Sri Lanka vs Canada in Hambantota, by Dhammika Heenpella / Images of Sri Lanka
I’m not a big fan of the cricket, having grown up in America. To me it’s a bit long and rather normal looking guys running around in pyjamas, which I suppose baseball is in a different way. They’re both natural evolutions of the basic skill of hitting things with a club. Perhaps back in the day they played a similar sport with goats. In Afghanistan that’s something they still do. I am a fan of the World Cup. It’s been very interesting so far, and I even went to a game. Not an interesting game, but whatever.
Right now the Sri Lanka/Australia game is rained out and I’m waiting for it to resume. Dunno if it even will. At least the Australians can bat in the dark last time. Last World Cup final the light ran out and the Sri Lankans were batting in the dark, which was totally unfair. Then the LTTE decided to do a symbolic bombing run over Colombo and all the lights in the city went out, including the big screen I was watching the match on. It was a bummer. I blame an Australian/LTTE conspiracy. Just kidding. I like Australia, but have a visceral distaste for the team. They’re just too good, and they’re kinda dicks about it.
That game was impossible to get tickets for. For SL/Pak 500 Rupee tickets were going for like 8,000, so I can’t imagine what the Australia match would have cost. Instead, the Canadian Embassy (that’s the .ca part) kindly procured some tickets for the Canada/Pakistan match, which was cool. I’ve never been to a match and it’s a really nice atmosphere. Unlike, say, football (American) you can actually see and understand better live, and the stands are lively in themselves. There’s also dollar beer and hot dogs and stuff and enough crazy people and kids to keep one entertained.
Canada, of course, got creamed. Pakistan batted pathetically, but the Canada team is obviously worse and made a lot of mistakes that Afridi eventually capitalized on and bowled like four in row. From then on it was pretty much over. Not that underdogs haven’t won in this cup. The Ireland game I just randomly started watching on a restaurant TV and they actually beat England convincingly and dramatically on a very competitive score. I would be really pumped if Ireland got far in this cup, mainly because I always used to root for Packie Bonner’s side in the football World Cup.
But I digress. Really, just waiting for the rain to stop. For actual cricket writing please check out Island Cricket. Apparently Darrel Hair is still a douchebag.
You’re giving the Australian team too much credit. They’re not as skilled; they were beaten by England at the Ashes AND they’re missing top players in their ICC WC line-up.
They’re just evil. Their only real strategy is to destroy the psyche of the opposing team. Like what Sean did to Dilshan.
indi, 2007 aussie team & the present one are worlds apart. we would have won this had it not rained. The ball was turning and kicking off of the surface our spinner would have had a field day considering there only australian who can remotely play spin in that outfit.
Bloody hell!
As Mahinda Abeysundara would say, it rained because some businessmen bet that it would. It’s all match fixing, you see.
@ chavie – Hahah good one
@ The puppeteer – Australians aren’t the only ones evil here our beloved ITN too did some major damage to our own players. Now that’s just plain douchey.
Hiya Indi,
Great to read your posting – live from the sodden cricket. I too am not a great fan of Cricket, altho grew up with an obsessed father (he should have been Sri Lankan) and siblings the same. Still it’s always great to observe from the periphery. As an Aussie I was amused when we were in SL in May/June 09 to be the butt of jokes from the constabulary at roadblocks around Colombo after SL had defeated Australia in London (I think). How wonderful is the SL passion for the game. I remember how cricket played such an important role in the mental recovery following the Tsunami. Sport can do that and to see all those Christchurch Rugby fans drive 400+kms up to Nelson for the morale boosting win by their Crusaders over the Australian Waratahs, after all the devastation and loss they have suffered, was wonderful.
I have Australian friends flying out this week to SL, feeding their cricket obsession. I am sure when we get to SL in May there’ll be the odd cricket conversation – can’t wait!
Meantime, very impressed, if my assumption is correct – that you tapped out that blog posting on an iPhone or similar whiling away the hours until play might resume. You must have damn dainty fingers is all I can say.
Keep up your great postings and hope to catch up in SL.
Cheers,
Frank
$1 beer? Man you have been away for a while :!) make it $9-11 for beer and like $6 or $8 for a hotdog, depending on the brand you prefer. That is after handing out closer to $3 grand for the season ticket and $18 (every game) for parking. Usually every game is a $50 affair for me as there is always 2 of us at the game, (I buy two tickets as it makes it easier and expensive to sell) and it is fun to take a friend. By selling 3 good games like Lakers, I can recover my money, almost!
I go to every possible Warriors game (when I am not selling the tickets to recover my investment! :)
March 16 is Bollywood night with all sort of Indian stuff under the theme “Got Curry” as in Stephen Curry!
I watch Cricket a bit on TV, I guess I don’t dig it so well like my fellow Sri Lankans or Indians for that matter! Games are always fun, for me they are the best stress relievers!
yeah right !
Now if you could stop being the delusional captain dosa for second and read ponting’s post match comment you might learn something about cricket. ;)
How Sri Lanka Can Win The 2011 World Cup
1. Appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa match referee in all the WC matches played by Sri Lanka.
2. Appoint Gotabaya and Basil as on field umpires and Namal as the 3rd umpire in all the WC matches played by Sri Lanka.
3. Appoint Chamal Rajapaksa as manager of the Sri Lanka cricket team.
4. Only allow Sri Lankan fans to enter the stadiums where the SL cricket team plays it’s matches.
5. Declare Mervin Silva and Wimal Weerawansa official cheerleaders of the SL cricket team and let them roam around the match venues intimidating fans and supporters of the opposing teams.
6. Bring in a 19th Amendment to the constitution making it compulsory for all Sri Lankans irrespective of their race or religion to fly the Sinhala flag from their homes and scream ‘JAYA WAY WAA’ every time a 4 or a 6 is scored by the SL team.
7. Declare the hotels accommodating opposition teams as “NO FIRE ZONES” and then promptly bombard them with multi-barrel rockets and cluster bombs.
8. Change the cricket laws so that Murali and Lasith Malinga can bowl 25 overs each of the allotted 50 overs given to the SL team in each game.
9. During crunch matches, use “White Vans” to abduct key players of opposition teams and promptly blame the abductions on an “International Conspiracy” to tarnish the image of the country.
10. Wrap cricket balls with “Holy Thread” (pirith nool) utter some mumbo jumbo over the balls and place them in the stadiums where the SL team plays its games in order to bring them good luck.
I know it still hurts to think about the fact that Prabhakaran is dead as a dodo and that the LTTE got owned, but try not to let that get in the way of your attempt at humour.
My my sri lanka got into the finals without sticking to the duncie algorithm. I guess it’s pretty clear now what needs to be done to win this WC.
Utter humiliation is coming your way if our buggers win this last game. It’ll be tough though.