December 29, 2024 · 1:46 pm

Sri Lanka’s Loss to Kiwis in Recent T20 Match

Michael Roberts

I have yet to watch the recorded tape and present a few thoughts here after reading the accusatory mail in Facebook from some keen enthusiasts.

The scorecard indicates THAT (A) the potential matchwinner, Matheesha Pathirana, was profligate with wides and runs –so that the NZ target became a stiff one; (B) rendered reachable in large part via the hands of Pathum Nissanka; till (C) the relative unknown Jacob Duffy undermined Lanka’s progress with three wickets in succesion: Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera and Kamindu Mendis — a feat that secured him the Man of the Match award.

Duffy

These key factors should not, however, obscure (D) the failures of Rajapaksa, Asalanka and Hasaranga at the batting crease and (E) the fact that we have a long tail.

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ALSO SEE

SOME SHOTS

 Pathum Nissanka hits out

 

 

Kiwis celebrate a wicket

 

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December 28, 2024 · 12:55 am

The Tsunami Trauma in the Town of Galle, 26 December 2024

Dr Pilane Ariyananda, whose chosen title is “The Worst Day in My Life” ….. while I as Editor have imposed highlights only towards the end of this harrowing tale ….. letting Pilane’s weight of words penetrate the souls of readers because of the stark realities embedded therein.

Sunday, twenty-sixth of December 2004, the Boxing Day and the Poya Day, dawned as a quiet day, and as it was a triple holiday, there were very few people on the road. As usual, I had my morning walk on Galle Fort Ramparts and returned home around eight o’clock. After a leisurely breakfast, seated on an armchair in our veranda, I was reading the Sunday newspapers that I had picked up on my way back.

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December 27, 2024 · 11:56 am

Cricket: Sri Lanka Brace the Air in New Zealand

Rex Clementine, in The Island, 27 December 2024,where the title reads “Pathirana set to sling his way into Kiwi hearts”

Traveling to New Zealand feels like a journey to the ends of the earth. First, there’s the four-hour flight to Singapore, and from there, another ten hours to Auckland or Christchurch. But once you land, the long haul feels worth its weight in gold – New Zealand is an absolute gem, especially during Christmas.

The moment you step out of the airport and take that first breath, the air hits you like a tonic – fresh, crisp, and rejuvenating. The landscape is a symphony of green, and the people are as warm and welcoming as an open hearth on a chilly day. For a nation spanning over 260,000 square kilometers but housing just five million people, it’s nothing short of extraordinary what they’ve achieved on the global stage, especially with their beloved All Blacks.

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December 26, 2024 · 3:59 pm

A Poignant Tale … “I Am Not Lighting A Candle Today”

Buddhika Dassanayake, …. reflections presented on 26th December 2006

Its been two years since a friend called one morning, as we were studying for exams, to ask why lamp-posts were shaking. Two years since another friend called from Galle Hospital; tired, depressed, fiercely determined to see things through, utterly helpless. Two years since we heard that Tharini was missing; that the place we stayed at the last time we visited Unawatuna had disappeared along with the occupants.

 

Murali , Mahela & Kumar at a refugee camp on the east coast …having taken emergency supplies

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December 26, 2024 · 11:34 am

The Tsunami Twenty Years After

Padraig O’Leary writing from the vicinity of Colombo now

Twenty Years after the Tsunami

Did the children and I come to you when the waves came?

Were the kids there with you when death came?

In eternity, do you want to be mine again?

Will you come back at least in my dreams?

Those words were written by a grieving husband on the side of a rusting railway carriage at Peraliya in southern Sri Lanka.

 

On 26 December 2004, 36,000 to 50,000 people (the numbers of dead vary depending on the source) died in Sri Lanka in the St Stephen’s Day tsunami. Between 1,700 and 2,500 passengers on the holiday train, Queen of the Sea, perished as the wave engulfed it at Peraliya, between Colombo and Galle. Rescuers recovered only 824 bodies, as many were swept out to sea or were taken away by relatives without informing the authorities. The village itself also suffered heavy losses: hundreds of inhabitants died and out of 420 houses, the great wave spared only ten.

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December 26, 2024 · 11:03 am

Remembering the TSUNAMI …. 26 December 2004

Michael Roberts

The Roberts family were assembled at a house-for-hire off Goolwa and near a beach in South Australia when the first news of the devastating tsunami of 26th December 2004 hit the headlines. One of the first inklings the world received about this massive disaster came from Galle in the southwestern corner of Lanka. This was through a series of photos or a movie-camera display of a body of seawater moving from left of screen to right with cars and bodies amidst the debris….. and the walls of the Fort of Galle in the background.

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December 24, 2024 · 7:17 pm

Chandra Schaffter in Q-and-A with Rex Clementine

Rex Clementine ... article on 23rd October 2018 entitled ”Sri Lanka’s oldest living cricketer – Chandra Schaffter”  … with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi

Q: Who, in your opinion, is the Greatest Sri Lankan Batsman?

“I tend to agree with statements made by Frank Worrell and Gary Sobers. In their assessment Mahadevan Sathasivam was the best batsman that they had ever seen. Particularly in the case of Worrell, he played against Sathasivam when he scored 96 on a very bad wicket against top bowlers, who did extremely well on poor conditions.

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December 24, 2024 · 11:33 am

New Zealand’s Wide-ranging Stock of Cricketers

The selections made for the short-form matches vs the touring Sri Lankan squad reveal that the Kiwis have a broad base of top-class cricketers. This is good for cricket in its widest sense. Editor Thuppahi

Hard-hitting middle-order batter Bevon Jacobs has been handed his maiden New Zealand call-up by being picked for the upcoming three-match home T20I series against Sri Lanka.. Jacobs was part of the New Zealand XI side that took on Sri Lanka in a 10-overs-a-side tour match in Lincoln on Monday, although he did not get a chance to bat.

The series against Sri Lanka will also see Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and Matt Henry make a return to the white-ball squads, having been rested during their tour of Sri Lanka to prepare for the home Tests against England.

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December 23, 2024 · 7:06 pm

Gamini Seneviratne’s Critical Readings of the Sri Lankan Scenario

Gamini Seneviratne, in The Island, 23 December 2024, where the title runs “What AKD and NPP should bear in mind” … reproduced here with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

This is to thank you [the ISLAND newspaper] for drawing attention to the dangers posed by India to our society and its culture and other basic resources as well as its on-going exertions towards encroaching on our maritime territory.

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December 22, 2024 · 11:50 am

In Memory of Sarath Ilangantileke

Upali Obeyesekere, … with highlights imposed by Michael Roberts, a rugger-colleague from Peradeniya-Uni days

It is with profound sadness we learn that Dr. Sarath Illangantileke had passed away recently. Born in Kurunegala to Dr. Eric & Autley Illangantileke, Sarath had his entire education at Trinity College Kandy. He represented his alma mater with distinction in a star-studded Rugby team in 1963 that included the celebrated stand-off Mohan Sahayam, scrum-half MTM Zarook (another Kurunegala product), Trinity forwards in Sam Canagasabai, Manik de Silva, George Carson, Gavin Rodie, Sarath Illangantileke, supported by Nicko Perera, David Ondaatjie, and H.J. Fernando. Piyasena brothers Gamini and Ananda to wingers Rodney Geddes or Justin Labrooy, and super coach Percy Madugalle.

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