Fly Slip-Looking for lost balls...

Ricky Ponting is Sarah Palin in disguise

2008-11-10T13:42:00.002+08:00

Palin didn’t know Africa was a continent.

Ponting dint know a test was on the line.

Palin continuously went ‘rogue’ on the McCain campaign

Ponting continuously goes ‘rogue’ on his team.

Palin likes to spend money.

Ponting likes to save money.

Palin comes from a state with 3 electoral votes that no body cares about.

Ponting comes from a state that no body in Australian care about. (In fact he’s only in because of the Tassie Quota)

There were reports that McCain wanted to ‘bump off’ Palin.

There are reports that certain Australian cricket bloggers want to ‘off’ Ponting.

Sarah was slow on the uptake.

Ricky is slow with the over rates.

Palin was featured in Porno. True Story. (Try Nalin Palin on Google).

Ponting was not. (For which we are forever grateful to the Porn Industry).

Palin was a Maverick.

Ricky Ponting is, well Ricky Ponting.

Some say Ricky has fits of retardedness on the field.

Sarah Palin IS clinically retarded.

These are the bare facts. Make of it what you will.
Brought to you by the FlySlip, hatching conspiracies where there are none.

Another day at SLC Junior High...

2008-11-09T09:58:00.005+08:00

Yesterday at around noon, Mahela and Kumar Sagakkara become victims of another vicious attack by the play ground bullies. The bullies threw their toys on the floor and chucked their lunches into the sandbox.

Mahela and Kumar had been so looking forward to their chicken sandwiches but had to go home in tears.

When the PTA meeting was called to find out why these two are being bullied so much, Mahelas rich dad and mommy showed up in raging anger.

They asked the rest of the parents "Why are you abusing our son ? Just because he is the captain of the cricket team it does not mean you can bully him like this.

He is a very sensitive boy and his feelings have been deeply hurt."

When a heckler made a comment about the size of Mahelas eyebrows, Mahela started weeping and cried out for his mother.

At this point, Kumar's father stepped in "Listen here, I am Kumars father and I am a very important man and I know more big words than Kumar, so you will listen to what I say.

Our boys just want to play cricket for their country in a peaceful manner. Why are you sending them bouncer after bouncer like this. It is wrong..". As his voice got groggy and eyes started to well up, his wife put a loving arm around him and his son and asked who ever it was to own up.

It was then that Rex's dad stood up.

"Ok fine, it was my son. But you know why no body likes your son?

You say he is the captain of our team but we found out he has been secretly playing for the team across the road"

"Has he no sense of loyalty or does he only care about maximising his profit making opportunities". said Rex's dad.

"My son bullied your son and I'm proud of it.". Rex stood up at this point, beaming.

The rest of the parents yelled "Amen to that !!".

Kumar and Mahela clung to each other, sobbing uncontrollably, snot and drool wetting their tight fitted t-shirts.

"Please just leave us alone...we just want to play cricket....sob...we only wanted to make some money...is that so wrong..sob..sob...".

"It was Arjuna who told us we could play for the other team".

It was then that, Jabba the hut, Arjuna's dad, said "My son said no such thing ! How dare you little rich rascals accuse my son !"

Someone throws a chair at Jabba the hut, which bounces off his belly and hits Rex square in the face. Who throws a rotten tomato at Kumar and Mahela.

A fight break out...

Thus ends another day at SLC Junior High.

A Canadian leads the Aussies, Tyron Henderson and the weird shindig in HongKong

2008-11-08T10:34:00.005+08:00

Since there is absolutely nothing to report on the Sri Lankans of late lets have a look at whats happening in Hong Kong.

Its that time of the year again, teams of 6, 5 overs per team. YES Its the Hongkong Sixes BABY!

Oooo the excitement !! Settle down !!

Actually the Lankan lads are the defending champions. We managed to beat the All starts last year led by Warney.

This year the All stars look a little something like this

Stephen Fleming (Captain)

Shiv Chanderpaul

Tyron Henderson

Mathew Hoggard

Sanath Jayasariya

Justin Langer

Chaminda Vass

I know what your thinking. Justin Langer ? In a 6s team ?

And who in the hell is Tyron Henderson ?

Don't you need to have played some sort of international cricket to qualify for this. It seems like who ever picked this team just closed their eyes and picked some names out of a hat.

You know what we say to that. We say Boo!

Bring back Warney or Lara I say. Hell even Mick Lewis woulda been cool.

And whats this, a Canadian is leading the Aussies ? Only in 6s cricket !

You gotta love it.

For more weird team news go here

Australia v India, 4th Test Preview

2008-11-06T09:00:00.002+08:00

And so the series that promised so much, yet delivered so little comes to an end.

So far the series has been like an old engine that refuses to start, its made some funny noises, promised to kick start but just dies on you in the end.

We now head to Nagpur, the equation is simple. Australia need to win to retain the trophy and India need at least a draw to wrest it back from the Aussies.

Australia
Who would have thought that after this performance by Jason Kreza, he would have ever been contention for test debut.

But he is. Which goes to show the trouble the Aussies are having in finding a spinner or rather any bowler who can help them get 20 wickets.

The Aussies have a belief that Indians play off spin worse than leg spin. It may be based on the legendary Splendid Mendis's heroics in Sri Lanka but it would quite the push to claim that Krejza can kick it up Mendis style

Batting- Strong
As the series has gone on the Aussie batters have stepped up to the mark. Barring the 2nd test flop, the top order have been in the runs. More is expected and with Haydens return to form things are looking peachy.

Bowling- Can they get 20 wickets?
Its a good question. Australia have only collected 37 of the 60 wickets on offer in the first 3 tests. The lack of variation in the bowling was telling in Delhi. Micheal Clarke and Simon Katich offer some respite for the fast men but they have proved to be quite ineffective thus far.

Can Krejza make a difference ? It is unlikely. The only positive that the Australians can take from Delhi with regards to their bowlers was that Brett Lee seemed to have found his rhythm.

Gambir's ban for this test may just offer them a chance to get the early breakthrough that has eluded them.

India

New captain. New opener.

Although the latter would the lesser of their worries.

Needing only a draw to seal the series the Indians may opt to sit back and see how the game progresses.

Batting- Gambir absent.
But will it cost India. Murali Vijay comes into the team on the back of double hundred in domestic cricket but he will be under a different kind of pressure all together in a whole new ball game.

Needing a win to square the series and retain the trophy the 'Stralians will come hard at the new guy. This major glitch in the batting line up may just offer the opening the Aussies have been looking for to get in to the middle order.

And with Dravid struggling and Sehwag being inconsistent, the top 3 look dodgy for India.

The rest of the batting line up is solid. It will also be Gangulys last test. So be sure to keep a close eye on him.

Bowling-Solid.
If not dangerous. Ishant and Zaid have been consistent through out the series and if Harbajan is fit the Indians will have a strong bowling line up that could propel them to a win in Nagpur.

Mishra was below par in Delhi and it will be good to watch him ply his trade on another helpful surface.

Leadership- Its all about Dhoni.
India are an entirely different team under Dhoni and it was no surprise that the test they won was under him.

Dhoni is the man everyone wants a pat on the back from and to be on the good books with.

He is definitely a better captain than Ponting and may just be the difference between the teams.

Prediction- I love the underdog

Its not often that the Australians are the underdog in test cricket. But times have changed and here we are. I love the underdog so I'm gonna stick my head out and say an Aussie win.

It will be made tough cuz India will play 7 batsmen and look for the stalemate. But if Lee and the quicks get past the openers and Krejza somehow pulls something out of the bag we could be in for a treat.

Go the underdog !

Anil...

2008-11-05T13:00:00.001+08:00

Kumble had bowled 6 overs on the fourth morning without taking a wicket. Pakistan had been set an improbable 420 to win and only needed a draw to secure the series. At 101 for no loss they were well on their way.

After lunch Anil Kumble bowled 20.3 overs from the Pavillion End and ended up taking all 10 for 47. When Saeed Anwar went, Pakistan had collapsed to 128-6.

"That's when I thought all ten was possible for the first time" said Kumble afterwards.

Kumble was carried off the field by his team mates as the crowd rejoiced. "We had won, was my first reaction.

No one dream of taking 10 wickets because you cant."

Wisden, on undoubtedly Anils greatest day on the cricket field.

Anil Kumble was a complicated yet simple man. He was a cricketing intellectual. In 1990 he arrived, bespectacled, armed with an Mechanical Engineering degree and a deep mind.

Perhaps it was this background that led him to take up arguably the most intellectually challenging of all bowling forms.

Perhaps it was his methodical mind that influenced the very nature of how he bowled. It bred on patience and accuracy. Rinse and repeat.

He was a nerd, but a cool nerd who played cricket and was fucking good at it.

He was a leg spinner, but not quite.

He dint flight the ball, he dint drift the ball.

Hell 90% of the time he dint even spin the ball. Yet he ended up with a colossal amount of wickets.

Captained India.

And leaves the game as one the most respected to have ever played it.

During the mid 90s, leg spin was well and truly alive. While Warne and Mushy were spinning their into the history books, Anil just went about his business.

Day in day out.

Bowling line and length, getting it to nip a just that tad, which is all you ever need to get a wicket.

His longevity was underlined by the fact that he outlasted both Warne and Mushy in the end.

Anil was a giant of a man. He was the very definition of playing for your team. Never hunting personal accolades, whether he batted or bowled his commitment to India was unwavering.

If you asked him to he would bowl till his arm came off. Which he did.

Which is why he leaves us now see. He cant bowl anymore. If he could he would. Age caught up with him in the end. And that was the only way anyone was ever going to stop Anil.

His way or no way.

To me personally, Anils retirement does not only end a great cricketing career for India but it also closes a great chapter in crickets history. The last of the 3 great leg spinners of the modern era have performed their last trick.

There will be no encore.

There will be no one last hurrah.

Unless you count the IPL. (Which I'm sure you don't)

Cricket will miss you Anil.

India will miss you.

I know I will.

Adam Gilchrist vomits "horse crap"

2008-11-05T03:00:00.000+08:00

Adam Gilchrist was a fine cricketer.

A cricketer for whom I had a lot of respect. But by showing his 'true colors' lately he is fast becoming a bit of a moronic asswipe.

First he had a dig at Sachin, but then he forgot that Indians are cricket crazy and his book would probably sell well there. So he sorted that out in quick time.

Now he's come out and labeled Murali a chucker. And apparently the ICC bent their laws so that Murali could bowl in international cricket.

The law was changed because half the people bowling in international cricket violated the existing law at the time. Under that law, Mcgrath, Pollock etc all chucked.

Maybe Gilchrist dint pass his science test in school or maybe he wasn't too good with the maths to go too deeply into such matters to understand what exactly happened.

Gilchrist goes on to say that Murali was protected by "Political influence". Maybe he dint even pass his geography cuz mate we are not India. We are whole separate country. With our own flag and everything.

There was NO political influence. The ICC launched an investigation and Murali was tested in AUSTRALIA and they them selves cleared him. In fact it was the Uni of WA who cleared him. Maybe some resentment from Gilly not getting a certain acceptance letter.

If anyone at all cares, the law of the 10 degree limit was extended to 15 degree because it is only at this threshold that the human eye can actually detect any flex in the arm.

But to me the final straw is him stating that allowing Murali to bowl was against "the spirit of the game".

For someone who 'seemed' to uphold this very same spirit during his playing days it is amazing how quickly he seems to have forgotten it after he stopped.

Whats the point ?

2008-11-04T18:46:00.003+08:00

Heading into Zimbabwe is always interesting because you never know quite know what to expect.

Other than the fact that Sri Lanka is going to offer them a complete thrashing.

I’m not ashamed to say that I don’t know half the team that will take the field for the ODI series from the Zimbabwe. I lost interest in Zimbabwean cricket ever since Andy Flower left and the mass exodus in 2004.

That Zimbabwe had some grit about them. Led by Andy and Heath Streak, the batting was solid and the bowling was effective. Since then the Zimbabweans have been fielding 2nd string teams.

Which makes me wonder what the point of this series is. England would rather cancel the Sri Lankan tour in 2009 rather than face a 2nd string Sri Lankan XI.

Why must should we expect less from Zimbabwe. Or better yet, Why must we play them in the first place.

Sean Williams just pulled out to play cricket in South Africa, Brendon Taylor opted for Australia. Tatenda Taibu is in some court facing assault charges, oh hello? Tiny Taibu in an assault case?

The man assaulted apparently said “You should see the other guy”

This series going to be an absolute farce.

The only reason I am remotely interested in this series is because, couple of the young cubs I predicted big things for here, are going be playing.

Even the Sri Lankans are not taking this seriously, Jayasuriya will be just across the border, playing for the Dolphins, then he will hop on a plane to Hong Kong, to play in the 6s.

Which by the way promises to be more interesting as Sri Lanka are the defending champions.

However, for some unknown reason, they have sent King Sanga and Murali

Probably to ensure the annihilation will be as swift as possible.

Zimbabwe haven’t won a game against SL since 2004, I don’t expect this to change anytime soon.

Vote for the best no7(all rounder) EVER in ODIs

2008-11-04T11:01:00.001+08:00

Its that time again, when you vote for the greatest ODI XI of all time.

The gist of this XI is that we get people to vote on who they think was the best in a given position in the line up. Its been smooth sailing so far. But now we have come down to the pivotal no7 position.

We would like to see an all rounder there so here are your options below.
Get Voting !

The XI so far.

Sanath Jayasuriya
Adam Gilchrist
Ricky Ponting
Viv Richards
Inzy
Bevan

Online Surveys & Market Research

Slow and steady,Aus inch away

2008-11-01T14:11:00.005+08:00

It might not win them the race but they are getting close to the finish line.

And in this match the finish line is a draw, a beer and a sigh of relief.

Their first job was to get past the follow on and they have done that, the second ought to be to get as close to the Indians as possible because this match is not over by any means.

If the Aussies get bowled out in about an hour or so after lunch with maybe a 100 runs behind there might still be a chance for some late drama on the last day.

Good drama for India, bad for Australia.

Micheal Clarkes playing a very gritty innings, a good mixture of caution and attack.

White needs to hang in there after tea to help him out.

Meanwhile, Anils managed to get a wicket after an entire millenia.

Oh yea baby...Uh-huh!

Arjuna vs The Cricketing Mafia

2008-10-31T23:08:00.002+08:00

Lets look at some facts

-SLC is running at a 600mil rupee bank over draft

-SLC sets up a potentially money earning series with England and the ECB for May 2009 to help in their financial troubles

-Which clashed with the IPL also set for May 2009, meaning most of the big names from SL would miss the 2nd IPL season

The ‘Players picking IPL over country’ debate begin

-Lalit Modi and BCCI have were going to have none of this and set up a 70mil dollar deal for the SLC, over ten years for letting the SL players take part in the IPL and the Champions League.

-Arjuna meanwhile goes on a trigger happy crusade against the IPL 2020, calling it nothing more than ‘instant noodles’- which we must all agree is one of the best analogies ever made.

-Arjuna then goes on to blame the IPL 2020 for India losing the test series in SL.

BCCI and Lalit Modi start to dislike Arjuna

-ECB’s David Morgan says SLC’s agreement with the BCCI over the 70mil is ‘unacceptable’ stating the ICC reaffirmed that Test Cricket was to be the number 1 priority for the boards.

-Arjuna says the English test series will go ahead.

-And then does the unthinkable and lifts the ban on ICL players playing domestic cricket in SL.

BCCI and Modis dislike Arjuna even more.

-Modi and BCCI say the deal will not go ahead if Arjuna is around.

-Threatens to cut bi-lateral ties with SL.

-Hints it can “buy off” any Sri Lankan player if it wants to.

Dead Lock.

The message is clear. India control the money and they have the power. They are kinda like the mafia of cricket right now. Threatening to bump off or buy off anyone who dares to go against them. Their reach is growing and its all about muscling out who ever they want to, to make as much money as possible.

India’s reputation of threatening to cut ties, boycott series and tours is growing. They exercised this power in Australia- Got their way.

They are doing the same with lowly SLC- surely they will win this time as well.

Arjuna is caught in the middle. He needs to make money for the SLC. Please the ECB, Please the BCCI and the IPL and his players all at the same time. That will never happen.

We argue a lot over the fact that cricket is only about the money these days. In this case- it HAS to be about the money. SLC needs money and its quite obvious that the most amount of money will flow from the IPL and the BCCI at the moment.

When Arjuna came into power I thought it would be a good thing. He always spoke about how the game in SL needs to improve to play with the big teams around the world. He seemed to have a vision.

But somewhere between his triple upsized breakfasts and predicting India will win the 2007 WC, he seems to have lost his mind.

The IPL and the BCCI don’t care about cricket, they care about Break Even points and balance sheets and we are nothing but a small country in Political turmoil and financial crisis. When big brother offers a hand this big I think we ought to take it.

The England series was never in the schedule. Arjuna dug him self a hole by hastily arranging it. And although I was ecstatic that we would tour England again and annoyed that players seemed to be picking the IPL over the country on hindsight you have to try and see the bigger picture.

The big picture is that the IPL will give the SLC more money over a longer period of time than one test series in England ever could. What Arjuna should have done instead of shooting his potty mouth is to have initiated discussions with the BCCI and IPL regarding the participation fees he claims the SLC never got.

And SLC needs money.

Its strange because ONLY the SLC have publicly announced that they did not get any fee. Were the other boards given this money and SLC ignored ?

Arjuna is not a business minded man, he has a big ego and does not enjoy anyone going against him. He is revered in SL cricketing circles because of what he achieved as a player. And he enjoys using that power to get his way to the front of the buffet line- so to speak.

But he is clearly not the man to lead the SLC, he runs his mouth which makes the board and the country look bad.

If I were Arjuna I would step down , because that would be in the interest of cricket in Sri Lanka. It is however unlikely and as long as he heads the board Sri Lankan cricket will be in turmoil in one way or the other.

Host Monty and win 500 quid !

2008-10-30T19:55:00.000+08:00

Yes, that’s right. Bloomfield CC in Sri Lanka are going to be awarded 500 pounds for hosting Monty for a month.

Which is roughly around 90,000 rupees. Quite a nifty amount, but the club is currently feeling indifferent about it.

I'm not too sure what the fuss is about. 500 pounds equates to about 90 000 rupees back home. Which is roughly the amount an employee of a few years experience makes in Sri Lanka for a month.

Bloomfield are miffed as to why the ECB wont pay them the 7500 pounds they had asked for.

Are you fucking kidding me?

That is roughly around 1.4 mil rupees, which can support an entire squad of 15 for a month at 90k rupees a player.

The ECB are never going to pay so much to host Monty. Bloomfield ‘claim’ that they will need to replace their captain Shanuka Dissanayake for Monty.

Ironically Shanuka might actually be a better bowler than Monty. He clicks in at 21 per wicket vs Monty’s 31.
So Shanuka is good, but not 7500 pounds good.

Bloomfield can count themselves lucky if the ECB still goes ahead with the revised 1000 quid they are now offering.

If I were them Id take the money and start mixing a welcome drink for Monty.

Fan-actics: "Stallions vs Sugar XI"

2008-10-30T13:03:00.009+08:00

Someone who wanted only to be known as The RAT, sent this one in.

Stallions Cricket Vs Pelwatte Sugar XI (30 overs)

Date: 18 October 2008

Venue: Pelwatte Sugar Cricket Ground

Toss: Stallions Cricket

Pelwatta Sugar XI 154/9 (30 overs)

Stallions Cricket 103 all out (27.3 overs)

The 5 hour drive had little affect on the visitors and after a heavy but interesting night the day before the game the Stallions cricketers (named by the club founders after the traditional Roy-Tho tent "Stallions") took on Pelwatta Sugar XI for a friendly encounter on Saturday the 18th October.

"ill-discipline prior to the match may have attributed to the Stallions loss."

After winning the toss the Stallions picked up where they left off the night before and had the home team reeling at 80/7 in the 20th over. However an excellent rearguard action by the home team's No.9 and No.10 (names not available as the writer does not have the scorebook) pushed their total to a competitive 154.

"This picturesque ground was set a light as wickets and beer bottles tumbled all day long"

However when the Stallions replied they had clearly finished the previous nights "jet fuel" and after a handy opening stand on 30 by Amal (12) and Pubudu (20) lost their last 6 wickets for 23 runs, falling short of the target by 51 runs. The disappointed cricketers saw no option but to return to their accomodations to "re-fuel" themselves that night.

"The opening Stallions gave the team a healthy start but soon the batting fizzled our, much like the beers that were getting cold."

"The Stallions"

The world needs a (leg spinning) hero

2008-10-26T17:27:00.000+08:00

With Anil Kumbles career nose diving further than the stock market these days, it brings to an end a great era in modern day cricket.

For most of the mid 90's Kumble, Mushy and Warne mesmerised, tricked and spun their way to countless number of wickets.

Each had varying styles which made it an incredible spectacle for the watcher.So with Kumble's career ending it closes the chapter on the great leg spinners of the modern game.

Cricket needs spinners. Because they are rare.

Good ones are even more rare.

And Great leg spinners are those once in a life time types. So the cricket community have been incredibly lucky that we have had 3 of the greatest in the span of a decade.

As UncleJ rambles on, leg spinners are cool. They make cricket make more interesting. They tend to capture the imagination of the people watching it. They get you fixed to the tele to see what will come out of their hand next.

And don't deny it. Everyone loves to see a batsmen looking like their shat their pants when they don't read the googly and gets castled (Ricky Ponting v Chawla).

Or when they get bowled around the legs in the last over the day (Basit Ali v Warne).

The worrying factor now is though that since 1992, when Warne made his debut, we are yet to find a leggie of the same class. Many have come and gone but none have shown the class of the big 3.

The closest to the mantle was another Aussie in StuartMcgill. But he put an end to his chances when he consumed too many Bigmacs and drank too much wine when he got side lined by Warnes greatness.

Since there there have been many young upstarts. We've heard about Nice Bryce Mcgain, many times (too many times if you count Jrods antics!), but yet to see him at the highest level.

Sri Lanka themselves have tried to blood in a leggie and failed miserably. Malinga Bandara, Kaushal Lokuarrachhi lack the class.

The best bet right now is Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla. Both have great potential and Mishra showed he has the class to keep the Aussies and young Chawla at bay while holding his own.

Personally I'm backing Mishra, he's cool. Seems like hes ready to get down and dirty.
Has potential to get the crazy-eyes if the time comes and did I mention he bowls well.

So there is some hope.

The world needs a leg spinning hero.

Someone we can always count on to make the batsmen look like utter fools

Someone who make batsmen wet their beds at night dreaming about picking them the next day.

Someone our kids can tell their grand kids about.

Weird google searches that led people here - ep2

2008-10-25T15:24:00.001+08:00

"googly ghost"

Seems Ricky Ponting is still not over - this

The legend of Splendid Mendis

2008-10-24T18:27:00.001+08:00

Legend has it that Splendid was conceived at the foot of the mythical Adams peak. Thus people believe this is where Mendis draws his supernatural powers, enabling him to run through a batting line up with a mere flick of his fingers.

When Splendid Mendis entered this mortal earth, it is said that that he thanked his mother for her troubles and told his dad “Ill take it from here”.

Splendid then proceeded to create a horse drawn carriage from a few sticks outside the hospital and pulled the thing himself with his parents on board and took them home.

He later returned to pick up his dads car from the car park.

At age 7 Splendid Mendis’s legend was known only to a select few in the outer regions of the country.

But all that changed over night when, playing back yard cricket with his friends, Splendid dismissed the entire opposition by himself.

That alone might not seem that impressive.

But when he repeated the same 10 times over in the next 10 games everyone took notice.

3 years later , 10 year old Splendid completed his degrees. When he wanted to do a octagon degree – a combination of 8 different disciplines, no university offered it. So he studied in 25 universities at the same time and completed 25 different degrees.

It was a combination of Mechanics, Mechatronics, Advanced Physics, Biology and some other thing even we cant pronounce. For his dissertation he did part time consultancy for NASA and promptly discovered a new universe.

NASA offered to call it the Splendid Universe but Mendis shied away from the spot light.

Splendid was a humble man from the beginning.

At age 11 Splendid was picked by the Australian Cricket team and offered Aussie citizenship. He declined and instead went on to join the Sri Lankan army. Both the cricket team and military.

Mendis once destroyed an entire fleet of rebel battleships with nothing but a leather ball and a flick of his legendary fingers.

When not destroying rebel battalions Splendid was destroying batting line ups in club cricket at 12.

He has taken a 1000 wickets in every season he has played in with a average of –(minus) 155.

A recent poll conducted revealed that 99.99% of the males in Sri Lanka want to be Splendid Mendis. The 0.01% was Mendis himself.

Another poll revealed that 87% of the worlds women want to sleep with Splendid. 100% of the men want the same.

Mendis can drink 50 kegs of beer in one go. And still do 100 Everclear shots one after the other.

Splendid was in fact picked for the Sri Lankan test team at age 13 but he declined as he dint want to steal the spotlight from Murali.

The official name for Sri Lanka is actually The Republique of Ajantha Splendid Mendis, but its more commonly know as Sri Lanka, which is one of the many nick names for Splendid Mendis.

The Large Hadron Collider project was actually in ruins before Splendid offered his help. He dug the tunnel and connected the tubes in 15 minutes.

The first particle they will collide will be Splendid running in opposite direction at the same time.

The Sri Lankan test team hired Mendis as a bowling Machine as net practice for their test tours to India but soon gave up the plan after 300 000 balls of playing and missing.

Splendid coached Terry Jenner.

His bowling average has reached minus infinity. Thrice.

Shane Warne said he was glad he is not playing in the Era of The Splendid.

Splendid doesn't use pick up lines. He merely looks at women and they want give him their number.

Women have been asked not to look directly into his eyes. If they do they will shudder with multiple orgasms.

Splendid has been nominated and has won the greatest human ever award in each of his 20 years on earth. This has largely gone unnoticed to the world because he has requested that his name be kept out of the papers.

And Finally, Don Bradman has said that he would never have got a test run if Splendid had been around when he played.

These are but a mere snippet of the folklore surrounding the great man.

Many of his legendary feats have been lost through the times or been forgotten. However flyslip has dedicated himself to unveiling all the great stories surrounding Splendid.

2020 CL Draw- Sharad Pawar puffs the magic dragon

2008-10-24T08:42:00.002+08:00

I kid you not,

See for your self

Sharad Paward on the puff

See the rest of the show here

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Important questions to come out from the Draw are

- can the ICC ever host a good show?
- are Harsha Bogle's homo tendencies getting out of hand. (Hint Shane Watson, Hint, Hint, Hint)
- was sharad pawar on the puff ?
- can Mike Hussey ever pose for a photo without looking like a fucking alien.

And of course, do we really care about all this ?

Redbacks make Younis Khan spasm with excitement

2008-10-23T18:47:00.003+08:00

Khan debuted for the Redbacks just yesterday against the Speedblitz blues
It was a magnificent day.

Not for Khan. He made 3.

But the Redbacks won a nail biter off the penultimate ball of the day, off a misfield when they needed 2 off 2.

I'm glad I'm not that fielder.

What was most interesting to note was though Khans reaction when they did win.

He was fist pumping and hugging players he probably does'nt even know yet. Like the commentator said 'it was like he'd won the world cup'.

For a minute, you'd be forgiven for thinking he was having some kind of weird whole body orgasm.

I've never seen Khan that excited in my life.

Maybe he is just happy to be playing some cricket again.
Maybe's hes happy not to be in Pakistan with Ijaz Butt going crazy.

Or Maybe he was trying to shake off the jet lag.

But who cares, its good to see these international guys show passion for this type of game.

Specially a Pakistani, who as well all know by now wont feature in a test match this whole year.

Keep the spirit alive Younis. And hopefully some runs next time

The most rated, under-rated player in the world

2008-10-23T09:55:00.001+08:00

Is undoubtedly, Daniel Vettori.

Check it, the mans just had a sensational test match against Bangladesh, might not warrant for much, but the Kiwis were in a spot of bother at one stage before Vettori saved their asses, AGAIN.

Daniel, glasses and all, is a man who carries his entire countries fortunes, at least the cricketing ones, on his back.

Dan Vettori is New Zealand. New Zealand is Dan Vettori. ( KingCricket thinks its got something to do with his glasses.)

To drive home this point, picture the Kiwis without him. They would be no better than Bangladesh.

It really would be a battle of the minnows.

He does everything.

His bowling is brilliant. Proper world class.

His batting is a comical collection of good shots, ugliness and excruciatingly frustrating blocking. But it gets the job done.

The captaincy has not affected his cricketing ability one bit. When Stephen Fleming stepped down it left a huge void. He was someone everyone looked up to and not too many can remember a time when Flemming dint captain New Zealand.

Vettori stepped up. His batting and bowling averages are a huge contrast to his career figures as captain.

With the bat he averages 41 from his usual 27. With the ball its down to 30 from 33. He is rated the 2nd best all rounder in test cricket by the ICC.

Add to all this the fucker is only 27. That's at least another good 8-10 years in the big league.

He is not afraid of a scrap either.

With some new stars coming into the team the Kiwis are currently in the process of developing into a good team

There is no better man to lead them through this haze of changing landscapes in world cricket.

Plus the ladies just adore him.

Harry Potteresque, Nerd or just plain old guy next door, what ever you may be Daniel,

Under rated, you are no longer.

Ricky Ponting; the law abiding captain

2008-10-22T15:48:00.000+08:00

So in case any of you are still wondering why Brett Lee dint bowl in the first session of Day 4 we went ahead and asked him

Well not we, but Mark Nicalaus.

So apparently its overrates that Lee dint get a the nod from Ponting.

This is very hard to believe, How can you not bowl lee, the premier fast bowler in the team cuz of Overrates?

Things might not be as peachy as it looks in the Aussie camp. And its not looking too peachy right now.

Tier A Preview : Tamil Union

2008-10-22T09:06:00.000+08:00

Profile.

The story of Tamil Union is one of always being the brides maid, but never the bride. They are the Tasmania of Sri Lanka.

Not too many of the TU players get into the test team but when they do they make it count. Tamil Unions favorite son is also every body’s favorite son. The goggle eyed one aka Murali.

Came in 3rd in Tier A last year and will be strong challenger for the title this season.

Leadership
28 year old Muditha Maduwantha should be leading the side out for another season. A make shift player who can bat both at the top and lower order and bowls first change.

But what the Union will be looking for from him is some inspired leadership and to maintain consistent performances throughout the season.

A feat they couldn't accomplish last year winning 4 and losing 3.

Batting- Hit and miss.

A decent batting line up with national player Lanka de Silva leading the way. He is ably backed up by veterans Sajith Fernando and last years player of the tournament Muthumudalige Pushpakumara.

The biggest challenge for the team however will be to put up consistent scores. Last season the batting was a cacophony all sorts. Scores of over 400 one day and less than 150 the next.

To be a legitimate candidate for the title this year the batting needs to take on more responsibility to ensure the bowlers have good totals to play around with.

Bowling-lacks the punch

This is where Union will struggle. Although they have good variation, their in ability to pick up wickets last season was one of the reasons for their inconsistent performance.

A lot will be expected from captain Maduwantha. However all eyes will be on the off spin of Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, the Unions highest wicket taker in the last season. Having made the move to the Tamil Union last year be finally delivered on his much hyped talent. More big things are expected this season.

Right of passage
There are a couple of young uns to keep an eye on here. Suranga Lakmal in his debut season led the attack well. With some experience under his belt he will be required to provide more early breakthroughs this season. If Tamil Union are to make a severe dent in the table you’d have to back this young fast bowler to deliver.

Gihan de Silva has been loitering on the talent he has got. An average of 26 in 3 years of first class cricket doesn’t sound like much but all that can change this year if he gets his act together.

Playing in the middle order at a pivotal no5-6 positions de Silva, coach Brendon Kurruppu will be expecting a lot more from this 23 year old this season to back up his keeping.

Prediction

Tier A:2nd or 3rd

Kiwis wobble as Ian Smith recites mantra's

2008-10-21T13:07:00.000+08:00

As Australia heads for one of the biggest losses in their recent history, Lil Bangladesh is slowly working their way through the Kiwi top order.

Right now the key remains Vettori and Taylor.

A partnership of some substance will see the kiwis home.

But a couple of wickets will make have them singing a different tune.

Sakib is having an absolute sensational game. With still 100 + runs in the arrears this spells a very close prospect.

However, with Flinn, Mccullum and Oram to come, Kiwis are odds on favorites.

I'd love to see the Bangladeshi's pull off a win here.

Meanwhile reports are now coming in that Ian Smith has been shun in commentary box as he becomes increasingly distraught with each kiwi wicket that falls.

Smith has apparently covered him self in a bedsheet in the corner of the press area and has been heard to be reciting mantra's hoping that the Kiwis can pull off the win.

Some say he's even got the crazy - eyes on him. People have scrambled to locate Jessie Ryder to nip this disaster in the bud ,but as so far been unable to find him since he left the dressing room for an early lunch.

Edit: as I post this Taylor goes!

Fan-atics :"Captain Malik or Captain Mistake?"

2008-10-21T08:44:00.000+08:00

A Distraught Pakistani and dear friend of the flyslip, Zaid, sent this one in.

Captain Malik or Captain Mistake?

I feel that twenty twenty cricket is the easiest form of the game to captain in. Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's young skipper, failed badly vs Sri Lanka in both matches. The first match he got away with, but if it was test or 50 over cricket the result would most probably be very different.

Malik's Mistakes vs Sri Lanka

1. (first match) captain Malik wins the toss and choses to bowl first on a pitch that is getting harder to bat on

2. (first match) Captain Malik brings Umar Gul on in the 15th over so he can only bowl 3 overs max (note gul took four wickets in those 3 overs)

3. (first match) Captain Malik comes into the match and plays one hell of a slow innings forcing other batsman to take risks and get out

4. (1st match) Captain Malik sends in Sohail Tanvir ahead of recognized batsman Fawad Alam and makes Pakistan's task more difficult

5. (2nd match) Captain Malik brings on Umar Gul too early and well...just watch this to see the result

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-jh0QUJQuJ4&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;rel=0" target="_blank"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;http://www.youtube.com/v/-jh0QUJQuJ4&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;rel=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

6. (2nd match) Captain Malik brings on Akhtar in the 15th over...now this is where Gul would have been brilliant as shown in the next over Gul bowled who took a wicket and should have had another

Now after that Akhtar over the match was over. Now you say "why bring on Gul? he got hammered by a rookie!"

Well a few days before captain Malik said Gul is the best bowler with the old ball, so why bring him on in the 5th over and then why not bowl him when the opposition is under pressure rather than giving it to the out of form Shoaib Akhtar.

All this one a short T20 match. Malik's time as skipper is running out. I would take anyone as captain now- Afridi, Misbah, Younis, or even Yousuf

Australias bulldog grit sees them through

2008-10-20T19:33:00.000+08:00

This is why this teams best test team in the world.

Its hard to see too many teams that can recover from the position Australia were in today.

The key to the whole thing once again was being aggressive. Its amazing what a positive mind set can do.

At 57-4 most teams would scurry into their shell, but Micheal Clarke and Brad Haddin proved their worth in the team. Although another failure from Haddin might cost him his spot.

There were some reckless shots being played by both but once they got their eye in slightly , most started connecting. Clarke especially looked good when coming down the wicket.

However, doing this when the partnership is going well and with India slightly on the back foot is one thing. Doing this tomorrow might not prove too successful.

Tomorrow will ask for a different set of skills from the batsmen. The skill to survive the first wave of Indian onslaught and to weather the second.

To turn the pressure back onto them in the 2nd session.

And to cling on for dear life in the 3rd.

If any team can do this its the Aussies.

Another joyous test match cricket awaits

We'll be Singhing when we're winning

2008-10-20T17:35:00.001+08:00

Well I did predict an Aussie win here and it seems there are quite resolute in making me loose my money here.

47-0 to 57-4.

Singh on fire. Sharma all over Ponting, again.

Hayden started with a bout a trillion fours but that was short lived.

Can Australia last the day ??

And can Bangladesh loose another test?

Stay tuned.

Edit: 58-5

100 dollars Australia wont last the day.

Tier A Preview: SSC

2008-10-19T21:07:00.000+08:00

I have been long since intending to do a domestic preview. Living away from home doesn't help this cause. Having next to no access to match information is another.

Since many of you are probably alien to the domestic set up in SL, I will make an analogy to your teams to a county or state team in Australia so that you get the general idea of how that team is perceived back home.

Our system is much like the English county system, with two 'Tiers A, B'. One team gets relegated and another promoted at the end of the season.

Of course this may not happen this year since some fuckers decided the relegated team wont be demoted. No one knows why.

Understandably the other teams aren't happy about this. 18 of the 20 teams are threatening to boycott. So these previews might end up being the most useless time Ive spent blogging.

Any who, Tier A is where all the shit goes down and like Division 2 in England , no one gives a stuff about Tier B.

Profile
SSC are the undisputed King of the jungle when it comes to Sri Lankan domestic cricket. A whole heap of National starts are bred on this infamous club.

They are what NSW is to Australia. Half the national team is from the SSC and which is extremely annoying.

Leadership.
Last year the reins weren't exactly stable. Avishka Gunewardene was the captain for the season, he later joined the ICL so SLC dint really like that too much.

Then Sri Lankans very own Probot extraordinaire, Thilan Samaraweera got the nod, but he too left for international duty and more probotting around the world.

The keg fell to Tharanga Paranavitana, and he led the team to Tier A victory as they regained the Tier A championship from Colombo Cricket Club.

This year though, Id like to see the captaincy go to Thilina Kandamby, who has led the A team with distinction and is proving himself to be a strong candidate for the job.

Batting
Strong.

The top 2 run scorers for last season came from SSC.

In Paranavitana and Jeewan Mendis they have strong opening pair. The middle order is solid with players like Kandamby, Kaushal Silva coming into their own in the A team in recent times.

Big numbers are on the cards.

Bowling
Strong.

23 year old off spinner Sachithra Senanayake was the only bowler to get 50 wickets in Tier A. A repeat of the same dose is expected.

Backed up by current internationals Thilal Thushara and Dammika Prasad, SSC can expect a few early wickets on a consistent basis. Prasads big made and fires it at a quick pace, and Thusharas in your face attitude and left armers add great variety.

Kaushal Lokkuarrachi offers the leg spin option.

SSCs got all the bases covered.

Right of Passage
In Shalika Karunanayake, SSC has a player who has come up through the ranks. A star in the U-19 team this will the season he takes things by the balls.

At 21 hes still plying his trade. A genuine medium pacer and a strong batsmen I expect consistent and dominant performances from the kid all season as he grows his pubes and enters into manhood.

Sachithra Sennayake was a sensation last season with 50 wickets. More of the same pls Sachithra.

Prediction
Tier A- 1st or 2nd.

Australia v India 2nd Test Day 1 Highlights

2008-10-18T01:02:00.000+08:00

Strange google searches that led people here - ep1

2008-10-17T23:00:00.001+08:00

"hairstyles for round faces mans"

We also provide hairstyles for square faces and oval shaped as well.

Just drop us a mail and we will send you an array of 'dos for you to try out.

Vote for the great no6 batsman in ODI history

2008-10-17T14:11:00.000+08:00

Ok, so its been a while since I updated this, time to get the ball rolling.

The Idea was to vote for the best player in that position to make an all time XI.

So far the team is.

Jayasuriya
Gilly
Punter
Viv Richards
Inzamam

Notable absentees- Tendulkar and Lara.

But the people have spoken.

So get off your arses and get voting for no6 !

Online Surveys & Market Research

Aus v Ind, 2nd Test Preview, Should Dhoni Captain?

2008-10-16T14:06:00.000+08:00

The first test promised much but delivered very little. The first 4 days dragged on without too much happening until Pricky made a generous declaration. In the end rain made sure that the affair ended in a dull draw.

So we look ahead to Mohali now.

Which isnt really known for its result oriented pitches. Teams batting first generally tend to do OK. But the 2nd and 3rd innings have proved to be the most profitable for the batsmen.

Batting
Australia-Polishing off the edges

Ponting and Hussey stole the show and Bagaloroo, what the hell is up with that anyway, We predicted a lean series for Pricky but he proves us wrong. Top effort. Still might be troubled if the spinners get their act together. Hussey just looks like hes on another plane altogether at the moment.

Clarke owes some runs to the team. I expect him to make a significant contribution in this game.
Watson and White did enough to keep their place. Hayden might need to make some runs to secure his place in the team. But the question is will Australia consider dropping him if he fails again? Jaques is breathing down his neck and is a very good replacement.

India-Relying on the openers.
All it takes is one innings from Sehwag and everyones predictions go out the window. He is due.
Gotham City Gambir played a solid hand but must convert his starts into considerable scores to make Ponting sweat.

The fab4 came to the rescue in the last innings but still look dodgy. Another false start in the first innings might leave India reeling.

Bowling
Australia- Team effort.
They bowled well as a unit , without exceeding at an individual level. Stuey needs to put up a better show in the wickets coloumn and Lee needs to make better use of the new ball for early break throughs. Watson, White and Clarke all will chip in with handy wickets. But you wonder when the lack of a quality spinner will finally tell on the Aussies.

India- Relying on the quicks.
Zaheer bowled superbly to put the Aussies under pressure. A repeat performance is expected. Sharma will be expected to deliver some early wickets as well. The biggest issue for India right now is the fitness of Kumble.

If he is unfit who do they go for? 3 quicks and Bajji?
Or bringing in Chawla?

Tough decisions. Personally Id back Chawla. He bowled well in the warm up game. Had the Aussies in trouble more often than not.

Captaincy
India is facing a huge dilemma at the moment. Whether to go with Dhoni or Kumble. An hour and half under Dhoni revealed a lot more about than Kumbles leadership than it did Dhonis. The players seem to respond to Dhoni more. He seems at ease with the job. He has his players respect and is Ian Chappels man for the job.

If Kumble is unfit, then Dhoni must be given the reins. If so then another issue arrises when Kumble is fit for the 3rd. If Dhoni does well the the problem is compounded.

I predicted the end of the road for Kumble after this series. It might not even go that far for him.

Verdict:Im going to go out on a limb and say an Aussie victory. They seem the more assured team. Their key players are firing. The captaincy is in safe hands and seem the team that can push on for a victory when the opportunity presents.

Sanath Jayasuriya- the baddest motherfucker to play cricket in Canada

2008-10-15T22:29:00.000+08:00

Although unnoticed by large parts of the cricketing world, the 2020 shindig in Canada had its moments.

Sri Lanka cleaned up as expected. To our Splendid Mendis more accolades.

There was a mandatory thriller between the two big teams.

And another finals dominated by Sanath and Mendis.

The highlight undoubtedly was though, when the usually reserved Jayasuriya flipped the birdie to the Canadian crowd. More specifically the Canadian Tamils in the crowd.

The Canadian tamils had been taunting the Sri Lankans all through the series, an utter disgrace to all Tamils.

It is no secret that the Canadian Tamil community are open supporters of the LTTE rebel group in Sri Lanka.

But this type of mixing politics with cricket makes reading about how the sports minister changed a squad bearable.

Jayasuriya little meltdown has not gone unnoticed. Tamil websites and newspapers all ran the story.
A hero has been made a villain over night.

But in flyslips book, Sanaths stature just went up 10 fold. We are even considering temporarily stopping our campaign to get him dropped from the team.

Sanaths got balls, mighty balls made of titanium. That kind that don’t even melt on the sun. And we love a player with balls like that.

It was a proper “Fuck off you jobless fucktards” message from Sanath.

Listen here Canadian Tamils, you wanna bring your politics to the game, don’t bother fucking showing up.

Cuz our man Sanath will fuck you up. Like a gang bang with a Japanese chick and 50 Negro bad ass motherfuckers.

He will leave you bleeding from your anus to your pussies.

This here is a game of cricket ya hear. Get on your tamilnet and become forum warriors if you want to but don’t bring this bullcrap the game.

Thank you and Fuck off.

While I was away...

2008-10-15T14:54:00.000+08:00

For those who knew, Its good to be back.

For those who dint, well makes no difference to you I guess.

A lot changes in 4 days it seems.

Surprising no one worth their balls, the Kiwis beat the ever increasingly, annoyingly inconsistent Bangladeshi’s. They give you hope then they take it away, cruel.

Mr. Ashawful and co have a long ways to go yet.

The mighty mighty Lions, the Sri Lankan variety, not the British sort, smacked their way to a entertaining win in some far away land with no TV coverage.

Flyslips own Splendid Mendis won the Man of the series as per usual. Old man Sanath gave the crowd some entertainment as well, via his middle finger. Some LTTE supporters, a terrorist group, not a band or such like, apparently hounded some of the lads and Jayasuriya flipped the birdie to let them know how he felt.

Meanwhile back home, following a brilliant review of the Tier System in Sri Lankan domestic cricket by us, SLC decided that NO Tier B teams should enter into Tier A, thus the currently relegated Baduraliya(Tier A last placed) might not be sent into oblivion and become a non news worthy team after all.

In case you missed it, we recommended more teams enter Tier A, having read the report SLC decided to not let any team enter Tier A, we were naturally confused.

So 18 of the 20 teams now seem to be heading for a Boycott of the premier league. Things are not peachy.

Also, Mohammad Ashawful become the first and possibly the last batsmen to publically apologize for playing a bad shot. Sri Lankans have tried tirelessly to get Sanath Jayasuriya to do the same for years. And failed.

We applaud you son, even though we don’t like you that much for playing that shot.

Oh and those two teams in India right now played out some boring draw. A big bear attacked an old man got his rewards, We are proud of you.

Ps- Thanks to NWK for keeping the posts and entertainment going while I was away !

Australia and India - The friendly Series

2008-10-14T14:56:00.000+08:00

So far the most enduring image of the test series has been the constant smiling, joking around and cuddling of the Indian players by the Right Honourable PonnaTing. The grace which he has shown on the cricket field has been nothing sort of sensational. Obviously, we at fly slip don't judge a tree by looking at it - No Saar! We chop it down and then count the rings and tell how long it could have lived, and likewise we use our expert skill and our under extra cover reporters (with fine legs!).

It has come to the attention of one of our hard working unemployed Coolies that Zee TV plan to make an soap opera about cricket stars and their relationships (Dil ke Rishta Pagal Ho). This also explains why Dhoni was heard behind the stumps saying things like "You're forever mine" and "We are just one kiss erh wicket away from vittory [(very)sic]". We believe there is a love triangle between Ponting, Sachin and 250 lakh rabid indian supporters. Also the series is most likely to be a remake of another remake of another remake...... of Laagan, which begat .... who begat ..... who came from God.

Anyway all this free love that was shown in the match has conspired against the cricket fan and produced one those things known as a draw. (20-20 fans call this boring, but 20-20 fans only go to the cricket for the big ****s and the big boozy parties). This series will be completely ruined if some agression (We call him Monkey Magic, but recently got caught dangling his line - shaah!) or stupidity (if stupidity has a name and human form, cue Shreesanth) isn't put back into the matches.
If all else fails, Bring back Adolf Hogg and his evil ways....

Other things to note from this test is the comments that Zaheer Khan (Ghengis's thambi) made after the match that Australia was not playing positive cricket... I'm sure this will get under the skin of some of the australians that haven't been love struck by their indian counterparts...

Until next time, this has been the Nathi wunu Kolla reporting for fly slip... Its been a pleasure writing regularly, please leave your comments and rate the blogs...

Many Thanks,
Vaazhga Valamudan,
N w K!

Amazing New Zealand avoids defeat

2008-10-13T15:33:00.000+08:00

In an unpredecented match, New Zealand somehow managed to squeak home against the much higher rated team - Bangladesh. Such an upset hasn't been seen in the history of cricket since the days Darrel Hare stalked and munched his way across the cricket field. Vittori, The first ever Italian to play cricket and captain a national side said that he was buying the boys a round at the local pub in celebration of their achievement.

In comparison Ashawful was seen crying as Mortaza Mugabeman lost his wicket and thus ended the match. After the game, an informed source told reporters that he was unconcilable and despondant (who makes up this english words shesh).

Man of the match, Jacob Orang, said that this was the most unbelievable match he has played in his life. Orang scored 75 runs without going out (an amazing feat by New Zealand standards) and he took two wickets without going for more runs than he scored (A rare achievement by New Zealand Players).

The match was so exciting that Ian Smuth was raced to a Auckland hospital after suffering a heart attack, he is believed to be recovering though his commentary is terminally sick.

However this result may not save New Zealand from falling into the relegation (to be joined by Zimbabwe, Nambia, Israel and Outter Mongila).

All eyes are open for the third ODI where Bangladesh is favoured to give New Zealand a heavy blow..

I can't wait!

Gongully's ghost writer writes lies - Gongully

2008-10-12T17:56:00.000+08:00

'Gongully Ghost Writer Writes Lies, It didn't come from me - I was fielding all day - see!'

In an extra ordinary turn of events, Sour Gongully has laid blame at the feet of his ghost writer for writing false comments in the local Bengal Daily - Dina Amba. In an extra ordinary statement, the ghost writer claims that some players have scored less runs than wadrobe changes and different hair styles. Of course, the one player that comes to mind with hair style changes is MS Dhoni (Runner up to Miss India 2005, 2006 - beaten by Ms Ladyboy of Mumbai dustbins twice). Ms Dhoni has had more hair style changes than Preety Sita has had dress changes in a bollywood film. Even the great moustache of Pakistan, General Perves Moustachuff has been quoted as saying

"I like Dhoni's hair long, it reminds me of something we don't see often in Pakistan."

Gongully's ghost writer went on to say that Gongully was always the victim of the board of selectors because he had a face that only his amma could love. (We at fly slip believe the identity of the ghost writer to be Gongully's mother - Mrs Eladenagully.) The Ghostwriter also went on about how the Prince of Kolkatta once had a kingdom that stretched the whole of one bedroom in a upper class home. We believe that his title 'Prince' was given to him by his amma, usually saying things like:

"Its time for the prince to put his blocks away and go to bed."

Meanwhile another ghostwriter has written an article on the behalf of MS Dhoni in a publication known as the PTB Kalasatahana, refuting the statements writing by the other ghost.

"Its obvious that Gongully and his ghost are jealous for my good looks and femanine beauty."

The article read. Its obvious lies because anything put out by the PTB is usually outdated by the time its publicated and wrong.
While we at fly slip were reading the kalasatahana, and missing our train at the same time, one of our reporters handed us a paper from Lord Pawar's ghost writer, stating that Gongully will be axed after the 2nd tests.

With all these ghosts on the loose, there is only one team to turn to solve all our problems *cues bad music*

GHOST BUSTERS

Sri Lankan Cricket Bail out.

2008-10-11T14:12:00.000+08:00

We are living in very uncertain times these days, with the great financial coperations of the world like Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac (No, they weren't husband and wife) falling victim of the credit crisis that is gripping the world. It was only a matter of time for this to effect the cricket, especially when there is cricket boards ran by sport ministers of the likes of Geminai Punchige. Yes, No only is the Geminai possibly the worst car General Motors have produced but its also the worst sports minster to ever grace the position of Commander-In-Cheif of a cricket board.

Geminai last tactic to avert a finicial crisis at the Sri lankan's cricket team was to over rule his twin (All Geminai's have twins) Cheif Jester and Joker, Ashantha De Mel and to put Sanath Jayasuriya back into the team, of which was a complete failure and waste of time.

Has history ever known a poor pathetic man? Even the much reviled Don Juan Dhammapala has never sunk to the depths of Geminai latest act - to go cap in hand and beg at the feet of the Indian cricket board.

Hard Work: Gemini Punchige and Asantha bail out the SLCB with Indian Money

Now, with the Indian administration providing money to the Sri Lankan cricket board, $70 Million to be exact, complete with strings - Any tour that Sri Lanka plans now must meet the Indian cricket board's approval basically - as well as any votes at ICC functions.

So what happened to all the money and takings from the matches over the last 10 years? Well If you were to take out money for Arjuna's Buriyani allowance (ABA), bribes to the SLPF / JHU / JVP / LTTE etc and Geminai's many unsolicited, unfinanced, non termed loans (also known as embezzlement) - then we have an understanding of what has occurred to the money.

Rather than give over to the BCCI, they should of put more pressure on the SL goverment (Hell, Basil doesn't need all those cars) to give them more money. Failing that they could always send the police comminiser or Meryn to "collect" needed funds for the Sri Lankan cricket board.

Stand by for an invasions of rats after Geminai's latest interference.

One can expect Geminai's next act will be to sell the Sri Lankan team at auction, and it may actually be his first ever good deed - because Sri Lankan cricket may actually be ran correctly and properly for once. Richard Branson, if you are reading, please do something to save us all.

We, as part of our cricket coverage will also be reporting on the BCCI stock exchange for the Sri Lankan Cricket Board which will be floated at about 2 ruppees a share... Invest while you can... and Shame on you Punchi Geminai.

flyslip goes on holiday

2008-10-11T02:04:00.000+08:00

Yes, I know you are sad. I can see your faces, in dismay. But a flyslips gotta do what a flyslip must.

Fear not, I will be back soon. Just like Nice Bryce.

I leave you in the trusty hands of my somewhat deranged friend, Nathi Wunu Kolla (The Lost Boy), an Aussie by origin but we have serious doubts about that as the flyslip is yet to meet an Aussie who speaks Sinhalese, Malay and Tamil with equal fluency.

Enjoy the test matches, 2020s, ODIs and your back yard games while I'm away.

See you soon.

God speed.

Canada cup- the reply

2008-10-10T23:52:00.000+08:00

Im wating for the bowler to run in. Then I realise my streams stuck again.

Mahela Udawatte, new gun, in with Dilshan. What the fuck.

Sanaths listed on the cricinfo team sheet. My mate tells me its wrong. Go figure.

18-0. This is too easy.

Udwatte tries a leg glance, hits the edge and goes to the off side.

I feel bored. I know whats going to happen. Zimbabwe arent going to trouble us.

Why bother to bring these guys here. Playing at 10 degrees for nothing.

Udawatte hits a huge shot over the covers for four. Gets so excited and tries the same next ball with one hand. Goes no where.

32 on the board with no effort. That is from Dilshan. Udawattes got 25 of that. Dilshan being lazy.

DROPPED ! Tough chance at third man , grassed. Dilshan plays maybe 2 good shots and one of them is the pull. Which he edges and went up in the air.

Elton Chikimbura comes on. Whoa I know a Zimbabwe cricketer. Flyslip is proud.

Udwatte tries the one handed hoik over covers again. And gets out. What stupidity.
What the fuck kind of shot is that. I am not amused. Spoils the 10 wicket victory.

Useless.

46-1

I dont like Dilshan, hes clearly out of form and should not be in the team. He snuck in under teh 'Sanga is not here so we need a fringe keeper' rule. He looks all at sea these days. Not pretty at all.

Prosper Utseya in. Lets see if he lives up to his name.

Sitter dropped. Its Official, Zimbabwe suck.

New boy Kulathunge skies one and gets out. Im not stuffed. 2020 does not a player make.

Flyslips own Thilina Kandamby comes out. And gets run out by that useless git Dilshan .
Thats some bullshit right there

That bit of excitment was short lived.

Holy FUCK. Dilshan runs out Mahela as well. Blood blood, I want Dilshand blood. Hang him by the balls and peel out his nipples. Poke his eyes, pull out his nails. Just fuck off.

King Kapu walks in. Remember Chamara Kapugera. Flyslip expects big things for the lad in a few years. We reckon he is of the class of Mahela.

30 from 26.

Dilshan gets out. Bowled. Serves you right you fuckwit.

Maharoof in. Lets finish this off. Show him how its done son.

Supermassive 6 from King Kapu. Brilliant. Lovely hit off the spinner to long off.

24 off 24

11 from 14. Few hits here and there and we look well on course now.

9/11

King Kapu to hit a 6 for the win. flyslip predicts. 9/9 !!

Maharoof to cow corner. 2.

MahaROOF! Massive 6 over long on. Superb shot sir.

1 off 7.

Oh the joys of 2020.

Miss hit pull, SL win !! Fuck yea.

Flyslip, over and out!

Canada cup- LIVE!

2008-10-10T23:04:00.000+08:00

Flyslip manages to track down an online link to the game, as with all games played in Canada the coverage is exceptional.

Ok, Zimbabwe currently going at 56-3, some random black dudes on strike. Looks like I logged in at the right time as Splendid Mendis comes on.

First ball, confusion, did that spin left or right, Im not sure. No one is. Switch hit, missed. Mendis all over the Zimbies.

4 balls, all missed. The look on the batsmen in priceless.

The info bar at the bottom tells me the maximum number of overs is 17, there was a bit of rain around it seems.

GONE! Mendis strikes with his last ball. Playing the outside off line , ball hits leg stump.

New chap, Dilhara Lokuhettige comes on. 2020 Specialist. All rounder, for the non wise. Plays for a club called Moors back home. Bowls some handy Medium pacers.

Splendid back on, more confusion follows. This guy is genius. And he's hit for a boundary.

77-5 Mendis strikes again, cought behind, easy as you like. Some of these Zimbabwe techniques are appaling.

Fair crowd in, people tell me there is a big Sri Lankan community in Canada, I believe them.

The best technique shown is for the switch hit, but they dont connect, so whatever.

Vass no2, aka Thilan Thushara runs in. Gets hit for 4. Zim 82-6.

Ground looks okay, for a Canadian venue.

Hussey plays a forward defensive, my stream is buffering so Im watching Ind v Aus H/Ls.

Streams back on.
Huge cow corner hit. Takes the edge, trickles to short third.

2 overs left to go. Mark Nicolous mentions Mendis as one of the best young players in the world.

Something happens to the stream and everything I watched rewinds in fast mode.

Maharoof runs, and gets stuck. Not literally, but its my stream see. So he is stuck in a weird posistion. Looks like hes looking at his finger and meditating.

Streams back, wickets gone, no fucking Idea what happened.Oh a replay. Its Splendid, this time stumped.

Big hit!!! In the air, out. Mendis has 4
This is slaughter. 97-8.

Sanath will score this in like 3 overs or something..

Last over coming up. RR is 6 something. Useless.

Dilhara Fernando has the ball. His hair looks dodgy. Cross between Saibaba and and an Afro.

100 up, 104-8.

All over 106-8. Easy as.

Should be a peach for the Lions.

Stay tuned. Ill report on the reply if my stream holds.

Canada cup- it is upon us!

2008-10-10T10:39:00.000+08:00

The series is now officially on Cricinfo.

While the Canadian immigration officers were distracted by New Zealands record breaking performance, the Zimbabwe team got past their border.

Shoaib got his Visa, MoYo dint.

Of course there was a selection saga in Pakistan and somebody resigned because the PCB picked something like 10 openers. Apparently you don’t need so many or something.

So we are ready to play ball. Today.
The excitement is killing me, Don’t deny it, I know you are feeling the same.

After all, this series is going to provide some competitive cricket, Its not like the Final is already a given before a ball is bowled.

In the meantime, Rover, our international correspondent who follows the Sri Lankan team all over the world sent in this snippet from his interview with Splendid Mendis.

Rover: So, Ajantha, what does it feel like to be playing cricket in Canada?
Splendid Mendis: “Mata bohoma seethalay” (I feel very cold) (Mata= I, Bohoma=Very, Seethalay= Cold)

Rover, who doesn’t speak a word of Sinhalese, had to turn to Sri Lankas UN appointed interpreter, Mahela Jayawardene for the translation

MJ:”He says he feels very cool under pressure, And he isn’t afraid of anyone cuz he’s in the Sri Lankan Army”

Rover said he felt that something was lost in translation, we have no reason to doubt him.

For the Canada cup preview go here.

Meanwhile on the otherside of Asia...

2008-10-09T16:53:00.001+08:00

NZ are getting their ass handed to them by the Bangers.

The Sheep Lovers were 70 odd for 6 at one stage before Jacob Oram and The Vet took them beyond the 200.

At 75-1 the tigers, not the terrorist type, the cricket playing type, are looking set to humiliate them Kiwis.

At the break Vetorri reported that they will flip the batting order to see if it would prove a better success.

Danny, word to the wise, you are running a one man show, the sooner you realise this the better it is for everyone. Specially you.

The only way you team will be good is if they clone you, 11 times over.

For regular updates check out The Balls.

The most surprising this about all this for me was I knew half the names in the Bang Camp (get it?). I was expecting to see a bunch of unpronounceable new kids I had never heard of on the team sheet.

What happened to the 'rebels' that were hung by their balls?

UPDATE: Bangers have beaten the Kiwis!

Aus v Ind- 1st test preview

2008-10-09T09:08:00.000+08:00

It is upon us, through the haze of the hype surrounding the series, the day has finally come.

It looks like the weather might ruin things for all. But if it doesn’t, this is how I see things going down..

Batting
Australia- Strong.
Highly dependant on Hussey and Ponting and Clarke. And there is the problem. I don’t see a big series for Punter, he struggles against spin early on and if India get early wickets they can crowd him and put him under severe pressure. Struggled in the tour game against Chawla. So, the batting will revolve around Hussey and Clarke.

This series will be won in the middle order. But the importance of a good start cannot be under estimated. Hayden and Krab Kattich will need to offer solid starts consistently if Aus are to start a remotely good chance.

India-Potentially deadly
All the hype is around the Fab four and Ganguly right now, so its easy to forget Goutham City Gambir. We shouldn’t. He handeled Mendis and co brilliantly in Sri Lanka. I expect a big series for him

Sehwags a marked man, but as homer grumbled, he can change the game in a session. He did in SL. And that’s the only test India won.

The fab bore, don’t really look threatening to me. But on home soil, with this potentially being their last series, who knows. Its on a knives edge and you can feel it.

Bowling
Australia- One dimensional.
Fuck all the talk about the Australian spinner. I saw Krejza, hes shit. I’ve seen Cam white, hes harmless. Micheal Clarke- If Warne couldn’t . So yeh.

Lee and Stuey lead the charge. This is the first big test for this attack since Mcgrath and Warne left.
Away, with no experience in India. Lee will look to make his mark. Clark will have a belter.

3rd quick , who ever it may be will need to support with solid economical spells while these two dismantle India.

India- Nothing special.
Bajji will be the main threat. Kumble wont make an impact. Aussies have the wood on him. Strong performances from Adams apple and Zaheer might make the difference. Ishants been inconsistent since Australia, so its hard to see early wickets coming on a regular basis for India.

Leadership.
Neither are brilliant leaders. How Ponting uses his bowlers might decide this series.

1st test prediction- Draw, weather looks bad. So we might not get a full 5 days. With both attacks being generally weak this spells draw for me.

Aus v Ind #1 Most likely to loose their balls

2008-10-09T00:03:00.001+08:00

The day has ariveth. It is time.

We are about to crown the no1 most likely player(s) to loose their balls in the big BGS starting tomorrow.

But first as with any countdown , a recap.

Coming in at No5 was none other than
Sachin Tendulkar- a healthy dose of elbow knack and being in the middle of a run drought won him the prestigious spot.

At 4 we had
Ricky Ponting- the recently insulted, by Insane Mcgain + Viru Sehwag, with a wondrous average of 12 something in India saw Punter gain this dubious honor.

The top 3 started off with
Rahul Dravid- he of the infamous fab 4, under the cosh, needing runs, we predict he will make none

No2 went to
Anil Kumble- we felt bad about making Punter feel alone, So we added Anil to the list

And now, Drum roll please.

Flyslips 1st EVER No1 player most like to loose his balls is........

The Australian Spinner.

"Worrying times for 3 players, who will it be."

Fireworks, rapturous applause, crowd goes insane, not quite insane mcgain insane but you know the good insane.

Why?
The Aussie spinner (who ever it might be) is useless

Krejzy eyes career might be over before it began

Cam White's Kumble wannabes pies is not gonna scare anyone

M.Clarke- is he a bowler now?

Verdict?

Potentially half a dozen balls lost. Thats a lot a nuts. Wont be pretty.
Who will survive the test of the balls? Only time will tell.

So, There you have it folks. The top 5.
Its been a long road, we laughed, we cried, we made you think about balls and losing them.(We know you enjoyed that bit).

So what say?

Do you agree?

Do you vehemently protest?

Let us know. We might just care what you think. Just might.

Sehwag sends the first volley- "Aussies cheated in Sydney"

2008-10-08T16:09:00.001+08:00

"We suffered the most in the catches pact during the last series," Sehwag told ESPN-STAR.

Oooooooooooh, no he dint

"There is no point in having such an arrangement when the Australians are claiming one-bounce catches.

Oooooooooooh, no he dint

"We'd have won the Sydney Test if they hadn't claimed catches off half-volleys in that game."

Whats this Whinging son? Thought you of all people, facing up to the mighty Brett Lee with a new ball would know better than to stir the pot.

The aussies aint gonna be taking to this lightly.

What would posses Sehwag to say this? Only he would know. This is highly unlike the usually pristine Viru we all love.

You're gonna be a marked man. Enjoy the ride. I will.

Canada cup Preview

2008-10-07T19:02:00.000+08:00

If you aren’t been careful you might just miss the cricket that’s been played outside India.

The Kiwis have hopped on a plane and landed in Bangladesh for a test series that Daniel Vetorri is trying desperately hard to promote as being ‘tough’.

Really Daniel. Shame on you. Even your mesmeric looks cant help you this time.

You can read more about it here at the balls-ingly brilliant cwb.

There also a little shindig happening in Canada, yes you read that right. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Canada, Zimbabwe are all gonna be engaged into a 2020 slog fest for a little over 4 days. The importance of this series can be highlighted by the fact that Cricinfo are yet to put it up on their current series list.

Is this an ICC event? I don’t know.

But it has the familiar stench of one. 2 days ahead of the start of the tournament, Things are going a little pear shaped. More on that later.

In the interest of world cricket, and those who care about this series, manic Sri Lankans, cricket starved Pakistanis and of course the starving Zimbabweans, lets see how things could pan out.

Yes, I know. Canada dint get a mention. Lets keep it that way.

Sri Lanka.

Batting- Strong.

Although Scrappa (pronounced PAH) Sanga wont be there cuz he is nursing his bruised limbs.

Old man Sanath to open with comeback man Upul Tharanga.

Middle order looks solid with new addition Thilina Kandamby who has been belting the Seth Africans.

Back from injury is Maharoof, a lot of talk about this young man as being developed into an all rounder for ODIs and 2020. So we’ll be keeping a close eye on him.

Bowling-Solid

Mendis leads the charge with new quick, Thilan Thushara and Dilhara Fernando. Slightly inexperienced as Murali & Vass are taking a breather at home.

Chances- Winner or Runner up .

Pakistan

You were waiting for this weren’t you.

Pakistan are a lot more exciting a team than Sri Lanka.

They got it going on ya hear.

Batting- Strongish.

Moyo might actually make it for this. ICL troubles might be a thing of the past.

Shoaib, Malik is itching all over. For some cricket.

Misbah,Jamshed, Y.Khan spell stronggish to me.

Bowling-Decent

Shoaib, Akthar this time. Could possibly miss this if he doesn’t get his visa. He was in surrey collecting money to pay his 7mil fine so PCB couldn't’t get a hold of his passport in time.

Tanvir adds the spice. Potential for some rocking one on one battles with SL.

Chances: Winner or runner up.

Zimbabwe

Their biggest problem right now is.

Visas.

True story.

Might not make it. They could be replaced all together with another team.

With 3 days to go- that’s a bitchslap if ever there was one.

No one knows who plays cricket for Zimbabwe anymore, much less their 2020 team.

Chances: Might not get any.

Canada

Hosts.

That’s about all the accolades they get.

Their captain was banned from the tournament a few minutes ago for being a bad boy. Giving stiff competition for the Pakistanis on who is the bigger drama-queen.

Chances: None.

Incidentally this series is being played on a ground no ones heard of. Might not even be telecasted according to some. People will be bringing folding chairs , attesting to its proper shindig status.

‘The only thing that sets it apart from a normal ground is a piece of paper stuck to the gate that says ICC’- Thanks Fuddy. True Story.

Aus v Ind - #2 most likely to loose his balls

2008-10-07T17:17:00.000+08:00

OMG OMG OMG!

Im so excited to present to you the no2 player

MOST LIKELY TO LOOSE HIS BALLS!

Anil Kumble

"Kumble has lost his balls before"

Why?

Yes, Captains are well known to loose their balls.

Kumble is another who plays under the Brearley/Taylor rule.

He picked up a wicket last in the 1800s.

Thinks the ‘spirit of cricket’ is what a child molesting journo writes about in Australia.

Under stress from Dhoni for the captaincy.

Does weird wicket celebrations which are frankly, a bit gay.

Verdict?

One and a half nuts.

He might save his ass and ball(whats the word for half a nut?), if he wins the series , otherwise young buck Dhoni and his troop of female bodyguards will oust him from his throne

Possibly the last series he will captain if India loose.

Stay tuned as we crown the NO1 PLAYER TO LOOSE HIS BALLS in the BGS!

Now you can mail us

2008-10-07T10:23:00.000+08:00

True story.

If you ever loose your balls, Mail us- we'll find them for you.

In the good chance that you miss this post, you can use the link to your right,to mail us about your lost balls or any other thing you'd like.

We will get around to reading it, eventually.

If you send in something interesting, we will feature your emails on the blog it self.

See you on the other side.

The Two Tier System- A review

2008-10-07T08:56:00.000+08:00

A year ago we saw the birth of the much debated Premier league tournament. The gist of the structure was that a two- tier system was to be implemented, with the last team in tier A are relegated to the lower tier B and the winner of tier B gets promoted to compete with the creme de le creme of Sri Lankan club cricket.

The league which split up the 20 clubs that currently play cricket in Sri Lanka, was devised to increase the competition between the clubs. Thus ensuring that the standard of the game increased, the gap between club and the intense international game was narrowed and Sri Lanka were well on their way to world domination.

But is it really working?

Last year Tier A was won by unquestionably the dynasty of Sri Lankan club cricket, SSC. There was stiff competition from Moors and Tamil Union but SSC prevailed to win a memorable treble. All the headlines naturally focus on Tier A as most of the best cricketers in the country are playing in that particular league.

In much of the same as Div 2 in the English county game, no one, except the teams playing in the lower league, actually care about the Tier B. Performances are often scuffed upon due to allegations and perceptions of a lower grade of cricket being played.

So then is it fair that only 1 team from the Tier B gets the chance to show their wares in Tier A every year?

Current Tier B champions, Sri Lanka Army, will definitely be upsetting the comfortably numb balance in Tier A this year. They won more games than SSC , they had more points than SSC and looking a major title challenger this year. Led by spin duo, Ajantha Mendis and Seekkuge Prasanna, the Armys strong point is in their bowling. Sadly now it seems that Mendis might miss most of the season due to international engagement. One thing is for certain, the Army boys will be chomping at the bit to have a go at their more prestigious colleagues.

What of the Panadura lads, who pipped at as a healthy runner up in Tier B. Once again with more points than Tier A no2, Moors. It seems almost unfair that a team that did not loose a game the whole season, who have out gunned, at least in terms of points their counter parts in Tier A, and clearly a better side than some of the teams hanging on in Tier A at the bottom, do not get a their chance.

Teams like Bloomfield, Ragama, Nondescript won less games than Panadura yet remain safely in Tier A, and more importantly within the peripheral vision of the selectors. It would come as no surprise that NON of the centrally contracted players for Sri Lanka come from a team outside Tier A. Mendis doesn’t have a central contract as yet. Once he does he might make a move to one of the Tier A teams in case he is forgotten.

So what does it all mean ?

Simple, more teams from Tier B need to get into Tier A.

Will they survive in the deep end? Maybe not.

Do they deserve their shot ? Sure as hell they do. Without a question.

Ideally at least 2 teams should get relegated or promoted. Maybe even 3 with a play off scenario. That is to say the 3^rd and 4^th from bottom in Tier A enter a end of season play off. The loser gets relegated. Winner stays on.

Similarly the 3^rd and 4^th teams in Tier B enter a play off. I suspect you can do the math from there.

This would ensure that Tier B teams would get a prime opportunity to engage in some real cricket, that people and selectors care about. The standard of Tier A will improve. The gap we talked about earlier will reduce.

Beyond the blue

2008-10-06T19:59:00.000+08:00

Cricket Season arrives in Australia...

Australia the land of great cricket talent has a strange obession with oval shaped balls, players wearing tight shorts and poles (not the people) stuck in the ground. Its during this time, that the cricket supporter stares wistfully into the space (usually a rugger's head got plenty of space) and counts the cracks in the sealing or walls.

The old willow is gathering dust in some forgotten corner, the whites have got grey moudly blotches and the bag is home to a tribe of spiders. Then with a suddenness, a fine october morning calls and a mad panic is created as the aforementioned character cusses himself for falling for the same trap year after the year after year.

The first training season of the session is always very hard, excess fat has gathered around the mid regions and muscles, long forgotten, are requested to make a sharp appearance at the instanteous bidding. Usually season ending injuries at this point in time and one needs to take time and patience to build up for the first match.

Meaning while, the cricket yobbo, wakes from his football induced hang over and finds the next event he can be drunk at and yell obsenities at. He practices his no ball chant, his charming wit and his beer consumption methodically every weekend in preparation for the main event - boxing day test match.

And while all these events are taking place, the fields are being freshly mowed, ladies are out preparing buscuits and short eats and the food vendors are putting in large orders from everything from buriyani to hotdogs and chips..

As the linseed oil smell wafts from suburb to suburb, so does the smell of the new cricket season... Viva la cricket ... Its here at last.

The Brad Haddin Injury.

2008-10-06T16:42:00.000+08:00

So I'm guessing he is alright?

Gilly's shadow took a blow to his tender fingers and was escorted off yesterday.

Australia claimed he was Ok, while The Huss took up the gloves. Proving to one and all he is truly Mr.Cricket.

This could prove to be disastrous if Haddin gets a knock on the fingers during the test, when you consider he is ONLY keeper on tour. Smart thinking by CA again.

ICL v IPL - coming soon to a theater near you

2008-10-05T00:36:00.000+08:00

The bearded one, not Dirty Dirk, but the rotund one with a dodgy knee is of the opinion that the best way to find out which league, ICL or IPL, is better is to get the best teams from both leagues together for a play off.

There is only one thing wrong all this.

I dont care for either league to begin with.

And even less about which league is better.

Not a fan of the whole twentybenty business and never will be.

However, the craziest thing about the whole idea is, Its fucking brilliant. innit The interest level in India and around the world about the ICL 'rebel' league and the IPL is currently astronomical.

The money that such a series would generate is undeniable.

Whats even more brilliant, but less likely to happen is that, in the long run, just maybe the ICL and IPL will bat eyes for each other.

Stop smirking, Hell I said its unlikely dint I!

Aus v Ind #3 Most likely to loose his balls

2008-10-04T11:40:00.000+08:00

Its getting exciting now aint it.

At no3

Rahul Dravid

"So old he cant even stand up straight"

Why?
-He was part of the Big4 before WG was born.

-Only in the team as part of the Brearley/Taylor rule.(Thank you Jrod)

-Runs are something he used to do

-Me thinks he squints his eyes cuz he cant see no more.

Verdict?

Dravids so old that we are not sure if he still has any balls.

If he does, he will loose both and then some.

Will be the last series he ever plays.

Board XI v Aus Day 2 HLs + A special for Suave

2008-10-04T09:41:00.000+08:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

And this one is a flyslip special for my friend, Suave

Mendis for County ?

2008-10-03T13:27:00.000+08:00

The scrap is on.

There are rumors abound that the English counties are targeting our young spin maestro Splendid Mendis (that has now been officially patented by flyslip!)

Flyslips quite excited about the whole thing. Its not often that young Sri Lankans are spotted by the counties. The most notable players in the English domestic game have always been the big names from the island.

Sanath

Murali

Sangakkara

Aravinda.

Them be some really big names.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Splendid Mendis,(doesn’t it just roll off the tongue). Its also a sign of just how big an impact he has made in the world game in his very short career.

I have always felt that Mendis needs to develop stock ball.

Warne had his leggie.

Murali has his big spinning offie.

Mendis bowls about 6 or 7 different variations in an over. But in the long run whats going to bag you most of your wickets is your stock ball. Even if it does not directly get you the wicket, the stock ball will ensure your variations are that much more dangerous. The county game, depending on how long he gets to play, will offer him a great chance to do just this.

But where will he go ?

Most Likely

The most likely scenario is that Splendid Mendis will go to Lancashire because of the Murali tie -in.

I'm sure Murali, he of the goggle eyes, will have plenty of nice things to say about the county. Including yarns about every ones favorite man- Freddy.

My Pick

Personally Id like to see him move to Sussex. I quite like the idea of Mendis trying to fill the 1800+ wickets hole that Mushy has left there. Sussex do have Ollie Rayner to who has been under the astute apprenticeship of the bearded one. So it will be interesting to see what approach they take.

Wild Card

Durham - who might want to mix things up next year as their attack is pace heavy. With Paul Wiseman reaching a 153 years of age next year and proving to be highly ineffective with 16 wickets to his name, Mendis might slot in well for the reining Division 1 Champions.

Verdict

What ever county he goes to, its a guaranteed investment.

Considering how the Englishmen went against Murali during his stint, Mendis will eat the English men alive and spit them out for good measure.

Aus v Board XI, Day 1 H/Ls

2008-10-02T23:31:00.001+08:00

Watch Krejza get smashed below.
(If you hear a deranged maniacal laugh in the background...don't worry...lock your doors and watch it on mute.

Some say Insane Mcgain has put a spell on Jason Krajza , and had seen him carrying a voodoo doll of him.

We trust you can put two and two together)

Krejza came, Krejza saw, Krejza got smashed for 123

2008-10-02T23:11:00.000+08:00

This was my first sighting of Krejzy eyes.

I am not impressed.

Having gotten the chance of a life time after world renowned Nice Bryce of CWB, got his shoulder messed up, you would think Jason Krejza would accept it with gleeful hands.

He is a new bowler yes, hasn't done too much in shield cricket yes, but what Krejza called bowling today is what I call..

Whats the word Im looking for here.

Ah yes.

Pies.

His line and length were rubbish. Every over he offered at least 2 four-balls. Sometimes even three with a full toss thrown in good measure. It was ridiculous. Actually, it was painful. Krejza looked completely out of depth. If this is what the Indian board XI can do to him in a day I dont know what kind of merry making the fab 4, no matter what kind of form they are in, will get up to.

A regular over from Krejza today consisted of

- a flighted one on off stump
- a half volley way out side off stump
- a half volley on leg stump
- a short ball outside off
- a long hop
- a full toss.

Mix and match these 20 times and you'd have a basic Idea of what he threw down today.

Realising that this is Australias ONLY spin option ahead of the first test must be huge worry for them. If I were Ricky Ponting, Id be shitting in my pants.

Luckily I am not and I hope I never am.

The only excuse that Krejza has is that this is the first day of the tour. So naturally the Aussies are a little undone. Understandable.

Things can only go up from here for Kerjzy.

Aus v Ind #4 Most likely to loose his balls

2008-10-02T19:02:00.000+08:00

Coming in at a healthy number 4

Ricky Ponting
Flyslips dropping the big names early ya hear!

"Loosing ones balls can hurt"

Why?

12.28, thats why.

172, thats why.

He is under severe mental stress after Insane Mcgain went proper crazy-eyed on him.

Do we see Punter making a difference this time. Not really. Id like to see him change those stats but with Bajji and Kumble raring to go. I highly doubt that will happen.

Besides, no one really like him anyway.

Verdict?

Will loose both balls. But flyslip gives him an outside chance to save one nut.

He will probably loose the series as well.

Do we really know Bryce Mcgain?

2008-10-02T16:31:00.000+08:00

Apparently there really are two sides to every story. Bryce it seems, possess split personality that has reared its ugly head at the most inopportune time.

Nice Bryce.
That’s what Jrod has led us to believe for over a year. Ok, for me over a month or so. Cricketwithballs is the proud supporter and undisputed number one fan of Nice Bryce. Jrod’s written a gazillion or so posts on just how nice Bryce is. We were lulled into a sense of safety and grew fond of nice Bryce. Hell Id go so far to say some of us even fell in love with Nice Bryce..

But..there was always something wrong…a deeper ..darker..seedy side to Bryce…

A friend of mine once told me, that nice Bryce was not nice at all,

I said Ballox.

Then he sent me this picture.

I was very disturbed my fellow bloggers. Very disturbed indeed.

Here you see him completely harassing an innocent pedestrian walker. You can see the manical anger in his face. Perhaps Bryce wasn’t that nice after all..

Insane Mcgain.
So we knew Bryce had a darker side to him. But on October 1st the shit really hit the fan. His shoulder injury, which many have argued is from years of underground mua-thai competitions he entered discretely during his lunch time at his IT job, finally put him out of the the first test.

Bryce lost it.
As Suave reports, his Indian correspondent, was verbally and physically abused. He then went on a rampage in the nets, threatening to kill Jason Krejza and insulting Pontings wife.

Latest news indicate that Shane Watsons viral fever might be the result of a deranged Bryce poisoning his coffee in the wee hours of the morning. The Australian team themselves are shying away from Bryce.

Here is Ricky Ponting packing his bags up and leaving the practice session after Insane Mcgain insulted his wife.

Ricky later threatened to run Bryce over with his new rickshaw, which he acquired with his IPL money, if he kept this up

And later at a press conference at this to say

“The guys totally lost it, He went on some ramble about letting his cricketblogging friend down. When I told him to calm down, he asked me if I had a whole cricketblog devoted to me. When I said what the fuck are you on about. He just laughed manically and had the crazy-eyes on him.

So I just got in my rickshaw and took off.”

So I ask you my friends…
Do we really know who Bryce Mcgain is?

Do we really …..

Aus v Ind - #5 most likely to loose his balls

2008-10-01T22:59:00.000+08:00

As promised flyslip brings you the top 5 players most likely to loose their balls in the BGS.
Coming in at

The #5 Player most likely to his balls.

Sachin Tendulkar.

Losing one ball is tough, but two can be quite tricky.

Why?
-Sachins been on the come back trail for a while now. With limited success. And has not looked like he will hit his lofty heights in the mid 90s.

-Scored next to no runs in Sri Lanka. He has no form.

-No match practice. He has no form.

-There are no matches at the SCG.

Verdict?

Sach will loose both his balls. In addition to his elbow

People will forget he ever took part in the BGS by the end of the series.

Harsh yes. But balls are unforgiving as we all know.

fly slip does Border and Gavaskar

2008-09-30T22:05:00.000+08:00

Doggy style.

Scratch that.

Here ye Here ye.
The Border-Gavaskar series is coming up.In 9 days to be exact. Cricblogosphere is a buzz with activity and whole posts have been dedicated to the event. Well by golly flyslips not gonna be left out.

See, flyslip realised, through personal experience we may add, that losing your ball or balls can be painful. Excruciating even.

As anyone with some would attest. Balls are important. And losing them is not good. Not good at all.

In lieu of this-flyslip will launch a mini series entitled

BGS- Top 5 "Most likely to loose their balls"

Fly slip will go undercover and boldly go where no cricketblog has gone before, as we strive to name the top 5 players from the two camps , most likely to loose their balls.

Losing their balls in this context is not literal, of course.

And since most of the players in the series are over the age of 25 I expect a distinct lack of hits from the ECB PCs.

Watch this space. Closely

Cubs v Seth Efrica the round up

2008-09-30T14:22:00.000+08:00

The cubs mauled the Seth Efricans

To the tune of 4-1.

That’s a complete drubbing by any ones standards.

After a very unfortunate loss in the unofficial test series the young cubs showed their class in taking out the ODI series with a comprehensive victory.

The cubs only slip up resulted in them faltering in the 2^nd test which eventually led to the series loss to the south Africans as the lads went down 1-0. It’s a safe bet to say that the A’s dominated this whole tour. Except for that one game.

The round up.

Thilina Kandamby needs to be in the Sri Lankan test and ODI teams pronto. The mans been making runs like Ferrari makes mistakes in a Grand Prix. A hell of a lot. On a consistent basis.

He piled on the misery with 391 runs in the test series at 91 with 2 centuries.

The cubs leading run scorer in the series.

And as if to prove a point in the ODIs he smashed a further 394 runs at 91 in 5 innings. 3 of those innings reaped in 50s. In the last game he buried the Saffers good and proper. Having sealed the series 3-1 in the 4^th ODI, the cubs were set 294 in the last game.

At 6-94 things weren’t looking pretty. 203 runs later- the A’s had won the game. Thilina had 128 off 125 and the South Africans were looking for a bridge to jump off. Cubs win by 4 wickets. Herath added 88 not out to the party as well.

Such was the dominance of the captain. Talk about leading from the front. If the Sri Lankan selectors, Sports ministers and Arjuna Ranatunga can get their heads out of their arses they would know this. Instead they are busy with ‘other matters’.

Kandamby doesn’t even have a central contract. While the failure-duo, Silva and Dilshan does. This a joke of epic proportions that its stopped being funny a while ago.

Tharanga Paranavitana also impressed with some big numbers 298 at 56 in the test series. He is also looking like a major prospect for the first team middle order. An overall career average of 42 doesn’t hurt either.

The dominance of the Sri Lankan batting was a highlight of the series. The cubs consistently got scores of over 300 in the test series. At one point amassing over 700. In the ODIs scores were consistently over the 250 mark. Understandably their lowest total came in the only game they lost in the ODI series at 218. The 2^nd lowest was 274.

Ambul has pressed his claim to be back in national colors. He was instrumental in getting the A’s off to good starts in all 4 of the games he played. 250 runs at 80 with a huge 100 that Hilal reported. A strike rate of over 100 did nicely as well.

Kaushal Silva and Anjelo Matthews are also ones to watch. Kaushal looks to be the illusive replacement for Sangakkara when he does hang up the boots. At 22 years of age Id argue that he still should play a few more games for the Cubs before he really gets an opportunity in the first team.

Anjelo Matthews from Colts continues his impressive display of all round skill. Chipping in with a few useful half centuries and a handful of wickets. At 21 the kids got a way to go.

The bowlers from both teams took a thrashing as the test and ODI series were dominated by the bat. However, impressive displays from The Don aka Ishan Amarasinghe did impress. His 13 wickets in the ODI series was clearly the difference between the two sides. A clear sign of his international experience being put to good use. With Malinga and Maharoof on the come back trail after injuries, Ishans fine display puts him into contention for the ODI team.

Rangana Heraths experience also helped the cubs butcher the Saffers as his spin played another important role in the middle overs in the ODIs.

Verdict

The cubs are guns. Or rather were gunnish in this tour.

No doubt.

Thilina Kandamby should get a central contract. Dilshan and Silva should be sent home to watch re runs of each of Kandambys 700 runs.

Ambul should be recalled to the ODI team.

The quicks need some work and Paddyhouse needs to develop more if he is to be the long term replacement for Vass. At 27 time is still on his side. But not for too long.

Bottom Line.

In a 5 match series with the National team the series would end 3-2.

To the cubs.

Moin the nutter gets fucked

2008-09-30T12:44:00.000+08:00

It seems that flyslip was not the only one not amused by Moins antics.

PCB has done what any self respecting board should do. Counter sue the person for a higher price tag.

To the tune of 250mil

Flyslips loving it.

The end of an era in Test Cricket.

2008-09-30T08:13:00.000+08:00

The next series between Australia and India will probably be the last time we see the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Shewag, Ganguly filling out the role of batsmen for the Indian line up. It will also be Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden's last test series against India and thus close a chapter of remarkable success in test cricket for Australia. With any luck, this series should prove to be a great contest to mark this magicial milestone.

Sadly, it will also be the end of quality test cricket for the foreseeable future - with a number of other players around the world also playing their last year now. Its a shame that the younger players haven't caught the imagination of the public, save Ajantha Mendis. We sit and hope that another Adam Gilchrist or another Sachin Tendulkar will come along and everything will be good in the world, but alas, we are wishing for too much. Since the famous Ws left Pakistan, the once proud cricket team has turned into a basket case of team, though not all due to the players or administrators themselves. The similar thing has happened in the West Indies, were the popularity of the sport has fallen to epic portions.

I predict that to a lesser extent, that the Australian cricket team will also find itself in a similar place. Aside from the Sri Lankan cricket team, No team has actually improved in the 3 years in real terms - Bangladesh is lucky to find 12 people who want to play for them, Zimbabwe has gone to the dogs and weasels, South Africa since 2002 has been steadily declining and the list goes on and on. Even India, which seldom matched its talent in times past, is now looking to the future and forced to replace old players with new players who seem to lack any temperament. And therein lies the problem.

Sport is a reflection of the society that partakes in it. The Romans had gladiators and Christians and lions, which was bloody - and this was accepted by society in those times. Basketball is popular in a country that has as much modesty as a drunk whore and as much humility as a heavy weight boxer - again a reflection on the American people themselves. The changes in cricket on a global level is a reaction to the changes in the attitudes of society - cricket has to remain relevant in people's lives. In this very way we see the growth of 20-20 and 50-50 cricket with a drop in test cricket patronage, which tends to reflect people's shortening attention span. Test cricket may of had its day already.

It breaks my heart to see falling standards across society, but especially in cricket. Cricket has turned from a team sport to a sport of "I". Soon cricket will become another English premier league, where the money and ego does the talking and not the loyalty to team nor country. Maybe I am stuck in 1500s still and maybe I am being completely unreasonable, but I know one thing and that is that sport is no longer for the purist. If you want purism, take up another religion.

I digress, As for this test series, It should be a great series but a very sad one. If you have opportunity to go, by all means go - because I doubt in our lifetimes we will see a collection of finer players playing test cricket again. And to God that I was wrong about the future of the Game, but the coming colours for test cricket are not good.

Moin the nutter

2008-09-29T09:30:00.000+08:00

Remember Moin Khan?

No?

Probably because he’s is 103 or something like that.

Well neither did we, until today. Cuz Moin’s gone and sued the PCB! For 100 Million no less.

Really Moin...100 mil? Tsk Tsk..

It all points to him having run out of his match fixing money and is probably in dire need of a hip replacement and a 10^th by pass surgery.

Whats most intruiging is that whether this really needed to happen. Allegations flying back and forth in Pakistan is as common as cow dung on the roads of India. Very.

Couldn’t he just fire some verbals via the media ? Why enter a lengthy legal battle over such trivial matters.

Asking for 100mil just makes it laughable. Even Cric365 thinks so.

This is the last thing the PCB needs at the moment. As they are currently battling with Shoaib Actor Akthar over him paying his fines and have to ensure that Asif still get to play for Pakistan.

We are not amused Moin.

Break open the champagne

2008-09-27T08:35:00.000+08:00

They've done it !

Flyslip reported it first.

The cubs have become the first team to win a series in South Africa.

Lets bask in the glory.

A great day indeed.

Report to follow.

Sportsfreak is pissed, and we like it.

2008-09-26T15:00:00.000+08:00

Sportsfreak is angry. With good reason.

Which made us angry.

So we blogged about it.

(Thanks Uncle Jrod for the pointer.)

Cubs to the slaughter

2008-09-26T09:34:00.000+08:00

So the cubs are in the rainbow land.

Doing swimmingly in fact. They are all set to achieve something so monumental today, that I must forewarn you to sit down.

Its big.

If the cubs win today, looking at their performances so far it could prove to be quite tight, it will the first time a Sri Lankan team has won a series in South Africa.

Brilliant isnt it. Murali, Sanath, Sagakkara, Mahela all tried. And failed.
But not the cubs.

At least not yet.

They currently posses a hard fought lead of 2-1 in the series and tonight they play the 4th Unofficial ODI. Its a day nighter as well. So, much chance for drama.

The first match was won by the cubs by a mere 3 runs at a venue that if you successfully pronounce in the first try, will win you a prize.

Try it - Potchefstroom.
Sorry that is in correct. No prizes for you.

The 3 young rising stars of Sri Lankan batting once again proved their worth as Kandamby, Anjelo Matthews and FlySlips very own Ambul (already a risen but since fallen star) scored 50s.

The cubs ended with 276 thanks to their efforts and took the field later in the day to be faced by the Saffer duo of Imraan Khan (that ain't no typo and not to be confused with the legendary mystero from Pakistan) and Heino Gunther Kuhn (Potential split personality Ala Gunter Nel if ever there was one).

After a steady start the Don sprung into action!
That's Don Ishan Amarasinghe to you sir.

With venom that only a recent national discard possesses Ishan triggered a mini collapse and had the South Africans at 129-4. The cubs seemed well on the way to a win.

However some later order resistance needed Ishan to come back and finish the game off. 7 needed in the last over with 2 wickets remaining he managed to get wickets with the 1st and 5th ball of the over to earn SL A a win by 3 runs.

1-0

The 2nd game played at an equally difficult venue to pronounce (Try Peitermaritzburg) saw another closely contested game. Sri Lanka were restricted to a mere 218 and once again Angelo Mathews (53), Kandamby (51) and Kaushal Silva(80) impressed.

The game seemed to be heading for a tight ending with the Saffers losing wickets on a regular basis and at 129-4 it seemed to be any ones game. But Dean Elgars 89* saved face for the home. team

The Don once again pipped in with a 2fer.

1-1

Sanity resumed as finally a game was played at a relatively mundane venue name.

Although Buffalo Park..

Ambul, it seems is hell bent on not giving me more material for the Ambul Thiyal-Anga series as he cut,drove, hooked, hoicked, switch hit his way to a career best 173.

He and Paranavithana added 91 for the first wicket and the cubs rode on Ambuls knock to 335. Kandamby lent in with another solid 30.(Why is he still playing for the cubs again ?).

It was a day for the openers as Saffer opener Bodi belted the cubs into a hiding as he unleashed a devastating assault on our opening bowlers.

So it seemed inevitable that the Don make an appearance again along with side kick Ranga Herath as they cleverly dismissed the batsmen at the other end while ensuring Bodi got enough 4 balls to keep the crowd pleased at the other end.

The Don ending up with a 3fer.

Bodi ended up with 153, to which he got with a 6 off Herath, who later dismissed him to bask in sweet revenge.

The RRR shot up and the saffers faltered. Cubs win by 26

2-1

Watch this space to see if the Cubs make history.
Good luck to them !

Banditown vs BigGay

2008-09-25T08:21:00.000+08:00

I hate Gamini BigGay.

The fucker has gotten too involved in our cricket and now it seems he’s the guy running the show.

Why bother with Banditown?

Why bother with selectors?

BigGay knows best.

Has he ever lifted a bat in his hand other than his own?

He changes teams that have already been picked.

He overrules decisions that Banditown makes.

Bandi and Banditown must be pissed as. I know I am. Fuck this.

When he first took office he said he wont meddle with cricket. Now it seems all he does is that. Doesn’t Sri Lanka play any other sports for this idiot to get involved in. Netball? Football ? Anything!?

Bandi should sit on Mr.BigGay so that he suffocates to death.

Hair, the long and short of it

2008-09-23T22:18:00.000+08:00

What is a haircut? Simply somethin to keep your hair in place or a fashion statement? Well for cricketers today...its a major fashion statement. If you've failed to notice all the bleach that is found in people's hair these days...well then you must be enjoyin that rock you're livin under! The originality and confidence to hav haircuts like these should be applauded but are they really benefiting anyone?

Take Lasith Malinga. Probably one of the best fast bowlers in the world...but is the long curly hair with the blonde highlights really necessary? Im sure everyone agrees its hardly practical for bowling...you go in to bowl the ball and whats the first thing you see...yep BLONDE right in front of your face...but how can he be the one of the best bowlers in the world if he can't even see where he's bowling? Your guess is as good as mine. Malinga has had his range of blondes as well...we've had our sandy blonde and our bleach blonde...and yet he jus can't let go of the blonde! Yet with this hair...he has managed to be named sexiest cricketer in the world cup...i guess that whole tall, dark and handsome thing is a bit overdone :P...

Another crazy long haired fast bowler is Ishant Sharma. Unmistakely a fantastic bowler at 19 but is the long hair really doin him any favours? You've got to admit that his hairstyle is hardly a fashion statement...more of a disaster...especially when bowling in the sub continent!...isn't the practical use of the long hair to keep your neck warm...well you're burnin up as hell in the sub continent as it is...its hardly helpin the man! When asked bout his hair he said "I started sporting long hair as a style statement, but now I am really superstitious about my hair. I am not going in for short hair ever!" A style statement?!...really ishant...are you sure?! :P...

Next up Kevin Pietersen. Even before i liked cricket...i knew bout KP's hair style...well maybe thats jus the fact we all adore him in england...but really talk bout a fashion statement! Although i could never understand how he came up with it...he looks in the mirror one day...sees perfect dark brown hair...and thinks "you kno what will look good...a blonde strip"...ye well maybe he wanted to distract the bowlers. The "dead skunk" look as it has been described took the world by storm...every KP lover was after the strip and maybe jus maybe it improved their batting. But yet even though this hairstyle was random as hell...it jus made him look better and more attractive! So maybe a bit of blonde does go a long way :P...

Last example is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The man's hairstyle has changed the indian lives forever...every boy who loved cricket wanted the "Dhoni" much like the kids in england want the latest "Beckham". His long hair was seen as a good luck charm to the world over...but then why cut it?...In my personal opinion...either way he looks gorgeous...but the discussion of why he cut his hair has been contemplated in india for a long time. Some stories state that he cut his hair because he wanted to look like his favourite actor John Abraham...whereas other sources say that he was in love with Deepika Padukone and she asked him to cut it!...well you decide...do you think dhoni would cut his hair for a girl?!...ye well i don't...he has enough girls after him as it is :P...

But really...could hair actually be a good luck charm?...these are the questions we can never answer...but it doesn't stop our cricketers from tryin :)!

Trouble in Banditown

2008-09-23T15:07:00.000+08:00

Enter Banditunga.

Whats Bandi gone and done now then. SLC , which will from now on be referred to as Banditown, has lifted the ban imposed on the ICL players, allowing them to take part in domestic competitions that not too many really care about.

Or in laymans terms Bandi has gone and stuck his fat finger up the rich boys arse.

Im fully behind him, as much as anyone could be of someone who is gonna have rather a smelly finger right now.

First of all banning ICL players from international cricket was nothing but a big power play by the big bully who doesn’t like share his toys with the rest of the world. How odd when it’s the IPL who stole the ICL idea in the first place. There’s irony for you.

Second of all…..ok so there isn’t really a second of all to this story. The gist of it is that Ranatunga has mildly upset the balance of the force by daring to poke his Bandi where it does not belong. As with all Bandi’s actions it was Bandi before thinking.

Banditown, catchy aint it, has very close ties with the rich boys club up north. It’s a well known fact that when lads get together for a drink and a kick about in between discussing whether Zimbabwe should still play cricket or whether Bangladeshi’s should sent to Mars for taking the game to new lows, Banditown and the rich boys always stick it out together.

And when Bandi needed some short change for a Briyani from the local ‘hotel’ he asked his rich friends for some kitty.

In short, they are tight as. Rather they were.

The rich boys have woken from their slumber , fresh from putting one over England and they are not happ y.

Which brings me to my point, yes there was a reason why I wrote all this.

However noble Ranatungas actions are, I cannot help but wonder if this would alienate Banditown , specially since virtually no one else supported their move except media darling Atappattu.

Could all this affect the relationship between the boards up to a point where India will no longer consider us in their good books. The early signs are not good.

And it seems people outside Banditown have also started taking an interest in the matter.

Its interesting to note at this point that India and Sri Lanka have close political ties as well, so perhaps its not so surprising that the sports minister is once again stepped into where he is not wanted to publish his opinion on the matter.

The good minister went on to state that

"I don't want our board to be against the BCCI and the ICC. I want us to be loved by all because we are nice island people with a smile on our face all the time”

Meanwhile there are rumors abound that either Uncle Lalit (head of IPL) or Bandi2 (Pawar) had called Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse to arrange for a meeting between Banditown and Co and the sports minister. Apparently a new election for the board might also be on the cards.

So the bottom line it seems is that the bans that were lifted might now be re-imposed on the poor ‘rebels’ in the hopes of being loved by the rich boy club again.

Lifes a bitch for people like Atapattu.

Happy times are short for these rebels

Ps-Bandi=Bigbelly

A Sri Lankan Selectors Hand book

2008-09-16T09:27:00.000+08:00

With all the talk of the Muppets and jokers one wonders what kind of pressure a Sri Lankan selector is under when he signs up for the job. How do his interviews go? Is there a vigorous training these guys under go or is it just on the job training where mistakes are acceptable?

Basically how does a selector (or one who wants to be one-although we are not sure why you’d want to) go about their job.

So to help our budding selector wanna-beâ€™s we have come up with the essential hand book for a Sri Lankan selector.

1.Before applying for the job, make sure you are someone with absolutely no cricket background. In the unfortunate event of you having some cricketing knowledge and know how-lie about it, or at the very worst make sure its at a very minimum.

If you are currently playing cricket-quit now if you want to pursue being a selector

2.It is essential that you know the political situation in Sri Lanka and especially important is knowledge on who is on whose payroll (Without this you are basically a batsmen with out a bat.).

3.Know your Player stats- No, not the runs or wickets he has taken- rather their family name i.e. who are their fathers (or mothers) and what sort of power do they have in Sri Lankan politics and how deep are their pockets.

Where was the player born- USA/UK take priority over anyone born in Sri Lanka.

4.Know your geography- Sri Lankan geography that is. Its well established fact that players from outside of Colombo are basically useless. So any players doing well in the outstations should not even get a look in until they move to Colombo and are capable of indulging in the much higher living expenses in the capital.

If you are not aware that clubs exist outside Colombo this will be seen favorably

5.Homesickness unwelcome- If you are the sort to get homesick do not consider applying. As a selector you will be required to travel extensively around the world. What you do once you reach the touring country is your business but the board will make sure you are given enough cash to go shopping and pick up that saree or two for the wife back home.

Sometimes you will be required to actually attend tour matches but these inconveniences are rare.

6.Know your enemy- Although as a cricket selector you might naturally expect to have a carefree life its not always rosy. There are many people who will question your every move and every player you drop. Usually these enemies or nemesis comes in 3 forms

The sports minister

Arjuna Ranatunga

Disgruntled ex-Players: These guys are the real cry babies. When you drop them they will use the media to attack selectors and call them names. Disgruntled Ex-players and the sports ministers have a unique bond that can never be broken, so dont be caught off guard if they tag team you from the blind side.

E.g. include: Marvan Atappatu, Upul Chandana,Roshan Mahanama

7.Practice makes perfect: When you pick a certain player and he fails consistently over a period of time dont be disheartened. Keep picking him till he gets those once in a blue moon 50s regardless of other more consistent players.

Tip: One 50 is more than enough to secure a place of said player(s) for the next tours.

8.Talent Spotting: You will be required to know how to spot talent from the youngsters coming through the system. Pls do keep in mind that Pts 2, 3, 4 are essential when even considering a young player for selection. Failure to meet any of the said 3 pts means an automatic disqualification of the player.

Players who average 20s (Batting) and high 30s (bowling) are generally considered good international material. If a certain youngster is averaging better than this, an immediate compliance check of pts 2-4 is necessary.

Otherwise do not hesitate in picking a player with a lower average over a player who is considered good by the rest of the country.

Note: Pt 6 may (or may not) play a part in talent spotting. The enemies mentioned in pt 6 may try to distort your vision of who you think is a good player. Usually they will engage in media warfare using out-dated reasoning like comparing player averages/consistency and “form”.

9.Drop that Superstar: A time will come in your career when you need to drop a superstar player. Regardless of how much the team needs him or his record or his status and his importance to the team do not hesitate in dropping at least one superstar in your career.

Usually this decision will be reversed by the Sports minister (Refer pt 6).But that is of no concern as you will be guaranteed a “cult-following”, especially from the ever growing online Sri Lankan cricket community.

10.Chairmans word is Final: It is your responsibility to obey the instructions of the chairman or else your work permit will be terminated and no longer receive further wages.

Do exactly as the chairman orders.

Eg: If there is a fire in the SLC building and the chairman orders you not to leave the building, do not leave the building!

Usually the chairman will handle the media so PR expertise is not a pre-requisite. Also more often than not nobody will even know who you are unless someone from Pt 6 mentions your name in the media (usually Arjuna or Disgruntled player) or unless you carry out pt 9- in which case you will become The Superstar.

Special thanks to Thushal for his contributions

Bad Hair DAY XI

2008-09-13T12:44:00.000+08:00

Skunky to open with...

Mullet twin on the right. No3 Mullet twin on the left

Omish Marshall at 4

Badmulletfatty at 5

collingded at 6

ms to keep

hornywarny

slinga

skunktail-thomo

jesuspie

adams apple

amelie morismo i mean aliceband

Look alikes

2008-09-12T11:15:00.001+08:00

I was watching the ICC awards hosted by Nasser Hussain and I could swear his face bared a starkling resemblence to...

Mahela wins Most sensible cricketer of the Year Award

2008-09-11T11:34:00.001+08:00

I don’t like 2020 aka 2020Benty aka HitandGiggle.

Neither does Mahela.

Ok, so he doesn’t dislike it like I do. But he doesn’t care for too much of the stuff.

In fact he just wants to play one 2020 tournament a year. Admirable in these times.

Others are chopping at the bits to play in the IPL, EPL ICL and whatever other perverted league that is bound to pop a few years down the road.

Some yobbos down under would apparently even quit international cricket to play in the blasphemes version of the game run by the BCCI and movie stars.

Which even startled the easily irritable Pidgeon.

People love money. So does Mahela. He doesn’t shy away from that. Which is good. At least he’s honest about it.

Mahelas solution is to pile up the money from the IPL, Stanford Bonanza, EPL etc into one big mother load of cash and have a winner takes all type of tourney.

Wait. We have something like that already…The thing that India won and paraded on for about year. Oh ya, the 2020 World Championship.

Of course this would mean one giant step for cricket and one gigantic step for the BCCI – i.e. working together with the ICC.

Unlikely.

Mahelas stock has gone up in my book.

The man talks sense.

5 gold stars even.

Vote for the greatest No4 batsman in the history of ODI Cricket

2008-09-09T22:39:00.000+08:00

Best No3 results are in

CricketAnytime XI So far

1.Sanath Jayasuriya
2.Adam Gilchrist
3.Ricky Ponting

Time for No4.

You know the drill, Vote on the left hand poll !

Dr White heals all!

2008-09-09T17:04:00.000+08:00

A Guide For injured Sri Lankan cricketers.

Get sent to Australia to meet the ‘experts’.

Check.

Go through a heap of scans that are difficult to pronounce.

Check.

Do an operation (or two) in Australia.

Check.

If you are still not feeling better keep reading…

Wait for a call from the President.

Check (?)

Visit the president

Check (?)

Meet the presidents supernatural, spiritual, crazy, kind of disturbing healer.

Check (?)

Eat the ~~grass,~~ herbs, ~~cucumber,~~ exotic plants that can be only found in his ~~‘paaththiya’~~ amazon rain forest.

Check (?)

And soon you will be feeling better.

In 5 days.

You can make it 4 if you follow the four day course of treatment

You wont just be feeling better.

Oh no siree.

As someone put it

He(Malinga) did not just get better - he became better than ever. Today Lasith Malinga can run, bowl and ride a bicycle.

(Note-Things he was simply unable to do prior to meeting up with Dr.White the ~~fakey~~ healer)

So what are you waiting for.

Look left, look right, do nothing...

2008-09-09T14:52:00.000+08:00

Sri Lankan cricket is at a cross road.

We could go left, keep picking players past their due date and hope that they deliver once every 2 years or so. Heap praise on them and how we cant go forward as a team without them.

We could go right, invest in youth in a full exodus of the current team. Lose a few matches and complain about how we should have never replaced the players from our golden age.

But what we do is neither. The selectors go neither here nor there. They are afraid of making those ‘big’ decisions. And even when they do, politicians will get involved to turn the clock back and undo the rare occasions when the selectors have the courage to make a tough decision.

The continued selection of Sanath Jayasuriya in ODI’s is shameful. It is as if we are afraid to try new players for fear of losing.

To be clear, this post is not a random melt down on my part on hindsight as we have now lost to India at home.

Sri Lankas flailing form in cricket is only too apparent if you look at their win loss record over the last 2 years

M W L Year

29	16	11								2007
22	9	11								2008

Compare that now with Australia

Australia
M W L Year

34	24	8								2007
18	13	4								2008

You will notice the clear difference in the amount of matches won vs the amount of matches played. That is the difference between what makes a great team and what makes just an average team as is Sri Lanka at the moment. Consistently winning matches home and away over a period of time.

Not long ago our cricket board envisaged a goal for our national team. To be the the Number 1 team in test cricket (and ODIs) by the year 2000. This was a bold statement on the back of our remarkable world cup win in 1996. It was a time when anything seemed possible with Aravinda, Arjuna, Sanath and Murali/Vass leading the charges. For a while it looked like an attainable target.

Then reality set in. Arjuna, Aravinda retired or left cricket. We invested heavily on Mahela and Sangakkara and it paid dividends.

Years on from that goal we are languishing at 4^th in the test table and 7^th in the ODI table. (Debates on the ranking system it self at this point is useless). We are where we are so to speak.

Are teams like England, New Zealand, Pakistan really better than us? Perhaps not, but the rankings show otherwise. And it tells a story.

We lost to England for the first time in our history last year in a ODI series. Now we have repeated the same against India. This lack of form, specially at home highly concerning. So what is the problem here.

As mentioned earlier on in this piece. When Arjuna and Aravinda were to leave we invested in Sangakkara and Mahela. Now it is time to do the same. Its time to prepare for the end of Murali, Sanath and Vass.

Ajatha Mendis has been a breath of fresh air for world cricket. But in my opinion, as a Sri Lankan fan, ‘a sigh of relief’ is what would describe Mendis’s rise to fame accurately. Ideally Murali should retire from ODI cricket within 2 years to focus alone in test cricket and target his 1000 wicket and possibly more overseas series wins for us. In 2 years Mendis will learn more from Murali than he would from anyone else and those 2 years transitional phase will give Mendis time to gain more confidence, play against more opposition (he has currently on destroyed India on a regular basis), in different conditions. And in 2 years, I believe he will be ready to lead our spin attack.

Sanath Jayasuriya; in my humble opinion, I believe he is past his sell by date. I felt that 2 years ago. I still feel it today. The Asia cup 100 was just a dent in that belief. It is time Sanath bowed out of cricket with honor. It is possibly a fear or never finding another Jayasuriya that causes us to fall back on him time and time again. And that in lies our mistake.

Expecting any upcoming opener in Sri Lanka to take up the mantle that Sanath did is asking the impossible. Australia did not replace Gilchrist with Hadding asking for the same results and the same contributions. They replaced him with the best man for the job. That job was wicket keeping. Hadding was the right man for that job. What Sri Lanka desperately needs now in an Opener.

No, not a plug-gap opener like Sanga is.

A real opener who pries his trade facing the new ball on a daily basis. Who footwork is assured and knows when to leave what.

Sri Lanka needs an Opener, Not another Sanath. I’d dearly love to see the day when we can put on 75-80 in the first 15 overs without losing 4-5 wickets . For that we need solid openers. Sanath was a one-off. There will be no other like him. Just like there will be no other Aravinda. Sanga is good. But is he in Aravindas class ?

The few youngsters who have stepped up to the mark showed relative promise. But its time to invest. Time to stop lingering on with players who can no longer contribute to a successful team effort. Nostalgia can play no part in selection policy.

It is time to rebuild the ‘core’ of the team. Right now the only people in my opinion who would fall into that category is Sangakkara and Mahela. A team cannot simply be built around 2 players it must consist of at least 4-5 like the 1996 team.

It can no longer include Sanath or Murali. It’s a time that calls for patience from the fans as well. Once a dramatic change is made we must give it due time to respond and adapt to that change. The team needs to grow together. Dealing with the loss of gigantic losses and assigning responsibility to new shoulders is not an easy task. Its time consuming.

But the signs are good. The rest of the year in terms of the quality of cricket Sri Lanka face is not that competitive. It’s a prime chance for us to give these youngster the chance to find their feet in the international game.

Its time to look right, look left and finally decide to cross the road.

CricketAnyTime XI- Vote for the Best No3 in ODI History

2008-08-28T10:10:00.000+08:00

So the search for cricketanytime XI continues.
We got the openers sorted out.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Gilchrist came out on top after leading the polls from start to finish.
We had a good turn out for the poll too !

Now its time to pick the best no3 in the world.
Here is your chance to let your voice be heard.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Get voting !

The CricketAnyTime XI

Sanath Jayasuriya
Adam Gilchrist
??
??
??
??
??
??
??
??
??

Opener Voting results

Aint no other...

2008-08-28T06:40:00.000+08:00

At least in my book.

Unless you live under a rock, you'd know what day it is today.
August 27th 2008.

100 years on from August 27th 1908. For anyone non-wise to this date- it is when The Don was born. So today we celebrate the 100th Birth day of the greatest player of all time and the greatest player ever to step on to a patch of green to play cricket to wield a willow.

We all know the stats.
99.94.
Missed the 100 average by 4 runs in his last match.

The legend of the great man has touched every single cricket fan alive.

It would be unthinkable for me to not pay tribute to the man.
However, being Sri Lankan, I thought I'd add a little spice with a Sri Lankan flavor to it.

This post is the fruit of endless bits of research over the last few weeks and a lot of help from some friends over in Australia. So here goes. But be warned this will be a long rant!

Some of you may know that Bradman toured, well toured is a slightly inaccurate, Sri Lanka on a "whistle stop" basis on their way to England. In fact he visited Sri Lanka, or Ceylon at the time, on 4 occasions. In 1930, 1934, 1938 and 1948 to be precise.

Cricinfo articles the 1930 visit;

The Australians played in Colombo against the All Ceylon team on 2nd April 1930, Bradman was out hit wicket for the first ball bowled by N.S.Joseph, in his debut match. This is supposed to be the first and the only occasion that Bradman got out hit wicket.Australians were all out for 233, All Ceylon 52 for 1 at close, the match was interrupted by rain and ended in a draw.

Here is where it starts to get interesting. I was able to track down a entry in Bradmans personal diary detailing this very match. Below is the full entry in the diary

http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/bradman/scrapbooks/08/bsb08064.htm
This excerpt from Bradmans diary is Copyrighted Republishing this image without prior consent from SLSA is strictly prohibited.

"Standard of cricket quite high"- There you have it folks, from the man himself. This was an assessment that caused my heart to flutter. To have such high praised heaped upon our countrymen even in those days says. Words fail me.

The 1934 and 1938 visits were less eventful. There do not appear to be too many records of the tour at all.

Cricinfo provided a brief snippet.

Don Bradman did not play in the Australian team's tours in 1934, and in 1938 Bradman had a 'cold', the Sri Lankan spectators were very disappointed.

This goes to prove that the legend of Bradman was not contained to England and Australia or even India. Bradman was a hugely popular figure in Ceylon. There are many stories of the crowds flocking to see Bradman when the touring ships called into port in Colombo.

1948
An example of this can he highlighted in the 1948 visit by the Australians.

This particular match, played over just a day, as was the tradition of all the matches played by the touring Australian team, was littered with quite a few colorful events, not least was a 20 yard pitch which confounded the Australian batsmen until they discovered the error !

Jack Fingleton writes an account of the match in his 1949 book, Brightly fades The Don.

Click on images for a larger view

Fingleton fondly recalls his memories of the then Colombo, the now infamous 20 yard pitch and the curious, curatoress! Bradman coming out in a toppee is priceless. Him and Barnes fighting for the strike and needling each other in the middle is both intriguing and enjoyable to read. This was the human and rather mischievous side of the great man.

Bradman himself made it a point to mention the 1948 game in his own book-Farewell to Cricket

Click on images for a larger view

He makes mention of the notorious Colombo heat and the enchanting scoreboard at the Colombo oval. It seems no surprise that he was affected by the intense heat in Colombo. Many have suffered its wrath. Further proof that the man was human after all (which somehow makes his records seem even more incredible).

The love for Bradman in Sri Lanka is evident in an excerpt from "Bradman" by Charles Williams. Sri Lankan fans would ride out in tiny boats when the ship from Australia neared the harbour hoping for a sighting of the Don.

Click on image for a larger view

Cricinfo provides a brief summation of the 1948 game.

On 27th March 1948 there was a crowd of about 20,000 at the Colombo Oval, to see Bradman play for the last time in Sri Lanka, Don Bradman was able to score only 20 runs as he was caught by R.L. de Krester bowled B. Russell Heyn. Australia declared at 184 for 4 an hour before close of play, All-Ceylon were 46 for 2 when rain stopped play. This match was memorable for another reason as the length of the pitch was 20 yards and not 22. Australian batsman found it hard to get the ball away, they bowled from two yards behind the bowling crease.

1948 Match Scorecard- Aus in Ceylon

Sir Donald would have been a 100 years old today. Mortals such as us will never have the privilege to see this man in action. He played cricket test cricket in 4 countries. But Sri Lanka has the honor of being the 5th and only other country (correct me if I am wrong) where the Don pulled on his white flannels to play cricket. From all accounts, even his personal diaries, it seems he held our cricket in high regard, and our country in even a higher plane.

There can be no greater honor for Sri Lankan cricket.

Many Happy returns of the day Sir Donald, where ever you may be.

Sources

Brightly Fades the Don, by Jack Fingleton, Sydney, 1949.

Farewell to Cricket, by Don Bradman, London, 1950

The Invincibles, by Peter Allen, Sydney, ABC, 2001.

Sir Donald Bradman: a Biography, by Irving Rosenwater, London, 1978.

Bradman, by Charles Williams, London, 1996.
www.cricinfo.com

Special Thanks to;
Chris Read
Anthony Duffield

Note: I have a few more excerpts from some books on the 1948 game. If interested let me know in the comments section

Ambul Thiyal-Anga plays for the A team....

2008-08-25T19:38:00.000+08:00

My name is Ambul Thiyal-Anga. As you would have guessed by now I'm a cricketer. More specifically an opener, by name, at times even by trade.

I have an extensive repertoire of strokes but only play few, that is how good I am. Lately though I have been handed the task of opening the batting for the A team. The selectors needed an experienced man to lead the charges and it was only natural the buck fell on the great Ambul.

Yes I was ready.

I briefly look at my reflection in the mirror prior to entering the field. The crowd outside I know are expectant. The self belief and confidence staring back at me through the mirror astounds even me. An echo of applause can be heard outside, gathering momentum.

I tell my self- I'm stronger, faster, well drilled like a finely tuned machine. All clock work like a fresh off the mill Swiss chronometer. Ambul Thiyal-Anga is about to grace this match.

I walk to the crease, assured, not a hair, a inner glove out of place. The opposition players seem to marvel at the elegance I exhume even in the mere act of walking to the crease. I take guard and signals to the bowler that I am ready.

The carnage that followed is, as they say, history. I breezed past the 50..then the 100 and then 150 ..as I and everybody else knew I would. Here I was again I thought to my self. Every ounce of me working coherently to produce the perfection that was beyond any ones belief.

With effortless ease I caressed the ball to the fence.. needled it around corners for two and threes. The bowlers were tired and I was just getting started.

The medium pacer ran in..it was wide the outside off stump, I could tell the bowler knew this was going to be divinely sent to the boundary before he was through with his run up. My feet found the path of the ball, the bat followed through , it was almost in slow motion, I closed by eyes to feel the full satisfaction of the ball hitting the middle of the bat yet again.

But then the ball landed, a puff of dust. It moved away ever so slightly, I had miscalculated. The bowler could not believe I had edged it, neither could the keeper. Bewildered, they stood there in silence for a minute, before a polite enquiry from the umpire. The finger slowly came up.

I am out.

I look directly at the umpire, who seems almost apologetic. I stare him down, then the bowler. I cast my bat under my arm and walk towards the umpire with the same assuredness I had when I walked in. “Are you sure you want to do this ?” I ask. The umpire cannot hold my gaze.

I stand there, bat in hand. Pin drop silence all around. I move back into my stance. Practice the perfect sensual shot that was meant to have been played.

But that I did not.

Flintoff v Kallis

2008-08-22T13:13:00.001+08:00

Freddie Flintoff launches a brutal assault on Kallis..watch what happens !

Sri Lankan cricket in the orient....

2008-08-19T14:24:00.000+08:00

The 1^st week of April in 1996 holds a memorable place in all Sri Lankans hearts(or at least it should!) It was indeed an unforgettable week.

As Sri Lankans we were all still basking in the glory of being tagged “World Champions”, and for any Australians reading this, you’d probably have been cursing and wondering how the tiny island nation that you’d bullied just a few months earlier in your backyard dared to dream and toppled the might of the best team in the world.

So if you were a Sri Lankan, life was good.

It was about to get better.

The now world renowned Sanath Jayasuriya stepped on to the field at the Padang in Singapore to launch an attack on Pakistan that is still the reason for a few Pakistani bowlers to wake up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat.

While the pundits were still trying to decompose whether what Jayasuriya did that week was even mathematically possible, a few unknown records in it self passed un noticed. Well at least until now.

Singapore, became the 12th country to host an ODI. They remain as the only country to host an ODI but never participated in an ODI. The Padang ground, incidentally is 110th ground, while Singapore is the 101st city to host an ODI.

The Padang ground it self holds special significance to us Sri Lankans.

When the first few adventurous Ceylonese left the island for the orient around the 1860s one of their destinations was Malaya, of which Singapore was a part of at the time. Singapore, which was founded by Sir Stanford Raffles in 1819, offered a vast array of opportunities for these immigrants from all over asia.

T. M. Turnbull records in his book, 'History of Singapore, 1819 - 1975', "Singapore's rapidly expanding economy attracted ever-increasing immigrants. At the end of the 19th Century, there were 185,000 people. Three-quarters were Chinese, while the rest comprised Malays, Sumatrans, Javanese, Bugis, Ceylonese, Arabs, Eurasians and Europeans".

If you are wondering what the cricketing relation to all this is- be patient.

These early Ceylonese held esteemed position in Singapore, as doctors, teaches and various other posts and would often get together to discuss the Sri Lankan way of life.

Cricket was usually a topic of great importance.

According to a foreword to the Early History of Sport Among Ceylonese Residents in Singapore, "Up to 1915, sport among Ceylonese youth seems to have been confined to students in the College of Medicine. In that year a more organised team began to take shape under the leadership of Dr. K. Kiramathypathy (Dr. K. K. Pathy). Soccer and cricket were the chief games indulged in, although there seems to have been a greater bias for cricket."

The need for an official union was identified by many prominent Ceylonese and around the early 1920s the first Lanka Union was born. This is when the Padang and the Singapore Cricket Club played a pivotal role.

It offered its facilities for practice and matches for the Sri Lankans who did not at the time have their own ground. Ceylonese cricket thrived.

Dr. Pathy wrote

'In the early stages games had to be played on outside grounds as we did not have a ground of our own, until late 1922..."
'In this connection we should be failing in our duty if we did not record the great assistance given to us by the Padang Clubs of Singapore, the Singapore Recreation Club, and the Singapore Cricket Club in granting its facilities for practice and for matches, and for the great hospitality they showed us at all times. "

The Padang ground it self brings to mind a game of cricket played on a green on a lazy Sunday afternoon in England. Its surrounded by historic British monuments. It seems to have been plucked out of village green in the British Isles and placed in the center of one of the most modern metropolis’s in the world.

When you pass by the ground it reminds me of a time when cricket was simpler.

More laid back.

The way cricket should be.

An indulgence played with your mates, more for the love of the game rather than the accolades and money and the stardom. The pictures attached here do not do justice to this history patch of green that has undoubtedly shaped the lore of Sri Lankan cricket in the orient.

Greatest ODI XI (as voted by you )

2008-08-17T16:15:00.001+08:00

Back at headquarters we had a debate on who would make up the greatest ODI XI. Since we couldn't come to a conclusion we decided the best way would be to drop everything and go for a vote.
So we are tying to pick the greatest ODI team based on the fans out there.
Here is your chance to participate and get your views in. Simply vote on the poll on the left !

The idea being we will pick the two best openers based on your comments and then the No3 batsmen , No4 and so forth ending up with the bowlers.

Each poll will be run for a week.

So stop that boring thing you're doing. Tell your wives and kids to bugger off and get voting !!

Ps- If you wish to vote for any player outside this poll. Too bad.
Actually just leave it in the comments section and we will take it into account when picking the team :)

Ambul Thiyal-Anga makes his comeback....

2008-08-16T01:49:00.001+08:00

My name is Ambul Thiyal-Anga. As you would have guessed by now I'm a cricketer. More specifically an opener, by name, at times even by trade.

I have an extensive repertoire of strokes but only play few, that is how good I am. Or how good I was. You see, I hit a rough patch a while ago.

My confidence had eluded me. But no more.
My timing was amiss. But No more
Nay, no more.

Ambul Thiyal-Anga was called into action, as he so often is, against the might of the Indians recently. It was my chance to prove to the world the legend of Ambul was not faded but spreading wider. To prove that to the ones that gave up on me that I'm stronger, faster, well drilled like a finely tuned machine. All clock work like a fresh off the mill Swiss chronometer.

Yes I was ready.
I walked to the middle to face the new ball, fearless as I had done before. But this time It would be different. This time, it would be all my way. The daunting chase ahead of me did not make me nervous. Rather it made me acutely aware that this was where Ambul Thiyal-Anga was meant to be at this moment. This is the moment that Ambul would re capture his lost throne.

A brisk few boundaries boosted my already brimming confidence. I was set. Today would be my day. I reach a half century. The crowd goes wild in the stands. I acknowledge them briefly. Knowing that I would soon be gaining more adulation's when I reach the milestone I am destined for today. Even the opposition sense it. They are not dealing with a mere mortal. I can see it in their eyes. The fear. The loathing. The hint of jealousy. I'm not perturbed.

The bowler runs in. I already know his plan. I'm two steps ahead of him. He is unaware. My foot moves into position with a serenity that amazes even me. The bat flows through. My muscles searching , aching, for the perfect moment to make contact, but at that most glorious moment I'm distracted, by someone in the crowd perhaps.
It is over. I have edged it and the brutish keeper has snuffled up the chance. For a moment , disbelief. From bowler, keeper and even umpire.

I am out.

I stand there, bat in hand. Pin drop silence all around. I move back into my stance. Practice the perfect sensual shot that was meant to have been played.

But that I did not.

The Coconut Smash- an introduction

2008-08-16T00:43:00.000+08:00

Keeping in line with Suave's hulk smash phenomenon , flyslips come up with its own brand of Island rage... Introducing

The Coconut Smash.

What?
The coconut smash will be used on the dire , nit wit, absolutely moronic Sri Lankan performers. It will executed, clinically, by smashing a ripe King Coconut over the offending baboon.

Why a Coconut?
Ahh.. the inevitable question..but what you really want to be asking is..why not a coconut ?
(But I think it has to do with us coming from an Island or something..)

When?
Id think this is self explanatory. When ever one of you fuck up. Ima fuck you up.

Let the coconut smashing Begin.

Can you spot Upul Tharanga under the pile of coco's ?

Any Ideas on who will cop the first coco smash ?