Sri Lanka Schools: A very exciting and memorable cricket match (21 May 1999)

21 May 1999

Sri Lanka Schools: A very exciting and memorable cricket match

Herbert Jayasuriya

As the World Cup is still in progress, I thought I will take this opportunity to write about the most interesting and memorable cricket match that I played as a schoolboy. This was the annual encounter between Kingswood and Trinity played in early January 1958 at the Police Grounds, Kandy.

While observing the cricket gear worn by the players in the World Cup and also presently by schoolboys one is reminded that a batsman looks completely different from the Batsman who went to bat in early 1958. The present batsman looks more of a Knight in shining armour during the time of King Arthur rather than a Batsman. I say this because in 1958 the only gear that a batsman had to protect himself were the cricket pads, the box guard, and his batting gloves.

With regard to the box guard there is a very interesting and amusing story pertaining to an American Television star who was greatly interested in cricket. He was interviewed by a female BBC Announcer on a BBC Programme. The female announcer had no idea of how the game of cricket was played. During the course of the interview, the announcer asked the American Television star as to what the most amusing incident that he saw on the cricket field. The Television star replied that when he was watching a cricket match at Lords, C. B. Fry the famous Cricketer came into bat. When he walked about 30 yards from the pavilion he gave a startling cry and ran to the pavilion and went straight into the toilet. He returned after about 10 minutes and when he came to bat he was asked by his opponents as to why he cried so loudly. He said he had a wasp in his box. The female Announcer who was ignorant of cricket gear asked the television star what a box was and the television star replied "Madam it is the brassier like apparel which a batsman wears between his legs to protect himself."

Before describing the incidents of the match reference should be made to the players of both teams who played in this match. The Trinity College team that was led by the late Nimal Maralanda who was a hard hitting left hand batsman and a very good spin bowler. They also had Malsiri Kurukulasuriya a very stylish right hand batsman. This team also included Eric Roles, Kenneth De Joodt, M. Chickera, Canto Peiris, Roger Abeyratne (Wicket Keeper), Sena de Silva, Jayatissa Ratwatte and two others.

The Kingswood team was captained by Maurice Fernando who was an excellent opening batsman and a good spin bowler. He became the "School Boy Cricketer" of that year. I had the pleasure of opening the batting with him. The others in the side were Godwin Manamperi (Vice Captain), Maurice's brother Wimal who was an excellent fast bowler and a hard hitting batsman, Ranjit Dharmawardene, his brother Lou, Clifford Ratnavibushana (Wicket Keeper), Cedric Augustine, Somakeerthi, Khrishnaraj, Hilerian Gunaratne, Nissanka Kumarasinghe and Clifford Harvie.

On the first day afternoon, when the match commenced, Nimal Maralanda won the toss and elected to bat. Trinity piled up 194 runs for 5 wickets and declared their innings at 5.00 o'clock. Nimal Maralanda scored 64 not out. At the close of play we were 30 for 1 wicket. I was bowled by Roles for 1 run. This was the only Kingswood wicket to fall that evening.

The following morning our side was bundled out for 62 runs. Chickera with his medium pace bowling was almost unplayable and he took six wickets. However Maurice who opened the innings carried off his bat throughout the innings and remained unbeatened with 30 runs.

We were asked to follow on. It was a very depress Kingswood side that gathered in the dressing room after the 1st innings. Our acting Principal Mr. Thambapillai and our coach Mr. Winston Hoole did their best to encourage us but an innings defeat was staring at us.

When Maurice and I opened the Kingswood second innings our biggest problem was to master the bowling of Chickera. We hammered Chickera for several boundaries so that he was taken out of the bowling attack. Having overcome Chickera's bowling Maurice and I went to score 178 runs. At this score I got out for 95 runs. My friend Maruice got out subsequently having made 101 runs thereby being the first "Schoolboy centurion" for 1958. Both of us from a disastrous position gave the Kingswood second innings a solid start. After this opening stand the rest of the Batsmen Manamperi, Ranjith Dharmawardene, Clifford Ratnavibushana punished the Trinity Bowlers and by the tea interval we had amassed over 330 runs.

With a lead of 210 runs we decided to declare our innings closed after tea. The Trinity batsmen accepted our challenge and especially Canto Peiris went on the rampage and hit our bowlers all over the field. Several chances given by Canto Peris were dropped by our fielders. This assisted him to score an unbeaten century and the Trinitians beat us in the final over by scoring the winning runs. We could have improved our catching immensely if my younger brother Bertram had invented his fielding machine "Catchit" at that time.

We could have also easily drawn this match if we continued our innings after tea, but we thought that the Trinitians will go for the runs and sacrifice their wickets and we would have a chance of winning this match. But the Trinitians took up our challenge and beat us fair and square. This was a memorable match because from the brink of an innings defeat we wrested the advantage from the Trinitians. However, in the end the Trinitians were victorious.

Of the players who played on both sides two Trinitians are no more. They are Canto Peiris who met with a fatal accident whilst driving a car in the Netherlands and Nimal Maralanda who died about 1 1/2 years ago. Later on Maurice, Wimal and I had the pleasure of playing with Nimal and Canto for the Kandy combined colleges side. We hope their souls are resting in peace.

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