Lasith Malinga Muttiah Muralidaran Sanath Jayasuriya
Written in response to a call from ABC Grandstand during the 2 Test Sri Lankan tour of 2007.
They wanted limericks with the Sri Lankan players names in them. The initial tendency is to use the players surnames as the dominant rhyme source. But in most cases this can't work as there as few if any English words that rhyme with names like Muralidaran, Jayasuriya, Jayawardena etc.
None of my efforts got a guernsey on the leader board, but this not a surprise, as the ABC cricket commentary team, (like most Australian sportsmen), show a disgraceful lack of knowledge about anything outside sport. Not only are they ignorant but proud to be so. For example special comments man Kerry O'Keefe when asked what a Limerick was, said he thought it had "about" 5 lines. Even worse, head commentator Jim Maxwell gave the award to a poem that wasn't even a Limerick. Dumb!
The blonde tips suit Lasith Malinga,
World-wide renowned as a slinger.
But what use the strain,
Again and again,
If he can't make the ump raise his finger?
Muttiah did Darrell displease,
But was cleared by the board to appease.
Yet the bend of elbow,
I think we all know,
Is far more than fifteen degrees.
To Jayasuriya: farewell,
Can he replaced? None can tell.
'Twas he was the cream,
Of the champion team,
That brought the cup home at the bell.
Warren Mars - November 2007