So Near…

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Sri Lanka and Afghanistan teams walking into the ground for the national anthems prior to their match in the 2015 Cricket World Cup

Ranjan Mellawa believes that injury prevention and management, along with the quality of bench strength would be critical success factors at the next World Cup.

Mahela Jayawardena’s masterpiece (103*) gave Sri Lanka a commanding total of 274 for 6 in the 2011 World Cup final. Never before had a Jayawardena century led to a losing cause for Sri Lanka.

The 275 target looked imposing for India. No team batting second had scored more than 250 runs under lights at Wankhede Stadium. Sri Lanka’s varied bowling attack seemed geared to defend the highest run chase in a World Cup final.

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Mind Over Matter

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Ranjan Mellawa anticipates most teams to be on par at the next World Cup

In the group stage at the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Sri Lanka scored an imposing 268 after a magnificent 124 (129 balls) by Marvan Atapattu, solidly supported by Aravinda de Silva’s 73 (78).

Having lost their sixth wicket at 212, South Africa needed 57 off 45. With rain falling steadily, it was all but certain that the method used to decide weather affected matches – Duckworth Lewis, would come into play at any moment. At the end of the 44th over with the score at 216, the South African dressing room relayed a message to Mark Boucher in the middle – a win needed 229 by end of the 45th, assuming no further wickets fell.

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Honoured to be Recognised on Home Turf

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“Winds Behind The Willows” was shortlisted for an award at the prestigious State Literary Awards 2018, Sri Lanka

The State Literary Awards 2018 was held on 11th September with the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena, to honour those Sri Lankans who enriched literature in all three languages in 2017. First held in 1957, this year marks the 61st anniversary of this prestigious event, a fact not equalled anywhere globally.

Over 2,000 submissions of creative, academic and research work published in 2017, in Sinhala, Tamil and English were vying for recognition.

An interwoven tapestry of cricket fandom, “Winds Behind The Willows” was honoured by being among the three books shortlisted for the award in its designated category.

This year’s awards ceremony was organised by the State Literary Advisory Board, Arts Council of Sri Lanka, Cultural Affairs Department, and Higher Education and Cultural Affairs Ministry.

When Gilchrist Squashed Sri Lanka

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Adam Gilchrist waves to show a squash ball in his left glove at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Final

After scoring his century, Adam Gilchrist waves to show a squash ball in his left glove at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Final, Australia v Sri Lanka at Kensington Oval, Barbados 28th April 2007. (© Getty Images)

When the euphoria of 17 March 1996 sank in, most of us believed that Sri Lanka’s crack at a future World Cup Final was a pipe dream. But less than a decade hence, amidst administrative chaos and limited resources, Sri Lankans proved otherwise by illuminating the 2007 World Cup with unorthodoxy and skill.

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A Cricket Tragic’s Magnum Opus – An Incidental History of the Sport in Sri Lanka

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Winds Behind the Willow review at cricketweb.net

Books about Sri Lankan cricket are rare, and any addition to the small number there are is to be welcomed. It is remarkable, for example, that no proper history of the game has been written for a country where cricket has been played since at least 1805, when a match at a British garrison is recorded as having taken place. Contrast that with New Zealand and South Africa, two countries where the game is not recorded until after that date, but both of which are well served by histories.

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Can Sri Lanka rise from the ashes?

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Ranjan Mellawa believes that Sri Lanka can rise from the ashes

The year in which Sri Lanka was reeling from bomb blasts and bloody battles was also a watershed in the history of the island’s sporting career. An improbable Cricket World Cup victory in 1996 was an unlikely balm for all Sri Lanka’s wounds – and fittingly, the islanders celebrated together.

Paradoxically, the rise to the top in the cricketing field triggered an avalanche of politicos, businessmen, and sundry others in committee rooms who began competing for honorary positions to administer the game on behalf of the nation.

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Passion and First-hand Knowledge

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Review of Winds Behind the Willows at goodreads

First things first, I am an oddball, an Indian but dyed in the wool Sri Lanka cricket fan since I started watching cricket (1996 WC). Of late that has led to significantly more heartburn and heartbreak than I would like.

The last book on SL cricket that I had read was a brilliant work of fiction, The Chinaman, I was very keen on a non-fiction now especially from a SL fan’s perspective. As an Indian who has spent his life in India and the US with very few SL friends and fans this was a much awaited moment to connect with the brothers (and sisters) from another cricketing mother.

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Passion Out In The Field

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Passion out in the field, a review of Winds Behind the Willows by Sachitra MahendraThose mini teams that alternated between batting out in the field used to be common sight. But now that scene is slowly shifting into oblivion thanks to the palm-held devices and a busier generation. And like everything else, cricket is also losing its grip in a country where it meant everything to its nation.

Winds Behind The Willows - A Sri Lankan's life in love with cricke

But the scribes have not given up their passions on cricket. Shehan Karunatilaka penned a voluminous novel based on a cricket legend and bagged quite a few awards. The fresh addition to the field is Ranjan Mellawa who is a Business Consultant.

A passionate – or even obsessively, you can safely assert - follower of cricket, Ranjan has been witness to almost all the key moments of the Sri Lankan edition of the game. Next to Australia’s eight, Sri Lanka had featured in six cricket World Cup finals so far, in ODI’s and 20/20 competitions. Ranjan was the lucky audience to all six finals. This, any cricket fan would covet in a lifetime. Plus, he has held the secretary position of a Sri Lankan cricket club of note.

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An ‘Oscar’ for Winds Behind The Willows

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Receiving the ‘SPORTS PUBLICATION & AUTHOR OF THE YEAR’ award from the Minister of Sports, Dayasiri Jayasekara at SILK Sports Awards 2017, Sri Lanka.

For the third consecutive year, the annual ‘SILK Sports Awards 2017’ organised by sportsinfo.lk, Sri Lanka’s premier sports promotion network, and sponsored by Sri Lanka Telecom was held on 28 November 2017 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, Sri Lanka. It is recognised as Sri Lanka’s first annual sports awards ceremony for sporting excellence and contribution, with the objective of appreciating those who contributed to sports in numerous ways in the past years, including the greats of the game and those unsung heroes behind the scenes.

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