Victor Melder

SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS  Complied by Victor Melder  (JULY 2023) Fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, who walked off the field with an injury during Sri Lanka’s Super Six win over the Netherlands on Friday, has been ruled out for the rest of the Cricket World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe. Kumara was diagnosed with a side strain, which has now ruled him out of Sri Lanka’s remaining matches, with uncapped all-rounder Sahan Arachchige, who was one of the three standby players who were already in Zimbabwe, called up as a replacement. Kumara becomes the second Sri Lankan fast bowler to be ruled out mid-tournament, after Dushmantha Chameera was ruled out on Tuesday, replaced by left-armer Dilshan Madushanka.  Sri Lanka next face hosts Zimbabwe tomorrow in their penultimate Super Six match, with the winner guaranteed a place in October’s World Cup. (Daily Mirror, 1.7.2023) Sri Lanka beat the West Indies by 8 wickets to win ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS (JULY  2023)  Compiled by Victor Melder. Sri Lanka›s tourism industry continues to thrive as arrivals have exceeded 600,000, showcasing the resilience and appeal of the country as a travel destination.  Despite being the off-peak season, the daily average of tourist arrivals has shown remarkable improvement, exceeding 3,200 visitors. This upward trend in tourist footfall further underscores the growing interest in Sri Lanka as a preferred destination among global travelers. During the first 26 days of the month, 84,003 visitors have arrived in the country, with only 3,518 arrivals required to achieve the monthly target of 87,521. “The surpassing of the 600,000 tourist arrival milestone signifies the resilience of Sri Lanka›s tourism sector and its ability to bounce back from the challenges faced in recent years. It is a testament to the concerted efforts made to revitalize the industry, showcasing Sri Lanka›s immense potential as a top travel ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS – By Victor Melder Complied by Victor Melder   (JUNE 2023)     Experienced batsman Angelo Mathews was omitted from the Sri Lanka squad for the Cricket World Cup qualifiers this month, in an otherwise unchanged squad named for the three-month ODI series against Afghanistan.  Brought in earlier this year to support an otherwise inexperienced ODI batting line up, Mathews managed just scored of 18, 0 and 12 in three matches since his return, and with only 15 players allowed in the squad, the former captain failed to make the cut.  Of the 15 players named for the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe, only Chamika Karunaratne did not feature in a single game in the series against Afghanistan, which Sri Lanka won 2-1.  Sri Lanka begin their qualification campaign against the United Arab Emirates on June 19, but are scheduled to play two warm up matches ...

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VICTOR  MELDER  SRI  LANKA LIBRARY VICTOR  MELDER  SRI  LANKA LIBRARY 7, Benambra Street, Broadmeadows, Vic 3047, Australia. Telephone + 61 3 9309 4040 E-mail < melder.rjvm1935@bigpond.com > Web Site < www.vmsl-library.com > THOSE WISHING TO DONATE BOOKS & OTHER PUBLICATIONS TO THIS LIBRARY, THEY ARE MOST WELCOME. PLEASE CONTACT ME AT ABOVE ADDRESS, BY EMAIL OR TELEPHONE. Thank You.                                        ACQUISITIONS   FOR  THE  MONTH  OF  JUNE  2023 BOOKS. Classic Steam by Patrick B. Whitehouse, 1980 An Illustrated Guide to the Buried Cities of Ceylon by Mrs R. Jones-Bateman, 1932. The Laws of  Cricket, 1980 code, Marylebone Cricket Club Sri Lanka by Rail by Royston Ellis, 1994. Proud & Prejudiced, The Story of the Burghers of Sri Lanka by Rodney Ferdinands, 1995. The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Steam & Rail  by Colin Garratt & Max Wade-Matthews, 1998. A History of the Sri Lanka Government Railway, B.D. Rampala Felicitation Volume by L.S.de Silva ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS (JUNE 2023) – by Victor Melder. The deficit in the merchandise trade account narrowed to US dollars 583 million in April 2023, from US dollars 728 million recorded in April 2022 due to a larger decline in imports, compared to the decline in exports. However, the trade deficit showed an increasing trend on a monthly basis since February 2023. The cumulative deficit in the trade account during January to April 2023 was USD 1,444 million, a sizable decline from US dollars 3,125 million recorded over the same period in 2022. Earnings from merchandise exports declined by 12.6 % in April 2023, over April 2022, to US dollars 849 million, recording the lowest earnings since April 2021. The decline in earnings from industrial exports, including garments, associated with slowing external demand mainly contributed to this contraction in export earnings in April 2023, compared to a year earlier. Meanwhile, ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS (MAY 2023) Compiled by Victor Melder. Approximately one out of every six (16 percent) persons in the country is multi-dimensionally poor, says the Sri Lanka’s first official national Multidimensional Poverty Index (national MPI). The National MPI, using data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2019, launched last week, shows that more than eight out of every 10 (80.9 percent) persons who are poor live in rural areas. The National MPI, prepared jointly by UNICEF, the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the European Union, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) indicates that poverty levels in districts vary significantly, from a low of 3.5 percent in Colombo to 44.2 percent in Nuwara Eliya. Even for districts with similar MPI values, high-impact policies must consider the indicator composition of poverty, in order to plan the most cost-effective response. Estate areas are pockets of poverty, requiring ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS Complied by Victor Melder  (MAY 2023) Sri Lanka will earn as much as Rs. 8.6 billion per year over a four year period (Rs. 34.2 billion in total income) as the island’s allocation from the International Cricket Council’s annual payouts.  In US dollars Sri Lanka’s share is 27.12 million compared to India’s lion’s share of USD 230 million but the amount in still massive by Sri Lanka’s standards. The International Cricket Council has made the allocations taking into account factors like performance in both the men’s and women’s teams on the international stage over the past 16 years and contribution to the ICC’s commercial value. The earnings of the ICC of over $3.2 billion come from the sale of its media rights alone, which recently, for the first time, were sold across five separate regions globally including the Indian market. The vast bulk of that money ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS – MARCH 2023 – by Victor Melder The Opening two-day match, between the touring Sri Lankans & a New Zealand XI, played at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln, NZ, ended in a draw, with rain interrupting play  Scores: Sri Lanka – 276/4 dec (K. Mendis 95, O. Fernando 78, Mathews 38, Chandimal 35, Braak 1/36, Hartshorn 1/41, Davey 1/48) New Zealand XI – 141/1 (Boyle 73no, Bhula 37no, Cumming 27, Kumara 1/16)     New Zealand defeated the touring Sri Lankans by 2 wickets, to win the first Test, played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Scores: Sri Lanka – 1st Innings – 355 (Mendis 87, Karunaratne 50, Mathews 47, de Silva 46, Chandimal 39, Southee 5/64, Henry 4/80) New Zealand – 1st Innings – 373 (Mitchell 102, Henry 72, Latham 67, Fernando 4/85, Kumara 3/76, Rajitha 2/104) Sri Lanka – 2nd Innings – 302 (Mathews 115, de Silva 47, ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS – MARCH 2023 – by Victor Melder. Sri Lanka’s inflation, as measured by the change in the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) declined to 50.6 percent in February 2023 from 51.7 percent in January, the Department of Census and Statistics reported Tuesday. The CCPI for all items for the month of February 2023 marginally increased to 189.5 from 188.6 in January. The Year on Year inflation of Food Group decreased to 54.4 percent in February from 60.0 percent in January and the Year on Year inflation of Non Food Group increased to 48.8 percent in February 2023 from 47.9 percent in the previous month. For the month of February 2023, on year‐to‐year basis, contribution to inflation by food commodities was 17.23 percent and the contribution of Non Food items was 33.36 percent. The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) following internationally accepted guidelines, has revised the base ...

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                           VICTOR  MELDER  SRI  LANKA LIBRARY 7, Benambra Street, Broadmeadows, Vic 3047, Australia. Telephone + 61 3 9309 4040 E-mail < melder.rjvm1935@bigpond.com > Web Site < www.vmsl-library.com >   THOSE WISHING TO DONATE BOOKS & OTHER PUBLICATIONS TO THIS LIBRARY, THEY ARE MOST WELCOME. PLEASE CONTACT ME AT ABOVE ADDRESS, BY EMAIL OR TELEPHONE. Thank You.                                        ACQUISITIONS   FOR  THE  MONTH  OF  JANUARY  2023 BOOKS. Sri Lanka: Tears & Dreams of a Fragile Democracy by Shanthi Mendis, 2022, 147pp. (Photocopy) Mansions of the Moon, A Novel by Shyam Selvaduari, 2022, Hard Cover. (Donated Anonymously) Devina Vatican Kathilkawa, by Shanthikumar Hettiarachchi et al, 2018. (Sinhala Publication) (Donated by the Author, Colombo, Sri Lanka) MAGAZINES Social Justice, Vol 40, No (195), Nov/Dec 2018, Centre for Society & Religion, Colombo, Sri Lanka Social Justice, Vol 42, No (197), Aug/Sept 2019, Centre ...

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