Category Archives: cricketing icons

December 8, 2019 · 2:10 pm

Tripl Centuries!**! Huge Innings, Dull Games –From Adelaide to the SSC Grounds

Geoff Lemon, in Daily News, 7 December 2019, with this title “Like those of greats before him, David Warner’s triple century was a giant feat in a dull game”

When David Warner made his unbeaten 335 in Adelaide, a fair few people felt inclined to present some caveats. The pitch was flat, the bowlers were no good, the ball didn’t swing, Mercury was in retrograde. Those opinions would hardly have been muffled when the Pakistan tail-ender Yasir Shah made his first Test ton in reply, having never previously passed 50.

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Filed under Adelaide Oval, Australian cricket, cricket and life, cricketing icons, cricketing records, English cricket, performance, Sri Lanka Cricket, taking the piss, unusual statistics, work ethic

November 11, 2019 · 9:54 am

MCC Cricket Season to be launched at Galle in late March 2020

News Item, 31 October 2019, ….. https://www.lords.org/lords/news-stories/mcc-champion-county-match-to-be-held-in-sri-lanka

The traditional curtain-raiser to the new English domestic season, which dates back to 1970 in its current guise, will be played at the Galle International Stadium between 24th and 27th March 2020. The Champion County match, which sees MCC play the winners of the Specsavers County Championship in a four-day first-class match, was played at Lord’s until 2010 when the match first moved abroad.

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October 13, 2019 · 1:40 am

A British Interloper Dissects Indian Cricketing Stardom at Pune

Dannie Byrne

Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates after dismissing Faf du Plessis during the third day of the second cricket test match between India and South Africa in Pune, India, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade) … AND Shammi to can dabce

DAY ONE: Another Agarwal century gets India off to a flying start; Day one in Pune

It was the festival of Durga Puja that led to the venue for the second Test being switched from Ranchi to Pune. The official dates for the celebration were listed from 4th – 8th October but in reality the festivities are extended over a ten day period. According to legend the festival signifies the birth of Durga with blessings from the gods in the form of collective energy to be used to fight the demon King Mahishasura. Apparently Mahishasura was blessed with immortality and couldn’t be killed by god or man which is why a goddess had to accomplish the feat. Durga would take a different form each day to fight the demon until finally on the tenth day ( Dashami ) – the last day of Durga Pura she was finally allowed to kill him. It always appears to me as a good excuse for people to try to make money by selling all sorts of things along the side of the road and I have no doubt there are plenty of examples of this kind of activity currently taking place in Ranchi. However after ten days of haggling most of the stall holders would likely have run out of plastic statues, balloons, incense sticks and fireworks and would have been relatively happy to pack up their belongings and head off back to wherever they normally made their rupees.

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October 11, 2019 · 6:50 am

Murali celebrated in Sri Lankan Musical Rhythms via Alston Koch

Murali the official music video & song

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Filed under child of empire, confrontations on field, cricket and life, cricketing icons, cricketing records, murali, patriotic excess, performance, spinning art, Sri Lanka Cricket, tower of strength, unusual people

October 10, 2019 · 4:02 pm

In the Manner Michael: Appreciative Thoughts about Michael De Zoysa

ONE = Callistus Davy  in Sunday Observer, 6 October 2019: “Michael de Zoysa: If only he could write his own lines!”

In today’s set-up where corruption, dishonestly, cheating and rouge ways hold sway in sections of Sri Lankan society and some people who boast of culture can only put on a face for the cameras, Michael de Zoysa was a cut above the rest and went to his grave on Wednesday evening like the true professional he was. Perhaps Michael de Zoyza will be able to give a better account of himself to his Creator than many others who hobnobbed with him and were no match to his integrity.

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Filed under cricket and life, cricketing icons, memorable moments, Michael de Zoysa, sportsmanship, Sri Lanka Cricket, taking the mickey, tower of strength, unusual people, welfare through sport

October 9, 2019 · 2:38 pm

A Surfeit of Wicket-Keeper Batsmen?

Michael Roberts

 Several of the cricket teams today seem to be loaded with wicket-keeper batsmen who are good enough to be counted among the best twenty-five batsmen in their country.

Rishab Pant batting … and botching a stumping

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September 10, 2019 · 2:48 am

Remembering Joe Hoad, A Bajan Man True

Joe Hoad passed way a year or so back due to a medical mishap. My appreciation of the man and his contribution to Sri Lankan cricket was recorded earlier in Cricketique via a ditty of my own in what may pass for “islander strain:”

Joe’s no Imran Khan,

He’s just a plain Bajan man, man.

You see Joe,

Da man could talk

Boy, how he could talk

That man know how to walk the talk, and even how to talk the walk

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September 7, 2019 · 4:22 am

Lankans castled by Astle and Kiwis ‘malinguered’ by MALINGA

Sri Lanka Innings

WIA Fernando…. b Astle …..6 ………..Over 6.4 bowled’m with a wrong’un! Avishka didn’t pick that up at all. It pitched around length outside off, turned in a fair bit and Avishka was on the back foot to steer it away after it turned away but it went the other way to knock over off stump 39/2
MD Gunathilaka ….. b Astle ………..30 …….Over 8.5 another wrong’un and another one beaten! ……This time it’s the well-set Gunathilaka. He pitched it nicely and slow with some flight on leg stump, Gunathilaka went back to defend it but the ball turned away and knocked over the stumps 50/3

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August 27, 2019 · 4:39 am

Lessons for Sri Lankan Cricket from Pakistani Cricket under Imran

Aubrey Kuruppu, in Sunday Times, 24 August 2019, with this title “Rameez Raja’s Sri Lankan link”

Chatting to Rameez Raja, a former captain of the Pakistan team, was not the daunting prospect that I feared. He put me at ease straightaway and, once started, he put me in mind of Tennyson’s Brook. The worlds, and thoughts, flowed and he was not averse to calling a spade, a spade.

Rameez, who represented his country in 57 Tests and 198 ODIs, also led the Pakistan team for a short period.Though initially n the shadow of his elder brother, the multi-talented Wasim Raja Rameez was good enough to go the distance and play in three World Cups.

As the former Pakistani opener says, he has a love affair with Sri Lanka. It has a great place in my heart”. His initial tour as an Under-19 player was to this country. His first century (122) in international cricket was at the Sara Stadium in 1986.

 

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August 21, 2019 · 1:28 pm

The ICC Amputation of Sri Lanka’s Spinners — Sharda Ugra in Chat with Piyal Wijetunga in 2015

Sharda Ugra of ESPN in ESPNcircinfo, 12 October 2015, where the title is  “The man preparing Sri Lanka for life after Herath”

If there was ever an opposition against whom Sri Lanka could consider a set of try-outs, West Indies would be it. In the light of Tharindu Kaushal‘s current entanglements over his action, Sri Lanka will certainly need to test the spin options that will be available to them in a post-Rangana Herath world.

The team’s strength at home in the era after Murali has revolved around Herath. In 20 Murali-less home Tests, Herath cleaned out 136 wickets, Sri Lanka winning eight and drawing five. Herath, Sri Lanka’s most successful spinner after Mr 800 is currently held together by crepe bandages and hope, his creaking knees and the rest of a generously proportioned 37-year-old body testing his ability to play through pain. The next two Sri Lankan front-line spinners after him have played eight (Dilruwan Perera) and six Tests (Kaushal); the latter has now been given a rap on his doosra fingers by the ICC.

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