Merrill Dunuwille - a classy batsman! (8 October 1998)

8 October 1998

Merrill Dunuwille - a classy batsman!

by Ken de Joodt

Over in Sri Lanka from USA - for a short stay, is debonair Merrill Dunwille, an outstanding cricketer of the seventies ! Merrill is currently working in Palmsprings, California - and is here to co-ordinate and invite Sri Lankan film producers to participate in the Palmsprings International Film Festival, to be held in USA later this year.

It was in 1970 that this stylish young left-handed batsman Merrill Dunwille, performed incredibly well for St. Anthony's College, Kandy. By scoring over ten centuries over a period of four years '70 to '73, Merrill inscribed his name in the record-books of school cricket, scoring a beautiful century in his debut against Trinity in 1970. He also kept wickets.

At the tender age of fifteen years Merrill took full lease of the new trust wicket at St. Anthony's college, to score a brilliant century and christen it in grand style ! In honour of his outstanding performances, Merrill was awarded the "Super Eagle". His coach was B.W. Perera, the former D.S. Senanayake college junior coach, who incidentally coached Aravinda de Silva.

Merrill nostalgically recollects playing along with Roy Dias, the Sri Lanka National Team Coach, Duleep Mendis, Gajan Pathmanathan, Ajith de Silva and Bandula Warnapura in the Sri Lanka Schools XI, against the Australian schools. In later years he played for the BRC and Saracens and the Central Province team. He bids farewell this coming Saturday!

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)