After Sri Lanka’s win against Ireland on Sunday night in Colombo, Ramiz Raja declared that a win is a win, whether it is against “minnows”, or the “big boys”.

The term “minnow”, in the cricketing context especially, refers to a smaller, ‘less serious’ opposition. Despite being a test-playing nation, Ireland tends to often be categorised under this moniker. However, the term is also heavily used to refer to associate cricketing nations – those teams that do not yet have permanent ICC membership or test-playing status.

While one could argue that Ramiz Raja meant well, his choice of words came across as patronising and dismissive of the effort associate nations put into cricket. The opening weekend of the ongoing T20 World Cup offered ample evidence to the contrary.

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