At Lords: Man of the Match to a Cricket Ball … Good Lord!@!@! – By Dr Michael Roberts Source:thuppahis.com My Man of the Match over the years has often been a Man. Sometimes a bowler, batsman or fielder. Also perhaps an umpire or even a third umpire. Possible even a selector, coach or psychologist. This time, after yesterday’s Lord’s Test match, my Man of the Match ….. aka MOM ….. was the ball. Short and sweet, clear and simple , it was the actual BALL ! You will remember that at the end over 55 Captain Kane and Southey showed umpire Rod Tucker the ball, claiming that it had gone out of shape. Sure enough it was stuck in the gauge and New Zealand were able to choose a replacement ball. They smiled happily but did not realise that it would be the BATSMEN who would soon be smiling. At ...
Michael Roberts
Sangakkara and Solanki about their Success at IPL 2022 – By Dr Michael Roberts Shashank Kishore*&* at ESPNcricinfo, 29 May 2022, source:thuppahis.com “At the auction table, we spent 90-95% of our purse on putting together our first XI. We worked hard on data to work on the players we wanted. We put emphasis on experience at the moment. We have a smattering of youngsters who will become stars later, but our first XI has a strong share of seasoned internationals… Wins don’t just happen. It takes a lot of planning, hard work, execution on the field.” ……………… Royals’ director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara says reaching the final is a culmination of a process they started even before the auction “We have an opportunity to do something special. But, to some extent, what we have achieved so far is something special. I would congratulate everybody that’s been involved in this franchise for what we have achieved so ...
May 30, 2022
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Articles, Michael Roberts
Tagged "CRICKET, Rajasthan Royals, Vikram Solanki
Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh in Their Home Turf in Memorable Win – By Michael Roberts Source:thuppahis.com Andrew Fidel Fernando reporting in ESPNcricinfo, 27 March 2022, where the title reads “Asitha, Mathews, Chandimal star in Sri Lanka’s series win” Asitha Fernando‘s searing post-lunch spell burst through Bangladesh’s defiant middle order, then swiftly uprooted the tail, to thrust Sri Lanka toward victory, which they achieved by 10 wickets in Mirpur. Asitha ….and Angelo Envenomed by reverse swing, Asitha engineered a collapse that saw the last five Bangladesh wickets fall for 13 runs in the space of eight overs. He took 6 for 51 for the innings – easily the best innings return of his five-Test career. As he had claimed four wickets in the first innings as well, he took 10 for 141 from the match. This is his first 10-wicket haul. Following Asitha’s burst, Sri Lanka needed only 29 in the fourth innings. ...
May 30, 2022
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Articles, Michael Roberts
Tagged Andrew Fidel, Bangladesh, Oshada Fernando, Sri Lanka
Gananath Obeyesekere’s 1975 Article on Murder by Sorcery – By Michael Roberts Gananath Obeyesekere: “Sorcery and Premeditated Murder: The Canalization of Aggression”[1] Source:thuppahis.com In this paper I want to deal with a series of interrelated problems beginning with the following specific questions and propositions. First: how far can we make inferences about the human psyche and social structure from official statistics computed by government agencies, in this case statistics on homicide and crimes of violence? Criminology as a discipline is especially concerned with this problem, and criminological studies in Sri Lanka have made social structural, cultural and psychological inferences from the statistical data.[2] At the outset, let me emphasize that I am not concerned with the conventional debate about the accuracy of governmental statistics. Criminologist who have dealt with this issue are agreed that Sri Lanka’s official statistics on homicide and violent crimes are reasonably accurate, and on the face ...
May 30, 2022
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Articles, Michael Roberts
Tagged crimes, criminological studies, Criminology, Gananath Obeyesekere, human psyche, Sorcery, Sri Lanka, violent crimes
Protecting Sri Lankan Rights: The Modern Saga of Shipwreck “Avondster” – by Michael Roberts Source:thuppahis.com The curtain rises: One morning in 2002 I received a call from the Additional Director General, Central Cultural Fund (CCF), Mr. H. D. S. Hettipathirana, to discuss a glitch in the Avondster project which was due to get off the ground. I was, then, wearing several hats: Consultant (to the CCF) and Special Advisor (to the Director-General, Archaeology) on Maritime Archaeology; and member of the Advisory Committee to the Ministry. I was also a member of ICUCH (the ICOMOS International Committee on the Underwater Cultural Heritage) and had been involved in the formulation of both the ICOMOS Charter and the UNESCO International Convention on the Underwater Cultural Heritage. Neither I – nor anyone else in the country – had had any maritime archaeological training: I was the proverbial one-eyed man in the kingdom of the ...
May 26, 2022
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Articles, Michael Roberts
Tagged Avondster Project, CCF, Central Cultural Fund, H. D. S. Hettipathirana, Maritime Archaeology, Netherlands Government, Sri Lanka, Underwater Cultural Heritage, UNESCO
A Requiem For Barbara Sansoni: From 1962 …. – by Michael Roberts Source:thuppahis.com Somasiri Devendra, ** whose chosen title is “A wooden bridge, an iron house, and Barbara then ….” .………… of such are memories made, writes Somasiri Devendra So, Barbara has ridden off into the sunset, on her white horse, after “a hard day’s night” leaving behind memories of the times when she was a person, not an icon, and very good company indeed. Those memories reach back 60 years. In 1962 I was the only unmarried officer, in our ‘ship’ in Diyatalawa – Her Majesty’s Ceylon Ship “Rangalla” – living in solitary splendour in the Wardroom (the Officers’ Mess). That made me the official host to visiting dignitaries. One day I was told to stand by to entertain a WW2 veteran, a Lieut. Cdr. Hildon Sansoni, who would be coming on a longish holiday with his family. Proctor of the Supreme Court, National ...
May 26, 2022
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Articles, Michael Roberts
Tagged Badulla, Barbara Sansoni, Bogoda Bridge, Dowa temple, National Tennis Champion
“The Last Post” — Its Origins and History-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis The Last Post will be played all over the world on Remembrance Day. But as Alwyn W Turner explains, its origins had nothing to do with mourning. Arthur Lane was a bugler in the British Army when he was captured by Japanese forces during the fall of Singapore in 1942. He spent the remainder of World War Two in PoW camps and working on the notorious Burma Railway. But he also had a more melancholy duty. He still had his bugle with him and it was his task to sound the Last Post for each of his comrades who died during those years. ...
Hambantota: Multi-Purpose Port of the Year for 2021-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis The Hambantota International Port was named “Multi-Purpose Port /Terminal of The Year 2021 & Port Infrastructure Development of the Year 2021,” at the recently concluded Global Port Forum (GPF) awards earlier this week.The Awards ceremony, held at the Shangri-La, Dubai, brought together organisations and professionals from across the world’s Ports & Terminals industry, to a gala event, where the highest contributors of 2021 were recognised. HIP won two of the most coveted awards, ‘Multi-Purpose Port / Terminal of The Year 2021’ and ‘Port Infrastructure Development of the Year 2021,’ after a stringent process conducted by the forum to select the most deserving in each of the categories. Global Ports Customers and Senior Port Experts from the Global Ports Council made up the prestigious panel of judges who were involved in the shortlisting and selection process. ...
May 21, 2022
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Tagged Michael Roberts, Tissa Wickramasinghe
Indian Ocean ANZACs from the Second World War – by Michael Roberts …. and clariying matters for those unfamiliar with the meaning of ANZAC DAY: Source:thuppahis.com What does Anzac Day observance mean? …. and clariying matters for those unfamiliar with the meaning of ANZAC DAY: Anzac Day is commemorated on April 25th and is arguably Australia’s most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first key military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War ALSO SEE Robyn Mayes: “Origins of the Anzac Dawn Ceremony: Spontaneity and Nationhood,” ………….. https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/17078/134224_134224.pdf?sequence=2 Chris Flaherty & Michael Roberts: “The Reproduction of Anzac Symbolism,” Journal of Australian Studies, 1989, vol 13/24: 52-69. John Connor et al: ...
Apr 28, 2022
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Articles, Michael Roberts
Tagged First World War, Michael Roberts
Lest We Forget: That Day at Lahore on 3rd March 2009 When Cricket was Assailed – by Michael Roberts “Test cricket returned to Lahore on Monday for the first time since a horrific attack in 2009 saw the venue … shunned by nations …,” says Peter Lalor in his article on the Lahore Test Match in today’s (22 March 2022) AUSTRALIAN newspaper. Lalor, perhaps deliberately (?,) avoids reference to the team that underwent this terrorist attack on 3rd March 2009: Sri Lanka. He did not need to go far to seek the horrendous details about that attack. Ahsan Raza is umpiring the present match. He was reserve umpire for the Lahore match in March 2009 and received a bullet in his guts when the mini-van bearing officials was embraced in the terrorist assault. The mini-van driver was killed and this vehicle remained on the road as a sitting duck.** No one knows why the officials in the ...
Mar 22, 2022
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Articles, Michael Roberts
Tagged Ahsan Raza, Ajantha Mendis, Lahore, Test cricket, Tharanga Paranavithana, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan
