`The Pride of Sri Lanka’…2008 by Max Gerreyn

A welcome e’mail from my friend in W.A., who was one of the top cartoonists in Lanka, and continues his great work, as shown below. He could not have timed this work any better, with all the hullabaloo going on, at the moment, with Aussie Cricket, possible ratification for the absurd ramifications of the Australian Cricket Board, who should have accepted their share of the blame for the “ball-tampering” episode that banned three of Australia’s best Cricketers for a very long time. (the ban is still in force).As the editor of eLanka, I did write, during the hubbub, that, while these three players did the wrong thing, and, together with their Coach, at the time, deserved SOME punishment, but certainly not be treated as criminals, while the “Board”

sat in judgement, trying to look blameless about the whole affair. As I said before, I say again. THEY were just as much to blame. It was their ideology, in fact, that psychologically affected these recent Aussie cricket teams. “You are not out there to play Cricket, boys, you are there to WIN the game. Just goes to show that our “Cricketing-Girls” are better equipped to “play the game” as they should, because, look at them,!!, out there, beating their opponents comprehensively, while our “boys” are getting thrashed by Pakistan, even now. Why, the Aussie Cricket Board keep batting with a broken bat, I will never know. Lift the ban on the previous Captain of the team & the two other players now. They have served their punishment. Make it very clear to every one of their players, that Cricket is a Gentleman’s game. NO team can WIN every match played. In most games there has to be a WINNER and a LOSER. “Sledging” by any team, picked up by the Umpires, or for that matter, ANY form of cheating (not just ball-tampering), must result in the Umpire holding up a red card (as done in Soccer), and the offending player/s immediately sent off, their payment for that particular match revoked, leaving the rest of the team to play on, minus these rascals, culminating in what could well be “a lost match”. As I have also written, Cricket is a Gentleman’s game, and this writer is as proud as punch about the fact that he DID get to meet & shake the hand, even “chat” with the absolute BEST CRICKETER IN THE WORLD, the amazing late GREAT, DON BRADMAN a former Captain of the Aussie team, not just a Sportsman, but also a thorough GENTLEMAN. I have been very lucky indeed.

So, now, let us “zone-in” to Maxie Gerreyn, another proud “Burgher-Bugger”, as I am, and his great cartoon of yet another “Cricket-picture”, as we used to call them, as youngsters, collecting photographs etc. for our scrap-books in Ceylon. Thank you, Maxwell Gerreyn.

Desmond Kelly
Star of eLanka
(Editor-in-Chief).

Dear Friends…YESs…Showing off AGAIN…Blowing my trumpet…If I don’t…NO ONE else will…so there…Anyway this A3 sized original colour cartoon was done when our SL team played a couple of games here in Perth 10 years ago…a very good Sri Lankan friend got the figures PERSONALLY autographed by the players depicted when they were hosted for dinner at a then well-known Indian Chef;s restaurant in Perth’s CBD …Sadly Go-GO’s has since closed shop..I sold the original of this cartoon (NO copies were taken then) to another SriLankan who worked down the road from my home in a little supermarket. ..I meet my `purchaser’ on almost a daily basis as I still shop there ..and he still works there – and just an hour ago he reminded me that he had bought it for his then teen-aged son as a gift!……All the players in that cartoon depiction became our Mau Bima’s Cricket LEGENDS…What ho…Boys and Girls…Ol Man River keeps rolling along!

Max Gerreyn

Aiyubown…Sappewewa!…Gihin Ennang…See you later…Alligator!

 Max Gerreyn