November 8, 2023 · 7:50 pm

Thomia: A History of S. Thomas’ College, Sri Lanka

Richard Simon has produced  “A definitive social, cultural and political history of S. Thomas’ College, Sri Lanka”

S. Thomas’ College, founded by the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo in 1851, is arguably the greatest and most influential boys’ school in modern Lankan history. An acknowledged nursery of the country’s elite, this tropical facsimile of an English public school has produced four Prime Ministers and hundreds of other figures of national importance, wielding an enduring influence on the society, culture and politics of the country.

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November 8, 2023 · 3:17 am

Sin-Bin for Verbal Intimidation in Cricket

Michael Roberts

This essay was drafted on 25 April 2001 and appeared in print-form in Roberts, Essaying Cricket, Sri Lanka and Beyond, Colombo, Vijitha Yapa Publishers, 2006, pp. 98-102. The highlighting here is additional emphasis in 2023 by Roberts as Editor, Thuppahi.

The ICC has moved, rather belatedly, to invest umpires with the power to penalise cricketers for unsportsmanlike behaviour. I suggest, here, that the penalty should be more severe. Rather than reducing or adding runs, the penalty should be a sin-bin for one player, preferably a specific offender or the worst offender in the instance of, say, excessive appealing. Indeed, I would go further: for excessive appealing, the captain of the fielding side should be sent to the sin-bin for a specific amount of time, say, one hour.

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November 7, 2023 · 8:28 pm

Ruvendrini Menikdiwela in Key UNHCR Role

News Item: “Secretary-General appoints Ms. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela of Sri Lanka as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Ruvendrini Menikdiwela of Sri Lanka as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  Ms. Menikdiwela will succeed Gillian Triggs of Australia, to whom both the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Refugees are grateful for her dedicated service to the refugee cause.

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November 7, 2023 · 7:58 pm

Shakib has Sullied the Spirit of Cricket

 

In my experience from the late 1960s  Errol Fernando of Trinity College & Peradeniya University was the fairest of men and one possessing considerable acumen (besides virtuoso fingers at organ and piano) ……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Errol Fernando to Lawrence Heyn, 6 November 2023

Dear Lawrence, Am I allowed to say that the ONLY game that has this thing called ‘Spirit’ is CRICKET?  May I add that all other games merely have ‘rules’ but no spirit. Is there a spirit of rugby, golf, football, tennis  –  even gudu or marbles ?

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November 7, 2023 · 7:35 pm

Cricket Ugly Cricket! Bangladesh As Arseholes

The title is Thuppahi Coinage; while the report below is the account penned by Andrew Fidel Fernando from the World Cup heartland, 6 November 2023; … while the highlighting and pictorial illustrations are thuppahi vada

In almost certainly the most explosive press conferences of his career, Angelo Mathews called the actions of opposition captain Shakib Al Hasan and the Bangladesh team “obviously disgraceful”. He said he’d “never seen a team or player stoop so low” in his 15 years of playing international cricket. It was “unfortunate” his helmet strap broke in a match against Bangladesh because he doesn’t think “any other team would do that”, he added.

 

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November 6, 2023 · 12:19 am

Reading Sri Lanka’s Cricketing Debacle at Mumbai

Dyan Seneviratne … [1]

 “Dear Cricket Lovers,

Understandably ….. [after the recent debacle in Mumbai in the World Cup match vs India]  …. the inevitable cacophony will ring to a crescendo demanding the resignation of all and sundry tagged to SL Cricket – the head coach, batting, bowling, fielding coach and who ever agitated fans feel have contributed to the present debacle as shown in WC 2023 in India.[2] Let’s however pause a bit. Over-reacting by taking a ‘bull in a china shop’ stance will cause more damage!

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November 5, 2023 · 2:00 am

Debating the Concept of University in Sri Lankan Space: Uyangoda’s Initiative

Siri Gamage

A recent article published on Groundviews by Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda titled  “Re-inventing the idea of University: Some Reflections and Proposals”  deserves wider attention. Given the fact that the university education sector has not been the subject of critical reviews instituted by the government or universities themselves and there are wide ranging criticisms of the way universities are managed as well as about the university academic culture, the critical assessment of Sri Lanka’s universities and their directions is a timely contribution.

      courtesy of Sri Lanka Guardian

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November 4, 2023 · 12:43 am

The Unity in A Contradiction Over Time: Top Dog Bullying in Cricket

Michael Roberts in Email Chat with Errol Fernando, 3 November 2023: “Indian Cricketers Today Emulate the Aussies of Yesterday”

Mike Roberts:  responding to a cricketing point made by Errol Fernando, on 3 November 2023, re some unplayable balls produced by the Indian pacemen in the World Cup Match at Mumbai on 2nd November 2023

“I agree with you about some of the UNPLAYABLE BALLS, Errol; BUT MY FOCUS HOWEVER IS GOING TO BE on

* Mohmmed Siraj’s threatening verbals.

* The failures HERE of captain Sharma …. the umpires …and the commentators.

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November 3, 2023 · 1:12 pm

Scottish Roots at Royal College, Colombo?

Item circulated by Ranjith Sirimanne, a Royalist 

If the pipers were playing “Green Hills of Tyrol”, then a group of Sri Lankans would be playing a tune about a Swiss gentleman fighting against the Austrians, composed by an Italian  and played on an instrument proliferated from Scotland but left behind by the Romans as a joke……  using Bagpipes possibly made in Pakistan.

Can’t get much more International than that?

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November 1, 2023 · 7:20 pm

“Corridors of Time” Painting Exhibition at Lionel Wendt, Colombo

Corridors of Time – Artistic Narratives of Heritage and Nature …. at … the  Harold Peiris Gallery at the Lionel Wendt,  Col-7 ,,, Opening: 2nd November 2023 @ 6pm …. continuing from 3rd-5th November …  with Paintings from Royden Gibbs & Joseph Rodrigo

 

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