Category Archives: fair play

June 6, 2011 · 2:05 am

Sangakkara: “My Lord’s Speech will be very Sri Lankan”

Q and A with Rex Clementine, in The Island, 3 June 2011

The greatest batsman produced by Sri Lanka to date, Aravinda de Silva achieved several milestones in his international career that spanned for two decades, but a Test hundred at Lord’s, the Home of Cricket, eluded him. (He scored 107 forKentat Lord’s in the Benson and Hedges Final againstLancashire). Another Sri Lankan great, Kumar Sangakkara, who will soon be 34 and is unlikely to be around by the time the team toursEnglandnext time in five years, is keen to have his name on the Lord’s Honours Board. Sangakkara, in fact hasn’t scored a hundred in England having played seven matches here and The Island caught up with Sri Lanka’s number three batsman ahead of the second Test at Lord’s that gets underway today. In this candid interview, Sangakkara explains why it’s hard for a batsman inEnglandand how he has prepared for the second Test here at Lord’s. He also talks about Sri Lanka’s humiliating defeat in Cardiff and gives a hint about his Lord Cowdrey Spirit of Cricket Speech scheduled for 4th of July at Lord’s.

 

 Kumar talks to staff and students at St. Patricks’ College, 2011

Here are the excerpts.

Question: In cricket to excel in England is considered as the hallmark of a great team. Why is that so?

Sangakkara: It’s really testing out here. The conditions and the particular type of ball that’s been used here are all challenging, especially if you are a batsman. As a batsman coming to Lord’s, you try to get your name on the Honour’s Board. It’s a great privilege and something that everyone aspires to. All of that makes anEnglandtour interesting. One thing we have to be careful when we come here is to be reactive and change ourselves to try and suit what is supposedly expected of us. Our priority should be to come out here and play positive cricket and our brand of cricket. That should be good enough to beat the England side without reacting to them too much. Continue reading →

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May 25, 2011 · 1:45 pm

Savouring Mahela Jayawardene — “a class act”

Steve James, from the Telegraph, 22 May 2011

 Pic courtesy of Getty 

Aesthetes, take your seats. Beauty is on its way. Amid the muscular beasts that roam cricket’s Twenty20-filled landscape these days, there is still room for style, and batsmen do not come any more stylish than Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene. Is there a more elegant right-hander in the game right now?  I would venture not. He really should have been a left-hander. Sachin Tendulkar will doubtless have his supporters, but are his strokes really quite as languid as Jayawardene’s? Tendulkar’s team-mate, VVS Laxman, might actually be easier on the eye. Warwickshire had two rather graceful batsmen in their ranks last week — the homegrown Ian Bell and their overseas import, Mohammad Yousuf. Michael Clarke has his moments, as once did his compatriot Mark Waugh. It is, of course, all subjective fun.

But I have been smitten by Jayawardene’s strokeplay ever since first setting eyes upon it in the town of Kurunegala, in central Sri Lanka, where he made a sublime century for Sri Lanka A against England A in 1998. The effects of the furnace-like heat, exacerbated by the huge rock that overlooks the ground, as well as the presence on the outfield of a huge brown snake that frightened the life out of fast bowler Jimmy Ormond as he ran around the boundary, were eased by the class of Jayawardene’s batting Continue reading →

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May 10, 2011 · 3:15 am

Sa’adi Thawfeeq reviews two books on Lankan cricket

Courtesy of The Nation , 17 April 2011

Incursions & Excursions In And Around Sri Lankan Cricket
By Michael Roberts
Published by Vijitha Yapa Publications
Price: Rs. 1,500/-
Mariamma, groundswoman extraordinary- Oval, Colombo

Sathasivam & Bradman toss, 1948

 Moment of triumph, 17 March 1996, Lahore —Pic from Crosscurrents

Michael Roberts has painstakingly done a lot of research in putting together his latest book Incursions & Excursions in and around Sri Lankan Cricket. The book brings to light a wide variety of subjects like the politics that affect Sri Lanka Cricket administration, the ethnicity involving clubs and national teams, the LTTE’s attempts to promote their cause through cricket, the Muralitharan controversy saga and its repercussions and the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team at Lahore. All these chapters have been widely researched by Roberts who has the knack of gathering information by talking to people concerned and storing it in a computer like mind to put it later into print form either by articles which he sends widely to various newspapers or present it in a book like the one under review. The outstanding feature of the book is the photos section where Roberts has managed to lay his hands on some rare and unpublished photos of Sri Lanka cricket (there are over 100 colour and black and white photos). The book has been written in his own inimitable style. The one flaw in the publication is in the photos section titled Great Moments & Significant Facet (34) where it features pictures of a Sidath Wettimuny cover drive, a young Arjuna Ranatunga returning to the pavilion after a fighting knock against Australia in 1983 and another picture of Ranatunga acknowledging the cheers after his final innings for his country. All three pictures have the identical caption of ‘Sidath Wettimuny drives’. If not for this rare lapse it is another fine Roberts’s masterpiece. – [ST]

From Rags To Riches
By Rex Clementine
Published by Godage International Publishers (Pvt) Ltd
Price: Rs 800/- Continue reading →

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May 9, 2011 · 1:16 pm

Shehan Karunatilaka blunders into Ethnicity in Sri Lankan Cricket

Michael Roberts,  courtesy of islandcricket.lk, where it appeared on 8 May 2011

 Fans in Colombo seek Murali’s touch–Pic by AFP

 Fans in Jaffna adulate murali, 2002– Pic from Janashakthi

 Mubarak & others — Pic by AFP

In his venture into journalistic commentary on the Sri Lankan cricket scene when cricket-hype was at its height because of the 2011 World Cup, Shehan Karunatilaka sets the scene within the island’s recent political history. He emphasises the marginalisation of minority communities as a result of “staunch Sinhalese nationalism” since the 1950s. Such a contextualization is pertinent. With typical flair Karunatilaka then dramatically sharpens this backdrop by alluding toSri Lanka’s cricketing triumph at the World Cup in 1996 in this manner: “By the time 1996 came along, we had a full-blown civil war, a debt-ridden economy and a 14-year-old Test team that had been hammered around the world since being inducted in 1981. Two bomb attacks had cancelled two international tours. And two Marxist revolutions had cost more lives than the seating capacity ofColombo’s Khettarama stadium.” Continue reading →

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April 24, 2011 · 10:13 am

Incursions and Excursions in and around Sri Lankan Cricket — A Presentation

Incursions and Excursions in and around Sri Lankan Cricket is a new book that runs to 176 pages plus 32 pages of photographs that are not paginated, but numbered, in a cluster in the middle. The book is available at Vijitha Yapa Publications who also have a credit card system which runs efficiently – www.vijithayapa.com.

In a symbolic gesture of a token character Michael Roberts presents a copy of Incursions and Excursions in and around Sri Lankan Cricket to the Sri Lankan cricket team through Anura Tennekoon, the Manager at present. This gesture marks the author’s appreciation of the achievements secured by the various Sri Lankan squads in recent years and, most significantly, the measured and calm manner in which they responded to the terrorist attack in Lahore on 3rd March 2009, an event that is reviewed as Chapter VI in this book.

 first two Pics by Eranga Jayawardena

This presentation occurred at the Premadasa Stadium during the World Cup squad’s practice session. It was deliberately timed BEFORE the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup because the author holds that the plaudits that should be extended to the cricketers remain valid irrespective of the joys or sorrows attending the outcome of one game.

Continue reading →

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April 15, 2011 · 4:55 am

Lasith Malinga’s Hair Style: Roots

Michael Roberts

Lasith Malinga hails from Ratgama, a village locality in the southwest corner ofSri Lankawhich has a fearful reputation for toughness. Perhaps it is because he has been schooled in the give and take of this life, or maybe because he is just amiable Sri Lankan, Malinga smiles when a batsman thrashes him. What a pleasant contrast to the typical Aussie pacemen who snarl, stare  or indulge in verbal intimidation when thus treated —- or even when they have kept the batsmen quiet.

But Malinga is also atypical Lankan in his coiffeur and its showmanship. His hair-do is also quite a contrast from the looks he sported as a teenager. but there is room to argue that it is typical Sri Lankan too and typical Galle area native in its inspirations. The Galle District within which Ratgama lies is renowned for its coir industry. Coconuts are soaked in water-pits prior to their husking and conversion into fibre for use in a range of products. In an inspired surmise one Sri Lankan twigged that it was the coconut husk that promoted Malinga’s hairstyle. He sought proof. He found proof. So, voila, look at this native scene from the Galle area as visual proof.

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April 4, 2011 · 6:50 pm

Right Royal MESS-UP at the Toss-Up

Michael Roberts

There was a truly remarkable moment at the start of the World Cup Final between India and Sri Lanka. Amidst a deafening cacophony of noise Match Referee Jeff Crowe, TV Compere Ravi Shastri and the two captains assembled at the centre of the ground to make the toss, or kaasi vaasi (the advantage or leanings of the toss) as they call it so appropriately in Sinhala.

 Dhoni tossed the coin and Sangakkara called “Heads” (in a rather indistinct fashion it is said). But as the Referee picked up the coin it transpired that neither he, Shastri or Dhoni had heard the call because of the background cacophony. Worse still, it appears that Dhoni misheard the call as “tails” and Michael Vaughan in the commentary position heard it the same way and therefore contends that Sangakkara indulged in some skullduggery by allowing Dhoni to spin the coin again.

 Pic by Getty

 So, the procedure was repeated. Sangakkara called – or maybe shouted – “Heads.” Heads it was. So battle commenced and we know the outcome.

Vaughan’s accusation is a serious matter. Let me place it on hold in the too-difficult-basket till Shastri Crowe, Sangakkara and others, including audio specialists, resolve the issue. Assume for the moment that Sangakkara had called “heads” initially. Then, I ask, what if the coin ended up “Tails” and Dhoni took the decision to field or bat? Would Sangakkara and Sri Lanka then have been aggrieved and raised a complaint? Continue reading →

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March 20, 2011 · 4:44 am

Stray thoughts on Sri Lanka’s victory over New Zealand, 18 March 2011

Michael Roberts

Pic from ozlanka.com

Sri Lanka’s comprehensive victory over New Zealand in the last match for Group A at Mumbai was marred by a controversial third umpire decision that reprieved Mahela Jayawardene when he was in his twenties. This verdict certainly had a bearing on the game and was a moment of high drama.

 Cricket’s beauty emanates in part from its contingent twists of luck/fate. The abrogated Nathan McCullum catch – what a wonderful piece of fielding that! – was one such landmark that turned the match in Lanka’s favour. But no one has noticed another act of fortune that decisively favoured New Zealand: namely Upul Tharanga’s run out at the bowler’s end off a Dilshan drive. Along with a helmet or cap falling on the wicket, this is about the unluckiest way to get out. Occurring early in the innings this sort of moment boosts the bowling side in ways that cannot be measured. Continue reading →

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February 8, 2011 · 5:27 am

No-Boll Handiya

Capt Elmo Jayawardena, from Island, 8 February 2011
Let me open the innings by saying this article is about Sri Lankan humour and how creative it is. I have no knowledge of cricket except for what I see on TV and I know to count six balls to an over and I know that the ones who run slow and bowl are spinners and the ones who run long and fast are fast bowlers. Over the ropes is six and along the ground is four and I will stop at that and leave the cricket journalism to people in the calibre of Calistus Davy, Pathirawithana and the South African gentleman (who I read often) and the rest of the writers who know what they are talking about in this cricket business. My story is “No Boll” and in no way even a trace of a slander to a bowler I like very much and I think in my little cricket mind that he undoubtedly is a great bowler. Continue reading →

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January 22, 2011 · 11:41 am

Inter-ethnic Amity and Cameraderie through Sports: two items of news

  Bringing about racial amity through sports, from Daily News, 22 January 2011

 To bring about racial unity and understanding through sports among children of the three main communities is the aim of setting up the new sports school in Nattandiya.Eighty children from the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities will be admitted to the school who will take part in swimming, football, cricket, basketball, badminton, volleyball and table tennis. Coaches from Sri Lanka and abroad will train the children in these sports. They will also be taught arts and culture. By interacting with each other the children will also learn to live in harmony with other communities. A new sports stadium too will be built adjacent to the school which is being set up on a concept by Dr Nico Schulenkorf of Auckland University of New Zealand on developing capabilities, fostering friendship and understanding between communities through sports.

  Manoj guides without using force, item by Angu Rajendran, Daily News, 22 Jan 2011

Man is a pack animal. Man lives and survives in groups. Man does not survive in isolation. Killer Whales are also animals like that. Moreover, they are found in every ocean on the earth. They are adaptable to all situations and climates. They have a strength and grace unique to them even as they hunt down their prey fearlessly. They work as a team even though swimming is an isolated activity. That is how I want my swimmers to be,” says Manoj Abeysinghe, founder of the ‘Killer Whale’ Swimming Club. Like the killer whale swimmers are the most intelligent sportsmen. They learn to manage a clock in the pool, they learn to manage time in the lives.

Within a year, he has worked wonders with his own sons and with at least a hundred swimmers in Sri Lanka. His students worship him as they leave. “He is so committed to us and he is always behind us no matter what happens,” says Reshika Udugampola- National Womens Champion. “He guides us but never forces us,” says Sampath from the Air Force. “He is truly one of a kind. His training methods are enjoyable and his commitment is one hundred percent,” says the captain of the Club – Air Force Captain Priyadarshana Sampatha – Open Age Group Champion.

“All my hundred odd swimmers may not get gold medals at International meets but that does not mean that we don’t try. If we try and don’t get it, there is no shame in that. If we don’t try then there is shame in that,” says Manoj Abeysinghe who is buiding a pool in partnership with CR and FC and will take on at least a thousand swimmers before next year from beginner to International level.

Sri Lanka’s swimmers are surely going to make a mark in the world very soon with the dedication, commitment and ever evolving techniques of Manoj Abeysinge. 

Within a year, he has worked wonders with his own sons and with at least a hundred swimmers in Sri Lanka. His students worship him as they leave. “He is so committed to us and he is always behind us no matter what happens,” says Reshika Udugampola- National Womens Champion. “He guides us but never forces us,” says Sampath from the Air Force. “He is truly one of a kind. His training methods are enjoyable and his commitment is one hundred percent,” says the captain of the Club – Air Force Captain Priyadarshana Sampatha – Open Age Group Champion.

“All my hundred odd swimmers may not get gold medals at International meets but that does not mean that we don’t try. If we try and don’t get it, there is no shame in that. If we don’t try then there is shame in that,” says Manoj Abeysinghe who is buiding a pool in partnership with CR and FC and will take on at least a thousand swimmers before next year from beginner to International level.

Sri Lanka‘s swimmers are surely going to make a mark in the world very soon with the dedication, commitment and ever evolving techniques of Manoj Abeysinge.

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