SPORTS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2015 Small-time cricket tournament proves big draw in Qatar DOHA: Malfas, a Sri Lankan ticket et. That is our national game.” The officer who has worked in Qatar for joyous scenes are worthy of one of six years, dabs the cricket ball into the almost 90 major sporting the outfield, scampers for the win- events, including the current ning single then raises his arms in Paralympics world championships, triumph. to be held in Qatar in the 12 months Immediately his victorious team- up to March 2016. mates rush onto the vast Doha pitch But this jubilant night on the in celebration, hugging each other. grim fringes of the capital does not In the stands, a Sri Lankan band, even register as a footnote on the including an irrepressible trumpeter country’s A-list sporting calendar. and two noisy drummers, strike up It wasn’t advertised, no promo- their umpteenth song of a sticky tional banners were stuck to lamp- Qatar evening. posts, no tickets sold in the city cen- Amid the growing din, a Bhangra tre, nor any international superstars band prepares to dance as the flown into highlight the event, as announcer shouts out the result usually happens in Doha. over a booming pitch-side micro- Yet, despite the sweaty condi- phone. Organisers hurriedly place tions, a good size crowd-around the trophies on plinths. same as that at a recent Qatar World DOHA: The winners of the Workers Cricket Championship team Qalco pose for a group picture following the Those present are drawn from Cup football qualifier — has turned match at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium in Doha on September 10, 2015. — AFP among Qatar’s army of Indian, out for a seemingly inconsequential a form of street cricket, which just “Some of them are drivers. I do accused of using forced labour on Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri eight-overs-a-side cricket competi- happens to be played in a 14,000- HR work. Some of them here are AC sites in Qatar and taken to court in Lankan workers, all prominent crick- tion between teams composed seater stadium. technicians. Some of them are stall- France, a claim it vehemently et-playing nations. Between them, entirely of labourers or those repre- There is no hard “real” cricket keepers, those kinds of things.” denies. Prizes include sharing these four countries account for senting local companies. ball-more a slightly harder and This being Qatar it is hard to 25,000 Qatari riyals ($6,800, 6,100 almost 40 percent of Qatar’s popu- bouncier tennis ball-so there’s no escape the vexed issue of workers’ euros) among the winning team, lation. “You see the workforce that Labourers come to relax need for batsmen to wear protec- rights-an international cause and a and 10,000 for the runners-up. comes from the subcontinent-India, Well away from the bright lights tive pads, or anything else. sensitive topic within the country One Bangladeshi player tells AFP Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka- of Doha’s ultra-modern city centre Heading into the final Qalco are itself. The match takes place close he is desperate to win a share of the they love cricket,” said a smiling stands the Asian Town Cricket clear favourites, thanks in no small to a Labour City, a sprawling new money as it will equate to around a Shahid Iqbal, captain of the victori- Stadium, where many of the Gulf part to their star Pakistani batsman accommodation centre for up to month’s wages, which he could ous team, Qalco, a local oil compa- state’s labourers come to relax. Ifzal Khan. QDVC skipper, who gives 70,000 workers, many from South then send home to his family. ny. Both Qalco and their opponents his name as Zuheb, admits his team, Asia. The conversation is overheard “So, because the national game in the final, QDVC, battled through a made up of an assortment of work- One of the teams taking part, and leads to accusations of trouble- of Qatar is football, we are looking competition involving up to nine ers, has little chance as the final QDVC, a subsidiary of French con- making, a jarring note on an other- for some opportunities to play crick- teams. The tournament itself is like begins. struction company Vinci, has been wise sportsmanlike evening. —AFP West Indies struggle SCOREBOARD COLOMBO: Scores at close of play on day two of the second cricket Test between Sri to save second Test Lanka and West Indies played at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo yesterday. Sri Lanka 1st Innings Jermaine Blackwood c Kusal Janith Perera b Dimuth Karunaratne lbw b Holder 13 Prasad 16 COLOMBO: Sri Lanka stretched their Dhammika Prasad took four for 34. was out first ball of the innings, caught Kaushal Silva c Ramdin b Taylor 0 Denesh Ramdin b Herath 14 Kusal Mendis c Ramdin b Roach 13 Jason Holder c Mathews b Dilruwan Perera 1 lead to 113 over West Indies Friday as “Our plan was to bowl them out for by a diving Devendra Bishoo, after Dinesh Chandimal b Taylor 25 Kemar Roach not out 17 they followed up a clinical bowling less than 200 and it worked,” Prasad flicking uppishly at a ball by Jerome Angelo Mathews c Brathwaite b Holder 14 Jerome Taylor lbw Dilruwan Perera 1 performance with a solid start to their said. “All the bowlers bowled well. I Taylor, but 20-year-old Mendis showed Milinda Siriwardana c Taylor b Warrican 68 Jomel Warrican c and b Dilruwan Perera 1 second innings in a low-scoring Test in was more interested in the team doing few sign of nerves. Hitting seven fours, Kusal Janith Perera ct & b Warrican 16 Extras (b9 lb3 w1 nb1) 14 Dilruwan Perera st Ramdin b Bishoo 5 Total: all out (64.2 overs) 163 Colombo. The opener Kaushal Silva well than taking my fifth wicket. We Mendis became the second wicket to Rangana Herath not out 26 Fall of wicket: 1-7 (Hope), 2-33 (Bishoo), 3-37 was unbeaten on 31 and Dinesh did not want to allow a lead to the fall, caught behind off Jomel Warrican Dhammika Prasad c Ramdin b Warrican 7 (Bravo), 4-76 (Samuels), 5-89 (Brathwaite), 6- Chandimal was not out on five as the West Indies,” he said. And having with the total on 55. Nuwan Pradeep lbw Warrican 0 105 (Blackwood), 7- 137 (Ramdin), 8-149 visitors finished the second day of the wrested the initiative away from the Extras: (b10 lb3) 13 (Holder), 9-151 (Taylor), 10-163 (Warrican) Total: (all out 66 overs) 200 Bowling: Prasad 12-3-34-4, Pradeep 11-3-24-0, final Test at the P. Sara Oval on 76-2. tourists, Sri Lanka then drove home Good pitch Fall of wicket: 1-1 (Silva), 2-34 (Karunaratne), Herath 20-5-39-1, Dilruwan Perera 11.2-3-28- Responding to their hosts’ first their advantage as debutant Kusal Silva and Chandimal then saw out 3-34 (Mendis), 4-59 (Mathews), 5-90 3, Siriwardana 10-2-26-2. innings total of 200, the tourists were Mendis justified the faith of the selec- the remaining 10 overs to leave the (Chandimal), 6-127 (K Perera), 7-149 (D all out in the last ball of the afternoon tors with an entertaining innings of 39. hosts well placed to clinch the series Perera), 8-173 (Siriwardana), 9-200 (Prasad), Sri Lanka 2nd innings 10-200 (Pradeep). Dimuth Karunaratne c Bishoo b Taylor 0 session for just 163 after pace bowler The opener Dimuth Karunaratne following their innings victory in the Bowling: Taylor 15-2-50-2, Roach 12-4-30-1, Kaushal Silva not out 31 Holder 11-1-22-2, Warrican 20-2-67-4, Bishoo Kusal Mendis c Ramdin b Warrican 39 8-0-18-1. Dinesh Chandimal not out 5 Extras: (lb1) 1 West Indies 1st innings Total: 2 wickets (31 overs) 76 Kraigg Brathwaite c Kusal Janith Perera b To bat: Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardana, Siriwardana 47 Kusal Janith Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Shai Hope lbw b Prasad 4 Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep Devendra Bishoo c Kusal Janith Perera b Fall of wicket: 1-0 (Karunaratne), 2-55 (Mendis) Prasad 13 Bowling: Taylor 4-1-15-1, Roach 4-1-10-0, Darren Bravo b Prasad 2 Holder 5-1-9-0, Warrican 11-1-21-1, Bishoo 7- Marlon Samuels a Mathews b Siriwardana 13 1-20-0. first Test in Colombo. None of the West ets for the addition of 86 runs. Indies batsmen passed the 50 mark in Prasad led the way with his four their first innings, with opener Kraigg wickets but he was well backed up by Brathwaite top-scoring with 47. “It was Dilruwan Perera who finished with 3 a good pitch,” said Brathwaite. “But the for 28 while left arm spinner Milinda Sri Lankan bowlers bowled really well. Siriwardana also chipped in with 2 for Spinners got good purchase.” 26. Play began half an hour late due After resuming in the morning on to a soggy outfield caused by heavy 17-1, few of the West Indies batsmen overnight rains. Although the light ever looked comfortable and found was gloomy at the start, it had runs harder to get as the day wore on- improved significantly by the after- struggling in particular to score off the noon. The tourists have never won a COLOMBO: Sri Lankan cricketer Kusal Mendis bats as West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin (R) and miserly Rangana Herath.