Letter from Colombo: Geopolitics, cricket’s big business and a missing press pass

In the 1990s, Sri Lanka suffered significant escalations in its civil war. One term that was used to refer to this period, kalabala, loosely translates to “troubles”, a local colleague says. That particular term in the Sinhala language is used predominantly by one side in the conflict. Others refer to the Eelam War, unafraid as they are to label violence accurately. Sounds a bit like our Good Friday Agreement versus Belfast Agreement. Common ground between two countries who don’t come across each other all too often in the sports pages. This lesson in Sri Lankan history came from a patient local colleague over a drink at the P Saravanamuttu Oval in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. Ireland find...