Showing posts with label Sri Lanka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sri Lanka. Show all posts

16 September, 2019

Climate change is threatening to break cricket apart, from putting players in danger to disrupting matches

When I was in the middle of treatment for cancer a few years ago, the place I’d go for comfort was my local cricket ground.
Matthew Wade scampers a quick single during day four of the England v Australia 5th Ashes test match at The Oval on September 15th 2019 in London (Photo by Tom Jenkins)
“Unless we act, extreme heat will worsen. This will result in
more games being postponed, poorer performance because
 of heat influenced cognitive deterioration and increased
 likelihood of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.”
One reason I found this place so comforting while being physically and emotionally demolished by chemotherapy were the friendships I’d made from years of playing, coaching and cooking thousands of sausages.
When confronted with a nasty tumour that seemed hellbent on trying to kill me, my cricket club helped keep me sane. The friendships made on and around the ground were the source of love and humour that made it possible for me to withstand a really crap experience.
The game is important to me because I know at its best it unites individuals who then become capable of doing great things together.
Anyone who has seen the Adam Goodes films knows sport is about much more than games. It’s a window into who we are as a community – for good or ill.
At my own community cricket club the game is a glue binding together people born in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, South Africa, England and Australia.
Climate change threatens to break cricket apart.

28 May, 2017

Sri Lankan landslides, flooding kills 122, as nation appeals for international help

The number of people known to have been killed in floods and landslides in Sri Lanka has risen to 122, with the country appealing for international assistance.

Sri Lanka has asked its neighbours and the UN
for help in its search and rescue effort.
The state-run disaster management centre said a further 97 people were still missing after the worst torrential rains since 2003.

The Foreign Ministry said an appeal had been made to the United Nations and neighbouring countries to provide assistance "especially in the areas of search and rescue operations”.

India is sending three Navy ships with supplies and other aid, the first of which arrived in Colombo on Saturday.

Officials said deaths were reported from the western coastal district of Kalutara, the central southern district of Ratnapura and the southern district of Matara.