In the thick of T20 season, in a time of strategic timeouts and blink-and-miss-it innings breaks, the languorous pace of Test cricket punctuated by leisurely tea breaks feels like a distant memory. We throw back to the days before nutrition bars and protein shakes, when tea was a full silver service onfield, when rickety trollies groaning under the weight of high-calorie cakes and sandwiches were rolled into dressing rooms.

Cricket is often spoken of as the most English of games, and American visitors in particular are usually amused – or amazed – by the average day at a match. “Cricket,” wrote Bill Bryson (a transplanted American who embraced most things British, but couldn’t quite cope with its summer game), “is the only sport that incorporates meal breaks,” adding that it is also “the only sport in which spectators burn as many calories as players (more if they are moderately restless)”. Yes, lunch and tea are ingrained into the fabric of a day’s play, although floodlit games do vary the timetable a bit.

Actually a day of Test cricket has a fine rhythm to it: two hours play, then a spot of lunch, two more hours of cricket before a cup of tea, followed by another couple of hours, or a little more if the over rate has been slow. The intervals break up the day nicely, and also build in a tension that isn’t there in a one-day game, with its one between-innings break (dinner? supper?).

Two batsmen could be well set in a Test… but now there’s only ten minutes to lunch, and you don’t want to lose a wicket then. And after the interval the batsmen have to come out again, shake off the effects of whatever they’ve consumed, and play themselves in once more. Less than two hours later and tea is looming: well, that’s a bad time to lose a wicket too, so better dig in again.

It’s actually rather surprising to discover that stopping for tea during the cricket isn’t an English invention at all – the interval was imported from Australia. Going off for a cuppa became standard Down Under in the Tests of 1881-82, but it didn’t really catch on in England for some time. Maybe escaping the midsummer sun was more of a priority in Melbourne than Manchester.

Joe Darling, Australia’s flinty captain, suggested a tea-break when he led the 1899 team to England, and it was taken up after a fashion – refreshments were brought out to the players on the field. In 1902 the same system applied, and it wasn’t till 1905, with Darling still in charge, that the players officially left the field. The tradition of taking tea on the field didn’t die out completely for some time – charming photos remain of later Gentlemen v Players matches at Scarborough in which the cricketers are being served tea by waitresses who look like “Nippies” from J Lyons & Co. Most of the pictures also feature the players taking the chance to have a not-so-crafty fag, which seems incredible to modern eyes (except perhaps Phil Tufnell’s).

These days the tea interval is enshrined in the longer versions of the game, and a common grumble is that it’s not long enough: if an over started before the scheduled time to stop, the break used to be reduced – sometimes the notional 20 minutes shrank to 15 or so. The Cricketers’ Who’s Who, one of county cricket’s standard reference books, always asked the players featured for a suggestion to improve the game – and for years the idea most frequently aired was not fewer overseas players or better pitches, but “extend the tea interval”. Everyone does get their full 20 minutes now, after the umpires finally grumbled, but there’s no sign of any extension beyond that for the tea break.

When I worked at Lord’s, in the 1980s, the tea itself – a fine array of well-filled sandwiches and stodgy cakes – was produced at the top of the pavilion by Nancy, the famously volatile Irish cook, and conveyed to the dressing rooms on the floor below on a couple of rickety old wooden trolleys that may have come as a job lot when the pavilion itself was completed in 1890. The home team’s trolley was pushed along the corridor, sandwich plates and antique tea urn jangling, by the genial old dressing-room attendant Roy Harrington, who also seemed to date from the building of the place, or possibly before. He was the only person in the pavilion who had his name on his office door: rumour had it that he was once offered a £50 annual pay rise (not an insignificant sum at the time) or the brass plaque… and he chose the name.

Quite what Roy’s wife thought about that was lost in the mists of time – but Jackie Harrington may have got her revenge a few years later, when she took charge of the dressing rooms on the historic day in 1976 when the women of England and Australia played there for the first time in a one-day international. Roy, who had been rather looking forward to arranging baths for the ladies, was disappointed to be sent home for the day.

Roy’s little office, though, was quite a treasure trove: I once asked if he had anything to whiten pads, as mine were looking a bit lived-in. From the depths of a cupboard he produced a little box, containing an ancient bottle of “Gleamo”, or some similar name. The weathered cardboard still carried the price tag – two and a half old pence, or tuppence-ha’penny (about 1p). It worked, though. And a colleague asked about a pair of heavy flannel trousers that were another feature of the cupboard: “Oh, you can’t have those,” said Roy, “they’re FG Mann’s. He might need them.” Now George Mann had captained England, but he hadn’t played for Middlesex since 1954, about 30 years previously. Still, we left them there just in case.

I remember, as a rather impoverished junior clerk, sometimes lying in wait for the tea trolley to be wheeled back to the bottom of the stairs, and pouncing on any uneaten sandwiches and cakes before one of Nancy’s minions came down to collect them. Your timing had to be spot-on, but there were sometimes rich pickings to be had, especially when Mike Gatting was away playing for England.

Memories of cheese and pickle suffusing my thoughts, I asked with some trepidation whether the same system is in use at Lord’s nowadays. I rather feared that nutrition bars and power drinks would have replaced the trolley and the trusty old tea urn, but was reassured to discover that sandwiches were still served, although “fruit platters” are also popular, and calorie-packed cakes seem to be a thing of the past. There’s a toaster and a sandwich-maker in the dressing room now too, which Roy would have disapproved of. The trolleys have finally gone, though: Roy’s more youthful successors carry the plates around themselves without wheeled assistance.

(Cricinfo)

(by Steven Lynch,  the editor of the Wisden Guide to International Cricket 2013)

by Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne,
President’s Counsel

Two national elections will be held within the next twelve months or so. In terms of Article 31(3) of the Constitution, the Presidential election has to be held between 19 September and 19 October 2024, being a date not less than one month and not more than two months before the expiry of the current President’s term of office, which is 19 November 2024. Whoever becomes President will surely dissolve Parliament soon, hoping to get a comfortable majority there.

Going by the present, a Presidential election will likely be a contest between the SJB’s Sajith Premadasa and the NPP’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake, but then there are the vagaries of politics. President Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to be banking on SLPP support and has strong support from members of his Cabinet. But there is a group in the SLPP, Namal Rajapakse included, that thinks that Wickremesinghe has little chance of winning and that it would be wise to contest the Presidential election on their own and retain the SLPP’s electoral base.

Given the current fractured nature of the Sri Lankan electorate, the votes of the numerically smaller communities will be crucial in the Presidential election. Although devolution is an issue of concern mainly to the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Muslims of the Eastern Province, there is considerable support for devolution among Muslims in the rest of the country and the Hill Country Tamils who have had representation in Provincial Councils and Provincial Boards of Ministers. A sizeable Sinhala population believes power-sharing to be essential to a constitutional settlement of the national issue.

They also consider devolution of power to strengthen democracy by bringing the government closer to the people and as a necessary tool for balanced development, enabling people in the periphery, not just in the North and East but in the whole country, to decide on issues directly concerning them. This is according to the principle of subsidiarity; that is, whatever could be more efficiently handled by the lowest tier should be vested in such tier.

A demand that has gained attention is for local government to be recognised by the Constitution as the third tier of government. Local authorities should be further enabled and given resources to initiate and implement development through their own development programmes. Empowering the people at the village level is essential, and to this end, elected Grama or Jana Sabhas should be set up to facilitate their active engagement in the affairs of the community and afford them an active role in local self-government.

Local authorities must be legally required to consult Grama/Jana Sabhas in policymaking and planning relevant to the locality. One of the key elements of the rich democratic political discourse that took place during the Aragalaya was democratisation.

Not surprisingly, parties of the South are reluctant to flag devolution as a vital election issue. President Wickremesinghe has been talking about the full implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment (13A), but no action whatsoever has been taken, much to the disappointment of Tamils, especially the Tamil MPs who voted to make him President, some openly and others discreetly.

Sajith Premadasa told a meeting of Buddhist monks in Galle last August that he was for fully implementing 13A within a unitary state. Premadasa received the highest percentage of Tamil votes after Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in a Presidential election. Since then, there has been radicalisation among the Tamils, as shown by Sridharan’s win over the moderate Sumanthiran at the ITAK sessions, a change that SJB leaders seem oblivious to.

Not many speakers on the SJB platform speak about devolution. There is no unanimity within the NPP on the national question, as shown by JVP leaders rushing to counter Harini Amarasuriya’s statement that the NPP would support fully implementing 13A. Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s statement in the North that he would offer neither federalism nor 13 Plus but a multi-racial government and equality between all communities disappointed not only Tamils but pro-devolution supporters of the NPP. He is reported to have said in Canada that while the NPP did not believe in Provincial Councils as a solution to the ethnic issue, it would not move to abolish Provincial Councils if the Tamils considered devolution as a solution. This is not much different from what some other parties of the South stand for.

No party or leader having a chance of winning a national election has publicly said they would abolish Provincial Councils, although some surely wish they could, notwithstanding the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. It is one thing to accept the reality that Provincial Councils have come to stay but quite another to honestly believe that a solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic crisis lies in all communities sharing state power. Meaningful devolution, both as a solution to the ethnic crisis and a necessary tool for developing the periphery, can be realised only if there is an honest commitment towards it. That is what the numerically smaller communities and pro-devolution voters wish parties and leaders to commit to in the coming elections.

The Island reported on its front page on Friday April 19 that eight young persons trafficked and held captive in a remote area in Myanmar to perform forced cybercrimes had been rescued. Lankan Embassy officials in Bangkok had received the eight escapees on the border of Thailand with Myanmar. Cass picked on this phrase in the news item: “… their repatriation was arranged with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration.”

   Cassandra’s attention focused on this statement since she had been considering how belated the rescue of the victims were, and so she wondered whether this Organisation had to catalyse our government and/or the SL Embassies in Thailand and Myanmar to be more proactive over this trafficking issue. These cheated young men and women were being tortured in the camp in Myanmar and this was reported by the MTV Channel First, weeks if not months ago.

The negotiations to get them out of the clutches of their cruel taskmasters took so very long. Some are still held within their control. Was our government and its embassy in Yangon too slow, too indifferent, not emphatic enough to save these hapless youth?

What are ambassadors and embassy staff overseas for if not for helping as soon and as effectively as possible citizens of their country when in trouble in the country they are posted to? These captives in illegal cyber camps – Sri Lankan young men and women – were in real bad trouble. It took months, Cass believes, to get the first of them to safety after they had escaped. DPL negotiations don’t work? Then why maintain such embassies at considerable expense while the country is bankrupt? Are they functioning only to celebrate national holidays and kowtow to local politicians when they visit the foreign countries?

Celebrate young SL woman

Piyumi Wijesekera is among NASA’s four-member volunteer crew selected to participate in a “simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the Agency’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston. Her companions for the 45 day trial are Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro and Shareef Al Romaithi. They will step into the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog l or HERA, on May 10, to work and live like astronauts.

” They will exit the facility on June 24 – their simulated return to Earth. What major differences from ordinary life they will have to face and overcome; to me the severest being confinement in a small space and being cut off from family and friends. They are supposed to walk on Mars’ surface using virtual reality. This is the second group undergoing this vast experiment; the first having completed their mission on 18 March.

   Piyumi Wijesekera is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Radiation Biophysics Lab at NASA Ames Research Centre in California’s Silicon Valley. She earned her first degree in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego, and a doctorate degree in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Her doctoral research focused on stem cell and organ engineering. Her social activities listed in her bio reveals her to be a normal young woman, close knit with family and having fun with friends. What a massive challenge she willingly faces; so removed from her usual lifestyle.

Shareef Al Romaithi is from the UAE; Stephani from Ecuador and Lee is probably American – Cass internetted but failed to determine his nationality. Much publicity has been given these four volunteers both internationally and locally; Piyumi being featured in recent local newspapers too. Notwithstanding, Cass felt impelled to write about her – such a pride to this country of ours.

Singing duo

   Another feather in Sri Lanka’s national cap! Roshini Abbey and Nuwan Hugh Perera, billed as West End stars, sang their song Anagathaye in Sinhala at the Commonwealth Day Service on March 13 at Westminster Abbey, in the presence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Eastern beauty and manly handsomeness were what we celebrated plus their excellent rendering of the song. She was dressed in a green, patterned in black sari with black blouse and her waist length hair loose at her back. He was in a bordered black sarong, white shirt and a shawl thrown across his shoulders. They combined so well. I thanked the friend who sent me the video clip. Such a joyous change from what we hear and read about now with politics supreme.

In his address from the Great Pulpit, the King mentioned the fact that Queen Elizabeth laid special store on this organization of nations. He said: “Commonwealth Day was an occasion of particular pride for my beloved mother, the late Queen; a treasured opportunity to celebrate our Commonwealth family, to whose service she dedicated her long and remarkable life. The Commonwealth has been a constant in my own life, and yet its diversity continues to amaze and inspire me. Its near-boundless potential as a force for good in the world demands our highest ambition; its sheer scale challenges us to unite and be bold.”

That last holds so true for us Sri Lankans and our country. In Cass’ previous Cry she echoed a sensible activist who spoke about being Sri Lankan and making the most of the diversity of the racial and religious mix in our peoples. Will we ever be as we were before the cursed Sinhala Only stricture was thrust on us for personal power? We older ones tasted the joy of us being people of Ceylon, no matter our religion, facial structure, shades of brown and customs. Mutual respect was what the separate groups had for each other and as individuals, particularly us children then, we cared not a hoot if the other was of a different race or religion.

Consequently, we were a prosperous nation – soon after independence – second only to Japan in Asia and the envy of the Singaporean leader. Cass does not need to mention where we are now – thrown there by politicians and their greed for lucre and power, aided by slimy administrators either making their own fortunes and /or bowing and scraping to politicians.

Debates

   The much talked about verbal match between AKD and Sajith is finally scheduled for early May. Both debaters are eloquent and more significantly, well informed and intelligent. Cass pronounces them thus, at least in comparison to most in the August House. Hence it should prove to be an event. Furthermore, neither is given to going off the rails and descending to vituperation.

If perchance one or both do, it will turn out be a deliberate soliloquy on the part of AKD and a carefully elocuted, complex worded, non- yelling denigration of the other. Cass is sure these two will not allow their debate to go the way of all Parliamentary debates descending from pronouncement of a fact or two to verbal slanging, exchange of personal insults and then rushing to the centre of the chamber with ever ready sluggers to fisticuff until parliamentary measures are taken to restore decorum.

   Will the scheduled debate in Parliament on the 2019 Easter Sunday massacre turn out thus: just another shouting brawl? Cassandra, in her ignorance, asks whether yet another debate/report etc are needed on the senseless killing and maiming of hundreds in churches and hotels. So many have already been done. Then reading Wednesday April 24 The Island, she found the editorial asks just that question: “There is no need for the Easter Sunday terror attacks to be debated in Parliament.

What is needed is a thorough, credible investigation therin.” Earlier the editorial notes: “Above all, former President Maithripala Sirisena’s claim that he knows who masterminded the carnage must be probed and action taken against him if he has sought to mislead investigators.” That calls for the loudest three cheers from Cassandra. Perfectly spot on!