LONDON: Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva said Pathum Nissanka had proved himself the “best batsman” in the country after the opener’s superb century at the Oval helped the team end their 10-year wait for a Test win over England.
Nissanka made 127 not out as Sri Lanka cruised to the target of 219, before lunch on the fourth day as they won the third Test by eight wickets. England took the three-match series 2-1 after victories at Old Trafford (by five wickets) and Lord’s (by 190 runs).
The victory was a significant moment for Sri Lanka whose last Test-match win over England was a 100-run success at Headingley back in 2014.
“This is one of the happiest moments in my career and my life,” said de Silva.
“We had a tough time in the last two weeks so to come here and get a win in English conditions against an English team, it is a very good moment for me, my team, and my country as well.”
The victory was a personal triumph for Nissanka, who only returned to Test cricket following a two-year exile at Lord’s. The 26-year-old was named player-of-the-match after also making a fine 64 in Sri Lanka’s first innings at the Oval.
“The moment he came in, he proved he is the best batsman in Sri Lanka right now,” said De Silva.
England captain Ollie Pope, meanwhile, admitted his side “shot ourselves in the foot” after two poor batting displays cost them the chance of a first home Test sweep since 2004 after a rejuvenated team overwhelmed the West Indies 3-0 earlier in the season.
Pope, on his Surrey home ground, scored his first century since stepping as skipper for the injured Ben Stokes at the start of this series.
Despite his 154, England declined from 261-3 to 325 all out in their first innings. Worse followed as they were dismissed for a mere 156 in just 34 overs second time around.
“It’s been disappointing, on the third day we shot ourselves in the foot,” said Pope.
“With the bat we weren’t good enough and, in the second innings, we weren’t up to it.”
When play resumed on Monday, Sri Lanka needed only 125 more runs for victory, while England required nine wickets.
Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson showed the strain of playing six Tests in a relatively short space of time, while the 20-year-old duo Josh Hull and Shoaib Bashir never threatened to derail Sri Lanka’s run chase.
Atkinson, who had been carrying a quad injury, was subsequently withdrawn from the one-day squad to face Australia, with Olly Stone taking his place.
Atkinson, a 26-year-old Surrey quick, made his debut during England great James Anderson’s international farewell in July and has enjoyed a sensational start to his Test career, taking 34 wickets in six matches at an average of just 20.17.
Atkinson appears set for a key role during England’s tour of Pakistan next month, with county colleague Pope saying: “Obviously there’s a few of our guys carrying a few small injuries but credit to them on the way they fronted up and cracked on.”
Joe Root, who passed the England record of 33 Test centuries held by Alastair Cook with twin hundreds at Lord’s, tried to put Monday’s loss in context by telling the BBC: “I don’t think we played our best cricket this week and that is going to happen from time to time.
“Coldplay can’t be number one every week.”
De Silva hails hundred hero Nissanka as Sri Lanka end England drought
https://arab.news/4kfu6
De Silva hails hundred hero Nissanka as Sri Lanka end England drought
- Nissanka made 127 not out as Sri Lanka cruised to the target of 219, before lunch on the fourth day as they won third Test by eight wickets
- The victory was a significant moment for Sri Lanka whose last Test-match win over England was a 100-run success at Headingley back in 2014
Young future stars of Saudi golf enjoy a moment alongside the big names at LIV Golf Riyadh
- Participants in ROSHN Rising Stars program to develop golfing talent in the Kingdom play friendly competition at Riyadh Golf Club before round 3 of the season opener tees off
- ‘Golf is such a fundamental sport for development … The values of golf can be correlated to the values of society: confidence, resilience and integrity,’ says LIV Golf’s Jake Jones
RIYADH: While much of the spotlight during LIV Golf’s 2026 season opener in Riyadh this week has of course been on the return of some of the sport’s biggest names for the new campaign, a new generation of Saudi golfers is also quietly taking its own first steps into the game.
Participants in the ROSHN Rising Stars program, an initiative designed to introduce and develop young golfing talent across the Kingdom, gathered at Riyadh Golf Club on Friday afternoon for a friendly competition a few hours before the third round of the main event teed off under the lights.
“The real focus is getting golf into the lives of young people in the Kingdom,” Jake Jones, LIV Golf’s senior vice president of impact and sustainability told Arab News as the young golfers took to the course under cloudy skies.
“We wanted to do something a little bit different, something sustained, with a long-term outcome, and that’s how this program was created.”
The program runs for 20 weeks, during which the participants receive weekly coaching and instruction sessions at Riyadh Golf Club from Golf Saudi professionals.
“This takes them from never having held a golf club before to reaching a point where they’ve now played in a competition,” Jones said.
The fact that the LIV Golf season opens in Riyadh provides another key benefit for the participants, as they get to experience the professional game up close, and this access to world-class players and events forms a key part of their journey.
“We give them exposure to our LIV Golf events, here and internationally,” Jones added.
Beyond this, and teaching people how to play the game, the program offers participants insights into the wider aspects of the world of golf, including career opportunities.
“They’ve had behind-the-scenes tours, pitch-and-putt sessions, long-drive competitions and visits to places like the media center,” Jones said. “It’s about showing them what it’s like not just to play golf, but work in the sport as well.”
Friday’s event in Riyadh marked the conclusion of the 20-week program for its participants.
“Today is really the celebration point,” Jones said. “We’re at the graduation phase of this journey, where they’ll compete in a three-hole challenge. We then crown a winner and celebrate with them back at the ROSHN Fan Village.”
As golf continues to grow in popularity in the region, Jones believes initiatives such as Rising Stars will have a lasting effect on the development of next generation of players.
“Golf is such a fundamental sport for development; it’s not just about physical activity and having fun,” he said. “The values of golf can be correlated to the values of society: confidence, resilience and integrity.
“Imagine playing golf and you miss the ball or you end up in the sand; you have to get back up and try again. You block the noise around you and focus on the ball to make the right shot.”
Jones highlighted in particular the importance of integrity as one of golf’s defining characteristics, and how that can help shape personal development.
“The rules of golf are reliant on you following them,” he said. “That sense of honesty and self-discipline is something young players can carry beyond the course” into the roles they play in their communities, societies and countries.
“The role that golf can have with young people in Saudi Arabia is actually another layer of baking in those core societal skills, to ensure that they are fit and robust for the future,” Jones added.
This is particularly important given the youthful nature of the Saudi population, more than half of which is under the age of 30, he said, and they now have the chance to benefit from golf in one way or another.
“Golf is now another avenue that they can explore. Whether it’s playing, working in the sport or simply finding a community, we want to give them another reason to get excited.
“We believe that golf can do all of that and, hopefully, it can spark a lasting passion among the Saudi youth.”
