Silibiris from Sillypoint

Silibiris from Sillypoint

Anura Ranasinghe, was one of the finest all-round cricketers produced by Nalanda and the first schoolboy to play in the World Cup.

I did field to his off spin bowling at silly point in an inter house cricket match, I am honoured to say somewhere in a score book it should record Wimalanatha Ct yours truly b Anura Ranasingha. That was the one and only game I had the fortune to play with him. However, I did watch him from the boundary line for many years after that.

I recall the day he brought his scrap book to our Grade 6 class. It was full of pictures and paper cuttings of his hero, Colin Cowdrey. As he turned the last page of his scrap book I said to him” I predict you will play for Nalanda and then one day you will represent your country just like your hero.” He laughed off my prediction.

Even at the age of 12, he was fiercely competitive, no matter what the game we played  which varied from suitcase-wicket softball inter class cricket matches to Elle to Nondi Paneema.

I still remember, him showing me how to pick the cricket ball’s seam. He was all of 12 years of age, long before anyone had dreamt of ball tampering.

He did go on to play for Nalanda at the age of around 14 years.

Ranasinghe distinguished himself as a right-hand batsman and bowled left-arm medium-pace and slow spin. As an allrounder he was renowned for his fighting qualities, where on several occasions he rescued Nalanda College from perilous situations with both bat and ball.

In 1975 Battle of the Maroons, Anura Ranasinghe broke the 32 years old bowling record by taking 8 wickets for 39. If I recall correctly, he had been hospitalised the day before after being injured during a practice session.

Ranasinghe created history in 1975 when he became the first schoolboy to play in a World Cup when he represented Sri Lanka in the inaugural tournament in England at the age of 18 years. He played in all three matches against West Indies, Australia and Pakistan.

He was unlucky not to make it to the final XI of Sri Lanka's inaugural Test against England at the Sara Stadium in February 1982. Arjuna Ranatunga got the vote ahead of him.

He never had the chance to fulfil his potential to the full at the highest level. Less than a year after Sri Lanka had played their inaugural Test with England in February 1982, he went to South Africa with a Sri Lanka rebel side. Along with 13 other players who undertook that tour he was banned for a period of 25 years.

The ban virtually ended his career as a cricketer. Cricket was Rane's life and he was never the same man again.

May he have a happy and a short journey though Sansara.

 

 

 

 

Silibiris Beyond the Boundary rope

 

Silibiris Beyond the Boundary rope

 

Sri Lanka starting T20 World Cup campaign today against South Africa in Bangladesh.

I’ve been thinking, how world cricket map is changing with the changes of our times.

Not so long ago no such thing called T20 until Modi and the moda men came along and threw their money around buying cricketers like a Used Car Market Auction.

Last time Sri Lanka won a World Cup they played 50 overs which had already been reduced from 60 overs a side in the First World Cup played in 1975..

Sri Lanka was the minnows of the comp then, just like Nepal in World Cup 2014. Bangladesh had been East Pakistan while South Africa was in purgatory.

Today Nepal coached by Pubudu Dassanayak had qualified to play the Big Boyz in T20 game where them havu no proper cricket grounds in the Himalayas. Them Nepalese boyz playing for them country not talking pay. Whereas Sri Lankan team left for the Cup campaign disgruntled after a pay dispute.

Professional cricketers can and should demand to be treated professionally. However,  should they forget their roots and the sacrifices made by Ceylon Teams and even Sri Lankan Teams up to 1996 World Cup win.

 

Youkno Youkno sirla nonala,

Them days Sivapalan and Silibiris best frens and mad cricket fans. We no havu Test matches, 50 over matches let alone T20 matches to see them days. We go see school cricket matches watching Anandians Wettimunis, Ajith De Silva and Nalandians Kaluperuma, Warnapura Anura Ranasingha play Royalists Kariyawasam, Pathamanathan or Thomians like Duleep Mendis, HSM Peris. We saw Jaffna boys from St Johns, St Patricks  taking on Colombo School boys on equal footing.

 

If we lucky, we saw Touring Aussies, English or Windies play 4 day games against Ceylon or Sri Lankan teams gentlemen like Tissera, Tennekoon, Stanley Jayasingha, PI Peris, Chanmugam, Fitzroy Cozier, HIK Fernanado and Daya Sahabandu.

 

One such game, we climbed the Andara Trees lining the Colombo Oval perimeter fence to get a glimpse of Tony Greig batting. All Andara tree baranches  were “House Full”

Tony Grieg hitting hitting

Andara tree boyz shouting shouting clapping clapping

 

 

We want another six…… we want another six

Andara tree branch swaying up and down like in Simple Harmonic motion

Tony Greig obliging hitting a six sailing towards Andara trees

Andara tree boyz going wild

The branch not taking any more Simple Harmonic Motioning

Breaking at the trunk going jara baraaas  with the boyz falling

Right into the makeshift latrine with no roofing

All the spectators hooting and hooting even Tony Grieg laughing laughing

 

Them days Gopalan Trophy against Tamilnadu was the international game. Same same when Honkong Singapore team came to be hammered by Waranapura and Tennekoon setting batting records against them.

 

 Battles of the Blues, Maroons, Joe – Pete, Isipathana Thurstan were the main games in  town

When them school boyz got on trucks, papare band playing, roaming the streets and invading Bishops, SBC, and Ladies College showing off to their girl friends

All innocent fun in them days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Pettihouse Sivapalans and Pelihouse Silibiris happi happi

Thanks to then Politeesans like Gamini Dissanayaka and Cricket Board pepol

when ICC Gods say ok Sri Lanka you big boy now you can play Tests

Nalanda and Bloomfield captain becoming first ever Test captain of Sri Lankan Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

Them days no like now Tamil pepol also barracked for the Sri Lankan Team not the side whoever playing against them

Even if no players from Jaffna, Killinochchi or Mullativue in the team

Tamils, Sinhala, Malay and Burger pepol all gathered under Sri Lankan Lion flag carried by Percy escorting the Sri Lankan Team

It’s a far cry from the time now when embassy pepol photocatching Tamil Eelam suporters at SCG

Carrying Tiger Flags and Human Rights banners shouting free the boat pepol and put army pepol in jail

 

More has changed since them days when Royal, Thomians, Joe, Petes school ties dominated the Ceylon Sri Lanka teams

When membership in NCC, CCC, SSC were exclusive not for black arsed western thinking pepol but sarong Johnnys from lower class and them other goday schools

You had to be somebody or somebody’s son to get in

Until Arjuna changed it all by wearing a sarong to SSC 

 

It is the same attitude him show taking on ICC standing by Murali when them called

 him for chucking at MCG

He almost single handedly changed the grip Colombo School dominance

By bringing players to join SSC, NCC unrecognised players like jayasuriya from  far away

Them had no proper shoes, proper clothes and certainly not bundles of designer made bats

Often relying on  kindness  of Sri Lankans community supporters giving them bottles of seen sambo to eat with bread in the 5 star hotels them staying

So them could save the allowance them getting to take back home

 

 

On 17^th March 1996 Arjuna led Sri Lanka to World Cup victory

With the likes of Aravinda, Kalu and  Jayasuriya, Gura Murali Vaas and Mahanama who might have played with polpithi bats and kaduru bola in them young days

Beating Taylors men consisting of giants like Warne, Waughs, McGrath and Big Talking Healys

 

 

While expat Sri Lankans glued to their cable TVs and Sri Lankans coming out to dance in the streets

Awakening the corrupt and the greedy wanting a piece of the action to make money from a game that remained noble and humble until then

 

One thing is constant  in life, everything will change with time.