Category Archives: unusual people

Kusal Mendis: Near a Milestone despite Recent Pitfalls

Rex Clementine, in Sunday Island, 2 February 2020, where the title is “Mendis on the verge of crucial milestone”

Young Kusal Mendis, who turned 25 today (Sunday) is  on the brink of a crucial milestone. He is just five runs short to complete 3000 Test runs, a feat achieved by only 13 other Sri Lankans. He will also become the second youngest Sri Lankan to reach the milestone when England visit the island later next month. Mahela Jayawardene, who achieved the landmark at the age  of 24 is the youngest and quickest Sri Lankan to get there (65 innings).  If Kusal keeps his appetite for big runs like Mahela, there is little doubt that he would join the 10,000 club of which Mahela and Kumar Sangakkara are members.

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Mahela Jayawardene, player selections, politics and cricket, Rex Clementine, Sangakkara, unusual people

Bradman’s Last Hurrah! A Duck!

Dan Coliasimone, in ABCnet, 1 February 2020, where the title runs The inside story of Don Bradman’s final innings duck”

“Out from the pavilion came the short, slight, little figure whose name will still be in bright lights as long as cricket is played.” This is how a contemporary newspaper report set the scene for Sir Donald Bradman’s last innings.

Bradman b. Hollies… 00 — Photo supplied by State Library of South Australia

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Filed under Ashes Tests, Australian cricket, baggy green, Bradman, child of empire, cricket and life, cricketing records, English cricket, farewell game, performance, sportsmanship, unusual people, unusual statistics

Monkey-Come, Monkey-Scratch! Fraser-McGurk Go!

ESPNcricinfoo News Item = Jake Fraser-McGurk to return home after being scratched by a monkey,”…. https://www.espncricinfo F.com/story/_/id/28589265/jake-fraser-mcgurk-return-home-being-scratched-monkey

Jake Fraser-McGurk will not take any further part at the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa and will return home instead as a precautionary measure after being scratched on the face by a monkey at a nature reserve while on a team outing in Kimberley.

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Filed under cricket and life, cricket tamashas, taking the mickey, Under 19 cricket, unusual people, violent intrusions

Princely Flutters to World Super Power in Cricket: India’s Story by Prashant Kidambi

Gideon Haigh in Weekend Australian, 24 January 2020, where the title runs

In December 2011, Rahul Dravid delivered a justly celebrated speech at the Australian War Memorial, the Bradman Oration, lyrically evoking the plurality and diversity of cricket in the subcontinent. “The Indian cricket team is in fact, India itself, in microcosm,” he said, describing a dressing room drawn from every corner of the country that spoke 15 different languages and stood “not just for sport, but possibility, hope, opportunities”.

 

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Filed under child of empire, cricket and life, cricket governance, cricket tamashas, cricketing icons, memorable moments, politics and cricket, unusual people, welfare through sport

Sumathipala’s Shenanigans and ICC Condemnation

N Krishnamurthy in Cricket Age, 10 January 2019 …. https://www.cricketage.in/2020/01/10/exclusive-full-icc-report-on-banned-former-slc-president-thilanga-sumathipala/

Exclusive! Full ICC Report On ‘Banned’ Former SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala

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Filed under cricket and life, cricket governance, financial scandal, performance, politics and cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket, unusual people

Angelo Mathews talks to Rex about the Immediate Tasks in 2020

Rex Clementine in Island, 4 January 2020, where the title is “Mathews Ready for Reversed Role”

When Angelo Mathews limped off the field in Indore with a hamstring injury during Sri Lanka’s tour of India in 2017, the recovery took months. At that point, the selectors made a call that in a bid to prolong his career, Mathews will only play as a batsman. But 18 months later, the decision has been reversed.  Mathews was dropped from the T-20 squad in August 2018 and was told to get back to bowling in order to regain his place. Having fulfilled the requirement, the 32-year-old is back in India, the country where he won the admiration of adoring fans a decade ago.

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, performance, player selections, politics and cricket, Rex Clementine, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket, unusual people

Alfred Holsinger’s Unmarked Bowling Haul in UK: 6 wkts in six balls

Though Lasith Malinga, who picked up four wickets in four balls, has been immortalized in the annals of cricket, another Sri Lankan bowler who picked up six wickets in six balls continues to be in oblivion. Even though this rare feat was achieved in a club game in England, Holsinger’s accomplishment merits a lot of recognition since not often do bowlers produce such an unusual phenomenon.

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Filed under backyard cricket, child of empire, cricket and life, cricketing records, English cricket, performance, Sri Lanka Cricket, unusual people, unusual statistics

Chandimal the Enigma in Topsy-Turvy Year

Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, 20 December 2019, where the title runs thus: “Dinesh Chandimal condenses rollercoaster career into one innings”

Dinesh Chandimal plays a shot during the second day of the second Test cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka –Photo by Asif HASSAN /AFP via Getty Images)

There is almost a novel here. A talented wicketkeeper from the southwest gets spotted by a big Colombo school in his teens. Goes on to lead that school to their best season ever. He quickly gets picked up by the national squad, and at first glimpse of this guy, the public is enchanted. He’s organised, but there’s also that manic fun of a schoolboy. He swings so hard at the ball his limbs could go flying off. By 23, he is Sri Lanka’s T20I captain – their youngest ever.

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Filed under Andrew Fidel Fernando, cricket and life, cricket governance, cricketing icons, memorable moments, performance, player selections, politics and cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket, taking the mickey, unusual people

When the Czech Cricket Team assailed the T20 Records

Sreshth Shah,in ESPNcricinfo, December 2019, where the title runs The day Czech Republic held four world records in cricket” …. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/28367290/the-day-czech-republic-held-four-world-records-cricket

The Czech Republic now holds the record for highest T20I total Vojta Hasa

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To DRS or not DRS? Ask the Doctor First?

Ben Horne, in Daily Telegraph, 22 December 2019

Meet Dr DRS, the man Australia have turned to in a bid to crack cricket’s most convoluted code. When 22 botched referrals from 24 attempts leaves you in a critical condition, you need the doc with the PhD in lbw.

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Filed under Australian cricket, confrontations on field, cricket and life, cricketing rules, DRS, performance, technology and cricket, unusual people