Trevine Rodrigo

Sri Lankan band Mirage’s final appearance, as they signed off in style after a third sellout performance. – By Trevine Rodrigo (eLanka – Melbourne) Temperatures soared in Melbourne to nearly 40 degrees Celsius but it did little to discourage a capacity crowd attending Sri Lankan band Mirage’s final appearance, as they signed off in style after a third sellout performance.  Event organisers Chris and Annie Cannon were apologetic at the hurried change of plan due to the extreme weather conditions that forced everyone inside the venue and making the hall a bit overcrowded.  But the clamour for tickets could have made it worse if a cap was not put on it leaving about a hundred interested patrons disappointed.  However, there was no doubt it was an outstanding success, music and delicious food wise. Thai Street Food can take a bow in that respect.  From a Mirage perspective, the tour was ...

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The clan in Melbourne rally round to celebrate veteran Mirage leader Donald Pieries birthday at a Thai Street Food surprise party – by Trevine Rodrigo (eLanka – Melbourne) The clan in Melbourne rally round to celebrate veteran Mirage leader Donald Pieries birthday at a Thai Street Food surprise party. It was a wonderful night of scrumptious Food and banter, and a bemused birthday boy was treated to a wide array of presents apart from a special birthday cake made by Anne’s sister Faye. The fabulous Mirage band, Donald’s wife Jean, and a few invitees showed up to make his day memorable. You can also visit eLanka Facebook page and view the same content – Click here ...

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Sri Lanka celebrate turnaround of fortunes, but are they the real deal? – By TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports Editor) Image Source : islandcricket Wannindu Hasarsnga de Silva celebrated his elevation to the Sri Lanka T20 captaincy by leading from the front to steer his home team to an unassailable series triumph over Afghanistan in Dambulla. Sri Lanka continued their dominance over the Afgans with this win,  but the visitors are quickly closing the gap in a format where their raw talent has taken the cricketing world by storm. Lesser teams with better structure often falter when on tour,  but Afghanistan refuse to be overawed by anyone or any situation trusting their natural ability against the best teams in the world with their fighting spirit and inborn determination.  In the first game it was Hasarsnga’s effort, this time with the bat, as Sri Lanka struggled to 160 in their allotted overs. ...

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Mirage returned to Australia and reminded their fans that they are not a spent force. Actually far from it – by Trevine Rodrigo (eLanka – Melbourne) The popular Sri Lankan band was here at the invitation of Bertie and Frank Ekanaike for a Valentine’s day dinner dance at the Grand on Princes in aid of their old school, St. John’s College Nugegoda in Sri Lanka.  Donald Pieries, Benjy Ranabahu , Manilal Perera and the new faces on the line-up were a treat to watch as they reeled off a wide repertoire of music that had dance goers in awe at their versatility.  Their vast experience in the music industry over several decades was very evident as they blended with the new additions to give off a polished performance.  Mirage was recently in the Seychelles Islands wowing crowds over there and their popularity has opened several doors for a return to that ...

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Nissanka, Fernando and Mendis lead Sri Lanka blitz and bowlers complete series clean sweep. T20 series should decide new look Sri Lanka revival. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor) Yes, for quite a spell there was reason to believe Sri Lanka cricket was hit and miss, they have now dispelled that theory with another comprehensive thrashing of Afghanistan to take them to a 3-0 series sweep in the one-dayers in Pallekelle. Afghanistan won the toss in anticipation of gaining an advantage, but the gamble backfired as Sri Lanka’s search for depth turned up trumps as their reshuffled bowling attack restricted them to a gettable target. Pace and a new look spin attack bowled the Afgans out for 266 in 48.2 overs proving there’s plenty in the tank if needed. No Hasarsnga, Theekshana, and Chameera made little difference as Pramod Madushan 3 for 45, Asitha Fernando 2 for ...

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Obituary: Trevor Rajaratnam – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. It is with profound grief I was informed of the sudden passing of Trevor Rajaratnam who was an outstanding Cricketer at Colts Cricket Club in Sri Lanka. He was a key member of a formidable Colts club as a clever and facinating spinner, playing alongside some greats of the club such as Roy Dias, Duleep Mendis the recently deceased Gary de Silva, Bernard Rulach, Kumar Ramanathan and some others during my reporting career in Sri Lanka. After an illustrious cricketing career, he made inroads into Travel and related tourism projects in Sri Lanka that contributed hugely to the country’s economy. His involvement in travel spanned five decades. He was highly respected in his input into travel and tourism and soon established himself as a go to man for all things travel. But his connection to sport and cricket was always a ...

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Batters hit top gear as Sri Lanka smash Afganistan to a series win – Same team but different mindset appears to be selectors master-stroke – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE  (eLanka Sports editor) Sri Lanka shed their ‘inconsistency’ tag thrashing Afganistan by 155 runs while lightning up the hills of Pallekelle to the dawning of a welcome form turnaround, and silencing their critics in the process. Teetering on the edge of being written off in all formats, Sri Lanka appear to have discovered the correct horses for courses strategy from the available talent, and Coach Chris Silverwood can breathe easy as the new selection committee goes about putting together the pieces and the right squads for the different formats. There’s no disputing the talent in Sri Lanka cricket, but issues off field has derailed the games administration creating an unwanted distraction to their performances on the field. The new look ...

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The hills in Pallekelle rained boundaries as Nissanka double century sinks Afganistan – Historic first double hundred gives Lankans first up win – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports editor) Pathum Nissanka smashed a whirlwind 210 not out off only 139 balls to lead Sri Lanka to a comfortable win over Afghanistan in Pallekelle on a day it rained sixers and fours as the visitors did not go down without a fight.  Nissanka single-handedly sprayed the Afghanistan attack to all parts of Pallekelle in a memorable knock that will be long remembered for many reasons,  especially being the first double centurion for his country in this format.  His Player-of-the-match effort saw Sri Lanka amass 389 for 3 wickets which seemed way beyond reaching. But the Afghanistan batters thought otherwise making a valiant effort to run it down before falling 42 runs short.  The thrilling encounter produced over 700 runs ...

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Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne lead Sri Lanka cricket revival. Experienced trio save Sri Lanka some blushes against Afghanistan – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports editor) Afganistan showed the cricketing world that their lack of Test cricket experience will not be a long term deterrent as they made Sri Lanka sweat before recording a ten wicket win in Colombo.  The plucky Afgans looked done and dusted when they folded for 198 in a sorry first innings effort. But they fought back with bat and ball after Sri Lanka’s batters galloped to a 241- run first innings lead. Their batters then hit their straps to give Sri Lanka some anxious moments overhauling the deficit without any discomfort against an attack that destroyed them in the first innings.  Sr Lanka’s pacemen found their early success hard to replicate as the wicket appeared to flatten out to batter friendly conditions ...

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Audrey’s 100th birthday – by Trevine Rodrigo (eLanka – Melbourne) A memorable afternoon at the Village Green hotel in Glen Waverley celebrating aunty Audrey’s 100th birthday. An appreciative crowd of around 100 family and close friends gathered to celebrate this remarkable lady’s magical milestone at a well coordinated party. She looked radiant and as switched on as any of us, taking in the atmosphere well within her stride. Aunty Audrey is my late dad Justin Rodrigo’s cousin, and her longevity has everything to to with a positive mindset and attitude, combined with a strong belief in God. She also possesses a sharp mind that brings success in all she undertakes. She has been a livewire in the fields of management and other projects both here in Australia and in her native country, Sri Lanka. She lived most of her life in the hilly climes of Nuwara Eliya, Nawalapitiya and Kandy. ...

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