Matt Henry six-for and Will Young hundred crush India
Diyansa, Lihini reach U18 girls final
CDB and HNB ‘A’ clash in final today
Maris Stella and Nimala Maria Convent emerge overall champions
Sri Lanka rugby’s riches surface time and again when a match is played in the name of a trophy or a shield. The game played with the oval shaped ball has a long and illustrious history in this island spanning 145 years. Last Saturday (January 13) Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR&FC) hosted Havelock Sports Club (Havies) in their traditional rugby encounter which is now played for the Commander Eustace Matthysz Trophy.
Rugby is a household name in this island and more than in the clubs scene games are played for shields and trophies when it comes to school rugby. When games are played in remembrance of individuals of repute it adds to the sport. The best example for this is the Bradby Shield which is played in the name of former Royal College principal E.L Bradby. This tradition can be seen in school rugby where there are so many games played for shields and trophies. The payback time for starting such practices is seen when a team is demoted to B Division, but still gets to play against A Division teams because the annual game is a traditional fixture and there is a trophy on offer. Luckily teams are not demoted in A Division club rugby; hence the tradition of all clubs playing against each other in the first round continues.
There was a period in rugby where much of its face was changed. Starting with the traditional home and away fixture club rugby had much to look forward to. But now there is no second leg between two teams if one team doesn’t make it to the Cup Competition. The bottom half teams in the league tournament are forced to play in the Plate Competition. Only the best four teams in the points table get the opportunity to contest the Cup Competition. This season reigning champions Kandy SC, CR & FC, CH & FC and Havelock SC are likely contenders to qualify for the Cup Competition of the tournament, which has one more week of matches left to complete its first round. Hence it’s these four teams which would see a rematch in the second round of the tournament.
The CR & FC vs CH & FC game and the CR & FC vs Havelocks SC games took top billing. But all that changed in the early 1990s when some renegade players from CR & FC left the Longden Place club and joined Kandy SC; going on to make the Nittawela Club a force to be reckoned with in the club rugby scene. Even this season despite the much publicity given for the CR & FC vs Havies game all roads will lead to Nittawela this Saturday (January 21) when the all-conquering Kandy SC, under the leadership of Lavanga Perera, hosts CR & FC in a game that will decide the leader of the points table after the first round of matches. Still with all the planning at matches in Western Province venues, the Nittawela Stadium, up in the central hills of Kandy, remains the much-visited ground to attract large crowds.
Another tournament that has still held on to its lofty status is the Clifford Cup competition. The trophy to be given away at this tournament was initially introduced by Lady Clifford for the game between All Ceylon and United Services Kandy. Match arrangements were to coincide with her birthday which fell on August 26, but the match was postponed and played on September 2. The war disturbed the tournament and it was revived as a quadrangular in 1926 before being recognized as the main tournament for clubs in 1950. Havelocks SC were the first winners of this event when it took the form of a fully-fledged inter-club league rugby tournament. The cup was used at rugby for many years after that, but it lost its pride when many other trophies were awarded. It was last offered in 1985 before it resurfaced in the rugby scene when SLR decided to bring the trophy back as a piece of silverware in rugby.
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India have been scrambling to get their Test players some Test-like preparation but Test cricket came to right where they were with Matt Henry returning to action and immediately finding the magical length that traps batters on the crease and hits the top of the stumps. In what has to be among a handful of the greatest first overs ever bowled in an ODI innings, he consigned to ducks Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, all but ending India’s chase of 334, a target they would have been pretty happy with after Will Young’s personal best of 125 off 108 had taken New Zealand to 256 for 4 in the 37th over.
While India will be pleased with their constant strikes in the middle overs, an area they have struggled in in the past, they will also reflect on the 85-run opening stand in these conditions. Auqib Nabi had Young dropped twice on 5, but after that India didn’t look as threatening with the new ball.
You might think India were reverting to type in good batting conditions in Mount Maunganui, but this was a surprisingly good start for New Zealand. Tim Seifert was the first New Zealand batter since Martin Guptill in 2015 to complete a fifty in the first 10 overs, also his maiden one in the format. This was also New Zealand’s first opening stand of 50 or more in the last eight ODIs.
Just when it was looking ominous for India, Gurnoor Brar struck with his typical mode of attack: short and at high pace even if the cost of that was a high economy rate. Axar Patel then tightened the screws, resulting in the wickets of Nick Kelly and Dean Foxcroft, both in for New Zealand players away at the Test camp.
Will Young made a career-best 125 off 108 balls (Cricinfo)
A third replacement, Finn Allen provided New Zealand a possible alternative for the future. By now Young had got over his initial stumbles. He and Allen took down Kuldeep Yadav, playing his first match of the tour, and then just carried attacking other bowlers in a fourth-wicket partnership of 90 runs in a little over 10 overs.
Having dropped a much easier catch in the slips earlier, Rohit took a diving low catch to his right at short cover to send Allen back and drag the marauding New Zealand back.
Young stayed quiet only for two overs before consigning Kuldeep to overs of nine and 12 runs. He had gone from 50 off 49 to 124 off 106, forcing Iyer to go to his sixth bowler, Naman Dhir. Young was not satisfied with nine runs off the first balls of Dhir’s over, and ended up too close to the pitch of one, thus unable to clear deep midwicket. Moments later, Dhir took a special catch running in from deep midwicket and diving low to get the wicket of Michael Bracewell off another Brar short ball.
Now Mitchell Santner had to manage batting with the bowlers, which he did for a while, hitting two sixes off Axar in between, but Arshdeep Singh returned to take the wicket of Santner. India took 6 for 77 in the last 13.1 overs, reason to feel they carried momentum into the chase.
Henry made a mockery of any such notion. Having missed most of the T20Is with a leg injury and then the ODIs with fears of concussion after a collision with Devon Conway on the eve of the series, Henry stayed back for the fourth ODI to just prove his fitness and get some in-competition overs in his legs. And like a well-oiled machine, he landed the first ball on the money: the back half of good length, on off, kicking at Rohit and seaming away, squaring him up and taking the edge to first slip. A sight reminiscent of the twilight of Rohit’s Test career.
Virat Kohli was bowled for 0 off 4 (Cricinfo)
The next ball would have reminded Kohli of the travails of Test cricket. Fuller side of good length, drawing him forward, seaming away, missing the outside edge by inches. Three balls later, Henry again wobbled the seam and an almost identically pitched delivery seamed in and stayed low to rattle Kohli’s furniture.
Iyer became the first Indian to score a golden duck on captaincy debut when Henry again trapped him on the crease and nipped one past his inside edge. It took New Zealand a DRS review to secure this wicket, but Henry was never uncertain, going up in celebration even before turning to appeal.
New Zealand 333 in 50 overs (Will Young 125, Tim Seifert 58; Axar Patel 2-39, Aquib Nabi 2-59, Gurnoor Brar 2-69 ) beat India 89 in 26.4 overs (Ishan Kishan 27; Matt Henry 6-27, Matthew Fisher 3-31 ) by 244 runs
Diyansa de Silva of Bishop’s College and Lihini Jayakody of Gateway College Colombo advanced to the final of the Girls’ Under-18 singles at the SLTA YETI Hard Courts National 2026, currently being held at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association hard courts.
Diyansa produced a commanding performance in her semi-final, defeating Risindi Hewawasam 6-2, 6-0 to book her place in the final.
Lihini also secured her place in the title decider after her semi-final against Gehansa Methnad ended with Gehansa retiring while trailing 4-3.
The two young players will now meet in the final for the Under-18 girls’ singles crown.
Citizens Development Business Finance [CDB] and Hatton National Bank [HNB] ‘A’ will clash in the final of the 11th Singer MCA Super Premier T20 Tournament at the CCC ground under lights today. Hayleys Group A will take on Fairfirst Insurance to determine the third spot at the same venue in the afternoon.
In the semifinals played on Wednesday [11th] CDB beat Hayleys Group A by 4 wickets while HNB ‘A’ beat Fairfirst Insurance in a super over after the match was tied.
At the BRC ground Pawantha Weerasinghe scored 58 off 39 balls and Shevon Daniel scored 44 off 22 balls for HNB ‘A’ to help them chase down 179/8 posted by Hayleys Group ‘A’. Nuwanidu Fernando topped the Hayleys score card with 67 off 46 balls.
At the Bloomfield ground Fairfirst Insurance and HNB ‘A’ scored 170 runs each in their 20 overs but HNB’A’ won the game scoring 17 runs to Fairfirsts Inurance’s 8 runs in the super over.
CDB beat Hayleys Group ‘A’ by four wickets
179/8 in 20 overs [Pulindu Perera 35, Nuwanidu Fernando 67, Minod Bhanuka 27, Kavindu Pathirathne 14*; Lahiru Madushanka 1-25, Navindu Prabash 2-51, Dunith Wellalage 3-12, Sachindu Colombage 1-30, Pawantha Weerasinghe 1-06]
180/6 in 19.4 overs [Shevon Daniel 44, Vishad Randika 10, Pawantha Weerasinghe 58, Muditha Lakshan 42; Kavishka Anjula 1-38, Kavindu Pathirathne 3-27, Treveen Mathew 1-23, Nisala Abeyrathne 1-32]
HNB ‘A’ beat Fairfirst Insurance in the Super Over
170/9 in 20 overs [Gaviru Senehas 22, Isuru Fernando 35, Anuk Fernando 18, Ranesh Silva 26, Dushan Vimukthi 31; Hivin Kenula 1-48, Ashian Daniel 1-23, Praveen Jayawickrema 1-28, Malsha Tharupathi 2-14] and 8/0 in 1 over [Thanuka Dbare 07*; Chamindu Wijesinghe 0-08]
170/10 in 20 overs [Ranmith Jayasena 21, Sohan de Livera 30, Janishka Perera 34, Chamindu Wijesinghe 47, Malsha Tharupathi 21; Himesh Ramanayake 3-31, Sangeeeth Cooray 2-09, Thanuka Dabare 2-40, Dilum Sudeera 1-26] and 17/1 in 1 over [Malsha Tharupathi 13*, Chamindu wijesinghe 04; Himesh Ramanayake 1-17]
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