him past 500 T20I runs.

Baard’s day soon took a turn for the worse however, as he skied Theekshana’s first ball and saw it pouched by a tumbling Wanindu Hasaranga at mid-off, before Zane Green departed in similar fashion off the same bowler soon after.

In between those wickets, Craig Williams danced down the pitch and smashed Theekshana for six as Namibia ended the powerplay at 30 for two and skipper Gerhard Erasmus also showed intent with back-to-back boundaries through the off-side.

But with the pace of Sri Lanka’s quicks unsettling the batting side, the run-rate failed to drastically pick up and when Erasmus tried to force the issue by slogging over long-on, he instead holed out for 29 to end a 39-run partnership with Williams.

Williams (29) himself was then trapped lbw plumb in front by Hasaranga trying to reverse sweep and at 73/4 with just 40 balls remaining, the Namibia innings need an injection of runs.

Instead, dangerman David Wiese was dismissed lbw by Karunaratne, Jan Frylinck was clean bowled by Theekshana and Hasaranga trapped Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton to turn the screw further.

Captain Dasun Shanaka sprinting in from extra cover to spectacularly produce a sliding, one-handed catch inches from the ground to remove Ruben Trumpelmann summed up the high standard Sri Lanka had set in the field and they polished off the Namibia tail to skittle them for 96 in 19.3 overs.

In response, Kusal Perera clubbed Trumpelmann back over his head for four and jabbed the following ball to the midwicket boundary but the Namibian seamer got his revenge by having Perera caught by a diving Smit at mid-off.

When Pathum Nissanka was promptly trapped lbw by Bernard Scholtz and Chandimal edged Smit’s tempter outside off stump to wicketkeeper Green, Sri Lanka found themselves slightly up against it at 26 for three.

Fernando soon steadied the ship however, with the highlight being a shimmy down the wicket and perfectly-timed chip for six wide of long-on, before Bhanuka Rajapaksa joined the party with a powerful four through the off-side and a huge six off Scholtz that was similar to Fernando’s strike.

Rajapaksa got a reprieve when he picked out Scholtz at fine leg, only for the Namibian to drop the catch and fumble it over the rope, and he made them pay with a stunning drive through the covers two balls later.

The duo then mostly knocked off the remaining runs with ones and twos but Fernando lofted another six over mid-off before Rajapaksa finished it in style by pulling Frylinck for a decisive six that secured a seven-wicket win with 39 balls remaining ­ their biggest victory at an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Scores in Brief:

Sri Lanka beat Namibia at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by seven wickets

Namibia 96 all out, in 19.3 overs (Craig Williams 29, Gerhard Erasmus 20; Maheesh Theekshana 3/25, Lahiru Kumara 2/9)

Sir Lanka 100/3, in 13.3 overs (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 42 not out, Avishka Fernando 30 not out; JJ Smit 1/7, Bernard Scholtz 1/16)

Player of the Match: Maheesh Theekshana (Sri Lanka)

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, October 18, 2021 (PPI-OT):Despite beating Bangladesh in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup opener, Scotland are keeping their feet firmly on the ground before playing Papua New Guinea, according to all-rounder Michael Leask.

Leask won his 100th cap for his country against Bangladesh but in just his second T20 international, Chris Greaves proved the difference with 45 off 28 balls plus the two crucial wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.

Papua New Guinea went down by 10 wickets to Oman in their first hit out, but Leask insists Scotland are taking nothing for granted when the two meet at Oman Cricket Academy Ground, Al Amerat on Tuesday, despite many having installed them as the new favourites to top Group B and progress to the Super 12s.

Leask said: “At the moment we are just trying to keep our feet on the ground, take every game as it comes.

“PNG are going to be quite a force in the next game, and we have played against them quite a few times and we know exactly what they are going to come with.

“They pose their own challenges, very different to Bangladesh, but at the moment we are just looking to take it game by game and day by day.

“We are going to try and get into the nuts and bolts of what we want to do for the next game and hopefully take on Oman after that.

“We don’t look into that [PNG’s form] too much, as a squad we are really happy with the way things are going.

“We’ve got 1-17 absolutely champing at the bit and our guys are just in a really good headspace at the moment, which is excellent for Scottish cricket.”

It was not all plain sailing for Scotland against Bangladesh as before Greaves’ heroics they were struggling at 53 for six but Leask revealed the squad believe their side is full of matchwinners and are prepared to win ‘ugly’ if needed.

“In every game somebody different has put their hand up, from 1 to 10 anyone of them are matchwinners with the bat and we trust every individual,” he added.

“Collapses can happen, it’s going to happen in T20. That’s the nature of the game, it’s energetic, it’s fun and that’s the brand we want to play – it’s the nature of the beast, not a problem.

“We were very humbled in the way that the game went for us, it wasn’t exactly the way we wanted the game to pan out but sometimes you’ve got to play ugly cricket to win.”

Papua New Guinea were restricted to 129 for nine by Oman before watching on as Aqib Ilyas, 50 off 43 balls, and Jatinder Singh, 73 off 42 balls, knocked off the runs with 38 balls to spare.

Opening batter Lega Siaka admitted he was surprised to see their next opponents defeat Bangladesh but is confident his side can find form at the right time to pick up a result.

He said: “It was surprising to hear the result of Scotland beating Bangladesh because we know Bangladesh are one of the best teams in the world, so it was an upset.

“I’m excited to play against Scotland after they beat Bangladesh, we are encouraging each other with two games left after the game against Oman.

“It’s about doing the small things right [to help turn things around in two days].

“We are trying to be positive against each team, we don’t see Scotland as a giant we see them as another team who are competing here as well.”

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, October 18, 2021 (PPI-OT):The International Cricket Council (ICC) has expressed sadness at the death of former Sri Lanka Test captain and ICC Development Manager Bandula Warnapura at the age of 68 after a brief illness.

Born in 1953, Warnapura the first Test captain of Sri Lanka, played 12 ODIs and four Tests from 1975-1982 including the 1975 and 1979 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups. Bandu as he was popularly known, played a leadership role in developing cricket in Asia starting at Sri Lanka Cricket as Senior Manager Operations and later joined the Asian Cricket Council as Development manager from 2007 to 2015.

He then joined the International Cricket Council in the same role and retired in 2017, where he achieved some of his biggest contributions to cricket, supporting a number of Associate Members and developing the game around the world.

ICC Acting Chief Executive, Geoff Allardice said: “We are deeply saddened to hear the passing of Bandula, he achieved many things in cricket, not just as his time as Sri Lanka captain, but also as a former colleague at the ICC. His service to the game in Asia cannot be underestimated, our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com