Thuppahi's Blog

Danny Byrne, whose title reads thus: “Tanzid’s brilliant maiden Test century puts Bangladesh in a wonderful position; Day 2 in Darwin.”

The seat row numbers in the Grandstand start with A as the top row and the most likely to offer shade. Naturally we bought seats for row P expecting it to be at the back and out of the sun. Lots of things are upside down here. The water appears to go down the sink in the wrong direction, the wickets are announced before the team totals, the ground floor is the first floor and so on. The only saving grace is that we all try to drive on the same side of the road.

….. Darwin, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

Continue reading →

Devika Brendon, iin GROUNDVIEWS, August 2026 …. Photos courtesy of Nayanahari Abeynayake & Mudirshuni Kumar … with highlights being impositions by The Editor, Thuppahi

The title of the exhibition, The Endless Harvest, which was held at Haputale Town Hall is very powerful and resonant on several levels. For an agricultural society, the growing of crops is the focus of their lives. This is why the harvest festivals in many cultures celebrate prosperity and abundance, and invoke divine intervention and assistance to support the growing of grain, vegetables, rice and other foods grown in the ground.

Continue reading →

Danny Byrne on BANGLADESH’s Impressive First Day vs Australia …. “Bangladesh blow Australia away for 198 and set up the potential for a fascinating Test match; Day 1 in Darwin.”

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 12: A general view is seen during game two in the T20 International series between Australia and South Africa at Marrara Stadium on August 12, 2025 in Darwin, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

In the end, we took an Uber Taxi to the ground, sharing it with a couple of Woods’ mates who had come up from Melbourne. The journey took only 25 minutes because we did not have to go via Palmerston. The previous evening, we had tried to transfer electronic tickets to one another, but, as had happened in India five weeks earlier, they became stuck in the transit process. This time, however, the entry staff were helpful, and we managed to get in by showing downloaded images on a few phones. A large stand covered half the ground, with a small section of grass banks on the other side. There were several food outlets with the usual burgers, fish and chips, rice and fried chicken options. There was even a van selling falafel as well as burgers. It was nice to see independent traders making a living unlike the rubbish available at the large stadiums in Australia where there are often 10 or more identical food outlets offering absolutely no choice.

Continue reading →

ONE:  ICC SITE …. https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/sri-lanka-announce-squad-for-first-test-against-india

Sri Lanka have announced a 16-member squad for the first Test as part of the ICC World Test Championship series against India set to begin on August 15 in Galle.

Continue reading →

 A TALE from A Century back unearthed by PI Peiris of STC, Cambridge Uni and Ceylon Fame …. August 14, 2015 ·…….James Arthur Scharenguivel: A Thomian Captain who played Cricket for Scotland … RETRIEVED Today by  Nick Van Der Hoeven

Continue reading →

Sanjeewa Jayaweera, whose Vale is entitled “The day my father climbed a tree to watch Sir Garfield Sobers bat – The Island”

Picture depicting Sir Garfield coming out to bat at the Sara Oval

He was forty years old, a respected public servant, and the father of four children at the time. Yet, when he discovered that tickets for the third day’s play of the West Indies versus Ceylon match at the P. Sara Oval had sold out, he accepted the offer of a group of younger spectators to help him climb a tree overlooking the ground so that he could watch his hero perched on a branch. (cf . the PIX  in Roberts: Incursions & Excursions in …. SL Cricket, 2011, which presents a stunning photo of the crowd under and within the trees of the  Colombo Oval watching the Aussies on 30 March 1938).

Continue reading →

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PZSceIao53PaSbqIdlY4IRa9Z7mkJG3D/view

Continue reading →

Dr. Chamila S. Talagala ... with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

For some time now, I have been recording my thoughts on matters that I have encountered along the way. But I have also felt that, perhaps, it is time to record something more personal, some of my own experiences. Whether they will be of interest to anyone who happens to read them, if indeed anyone does, I leave to the reader.

This is about a place that occupies a rather special corner of my life, my alma mater, Ananda College, Colombo.

Continue reading →

Dylan Wave, … …. seconded by Riyaz Aluher

Michael Roberts began his academic journey at the University of Peradeniya where he studied history and the social sciences His early research focused on agriculture economic history and political thought Yet the deeper he looked into Sri Lanka’s past the more he realized that history was not only about governments and policies It was also about ordinary people their communities and the forces that shaped their lives.

Continue reading →

Charles Suamarez Smith: “Sir Christopher Ondaatje obituary,” in The Guardian, 7 August 2026,

By 1988, the businessman Christopher Ondaatje had made a great deal of money as a publisher and stockbroker on the Canadian stock exchange. As he later described it to Sue Lawley on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2002, while on holiday in Tanzania he decided to give up his business interests and devote himself to “having fun” – travelling, writing, spending time with his family, and giving large chunks of his wealth away.

Continue reading →