A preview of Sri Lanka’s chances at the World T20 Cup 2021 Come October and in the First Round of the World T20, Sri Lankans will lock horns with the Dutch, the Irish and Namibians in Group A. In Group B, the tussle would be between Bangladeshis, Scots, Papua New Guineans, and Omanis. The two […] The post Will The Lions’ Roar Count? appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

A battle-royal in skills, fitness, character and temperament Since the first official ball hit the deck one hundred and forty-four years ago, Test cricket continues to tease and tempt its followers worldwide, despite formidable challenges. The culmination of the historic first World Test Championship (WTC), an inventive measure (one wonders why it took so many […] The post The Ultimate Test appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

Will it be a tall order for England to qualify for the World Test Championship final? The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works of the ICC World Test Championship schedule and a few Test series have been already postponed this year. Nevertheless, England beat the West Indies 2-1 and Pakistan 1-0 in […] The post England Closing In On Australia appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

A few months after the 2015 World Cup, the MCC awarded the prestigious Honorary Life Membership of the club to the recently retired Mahela Jayawardena. Having captained Sri Lanka 183 times across all formats, he became the 15th Sri Lankan to be honoured, thus. Elated with a favourite cricketer of mine winning yet another accolade, […] The post Bart King – The only American Honorary Life Member of the MCC appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

The negotiation skills and political acumen of the late Gamini Dissanayake, back then a cabinet minister, helped achieve Sri Lanka’s much deserved and long-awaited quest for elevation to Full Member status of the ICC on 21 July 1981. Dissanayake wearing two hats, also as the president of the country’s cricket board, then made some crucial […] The post Sir Garfield Sobers – Sri Lanka’s First Foreign Coach appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

Pioneering efforts of the Third (TV) Umpire concept in cricket Indisputably, the third umpire (or TV Umpire) plays an essential role in modern-day cricket. The concept of an off-field umpire making line decisions ̶ runouts and stumpings, debuted in the 1992/93 Test series when South Africa faced India. Sachin Tendulkar, who has many firsts involving […] The post To Whom Should We Refer the Third Umpire? appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

An infant prodigy, so inspiring for aspiring cricketers to emulate In 1956, at the tender age of seventeen, Malcolm Francke walked into the Ceylon Cricket Association team for the then prestigious Gopalan Trophy clash against Tamil Nadu. Named after the legendary Madras all-rounder M. J. Gopalan and inaugurated in 1952/53, the annual encounter between the […] The post Malcolm Francke: An Unlucky Genius appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

New Zealand may now be contenders for the World Test Championship New Zealand’s cricketers bettered their much-vaunted rugby peers, the All-Blacks’ recent performances, by subduing India 2-0 to record their sixth consecutive series win at home. It was the first series whitewash suffered in eight years by the current ICC World Test Championship leaders and […] The post Mighty Indians Blanked By The Kiwis appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

India and Australia are almost sure to make the 2021 World Test Championship final In January, Australia sealed-off a perfect home summer with an emphatic win over New Zealand in the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Before their 3-0 victory over the visiting Kiwis, Australia also whitewashed Pakistan (2-0). These two series victories […] The post A Two Horse Race? appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more

The front runners to make the 2021 World Test Championship final Just three months into the World Test Championship, India now have more points than all other teams combined in the tournament. After beating the West Indies 2-0 away, India inflicted the worst series defeat for South Africa since their return to international cricket in […] The post India Steam Ahead appeared first on Ranjan Mellawa ..read more