A rare, natural Cricketer who blossomed but didn’t bear fruit
Anura De Silva
One of Nalanda College’s finest all-round sportsmen- Anura De Silva- passed away last Saturday, following a brief illness. Anura was a Cricketer of exceptional talent which was apparent from his early childhood. An elegant right-handed batsman and a three-in-one left-arm bowler who could swing, spin and cut the ball, was one of the most feared schoolboy Cricketers in the late ’60s. Hailing from the coastal town of Ambalangoda, Anura represented Nalanda College at Cricket from Under 12 to 1st XI which he captained in 1967 and ’68, and was Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year, Best Bowler and Best All-rounder in both years.
An inspiring leader who got the best out of every member of the side, while leading from the front. Two memorable innings played by Anura were the century (133) he scored against St, Anthony’s College, Katugastota, and the swashbuckling 99 he scored in the 38th Ananda-Nalanda encounter in 1968. These two innings still linger in the memories of thousands of Nalandians who witnessed this star batsman in action. This talented Cricketer topped the 1000-run mark in 1967 and ’68. He scored five centuries, equalling Jack Anderson’s record, and captured 86 wickets in 1968, just missing the 6th century by a solitary run.
Under Anura’s captaincy, Nalanda won the Lifebuoy Shield for Best Team and led the Ceylon Schools team which included several Cricketers who represented Ceylon later. Anura led the Nalanda team that defeated Royal College after 26 years, and was invited to play for SSC. In his maiden appearance for the club, Anura scored a fine century against Tamil Union, and unfortunately, that was the last time this fine Cricketer was seen in the Cricket field. Anura represented the Board President’s XI against Hyderabad Blues led by Hanumant Singh in 1968.
He was an all-round sportsman who captained the Nalanda Football team, a member of the Basketball team, a member of the Athletic team and a champion Cyclist who won the cycle race event at every College Sports Meet. Due to reasons best known only to him, this all-round sportsman’s Cricket career came to an unexpectedly abrupt end, and the country lost the services of a Cricketer who would have been one of Ceylon’s best.
This is what veteran coach and Master-in-Charge of Cricket at Nalanda when Anura played, Nelson Mendis said, “I have never come across a sportsman with such enormous talent in whatever sport he was involved with. A Natural Cricketer who could single-handedly turn around any game with his all-round abilities. Unfortunately, this great one-of-a-kind Cricketer’s career was cut short for unknown reasons.”