#Andrew Fidel Fernando

[girlinaswing]

My Bookish World Tour- ASIA

12 done and 38 to go… YemenChinaSouth Korea JapanPhilippinesTajikistanUzbekistanKazakhstanKyrgyzstanNorth KoreaMalaysiaThailandMyanmarNepalBangladeshPakistanAfghanistanJordanCambodiaLaosVietnamTurkmenistanSri LankaIndonesiaBruneiArmeniaHong KongAzerbaijanBahrainCyprusEast TimorPalestineIranMaldivesTimor-LesteLebanonIraqSaudi ArabiaGeorgiaBhutanSingaporeIsraelKuwaitQatarOmanSyriaUnited Arab…

[ridikaislamsblog]

Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera fifties power SL to series win

SL vs WI

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3rd T20I (N), Dambulla, October 17, 2024, West Indies tour of Sri Lanka

WI

162/8

SL

(18/20 ov, T:163) 166/1

Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets (with 12 balls remaining)

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Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera fifties power SL to series win

West Indies had done well to recover from a poor start and make 162, but it wasn't nearly enough



Andrew Fidel Fernando

17-Oct-2024 • 16 hrs ago



Kusal Mendis raised a crucial fifty  •  Getty Images

Sri Lanka 166 for 1 (Kusal Mendis 68*, Kusal Perera 55*) beat West Indies 162 for 8 (Powell 37, Motie 32, Theekshana 2-19) by nine wickets

Pathum Nissanka sent Sri Lanka's chase screaming out of the blocks, before Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera put on a clinical and unbeaten 106-run stand for the second wicket. For a team that had never before beaten West Indies in a T20I series, this chase was almost too effortless to believe. Each of the top three produced sparkling innings, as the hosts galloped to the target of 163 with 12 balls remaining, in front of a packed Poya-day crowd in Dambulla.

West Indies had earlier done well to get to 162 themselves, though they largely have a late assault from Gudakesh Motie - who bludgeoned 32 off 15 - for getting to what was perhaps a higher-than-par score on a spin-friendly track.

Though Dunith Wellalage went for runs, Sri Lanka's remaining spinners kept a lid on the scoring. This too, was a key difference between the teams.

Kusal Mendis went on to register the game's highest score, with 68 not out off 50. Perera crashed 55 off 36. Nissanka had played the most aggressive innings, plundering 39 off 22.

The 2-1 result is a further sign of resurgence from Sri Lanka, in the format in which they have arguably struggled the most in the last two years. They have this year won five Test matches, and had in July beaten India in a bilateral ODI series as well. This win also sees new coach Sanath Jayasuriya's stock rise further.

Sri Lanka attack early

West Indies bolstered their spin atttack by bringing Fabian Allen into the side for this match, but Nissanka ensured Sri Lanka's batters established their dominance early. He cracked three fours off the first over, bowled by Allen, before launching seamer Alzrri Joseph for two sixes and a four next over - the runs coming all around the ground, though he did favour the square region on the offside. By the time Nissanka was bowled by a Motie slider after 5.2 overs, Sri Lanka had already sped to 60.

[cryptonews256]

Much ado about a dead ball -The moralising around the non-striker run out

Much ado about a dead ball -The moralising around the non-striker run out

Running the non-striker out while he or she is backing up – it’s in the laws, but is it a cheap dismissal or a wicket of skill? Andrew Fidel Fernando and Sidharth Monga join Karthik Iyer to discuss Rohit Sharma’s withdrawal of Mohammed Shami’s appeal to run out Dasun Shanaka on 98 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. Source link

[usasportsworld]

Much ado about a dead ball -The moralising around the non-striker run out

Much ado about a dead ball -The moralising around the non-striker run out

Running the non-striker out while he or she is backing up – it’s in the laws, but is it a cheap dismissal or a wicket of skill? Andrew Fidel Fernando and Sidharth Monga join Karthik Iyer to discuss Rohit Sharma’s withdrawal of Mohammed Shami’s appeal to run out Dasun Shanaka on 98 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. #ado #dead #ball #moralising #nonstriker #run

[magicandmaybe]

andrew fidel fernando is an amazing writer.

this is probably the most holistic article the bbc has put out regarding this issue.

[meret118]

Several other countries are only a weeks or months behind Sri Lanka in terms of energy collapse and famine.

[trans-and-baby-names]

Masculine Names

Aaron  Abdul Abe  Abel Abraham  Abram Ace Achilles  Adair Adam Adonis Adrian Adriel  Ahmed Ajax Ajay Aiden Alan Albert Alejandro Alex Alexander Alfonso Alfred Alistair Alister Allen  Alonzo Amadeo Amadeus Amani Amari Ambrose Amir Anders  Anderson Andre Andreas Andrew Andy Angel Angelo Angus Ansel  Anson Anthony Antonio Apollo Aries Archer Archie Aristotle Arlo  Arnaldo Arnold Arsenio Arthur Arturo Arwin Asa Asher Aslan Atlas  Atticus Aubrey August Augustin Augustine Augustus Aurelio Aurelius Austin Axel  Aziz

Balthazar  Bane Barnabas  Barnaby Barney Baron  Barrett Basil Bastian  Bear Beau Beck Ben Benjamin  Benji Bentley Bernard Bertram Bertrand  Blake Blaze Blue Bobby Bodhi Booker Boris  Boston Bowie Boyd Brad Bradford Bradley Bram  Bramwell Bran Brandon Brandt Braxton Braylen Brayden Brendon  Brent Brett Brian Briar Brick Bridge Bridger Brock Brody Brogan  Bronx Brook Brooks Bruce Bruno Brutus Bryce Bryson Buck Bud Buddha  Buddy Buck Burt Burton Buster Buzz Byron 

Cade  Caden Cain  Cairo Caius Calder  Caleb Callum Calvin Cam  Cameron Camillo Campbell Carl  Carlisle Carlito Carlo Carlos Carlton  Carmine Carson Carter Casper Caspian Cassian  Cassias Cato Cecil Cedar Cedric Cesar Chad Chadwick  Chance Charles Charlton Chase Chauncey Chester Chidi Chip  Christoff Christoph Christopher Christian Chuck Cian Cillian  Clarence Clark Claud Clay Clayton Cliff Clifford Clint Clinton  Clyde Coby Cody Colby Cole Collin Colt Colton Conan Connor Conrad  Constantine Cooper Copper Corbin Cornelius Cory Cosmo Cosmos Costas Craig Crispin Cruz Curt Curtis Cyrus

Dale  Dallas  Dalton Damien  Damon Dan Dane Daniel  Dante Darius Darrel Darren  Dash Dashiell Davey David Dawson  Dax Daxton Deacon Dean DeAndre Declan  Demetrius Denali Dennis Denny Denzel Derek  Derrick Des Desmond Dewey Dex Dexter Diego Diesel  Dion Dirk Dixon Dmitri Dominic Donatello Donovan Dorian  Doug Douglas Draco Drew Duke Duncan Dustin Dusty Dwayne Dwight  Dylan Dyson 

Earl  Easton  Edgar Edmund  Eduardo Edward Edwin  Egon Eli Elijah Elias  Elliott Ellis Elroy Elton  Emanuel Emeric Emerson Emery  Emil Emiliano Emmett Emrys Enrique  Enzo Eric Ernest Ernesto Ernie Esteban  Ethan Eugene Eustace Euvan Evan Evander Everett  Ezekiel Ezra 

Fabian  Fabio Falcon  Faustus Felix Ferdinand  Fergus Ferguson Fernando Fidel  Fido Finbar Findlay Finn Finnley  Fionn Fisher Fitz Fletcher Flint Florence  Florian Ford Forrest Fort Foster Fowler Fox  Francesco Francis Francisco Franco Frank Frankie  Franklin Fred Freddy Fredrick Frederico

Gabe  Gabriel  Gael Gage  Gale Galen Garfield Garrett Gaston Gatsby  Gavin Geoffrey Geordie George  Gerald Gerard Gideon Gil Gilbert  Gilberto Giovanni Glenn Gordon Gordy  Grady Graham Grant Gray Grayson Gregg  Gregory Grey Griffin Griffith Grover Gunner  Gunther Gus Gustavo Guy 

Hades  Hal Hamilton  Hank Hans Harley Harrison  Harry Hawk Hayden Hayes Heath Hector  Henrik Hendrix Henry Herb Herbert Herbie  Hercules Hermes Hershel Hiram Holden Howard  Howie Hudson Hugo Humphrey Hunter Hux Huxley 

Ian Igor Iker Irvin Isaac Isaiah Ivan 

Jace  Jack Jackson  Jacob Jaques Jaden  Jake Jalen Jamal James  Jameson Jared Jason Jax  Jay Jed Jedidiah Jefferson  Jeffrey Jeremiah Jeremy Jerome  Jerry Jesus Jethro Jett Jim Jimmy  Joe Joel Johan Johannes John Johnny Jonah  Jonas Jonathan Jones Jordan Jose Joseph Joshua  Josiah Juan Juanito Judah Judas Judd Jude Jules Julian  Julien Julio Julius Junior Jupiter Jurgen Justice Justin Justus 

Kaden  Kai Kaiser  Kale Kaleb Kane  Keane Keanu Keaton  Keegan Keenan Keith  Kellen Kenan Kendrick  Kenneth Kenzo Keoni Kevin Khalid  Kian Kieran Kiernan Kingsley Kingston Killian  Kip Kwan Kyle

Lachlan  Lake Lamar  Lance Lancelot  Landon Lane Larkin  Larry Lars Laurence Laurent  Lawrence Lawson Lazlo Legend Leif  Leith Leland Leo Leon Leonardo Leopold  Leroy Levi Liam Lincoln Linden Logan Loki  London Lonnie Lonny Lorcan Lorenzo Lou Louie  Louis Luc Luca Lucas Lucian Lucky Luke Lupe Luther

Maddox  Maksim Malachi  Malachy Malakai Malcolm  Malik Manfred Manny Marcel Marcello  Marcellus Marcio Marcius Marco Marcos  Marcus Marian Marino Mario Marius Mark  Marlin Marlon Marmaduke Marques Mars Marshall  Martin Marty Marvel Marvin Massimo Mason Matt Matteo  Matthew Maurice Maverick Max Maximilian Maximus Maxwell  Melvin Mercury Meredith Merritt Micah Michael Miguel Miles  Milo Mitchell Moe Monte Montgomery Murdoch Murphy Murray Murtagh  Murtaugh Myles

Nathan  Nathaniel  Ned Nelson  Nemo Neo Neon  Neptune Neville  Newt Newton Nick  Nicky Nicola Nicolai  Nicholas Niko Noah Noel Nolan  Norm Norman Novak 

Obadiah  Octavio Octavius  Odin Olaf Oleg Oliver  Olivier Omar Orion Orlando  Orville Osborn Oscar Oso Osvaldo  Oswald Ottis Otto Owen Oz Ozzy

Pablo  Palmer Panther  Parker Pascal Patrick Paul  Paxton Pedro Penn Percival Percy Perseus  Peter Peyton Phil Philip Phineas Phoenix Pier  Pierce Pierre Pilot Pluto Porter Poseidon Preston  Prince Prosper

Qadir  Quincy Quinn  Quinton 

Raiden  Ralph Ramone  Ramses Randall Randolph  Randy Raphael Ravi Ray Raymond Red  Reece Reggie Reginald Regis Reid Remington  Reuben Rex Reynald Reynaldo Reynard Rhett Rhys  Ricardo Richard Richie Richmond Rick Ricky Rico Ridge  Riley Rio Riordan River Robert Roberto Robbie Rocco Rocky  Rodney Rodrigo Roger Ricky Riley Rod Rodrick Roger Roland  Roman Romeo Ross Rowan Rudy Rufus Russell Ryder Ryker Rylan Ryland 

Salem  Salvador  Salvator Sam  Samir Sampson Samson  Samuel Sander Sandford Sanjay  Santiago Saul Sawyer Scott Sean Sebastian  Septimus Serge Sergio Seth Seus Seymour Shane  Shawn Shayne Sheldon Shepherd Sherlock Sherman Shin Sidney  Sigmund Silas Silver Silvester Simon Sinclair Sinjin Sirius  Slade Slate Sol Solomon Sonny Sparrow Spartacus Spencer Spike  Soren Stan Stanford Stanley Steele Stephen Steven Stevie Stone Sven Summit  Sullivan Sully Sylvester

Tad  Tag Talon  Tanner Tate  Ted Teddy Teo Teodor  Teodoro Terence Terrell  Terry Tex Thad Thaddeus Thane  Thatcher Theo Theoden Theodore Thomas  Thor Thorn Tiberius Tiger Tito Titus Timothy  Titus Tobias Toby Tommy Tony Topher Trace Travis  Trent Trenton Trev Trevor Trey Tristan Troy Truman Tucker  Tudor Tullio Tullius Tully Tycho Tyler Tyrell Tyrese Tyrone  Tyson

Uberto  Ulric Ulrich  Ulysses Uriah Urban Urijah  Uriel

Van  Vance  Vaugn Victor  Vince Vincenco Vincent  Vinny Virgil Vlad Vladimir 

Wade  Walden  Waldo Walker  Wallace Wally Walt  Walter Warner Warren  Watson Waylon Wayne Wendall  Wesley Westley Weston Wilbert  Wilbur Wilder Wiley Wilfred Will William  Winston Wolf Wolfe Wolfgang Woodrow Wyatt 

Xander  Xavier Xavion  Xenon

Yael  Yahir York Yosef  Yousef Yusef

Zac  Zach Zachariah  Zacharias Zachary Zack  Zander Zane Zayden Zeke  Zeus Ziggy Zion Zoltan

[stainedglassgardens]

Favourite films watched in 2019

I arranged them into broad categories – other than that they’re in no particular order. 

Indie

Skate Kitchen (Crystal Moselle, 2018) 6 Balloons (Marja-Lewis Ryan, 2018) The Party’s Just Beginning (Karen Gillan, 2018) Thirteen (Catherine Hardwicke, 2003) Baise-moi (Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi, 2000) Vazante (Daniela Thomas, 2017) Erasing Eden (Beth Dewey, 2016) The Seen and the Unseen (Sekala Niskala, Kamila Andini, 2017) Knock Down Ginger (Cleo Samoles-Little, 2016) The Garden (Sommerhaüser, Sonja Maria Kröner, 2017) Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak, Mouly Surya, 2017) Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009) Soldiers. Story From Ferentari (Soldații. Poveste din Ferentari, Ivana Mladenović, 2017)

Comedy

Dick (Andrew Fleming, 1999) The Breaker Upperers (Madeleine Sami and Jackie Van Beek, 2018) It Stains the Sands Red (Colin Minihan, 2016) Satanic Panic (Chelsea Stardust, 2019)

Classics

Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970) House of Wax (Andre DeToth, 1953) Eve's Bayou (Kasi Lemmons, 1997) Germany Pale Mother (Deutschland bleiche Mutter, Helma Sanders-Brahms, 1980)

Horror

April and the Devil (Jake Hammond, 2018) Blackwood (Andrew Montague, 2019) The Crescent (Seth A Smith, 2017) Us (Jordan Peele, 2019) American Mary (Jen and Sylvia Soska, 2012) Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019) Black Christmas (Bob Clark, 1974) The Devil's Passenger (Dave Bundtzen, 2018)

Science fiction

Born in Flames (Lizzie Borden, 1983) Evolution (Lucile Hadžihalilović, 2015) In Full Bloom (Maegan Houang, 2019)

Action

Destroyer (Karyn Kusama, 2018) Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell, 2018) Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000) Holiday (Isabella Eklöf, 2018)

Documentary

Our Daily Bread (Unser täglich Brot, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, 2005) Abducted in Plain Sight (Skye Borgman, 2017) Jane Fonda in Five Acts (Susan Lacy, 2018) Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012) The Decline of Western Civilization series (Penelope Spheeris, 1981, 1988 and 1998)

Full list of 273 films watched in 2018 under the cut!

January

Like Father  (Lauren Miller Rogen, 2018)

Upgrade  (Leigh Whannell, 2018)

Skate Kitchen (Crystal Moselle, 2018)

Never Been Kissed (Raja Gosnell, 1999)

Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, 2015)

Dick (Andrew Fleming, 1999)

The Black Balloon  (Elissa Down, 2008)

Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell, 2018)

6 Balloons (Marja-Lewis Ryan, 2018)

Rosy (Jess Bond, 2018)

The Party’s Just Beginning (Karen Gillan, 2018)

The Rider (Chloé Zhao, 2017)

Snowpiercer (Bong Joon-ho, 2013)

Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

Thirteen (Catherine Hardwicke, 2003)

Sadie (Megan Griffiths, 2018)

The Miseducation of Cameron Post  (Desiree Akhavan, 2018)

Frida (Julie Taymor, 2002)

Fyre: The Greatest Pary That Never Happened (Chris Smith, 2019)

Time Share (Tiempo Compartido, Sebastián Hofmann, 2018)

The Stranger (Orson Welles, 1946)

Abducted in Plain Sight (Skye Borgman, 2017)

King of Thieves (James Marsh, 2018)

Malevolent (Olaf de Fleur, 2018)

Serena (Susanne Bier, 2014)

Baise-moi (Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi, 2000)

And Breathe Normally (Andið Eðlilega, Ísold Uggadóttir, 2018)

Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit  (Aaron Hancox and Michael McNamara, 2018)

Santoalla (Andrew Becker and Daniel Mehrer, 2016)

Jane Fonda in Five Acts (Susan Lacy, 2018)

Mademoiselle Paradis (Licht, Barbara Albert, 2017)

The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (Errol Morris, 2016)

February

Matangi/Maya/M.I.A (Steve Loveridge, 2018)

Pride & Prejudice (Joe Wright, 2005)T

The Brain Hack (Joseph White, 2014)

Vazante (Daniela Thomas, 2017)

Tanglewood (Jordan Prosser, 2016)

Outfall (Suzi Ewing, 2018)

Pigskin (Jake Hammond, 2015)

The Funspot (Jake Hammond, 2015)

April and the Devil (Jake Hammond, 2018)

Smithereens (Susan Seidelman, 1982)

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller, 2018)

Bus Stop (Joshua Logan, 1956)

Pink Plastic Flamingos (Colin West, 2017)

The Breaker Upperers (Madeleine Sami and Jackie Van Beek, 2018)

Amanda Knox  (Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn, 2016)

Holy Hell (Will Allen, 2016)

Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku, Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2018)

Skin (Jordana Spiro, 2015)

A Night at the Garden (Marshall Curry, 2017)

Give Up the Ghost (Nathan Sam Long, 2018)

Last One Screaming (Matt Devino, 2017)

The Katy Universe (Patrick Muhlberger, 2018)

Roma (Alfonso Cuarón, 2018)

Did You Hear About the Morgans? (Marc Lawrence, 2009)

End Game (Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, 2018)

Behind the Curve  (Daniel J. Clark, 2018)

Our Daily Bread (Unser täglich Brot, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, 2005)

92MARS  (Ricardo Bernardini, 2018)

Construct (Kevin Margo, 2018)

Invaders (Daniel Prince, 2018)

March

Three Identical Strangers (Tim Wardle, 2018)

Dirty John: The Dirty Truth (Sara Mast, 2019)

Blackwood (Andrew Montague, 2019)

One (Luke Bradford, 2019)

God's Kingdom (Guy Soulsby, 2018)

Holiday (Isabella Eklöf, 2018)

Frigid (Joe Kicak, 2016)

Girl of the Sky (Ariel Martin, 2017)

Monitor (Matt Black and Ryan Polly, 2018)

Donoma (Evan Spencer Brace, 2018)

Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブル, Pāfekuto Burū, Satoshi Kon, 1997)

The Sermon (Dean Puckett, 2018)

Layer Cake (Matthew Vaughn, 2004)

Easy A (Will Gluck, 2010)

Generation Wealth (Lauren Greenfield, 2018)

The Rachel Divide (Laura Brownson, 2018)

The Place Beyond the Pines (Derek Cianfrance, 2012)

Burden (Timothy Marrinan and Richard Dewey, 2016)

What Will People Say (Hva vil folk si, Iram Haq, 2017)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (Kurt Kuenne, 2008)

Animal (Fabrice Le Nézet and Jules Janaud, 2017)

Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Karecki, 2003)

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (Errol Morris, 2003)

April

Erasing Eden (Beth Dewey, 2016)

Destroyer (Karyn Kusama, 2018)

Unicorn Store (Brie Larson, 2019)

May the Devil Take You (Sebelum iblis menjemput, Timo Tjahjanto, 2018)

People in Cars (Daniel Lundh, 2017)

Presentation (Danielle Kampf, 2017)

Ink (Jamin Winans, 2009)

Hedgehog (Lindsey Copeland, 2016)

Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)

Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970)

The Silence (John R. Leonetti, 2019)

24 Davids (Céline Baril, 2017)

The Frame (Jamin Winans, 2014)

The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella, 1999)

Baraka (Ron Fricke, 1992)

Wayne’s World (Penelope Spheeris, 1992)

Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012)

Born in Flames (Lizzie Borden, 1983)

Jesse’s Girl (M. Keegan Uhl, 2018)

I Walked With a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur, 1943)

Mary Goes Round (Molly McGlynn, 2017)

The Green Fog (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson, 2017)

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

Someone Great (Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, 2019)

May

Ekaj (Cati Gonzalez, 2015)

Capernaum (Nadine Labaki, 2018)

Porcupine Lake (Ingrid Veninger, 2017)

The Decline of Western Civilization (Penelope Spheeris, 1981)

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (Penelope Spheeris, 1988)

The Decline of Western Civilization III (Penelope Spheeris, 1998)

Revolver (Guy Ritchie, 2005)

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (Rob Letterman, 2019)

RocknRolla (Guy Ritchie, 2008)

Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000)

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Guy Ritchie, 1998)

The Seen and the Unseen (Sekala Niskala, Kamila Andini, 2017)

Nkosi Coiffure (Frederike Migom, 2015)

Speak Your Truth (Kris Erickson, 2018)

Incendies (Denis Villeneuve, 2010)

A.I. Rising (Lazar Bodrosa, 2018)

The Crescent (Seth A Smith, 2017)

Ring (リング, Ringu, Hideo Nakata, 1998)

Absences (Carole Laganière, 2013)

The Uninvited (Lewis Allen, 1944)

In Color (José Andrés Cardona, 2019)

Winners (Dan Bulla, 2018)

Jess (Daniel Hurwitz, 2018)

My First Time (Asaf Livni, 2018)

Murmur (Aurora Fearnley, 2018)

Pulsar (Aurora Fearnley, 2017)

Struck (Aurora Fearnley, 2017)

Samira (Lainey Richardson, 2018)

Despite Everything (A pesar de todo, Gabriela Tagliavini, 2019)

It Stains the Sands Red (Colin Minihan, 2016)

Satain Said Dance (Szatan kazał tańczyć, Katarzyna Rosłaniec, 2016)

Knock Down Ginger (Cleo Samoles-Little, 2016)

Gold (Cleo Samoles-Little, 2015)

Jane's Life (Cleo Samoles-Little, 2012)

4/4 (Kyle Sawyer, 2016)

Sugar Land (Lorenzo Lanzillotti, 2018)

The Idea of North (Albert Choi, 2018)

A Quiet Place (John Krasinski, 2018)

Dark Water (仄暗い水の底から, Honogurai Mizu no soko kara, Hideo Nakata, 2002)

Sound of My Voice (Zal Batmanglij, 2011)

Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)

The Perfection (Richard Shepard, 2018)

House of Wax (Andre DeToth, 1953)

June

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Stacie Passon, 2018)

Always Be My Maybe (Nahnatchka Khan, 2019)

Gente que viene y bah (Patricia Font, 2019)

Period. End of Sentence. (Rayka Zehtabchi, 2018)

American Mary (Jen and Sylvia Soska, 2012)

The Boss (Ben Falcone, 2016)

Extremis (Dan Krauss, 2016)

E il cibo va (Food on the Go, Mercedes Cordova, 2017)

Last Night (Massy Tadjedin, 2010)

Murder Mystery (Kyle Newacheck, 2019)

Bead Game (Ishu Patel, 1977)

The Ceiling (Katto, Teppo Airaksinen, 2017)

Elisa & Marcela (Elisa y Marcela, Isabel Coixet, 2019)

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak, Mouly Surya, 2017)

The Garden (Sommerhaüser, Sonja Maria Kröner, 2017)

Fast Color (Julia Hart, 2018)

The Tale of Iya (Iya Monogatari: Oku no Hito, Tetsuichiro Tsuta, 2013)

Chico and Rita (Chico y Rita, Tono Errando, Fernando Trueba and Javier

Mariscal, 2010)

Rafiki (Wanuri Kahiu, 2018)

Floating! (Das Floß!, Julia C. Kaiser, 2015)

The Quiet American (Phillip Noyce, 2002)

July

Keepers of the Magic (Vic Sarin, 2016)

Evolution (Lucile Hadžihalilović, 2015)

Mr. Holmes (Bill Condon, 2015)

The Long Dumb Road (Hannah Fidell, 2018)

Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016)

Life Overtakes Me (John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson, 2019)

The Milk System (Andreas Pilcher, 2017)

A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 1951)

The Texture of Falling (Maria Allred, 2019)

Family (Laura Steinel, 2018)

Sudden Fear (David Miller, 1952)

Identity Thief (Seth Gordon, 2013)

August

Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991)

In Full Bloom (Maegan Houang, 2019)

Blue Steel (Kathryn Bigelow, 1990)

The Eagles are a Country Music Band (Cody Wagner, 2018)

The Fifth Element (Luc Besson, 1997)

Hobbs & Shaw (David Leitch, 2019)

Coco (Lee Unkrich, 2017)

Bubba Ho-Tep (Don Coscarelli, 2002)

John Wick (Chad Stahelski, 2014)

Eve's Bayou (Kasi Lemmons, 1997)

I Don’t Protest, I Just Dance In My Shadow (Jessica Ashman, 2017)

My Cousin Rachel (Henry Koster, 1952)

Lifeline (Harry Jackson, 2018)

FOMI (Fear of Missing In) (Norbert Fodor, 2019)

Body at Brighton Rock (Roxanne Benjamin, 2019)

Koreatown (Grant Hyun, 2018)

A Report of Connected Events (Mischa Rozema, 2018)

Sundays (Mischa Rozema, 2015)

A King's Betrayal (David Bornstein, 2014)

Perception (Ilana Rein, 2018)

Germany Pale Mother (Deutschland bleiche Mutter, Helma Sanders-Brahms, 1980)

Men in Black International (F. Gary Gray, 2019)

Captive State (Rupert Wyatt, 2019)

Little Forest (리틀 포레스트, Liteul Poleseuteu, Yim Soon-rye, 2018)

September

What Keeps You Alive (Colin Minihan, 2018)

Grave Encounters (The Vicious Brothers, 2011)

Terrified (Aterrados, Demián Rugna, 2017)

Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)

Helen (Sandra Nettelbeck, 2009)

Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo, 2016)

Out of Blue (Carol Morley, 2018)

Taxi (تاکسی‎, Jafar Panahi, 2015)

Dear Ex (誰先愛上他的, Mag Hsu and Hsu Chih-yen, 2018)

Marguerite (Marianne Farley, 2019)

Birders (Otilia Portillo Padua, 2019)

Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019)

Mansfield Park (Patricia Rozema, 1999)

Long Term Delivery (Jake Honig, 2018)

Game (Joy Webster, 2017)

Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)

Foxfire (Annette Haywood-Carter, 1996)

October

Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer, 2009)

Under the Shadow ( زیر سایه, Babak Anvari, 2015)

Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984)

Scream (Wes Craven, 1996)

Ghostbusters (Paul Feig, 2016)

Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

Rabid (David Cronenberg, 1977)

Rabid (The Soska Sisters, 2019)

In the Shadow of the Moon (Jim Mickle, 2019)

Benny Loves Killing (Ben Woodiwiss, 2018)

The Golem (Yoav & Doron Paz, 2018)

Eli (Ciarán Foy, 2019)

The Adversary (L’Adversaire, Nicole Garcia, 2002)

Satanic Panic (Chelsea Stardust, 2019)

The Devil and Father Amorth (William Friedkin, 2017)

Wounds (Babak Anvari, 2019)

Silent Hill (Christophe Gans, 2006)

Sleeping Beauty (Julia Leigh, 2011)

Black Christmas (Bob Clark, 1974)

The Shift (Francesco Calabrese, 2014)

The Baby (Kamran Chahkar, Lei Jim, 2012)

Intrusion (Jack Michel, 2013)

The Devil's Passenger (Dave Bundtzen, 2018)

Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)

November

A Hijacking (Kapringen, Tobias Lindholm, 2012)

The Kitchen (Andrea Berloff, 2019)

The Hole in the Ground (Lee Cronin, 2019)

Assassination Nation (Sam Levinson, 2018)

Amy (Asif Kapadia, 2015)

Tell Me Who I Am (Ed Perkins, 2019)

Possessed (Curtis Bernhardt, 1947)

Terminally Happy (Adina Istrate, 2015)

The Glass Key (Stuart Heisler, 1942)

LuTo (Katina Medina Mora, 2015)

The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)

Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator (Eva Orner, 2019)

December

Soldiers. Story From Ferentari (Soldații. Poveste din Ferentari, Ivana Mladenović, 2017)

John and Michael (John et Michael, Shira Avni, 2004)

High Tension (Haute Tension, Alexandre Aja, 2003)

Little Joe (Jessica Hausner, 2019)

The Matrix (The Wachowskis, 1999)

Finders Keepers (Bryan Carberry and Clay Tweel, 2015)

To Catch a Thief (Alfred Hitchcock, 1955)

My Buddha is Punk (Andreas Hartmann, 2016)

Little Miss Sumo (Matt Kay, 2018)

[thesportssoundoff]

Playoff Droughts And Who Can Break Theirs

Joey

Baseball season is approaching and in the interest of breaking up the monotony of what figures to be a LONG and painful spring training, I wanted to take a peek whimsically while looking backwards. There's no more enjoyable story than when a team that's been excluded from the postseason dance for quite some time gets their invite. Sometimes it's years of hard work and team building and other years its due to ownership just throwing money around and sometimes? It's just a fluke luck circumstance not to be repeated for quite some time. For the sake of doing something of a bit of a project, I decided to take a brief look at teams that have not made the playoffs in over five years. I chose five years arbitrarily I suppose because to me five years or more without a playoff run is a genuine drought whereas four or less just feels like a lull regardless of expectations. Yankees fans may consider three years without the playoffs to be a drought whereas that's if anything a lull or a break in tradition. Teams that have been out of it for five years or more are teams that are either mired in long term BAD baseball or embracing mediocrity at best and so five years just felt right. Also I wanted to do it since the invent of the two game wild card but then it would be literally just three teams and nobody wants that.

Of the eight teams who have missed the playoffs for five years straight or longer, who are most likely to break that streak and join the dance? Well...

1- Philadelphia Phillies Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Last year's darling picks, the Phillies have been out of the playoffs since 2011. For fun facts, 2011 was also the first year of the Chromebook, snapchat and the release of Elder Scrolls: Skryim. If you read this space for MMA? 2011 was the year Jon Jones beat Shogun for the LHW title, the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix started and Alistair Overeem's UFC debut. It's been a while and to the credit of Philadelphia, they've tried a multitude of ways from riding out the final years of aging veterans to rehauling their farm system to spending and spending big. It's not for a lack of trying they haven't made it back to the playoffs! Last year they seemed armed to roll through a perceived weak NL East with big names and big money across the board. Of course little did we know the Nationals would be better without Bryce Harper and the Phillies wouldn't even crack the top two of the division. Out goes Gabe Kapler and in comes Joe Girardi who will be tasked with VETERAN MANAGING his way through this ultra talented and underachieving roster that has added the likes of Zach Wheeler, Didi Gregorious as well as Andrew McCutchen who was lost early into 2019 with a torn ACL. The Phillies boast an insane line up as if Didi and Cutch are healthy and productive then you've got a core of Jean Segura, JT Realmuto, Didi, McCutchen, Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper. The rotation is pretty damn spiffy (health permitting) with Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin and Jake Arrieta plus flostam as a fifth if need be. The Phillies are always going to be a team that has slumps magnified and streaks glorified (such is life with Bryce Harper) but I can't see them not cracking the playoffs in some form or fashion this year. If they don't make the playoffs, we may need to try and discuss if there's some kind of a curse out there on the Phanatic.

2- Cincinnati Reds Last Playoff Appearance: 2013

Gotta admit I had no idea the Reds had a playoff cameo back in 2013. Guess that's just one of those years lost to time. Fun facts of 2013? Grand Theft Auto 5 came out that year, Yahoo purchased this hell site and the UFC brought women into the organization for the first time ever. The Reds spoke openly about wanting to spend a bit in the offseason and so they did, flexing some financial muscle with deals for Mike Moustakas, Shogo Akiyama and Nick Castellanos to help out a lineup featuring the likes of Joey Votto, Nick Senzel and Eugenio Suarez. If the Reds are going to make a serious run of things, it'll likely be on the arms of a rejuvenated Sonny Gray, mercurial Trevor Bauer and the league's best kept secret to casual fans Luis Castillo. There's obviously going to be concerns about a team that hits a lot of dingers but strikes out a bunch and a somewhat unheralded bullpen but the Reds have power, they've gotten better and they've got a cadre of arms to flex at any time. Also? The NL Central figures to be up in the air as the Cubs seem to coast with the core they have until the rebuild comes around, the Cardinals and Brewers underwent massive changes and the Pirates figure to be flat out bad. There's never been a more clear path for the Reds to make some October noise.

3- Los Angeles Angels Last Playoff Appearance: 2014

The year is 2014. In the real world,  Colorado legalizes the purchase of wacky tobacky, selfies became "a thing" in need of forever going away and the occulus rift creates a youtube grift genre. Sports wise? The MLB struggles through record rating woes, the Cowboys finally break through in the Jason Garrett tenure with a 12-4 record, the UFC is undergoing massive upheaval as stars retire or are suspended for PEDs, Bellator hosts its first PPV which in turn leads to the ousting of Bjorn Rebney for Scott Coker and LeBron James leaves Miami to go back where it all began in Cleveland. That's the last time the Angels saw a playoff game and it's been beaten to death at this point. "WHY DON'T THE ANGELS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS DURING MIKE TROUT'S PRIME?!" is tired and done to death but for those of you who feel the same way, 2020 marks the BEST chance for that to become a fad question (or perhaps just morph into "WHY CAN'T THE BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL WIN THE WORLD SERIES ON HIS OWN?!") since the Angels are pretty damn loaded for bare. With the Astros about to endure a pretty weird season and the A's always lurking, the Angels will roll into the year with three bonafide superstars in Anthony Rendon, Shohei Otani and Mike Trout. The pieces around them aren't bad shakes either as Andrelton Simmons is a defensive whiz, David Fletcher is one of those solid under the radar types and the rotation isn't flashy but it should be competent with minor league depth to make moves if they see a big fish out there. The Angels would've been higher up had they gotten Ross Stripling and Joc Pedersen in a deal but since that fell off, I feel like 3rd behind the Reds and Phillies is a fine spot to put them in.

4- Chicago White Sox Last Playoff Appearance: 2008

2008 will probably best be known as the year of change headlined by the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. It was the year Fidel Castro stepped down in Cuba. China got the olympics in Beijing and people were TOTALLY cool about that with nary any controversy whatsoever. Beyond that? 2008 was the year I got into MMA and that was a special time, dudes. It was also the year where the White Sox saw their last real sustained succeed with its last postseason appearance. The White Sox feel like they've been in a rebuild since pretty much the end of the Ozzie Guillen tenure and despite multiple managers, multiple attempts to figure it out, rebuilds aplenty and some damn good talent coming through the organization, it's been a rough go of it for the majority of 2010 to 2019. Put it this way, the LAST time the White Sox made the playoffs, Chris Sale was a 22 year old rookie and Paul Konerko was still an active player. They've got a chance to kick off this next decade as a bit of a sleeper team in the Central. This team can hit and one can assume that another year of development for phenom talents like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jiminez can only help. Tim Anderson for better or worse has a style and swagger that generates attention but it is fair to remember that for at least one half a season, he was a phenomenal player worthy of the acclaim. The White Sox have tried hard to secure elite free agents (Manny Machado and Zack Wheeler) but it's been a bust so at this point it's going to be up to them to draft, develop and trade for it. It would not surprise me if the White Sox are good enough in June and July to make a big deal to try and push them over the hump and chase for the second wild card.

5- San Diego Padres Last Playoff Appearance: 2006

The Padres last made the playoffs in the year of the Nintendo Wii. Floyd Mayweather hadn't even come up with his Money Mayweather gimmick yet! Lost to baseball obscurity, the Padres had at the very least an interesting team out west. The likes of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr, arguably the worst defensive outfield in the history of the universe and freakishly good young arms like Chris Paddack and Joey Luchessi at least made them fun to watch. They weren't "good" but this is a team that was still struggling to balance expensive veterans with clout (Machado, Eric Hosmer, Will Meyers) with really good young talent trying to figure things out. The Padres figure to be better with a full season of Tatis Jr, more production from guys like Hosmer and Machado plus improvements in the outfield with Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham (hold your jokes, Nats fans) figure to give this team a chance. There's a pretty good bullpen (Emilio Pagan is a sneaky nice pick up) and plenty of talent in their 26 man roster. The NL West has so much legit top talent with the D-Backs and Dodgers figuring to be really good that it's hard to make an argument for the Padres to be a playoff contender but they figure to try and trying is truly half the battle.

6- Miami Marlins Last Playoff Appearance: 2003

It's kind of a bummer that we didn't get our decennial Marlins "The fuck?" World Series win but they made up for it by giving us Jeffrey Loria and David Samson fucking things up for most of the decade leading to Derek FUCKING Jeter opting to get into the management game much to the chagrin of most folks on all sides. The Marlins are in the midst of rebuilding....again. Don't expect them to compete but they've got some good talent to at least want to see play. Brian Anderson, Caleb Smith, Jorge Alfaro and a bundle of veteran signings that will at the very least make the Marlins a fun trade partner in July will keep this team relevant. Wouldn't surprise me if the Marlins flirt with a 20 win swing from where they were last year.

7- Seattle Mariners Last Playoff Appearance: 2001

My god man. The Mariners were SO close in 2018, winning 89 games and finishing a few spots out of a Wild Card spot. As if they decided that this core couldn't do it, the Mariners went to work tearing their team apart and were rewarded with a pretty blegh squad that was once again picked apart at the deadline. To their credit they have some spiffy talent worth watching, namely the infield duo of JP Crawford and Shed Long. They’ve also got some fun young arms who might take the next step. Just don't expect them to win many games.

8- Detroit Tigers Last Playoff Appearance: 2014

The Tigers are aways away from being contenders. They're not trying to be contenders. They're in the midst of what could best be described as a multiple year rebuild after riding out the end days of the core from the start of the 2010's. They will be bad but god bless 'em for embracing it.

[topnewsports-blog]

SA invite India for 2017-18 instead of SL

SA invite India for 2017-18 instead of SL

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Sri Lanka were heavily beaten the first two Tests of their South Africa tour – and may not be invited back for 2017-18 © AFP

India are on the verge of bumping Sri Lanka off the schedule for South Africa’s next home summer, CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat has revealed. The move may also affect the India v Pakistan series scheduled for the same 2017-18 New Year period.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.28

585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated. 621 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gaozu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan). This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty's collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty. 1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid. 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.) 1644 – English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby. 1754 – French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania. 1802 – In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon's troops. 1830 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them. 1871 – The Paris Commune falls after two months. 1892 – In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club. 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy. 1907 – The first Isle of Man TT race is held. 1918 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence. 1926 – The 28 May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic. 1932 – In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer. 1934 – Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy. 1936 – Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication. 1937 – Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer, is founded. 1940 – World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium. 1940 – World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first Allied infantry victory of the War. 1948 – Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid. 1958 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero. 1961 – Peter Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International. 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded, with Yasser Arafat elected as it first leader. 1974 – Northern Ireland's power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists. 1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States. 1977 – In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside. 1979 – Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community. 1987 – A 18-year-old West German pilot, Mathias Rust, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. 1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War. 1995 – The 7.0 Mw  Neftegorsk earthquake shakes the former Russian settlement of Neftegorsk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Total damage was $64.1–300 million, with 1,989 deaths and 750 injured. The settlement was not rebuilt. 1996 – U.S. President Bill Clinton's former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas, Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud. 1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually. 1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display. 2002 – The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City. 2003 – Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane. 2004 – The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq's interim government. 2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty. 2010 – In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers. 2011 – Malta votes on the introduction of divorce; the proposal was approved by 53% of voters, resulting in a law allowing divorce under certain conditions being enacted later in the year. 2016 – Harambe, a gorilla, is shot to death after grabbing a three-year-old boy in its enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, resulting in widespread criticism and sparking various internet memes. 2017 – Former Formula One driver Takuma Sato wins his first Indianapolis 500, the first Japanese and Asian driver to do so. Double world champion Fernando Alonso retires from an engine issue in his first entry of the event.

[reuelek]

Are England vs Sri Lanka contests underrated? - ESPNcricinfo.com

Are England vs Sri Lanka contests underrated? – ESPNcricinfo.com

Andrew Fidel Fernando, Sri Lanka correspondent: I know when we decided we were going to do a discussion on England v Sri Lanka contests, we were talking about cricket, but just so you are warned, I’m going to be bringing up Governor General Robert Brownrigg and his brutal crushing of the Sri Lankan hill country rebellion into it at every available opportunity. Andrew Miller, UK editor: Seems…

[xtruss]

Which Players Have Been The Biggest Losses to Cricket This Century?

Mohammad Asif, patron saint of what-could-have-beens Getty Images (A Boak Bollock who involved himself in a match fixing crimes and killed his own promising career. Otherwise he would be the most fiercest, formidable, intimidating and dangerous fast bowler of the Cricketing World.)

— Jul 9, 2020 | ESPN Staff

In this edition of Rabbit Holes, Osman Samiuddin, Andrew Fidel Fernando and Sidharth Monga gather for a round of lamentation and breast-beating over cricket's greatest unfulfilled talents and shed tears over what might have been.

Andrew Fidel Fernando, ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent: So, the biggest losses to cricket this century. I think given the people involved in the conversation, this will quickly degenerate into a Mohammad Asif support group. But there are so many others who've not had the careers we all wanted them to have.

Osman Samiuddin, senior editor: Wait, what? This is not the Asif Anonymous Group already?

Fernando: "Hi, I'm Osman, and it's been ten years since I last watched Asif bowl. (breaks down sobbing uncontrollably)"

Sidharth Monga, assistant editor: And the thing is, Asif don't care. Or at least doesn't seem to care.

Samiuddin: Although the thing is, I think Asif does care. In that interview with Umar Farooq it was clear he cares about how people remember him. Maybe just not enough to get bogged down by it.

Monga: He has moved on better than us. Which is him being kinda, "Yeah, this is life, what are you going to do about it?" But I also like that he is turning out in domestic cricket despite there being no hope that he will ever bowl at the highest level again. This is every ball of his first two spells of the QeA final in 2017-18. Cruelly, captained again by Salman Butt, who chose to field first, which is something you don't do in Test cricket these days. And the first two comments on the video!

Samiuddin: For the longest time - and even now - I believe that the careers of Kumar Sangakkara and AB de Villiers would have turned out different had they had to play Asif often.

Fernando: Sanga would have got out cheaply to Asif five times in a row one series and retired in shame in 2012 - that's how your fantasy goes, right?

Samiuddin: Earlier, ideally.

Monga: Hashim Amla, AB and Kevin Pietersen didn't even play him that much, but the little that they did was enough to convince them he was the best bowler they faced. Ahead of all the other legends of the time.

Samiuddin: But with the advances in batsmanship - though, I guess mostly in white-ball cricket - how would Asif have responded? It's not a bad time to be a Test bowler though, so he probably would have been okay still.

Remember when Asif took 6 for 41 in Sydney in 2010, in a losing cause? Getty Images

Fernando: I do think Asif would have loved some of the tracks Pakistan have played on in the last five, six years.

Samiuddin: The UAE? I mean, imagine Misbah captaining Asif - would he have turned him into an offspinner?

Fernando: Hah, true, but I meant more outside the UAE. Those New Zealand greentops where you can only see the batsman from the helmet up, because of the grass cover. He would also have adored a lot of the tracks Pakistan played on in Sri Lanka, in the middle of the last decade, when they were visiting every other weekend.

Samiuddin: Also can't help but think how he would have gone in Australia. He had one great Test there - in Sydney - but that surface was green that first morning and it had rained and clouds were around, so it was ideal. I think that's probably the last time Australia had anything other than a flat track. His set-ups were like Warne in conception - this one of Clarke especially. He bowled four-five balls to Clarke before this, all good length, on off-stump line, either not seaming or seaming away. Two-three he left alone to keeper. One he drove. This one he tried to drive again and it was the first one that seamed in. So, so, so simple.

Monga: Did you say set-ups? And he did it all without a perfect upright seam the way Mohammed Shami's is. Or maybe bolt upright is not perfect, who knows. Also, Marcus North getting out in three balls reminds me of Asif once saying he is sometimes disappointed with batsmen who don't let him set them up properly and get out before the payoff.

Samiuddin: There was also a great set-up of Shane Watson in a previous Test, where Asif bowled to an 8-1 off-side field for a couple of overs and well wide of off stump. Like, really wide outside. Almost unnoticed he was pulling Watson further and further out to the off side. And then suddenly, when literally nobody was expecting it, he bowled one a little straighter, quicker, it swung in a fair bit. Watson had moved out to off stump in anticipation and the ball ended up missing Watson's leg stump by millimetres. I don't think I would ever have seen a dismissal like that. All that work for one ball and it only narrowly didn't come off.

Fernando: I feel like we could be on Asif all day.

Samiuddin: The point of all of which is that I don't think I have regretted not seeing more of any cricketer than Asif. So that's decided. How about some others?

Though, I mean, Pakistan could put out three XIs of these players who were lost and they could play a pointless tri-series among themselves. Like Mohammad Zahid. Fastest four balls Brian Lara faced in his life.

Monga: Would Umar Akmal qualify?

Fernando: And if we're doing a long Pakistan lamentation, is Fawad Alam in the mix?

Samiuddin: Hundred per cent. Not lost so much as ignored. Overlooked. Spat upon. Trampled.

Monster on a monstrous pitch: Jesse Ryder cut, drove and hooked to 83 in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final in Mirpur, while other batsmen struggled Getty Images

Monga: But we're drawing the line at Ahmed Shahzad?

Fernando: I'd like to throw two Kiwi names into the mix. Both of whom played 18 Tests. Both players of extreme quality. Lost to the game for reasons very different to Asif.

Samiuddin: Martin Guptill?

Fernando: Hah, no one so painfully vanilla. The first I'm thinking of, of course, is Jesse Ryder.

Samiuddin: Did you not once spend an entire six-month period of your life trying to chase him down?

Fernando: For a potential feature, yes, highly unsuccessfully. He was still playing. And still burning bridges. It was like the story hadn't actually stopped unravelling, so no one really wanted to talk about it.

Ryder just had such an instinctive feel for the game, whichever format he was playing. A rock-solid defence, a brutal pull shot, threw all of himself into those drives. When he middled it, you couldn't actually see the ball before it reappeared outside the boundary rope.

Monga: Underrated bowler and exceptional catcher to go with it. And he sold out stadiums. People came to watch Jesse Ryder.

Fernando: He was a monster at backward point.

Samiuddin: In that 2011 World Cup quarter-final in Dhaka, pitch like porridge - that was the only time I saw Ryder play and, my lord, if that wasn't the innings of that tournament. His timing that day was freakishly good. On that pitch - and the thing is, it's difficult to articulate - the difference in watching him bat and others that day was just so, so vast that you had to question yourself. Like, were you assessing the pitch wrong and were the rest just crap?

Monga: New Zealand is so not the country for Jesse. I remember him scoring a flawless double-century against India in Napier, and then breaking a chair or something in disgust when he got out. You can guess what got reported the next day.

Fernando: So I remember this crazy Ryder innings, where again, at the end, a chair got smashed (after a lot of Sri Lankan bowlers had also been smashed).

Samiuddin: I'm seeing a pattern here...

Monga: If I were the coach I would carry extra chairs.

Fernando: It was in the 2009 Champions Trophy. Ryder pulls a hamstring or a calf very early in this match. I think he was 7 off 7 or something like that. Basically can't run. And so he just starts blasting boundaries. Ten fours and a six - 74 off 58 balls.

Monga: He wasn't much for foot movement anyway, but somehow always played close to his body.

Forget the batting for a minute: Ryder also took blinders, like this one to dismiss Upul Tharanga in the 2011 World Cup semi-final AFP

Fernando: Opening partner Brendon McCullum, who is supposed to be this shining paragon of Kiwi aggression, ambles to 42 off 74 at the other end. Eventually Ryder gets out, and he's clearly not happy. Just when he thinks he's out of view of the cameras, he absolutely lays into a plastic chair. Just destroys it with his bat. Except, of course, he wasn't out of view. This was seen and replayed many times. I'm sorry but I loved everything about that.

Samiuddin: Actually more than anything else, New Zealand need(ed) Ryder in their team to shed themselves of the "nicest guys in cricket" tag. I mean, yeah, of course, runs and stuff, but they need a guy in that side who does things like that.

Fernando: The New Zealand hill I will absolutely die on is that they would have converted one of their two World Cup finals into a win if Ryder was in the team. I don't blame the people who kicked Ryder out, really, because he's been given chances by many coaches in various continents - both domestic and international - and he's not managed to rein his behaviour in. But if Ryder had managed to improve the behaviour to juuust within that line, I think we would think of New Zealand as one of the great teams of the last decade, instead of just a very good one. And also just the thought of Williamson trying to captain Ryder - there could have been books written and films made just on that relationship.

Monga: I just feel cricket, especially the international variety, is very tough on someone like Jesse. It would have been a miracle if he had survived. Ross Taylor and Ryder were both discovered together. Neither came from a privileged background, but Taylor's privilege was that he had his act together. Mark Greatbatch, one of their earlier coaches, I remember, told me how Ryder was more skilled but Taylor was more rounded as a person. Ryder would throw up in the bin at the nets, Taylor would come home with a bottle of wine.

Samiuddin: Without knowing the details and insider stuff, was he so, so, so difficult to handle that they really couldn't find a place for him in the team at all? Or make it work somehow?

Fernando: They didn't throw him away lightly, tbf. They gave chances. And many people - agents, coaches, mentors - have tried various approaches and it's not worked out.

Samiuddin: I think that is the other point about these players, that they make so much of an impression, you're always left feeling somehow if the others - boards, teams, managers, agents - had just done something else/more he would have been okay.

Monga: More than anything, they also tell us that sometimes you have to accept things as they are. Especially when a team such as New Zealand does all it can get to keep you in. What joy it was to watch him in full flow. But it wasn't meant to be.

Samiuddin: Who was the other Kiwi?

Fernando: Okay, yes, enough Ryder. Someone who was at the other end of the spectrum in terms of temperament, but also glorious to watch in full flow. Guesses?

Samiuddin: Bond. The name is Bond.

Fernando: Nailed it. Like, Shane Bond with his yorkers.

Samiuddin: Bond is long gone as a bowler, but I feel like he's everywhere in the actions of so many modern fast bowlers.

Shane Bond, destroyer of Australia, failed by his own body Getty Images

Fernando: Huge influence on Tim Southee and Trent Boult.

Monga: Strike rate of 38 but couldn't play enough to get more than his 87 wickets.

Samiuddin: Adam Milne, Matt Henry - all their actions. Naseem Shah.

Fernando: And if we agree that aughts Australia had assembled the greatest ODI batting line up, Bond was the greatest destroyer of that top order. Seventeen matches v Aus: average of 15.79, SR of 21.4, economy rate 4.41 - there's no touching that in ODIs

Samiuddin: Bond, in a very different way, is the epitome of what Monga said earlier, about how it's just meant to be for some. No off-field issues (that I can think of), great guy to have in a team. But just had a body that couldn't sustain it.

Monga: In a way I agree, but you can continue working on the body, you can even come back as a bowler with less pace but more wiles, you can still cut yourself a career, but it is different with mental health.

Fernando: Bond just was incredibly, incredibly fragile, though. I'm not sure even turning himself into a medium-pacer - which he has said he was never interested in, btw - would have worked. There were unusual things as well: I remember he once went off the field in a match with a migraine and couldn't bowl, and caught absolute hell on talkback radio in New Zealand for being soft.

Samiuddin: Incidentally, Bond talked about the injuries stemming - ironically - from that action, in this great piece on him by Rahul Bhattacharya, at the 2007 World Cup. He talks here about losing a little of that pace.

Fernando: His last Test, which was a fantastic game against Pakistan in Dunedin, he blew them away with pace in the first innings, iirc.

Monga: It was a great Test. Akmal was unleashed in this game, right?

Fernando: Yes, Asif took 4 for 43 as well. Pity Ryder didn't play. It would have been the poster Test for everything we've talked about.

Monga: Ryder was a veteran of wistfulness by then.

Fernando: Fawad Alam was in that Test as well! Here's the wicket description from the first dig: "Bond's breathing fire here, he hits the deck hard from over the wicket, lands it short of a length on middle and Fawad barely had time to react and fend it off, he fails to drop his gloves down and the ball shaves his glove before landing safely in McCullum's hands."

Underrated, but celebrated: would Ryan Harris have had a greater impact had big names not kept him out of the Australian team early in his career? Getty Images

Monga: While sticking with fast bowlers, I have a name that I am not sure you will agree with. It is more down to having been kept out by big names throughout his 20s, but what we saw of Ryan Harris in 27 Tests in his 30s (also cut short by a back surgery, which he went to after taking a last wicket in the dying moments of a momentous Test) makes me wonder with a little disappointment what a great bowler we lost out on.

Samiuddin: Absolutely, only four more Tests than Asif.

Monga: And what an Asif-like bowler too.

Samiuddin: But I also feel with Harris that Australia celebrated him so much, that he was part of so many big moments against South Africa and England - big series - that he kind of lived a full career… which, of course, he never did in reality

Fernando: And I guess that the injuries came at an age when you expect those things to happen to a quick. Whereas Asif's exit seemed so premature.

Monga: His wrist admittedly did less magic than Asif, but his accuracy was stifling. He lived by the Asif philosophy: if I beat the bat, I should be hitting the pad or the stumps; if I take the edge, it should go to keeper or first slip

Samiuddin: Except, quicker than Asif. Always felt Stuart Clark was the more like-for-like Asif bowler

Monga: We love Asif for the highlights reels his wickets make it to, but arguably Harris has provided us with better seam porn. Have a look at this. This also reminds me, I recently saw Harris seam a ball in the IPL. That I would never have believed had there been no video evidence.

Samiuddin: Asif seamed some balls in the IPL too - 2008.

Fernando: What a trip it is now to think that Pakistan players actually took part in the IPL.

Monga: The greatest loss to cricket: Pakistan players missing the IPL.

Samiuddin: Snap.

Fernando: Genuinely, though, they would have changed the dynamic of that tournament so much. And you suspect the IPL would have changed Pakistan cricket as well.

Samiuddin: But the PSL may not have happened also... Or maybe it would have happened earlier.

Fernando: Umar Gul would have cut it up.

Samiuddin: And Sohail Tanvir as the greatest T20 bowler ever?

Chris Lewis: the blueprint for Jofra Archer? Getty Images

Fernando: Lasith Malinga would still have crushed it, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Samiuddin: I know I'm being old and boomer-y but Malinga in Tests, I feel, is an unfulfilled thing.

Monga: Malinga would have made a bowler of great spells in Test cricket. Innocuous for long whiles, but then a switch would flick on and he would run through three-four guys in one three-over spell on a humid day at the SSC.

Samiuddin: Yes and that three-over spell would have turned the day, the Test, even the series.

Fernando: If you can hustle a fantastic batsman with a bouncer in Galle, you're a decent bowler. But then with Malinga, it's kind of a double-edged sword. You don't have Malinga if you don't have that action. And you probably can't have that action and a long Test career. What makes him is what breaks him. Unlike, say Bond, who could conceivably have had a long career with a better body.

Samiuddin: Before starting this I had made a list of all the players that would feature here: Shaun Tait, Vinod Kambli, Mohammad Zahid, Asif, Ryder, Wasim Raja, all of South Africa before return, Chris Lewis…

Chris Lewis, man. I watch Jofra and I get strong Lewis vibes. Not in terms of the pace or anything, but in how easily he did things, without showing any signs of the strain and toll it takes on a body. Though who knows how quick Lewis was - no speed guns in his time and he was never celebrated for his pace. But he could bat a bit, great in the field, loose and easy action.

Monga: Did we get enough of Steve Harmison?

Samiuddin: Yes. Harmison played 63 Tests.

Fernando: But I think we've mostly exhausted this chat now. We're dipping into the '90s, and now discussing players who actually had decently long careers. We'll be talking about Kevin Pietersen next. I've just sat in on too many conversations in England about what a loss KP was. And he played 104 Tests.

Samiuddin: In England if you don't play 150 Tests, you ain't nothing.

Monga: And now the rhinos have him. Poor rhinos. Though I think he is actually doing something for them.

Fernando: He's probably trash-talking them behind their backs. Anyway, I think this conversation has degenerated. Like the actions of so many fast bowlers gone before their time.

Osman: Yeah, I think we're done.

Fernando: Let's call it. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to put on some Asif highlights reels, eat huge quantities of ice cream straight from the tub, and cry myself to sleep.

[bhylu]

Asia Cup likely in Sri Lanka; SLC offers PCB to swap hosting rights | Cricket

Asia Cup likely in Sri Lanka; SLC offers PCB to swap hosting rights | Cricket

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June 12, 2020

Andrew Fidel Fernando and Umar Farooq

© Getty Images

If the men’s Asia Cup goes ahead this year, it will likely take place in Sri Lanka. The hope is that the tournament will be played in September.

Although it is technically Pakistan’s turn to host the Asia Cup…

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Which players have been the biggest losses to cricket this century?

Which players have been the biggest losses to cricket this century?

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In this edition of Rabbit Holes, Osman Samiuddin, Andrew Fidel Fernando and Sidharth Monga gather for a round of lamentation and breast-beating over cricket’s greatest unfulfilled talents and shed tears over what might have been.

Andrew Fidel Fernando, ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent:So, the biggest losses to cricket this century. I think given the people involved in the…

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10 Reasons why you should attend Times Literature Festival Bangalore 2020 - Times of India

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10 Reasons why you should attend Times Literature Festival Bangalore 2020 - Times of India

Literature is an amalgamation of ideas, opinions and experiences that are weaved into beautiful narratives and scintillating stories. It serves the purpose of uniting the past with the present, the real with the imaginary and the spoken with the written. With an escalating appreciation for books and an increasing love for literature, literary festivals have become a magnificent hub for all literature enthusiasts and aspiring writers. It is a space that brings together people from different backgrounds and culture and transcends the barriers of gender, race, age and nationality. With that being said, the sixth edition of Times Literature Festival Bangalore 2020 is back again with an impressive line-up of exemplary speakers, revolutionary ideas and electrifying performances.

Here are the top 10 reasons why you shouldn’t miss out on this year’s Times literature festival Bangalore.

1. Be a part of multiple Sessions of diverse nature Times Literature Festival, with its amazing list of speakers and sessions, has assembled together a variety of panel discussions on numerous topics and themes that reflect and portray the diversity of literature. The Festival has a line-up of sessions discussing not just the generic themes of romance, storytelling, mythology, modern relationships and crime, but also spine-chilling sessions on the science of paranormal, inspiring talks by survivors and dialogues on diaspora writings by authors away from their homeland.

2. Meet the most prominent authors of India With its amazing line-up of highly interesting and sophisticated sessions, the list of speakers includes best-selling authors, namely William Dalrymple, Devdutt Pattanaik, Ashwin Sanghi, Chetan Bhagat, Jairam Ramesh, , Manu Pillai, Ravinder Singh, Kavita Kane, Preeti Shenoy, Anand Neelakantan, Minnie Vaid, Hoshang Merchant, Anuja Chauhan and many more.

3. The global element of the Festival This year, Times Litfest Bangalore is going bigger, better and global with six sensational mix of writers, actor, director and journalists from 5 different countries, that include Nemat Sadat (USA), Jan Stocklassa (Sweden), Anthonythasan Jesuthasan (France), Priya Balasubramanian (UK), Andrew Fidel Fernando (Sri Lanka) and Claudia Wallin (Sweden), each of whom will bring in an international insight and perspective into the festival.

4. Enjoy electrifying performances

The key highlights of the two-day festival are the grand performances by three major artists. Usha Uthup, a well-renowned singer, will mesmerize everyone with her sensational and electrifying musical performance. Papa CJ, an award-winning international stand-up comedian, will light up the entire venue with laughter and happiness with his scintillating stories and hilarious jokes. Finally, the team of Aisi Taisi Democracy comprising of Varun Grover, writer, lyricist and comedian, Sanjay Rajoura, a stand-up comedian and Rahul Ram, a musician and a guitarist, will present a power-packed performance that will be an amalgamation of music, comedy and political commentary.

5. The ‘Celebrity’ effect

Literature lovers, here’s a chance to meet your favorite stars at the Times Literature Festival Bangalore, who will share stories of their artistic journey and literary experiences. The festival will feature renowned artists and actors, namely Richa Chadha, Piyush Jha, Tammaanah Bhatia, Mandira Bedi and Nandana Sen, who will not only discuss their latest books but also give an account of their literary journey.

6. Book launches and signings What are literary festivals without the joy of discovering new books in the market and the treat of getting personalized copies signed by your favorite authors. Keeping that in mind, Times Literature Festival has organized a myriad of book launches and signings. The list of authors who will be launching their books at the festival include Piyush Jha, Vinita Dawra Nangia, Ashwin Sanghi, Arjun Gaind, Naseha Sameen , Satyarth Nayak, T M Krishna and Nidhi Chapekar, who have written excellent works of literature.

7. Engage in creative workshops and enlightening talks In addition to an exquisite line-up of sessions, the festival also welcomes you to its specially-crafted and fun-packed workshops and talks by various eminent figures. The workshops include: a creative workshop on writing by Saikat Majumdar and world record holder cartoonist Panduranga Rao will discuss the art of cartooning. Besides the many workshops, the festival has scheduled enlightening talks by our speakers, namely Roopa Pai, Arjun Gaind, Nandana Sen, Kavita Kane and Kiran Manral. We also have a morning of competitive, creative engagements for children on Sunday.

8. Traverse into the world of readings

Writing and reading are an integral part of literature. Therefore, the festival will host multiple book readings by some of the brilliant authors of our times. Some of them are Piyusha Vir, Omi Singh, Naseha Sameen, Claudia Wallin, Angshudas Gupta and Nitya Ravi. Many of our Write India winners, namely Mansi Babbar, Vani Shivashankar, Anumita Ghosh and Preethi B will also be a part of the wonderful readings at the festival.

9. The best of children’s literature and fun activities Times Literature Festival Bangalore has planned out special literary treats and fun-packed activities for all the children. Parents and most essentially kids can discover more about the latest publications and the best reads for children by some of the most outstanding children’s authors, Venita Coelho, Khyrunissa, Roopa Pai, Anitha Murthy and Deepa Agarwal. The Festival will also host interesting competitions for all the children on story-writing, hand-writing, slogan-writing and drawing.

10. Celebrate the lovely ambience of Jayamahal Palace Set against the backdrop of the beautiful lush green landscape is the grand Jayamahal Palace, the home of the Mysore Royal Family and the venue for the Times Literature Festival Bangalore. It is located at the centre of the city and is home to over 20 acres of beautiful gardens that are meticulously maintained and looked after. The Palace provides the very essence of literary ambience and commemorates the literary diversity Times Literature Festival believes in.

So mark your calendars and be ready for the warmest, grandest and most wonderful festival of the year. To know more details about the schedule, click here. Follow for live updates: Twitter Facebook Instagram

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