Sri Lanka's world cup campaign kicks off tomorrow, and hopefully we can trash the Meese (yes I know that the plural is moose... sue me for having fun with a foreign language). But this World Cup is so... I dunno... I'm not not-excited, it's just I think there was so much more hype and awareness last time around (or maybe it was just me). I mean, even Chinaman has a chapter about that legendary (at least for us Lankans) final. I vividly remember putting a mat down on the floor and settling down to watch the match that night, watching our batsmen fight the losing battle with rain and what not, and then finally the broadcast being interrupted to say that some bloody mosquito planes were attacking Colombo.
How come nobody even mentions that we were the runners up last time? (or maybe that's just me, too)
But anyway, the author of the aforementioned Chinaman, Shehan Karunatilaka, has a very interesting take on the World Cup:
One-Day vs T20Anyway, 'nuff Crickeh, let's talk about birds, and not the wingless type. There's a bloody bird in my backyard and he's eating all our squirrels. -____- Dunno what it is but I managed to snap some pictures:
Is One-Day cricket still relevant? The purists have test matches, which have seen a renaissance, post-Ashes and post India-South Africa. The non-fans have 20/20, which packages the highlights and passes them off as entertainment. Do we still have the inclination to sit through half a day of a format that is neither here nor there?
The answer is, without a doubt. The One-day game is less of a lottery and allows enough room for drama and for fortunes to switch sides. There’s enough time for an innings to be built, for an absorbing spell of bowling and for spectators to pace their drinking over the course of an evening.
Well, that's all I've got for tonight, folks. MUST.GO.SLEEP.BYE.
Your bird is a male Shikra Accipiter badius. The common Sinhala name is Kurulu-goya.
ReplyDeleteThe generic name, Accipiter, is derived from accipere, which means "to grasp."
Its original meaning was "to understand."
Its female is browner on the upperparts, and I think the species had been named considering the female because "badius" means chestnut/brown-coloured. Not because it is a bad bird!
BTW, 'Goya' is a generic name for larger birds, and is not exclusive for raptors. So, Bata-goya is used to refer to Green Pigeons in general, which is non-raptorial, as you know.
Chavie, have you turned a birder?
Yep every one talks about the 96 win and not a word about 2007 performance. We met too good an Aussie side in 2007.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting bird and Gallicissa has come with a super description.
Amila - Thank you, that was an awesome and detailed description. :D Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnd well, after reading all your posts I look around with much more awareness now. ;) It's only rarely that I would have a camera with me though. The highlight of my bird sightings in the past few months would definitely be seeing a 'Sudu redi hora' in Kadugannawa last December. It was a beautiful bird. :D
Kirigalpoththa - Yep, 2007 was unfortunate. So many things went wrong for us in that game, and it was definitely a deserving win for Australia.
Yeah, it is a pretty interesting bird. Have seen him hanging around on top of antennas and stuff, but this was the first time he came down so I could take a clear shot. :D
Thanks for the comments, guys! :)