 that will disguise the real writer (Karunatilaka the author also happens to be a bassist in real life). But pushing the limits of the postmodernist play on fictionality even further we are told that the name of the main character in the story “Pradeep Mathew” is an arbitrary choice chat simply comes up while Garfield/Shehan Karunatilaka and the editor of the book toss about names for the primary character. Like the deceptive delivery of a ‘Chinaman’ bowler, the text ends by provocatively hinting that this may all be fiction after all.
Multi-dimensional reality: Chinaman’s playfulness however does not end with the printed text. It literally takes the discourse beyond and outside into the ‘real’ word. Garfield is initially unconvinced by his father’s story and accepts its authenticity when he discovers the existence of a cricketer named Pradeep Mathew on the “Crickipedia” website. Readers in the non-fictional world may Google the name “Pradeep Mathew” and they will discover such a website carrying statistics for the legendary cricketer along with a few similar websites containing information on the cricketer as well. This is innovative and a clear first in Sri Lankan writing in English. Just as writers such as J. R. R. Tolkien went to the extent of creating an alphabet for “Elvish”, Karunatilaka attempts to create a multi-dimensional reality for his text and its characters. This attention to detail is visible within the text as well where the game of cricket along with Mathew’s remarkable deliveries are explained using cameo segments of narrative and detailed technical diagrams that are interspersed within the main narrative. Chinaman can therefore be described not just as a text but an ‘event’ in Sri Lankan writing in English. I call it an event for two reasons. There have been a number of rave reviews of the text which rightly recognise it as a significant event in Sri Lankan writing in English due to its uniqueness but it is also an event because the author has chosen to make it so by literally extending the discourse of the book beyond its covers. The entire exercise of reading the novel and then finding out about Mathew in cyberspace is like a hyper-extended postmodernist metaphor which leaves one with the uncanny feeling that one has been the victim of a very elaborate and sophisticated joke. But in a society where the real and surreal are increasingly difficult to differentiate Chinaman’s joke may very well be one we cannot ignore.
1. For those unfamiliar with the game of Cricket, a “Chinaman” is a term used to describe a very rare type of left arm unorthodox spinner. There have been very few historically in the game and most have flourished briefly to be relegated to obscurity. The unorthodox character of the technique of this type of bowler and their relative obscurity in the game makes “Chinaman” a good choice of title and a good choice for the main protagonist in Karunatilaka’s book because it complements Mathew’s status as a maverick legend. The term “Chinaman” and its marginality also have racist origins. It is apparently traced to the comment “fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman”, English cricketer Walter Robbins uttered when he was adjudged stumped to a ball by West Indian bowler of Chinese-origin Ellis Ahchong.
2. Ambalavaner Sivanandan’s When Memory Dies (1997) broaches a similar theme tangentially when one of the text’s main protagonists witnesses the murder of Tamil prisoners at Welikada prison but society at large refuses to believe him thinking he is delusional—however without the postmodernism emphasis in Chinaman. Gunadasa Amarasekara’s Gal Pilimaya Saha Bol Pilimaya (2001) directly addresses a crisis of authenticity, where the fake cannot be distinguished from the real, in a different historical context—the late 1980s when the Jayewardene regime deployed the concept of a Buddhist-inspired dharmishta samajaya (righteous society) for political ends. Amarasekara’s satirical text is highly effective in capturing the absurdity of a social context where there appears to be mass, self-inflicted delusion. Karunatileka’s Chinaman however, is arguably the only Sri Lankan English text to provide extended and skillful treatment of a similar theme.
Aw OK you think what you wanna think!  I'm sure you've won plenty and that's why you're moaning about how you can't play the game properly...

You're right, it does, but it takes a better person to realise that just because the game isn't perfect doesn't mean it's trash. The game has its issues, and I've already said that, but isn't nearly as bad as you make it out to be. Stop shitting on Epic because their EARLY ACCESS game isn't polished. 

Keep getting angrier because it just shows how immature and close minded you are. Plus it's hilarious for most of usQUESTION OF THE DAY: What do you think will be the best match at NXT Takeover tonight?
Hi kids.
No time to waste with a witty intro. It turns out having a second kid doesn’t make you twice as busy, but rather exponentially busy.
The Hall of Fame Ceremony was as expected, a mixed bag. I enjoyed the Dudley Boyz, Hillbilly Jim, Mark Henry and JJ. Kid Rock took up space. Ivory seemed like she had hit the bottle too hard prior to her speech. Jeff Jarrett didn’t delve nearly deep enough into the controversial aspects of his career and that duet was atrocious. Goldberg was an absolute abomination. It was sad to see that all of the WWE wrestlers left before Mark Henry’s speech, but I can’t blame them. It’s a taxing weekend for the entire crew, and the show can’t continue to be almost 5 hours long. It’s hard to cut someone’s time, so the answer may lie in reducing the number of entrants per year. I’m a degenerate so I will continue to watch, but this wasn’t one of the stronger outings for the Hall of Fame Ceremony.
Onto part II of the Wrestlemania Weekend Extravaganza – my predictions for NXT Takeover.
Tag Title Match: The Undisputed Era v AoP v Strong/Dunne.
Several injuries have really put a wrench into the tag title match. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Tournament has been taking place on NXT for the past few weeks. It appears that the original plan was to have Trent Seven and Tyler Bate win the tournament and challenge The Undisputed Era at Takeover. Unfortunately, an injury to Trent derailed those plans.
NXT adapted as they always do, and inserted Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne into the spot previously occupied by Seven/Bate. They also ran a non-finish to the finals of the tournament that saw the Authors of Pain get added to the match. Everything was going smoothly until an injury hit Bobby Fish and the tag champs were down a man.
It seems like Adam Cole will pull double duty and take Fish’s spot. Despite the chaos, I think this match will be fantastic. Dunne and Strong are much better workers than Seven and Bate. NXT has shown that they do multi-team tag matches as good as anyone.
As for the winner, this one is hard to call. This entire weekend is filled with matches that look to have multiple potential winners. This is a match where none of the teams involved look like obvious victors. The AoP have done everything there is to do in NXT and are likely going to show up on the main roster this coming week. The Undisputed Era is down a man and unlikely to keep the belts as a result. Dunne and Strong weren’t even a team at the start of the tournament, so logic would state that they aren’t going to win either. In the end, I believe that Seven and Bate were being groomed for the title win at Takeover. I’ll go with the team that replaced them, setting up a feud upon Seven’s return from injury.
Prediction: Pete Dunn and Roderick Strong.
Women’s Title Match: Ember Moon v Shayna Bayzler.
I’m really interested to see how this shakes out. This has been an under the radar feud. I’ve really enjoyed the dynamic between the two. I am a big fan of Ember Moon’s in-ring work, but I felt like her character was bland and didn’t bring much to the table. She’s really shined as the underdog face-in-peril during the run she is currently on.
I think that being paired with Shayna Bayzler has really helped. Bayzler is everything that the WWE hopes Ronda to be. She’s incredibly physical, can cut a passable promo and while she’s far from a finished product, you can see the potential there.
I abhorred the ending to their previous match, but I need not let that cloud my judgment. The match between the two prior to the ridiculous finish was really good. Moon and Shayna had really good chemistry together and it felt like they were just getting started when they cut to the aforementioned ending. I’m expecting this to be a sleeper match on a show that will be absolutely loaded with great matches.
I’m torn on the winner here too. On one hand