Sunil Wettimuny bats against Australia in the 1975 World Cup, before he was forced to retire hurt, courtesy Thommo © Getty ImagesCategory Archives: child of empire
English Cricket Governors target Kolpak Imports
Simon Burnton, courtesy of THE SPIN, where the tile is “ECB’s Kolpak clampdown is the latest gambit in 100 years war”
News the England and Wales Cricket Board is planning to tighten regulations to prevent county sides becoming flooded with Kolpak imports marks the start of another skirmish in the never-ending battle between domestic cricket’s governing body, the counties and the international sides the latter would like to plunder. The words of Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of Cricket South Africa, when Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw announced their moves to Hampshire in January were particularly striking. “We invest huge sums of money in every individual,” he said, “and if you take Rilee, by way of example, in the last I don’t know how many months we’ve been treating his injuries, we’ve been investing in him. Sadly there’s no return for us in the years to come.”
Rilee Rossouw, whose Kolpak move to Hampshire was announced in January, along with that of his South Africa team-mate Kyle Abbott. Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images
Ravi Wijeratne to captain Harrow in Elite School Match vs Eton
Sa’adi Thawfeeq, in Daily News. 12 April 2017
Sri Lankan-born Rahul Wijeratne will be creating history when he leads Harrow this year in their traditional cricket match against Eton at the home of cricket – Lord’s Cricket Ground on June 24, a 55-overs-a-side contest. Rahul, son of Sri Lanka business tycoon Ravi Wijeratne has been appointed captain of Harrow School for the current English school cricket season.
Seldom has a Sri Lankan had the honour of leading such a prestigious institute which is over 400 years old and in the oldest of all cricket fixtures – Eton v Harrow which will be the 177th contest between the two schools this year. The Eton v Harrow cricket match is an annual fixture between Eton College and Harrow School and is one of the longest-running annual sporting fixtures in the world and, the only annual school cricket match still to be played at Lord’s.
Indrajit Coomaraswamy stumped at 65 playing for Harrow — Getty imagesThe Perera behind the Raval
Firdos e Moonda with Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, 27 March 2017 where the title is “The making of a Kiwi”
One of the first things Jeet Raval from Ahmedabad did when he arrived in Auckland was try to find a job. He was only 16 years old, so it had to be a casual, holiday gig, but his father Ashok encouraged it as a way for him to interact with people in his new home and improve his limited English. “I went to Subway and they asked me if I could hand in my CV. I didn’t know what a CV was, so I called my mom and asked, ‘What’s a CV?’ In India they call it biodata, so my mom told me that and then I understood. I asked for a piece of paper and a pen and they didn’t have any paper, so they gave me a tissue paper. I wrote the word ‘biodata’ on the top and I put my name, my mom’s name, my dad’s name, my date of birth, and I said there’s my CV. And I never heard back from them,” Raval said to ESPNcricinfo during his first series as a Test cricketer in November last year.
Raval at his wedding in Ahmedabad, with coach Perera in attendance Continue reading
Sin-Binning enters cricket as “Penalty Rule”
Umpire sanctions under the new code … from http://www.espncricinfo.com/mcc/content/story/1085633.html
Level 1 :Offences include excessive appealing and showing dissent at an umpire’s decision. Following an official warning, a second Level 1 offence will result in five penalty runs being awarded to the opposing team.
Level 2: Offences (including throwing the ball at a player or making deliberate physical contact with an opponent during play), will result in the immediate awarding of five penalty runs to the opposing team.
Filed under child of empire, cricket and life, cricket governance, ICC
Asela the Slayer
ASELA in Sinhala is pronounced “A-Say-La” … and living up to the implications of his name in English, he flayed and slayed the Aussies and Moises Henriques (that is “Hawnreeks” or something like that in Portuguese speech) for three sicxes in one over — doing a Dunkn really (that is, emulating Ben Dunk who dunked three sixes off a Munaweera over earlier in the day).
Vijaya Malalasekera on His Cricketing Days
News Item in Daily News. entitled “My Views on Cricket” … http://www.dailynews.lk/2017/01/27/sports/105868/my-reflections-cricket-vijay-malalasekera
Q: What led you to take up to cricket?
VM: From my boyhood days I had been very interested in cricket since in our neighbourhood we always played cricket as a pastime. My interest grew further as a result of my being taken to watch the Royal-Thomian cricket match from 1952 onwards. I saw Royal being defeated that year but was enamoured by the players who performed for Royal. This interest grew in me and since 1952 I watched every Royal-Thomian upto the time I left for England in 1963. Having seen players like T. Nirmalingam, Michael Wille, Lorensz Pereira, Michael Dias, the brothers Lalith and Nanda Senanayake and the likes of Dan Piachaud, Ronnie Reid, Michael Tissera, Michael Sproule and the likes of the opposing side made me want to play in the Big match. In particular, I remember Nirmalingam’s 69 in 1954 where he was run out for 69 and when the Royal scoreboard read 70 for 1 and the man out was Nirmalingam for 69. It was an innings of sheer brilliance. Ronnie Reid’s 157 in 1956 and his two short innings of 65 in 1957 and Tissera’s 49 in 1954 were all inspiring innings. The Dias-Lalith Senanayake partnership in 1958 against the formidable leg-spinner Larif Idroos were innings to remember. Lalith went on to get 69 and 47 n.o. in 1960 and they were brilliant knocks made in absolute style for a right-hander. They all inspired me to promise myself that one day I will play in the Royal-Thomian as a Royalist.
Vijay
… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijaya_Malalasekera Continue reading
Sri Lanka’s Golden Oldies of the 1970s
Sankaran Krishna, in ESPNcricinfo, December 2016 where the title is “Sri Lanka’s pre-Test glory days”
Sunil Wettimuny bats against Australia in the 1975 World Cup, before he was forced to retire hurt, courtesy Thommo © Getty ImagesEngland Lions Squads for Sri Lanka in February-March 2017
ESPNcricinfo,
Days after making a century on Test debut, Keaton Jennings has been named captain of England Lions for their tour of Sri Lanka next year. Jennings will be joined in the four-day squad by the man he replaced in the Test side, as Haseeb Hameed works back to full fitness after suffering a broken finger in India. Another man to have opened the batting alongside Alastair Cook in recent weeks, Ben Duckett, is also named in the Lions party, although only for the one-day fixtures. The Lions will play two four-day games followed by a five-match 50-over series in February and March 2017.
Keaton Jennings 
Hameed
Filed under child of empire, cricket and life, English cricket