Kandy’s contribution to Sri Lanka cricket

For obvious reasons, the point of reference is 1960 or thereabouts. A short but extremely powerfully built fast bowler was terrorizing batsmen and dominating the local scene. He also packed a hearty wallop when he had the willows in his hands. He was not one to be put down and never hesitated to call a spade a spade. Sonny Yatawara, now no more, is the speedster in question.

The Yatawara legend started in the late 1950s when, turning out for Dharmaraja, he sent four terrified Peterites to hospital. It didn’t matter that the Bambalapitiya lads had a good speedster of their own in Anton Perera..!

Yatawara’s crowing moment was when he bowled Sobers neck and crop with an express delivery at the Sara stadium.

A couple of years later, the Rajan’s produced another speedster who, unlike Yatawara (he turned out for Ananda, too) was hundred per cent Dharamaraja, Tikiri Banda Kehelgamuwa who did not have Yatawara’s whippy action. Instead he had a long approach and built up momentum before unleashing his deliveries in full fury.

A good raconteur and an extrovert, Kehel had many a run in with his Government Service’s captain D.H. de Silva, a man whom he respected for his leadership skills. However he could never go along with the latter’s way of doing things.

I have a vivid memory of Kehel’s exuberance and confidence in his ability. In 1973, we played Wasim Raja’s under 25 side in a three day match at the Police complex in Bambalapitiyta, Unlike the extended and complicated warm ups (and warm-downs) of today, we were just having a few catches on the outfield when Kehel came up to me and grabbed my arm. The Pakistani’s were getting off the bus and pointing out Talat Ali, Kehel said in pithy Sinhala “I will give that bespectacled guy half a ball”. He was almost true to his word, as he scattered Talat Ali’s stumps with his second delivery! He had given the master-technician Geoff Boycott the identical treatment the year before.

Plucked almost from obscurity, the undergrad Mahes Gunatillaka was taken on the 1975 tour of India. His chances were few and far between, with Ranjith Fernando, Russel Hamer and Sunil Wettimuny all three to keep wickets. However, after some impressive performances in domestic cricket, Mahes was part of our first test team. His neat, unfussy, style of keeping was a revelation, and, my word, wasn’t he quick with his hands!

Bernard Perera, too, was part of our inaugural test squad and a month later went on a tour of Pakistan. But this was similar to Malinga Bandara’s recent tour. Bernard was destined never to be the groom, but always the bestman. Like Gunatilleka, he burned his boats with that disastrous tour of South Africa.

With Sri Lanka looking desperately for fast bowlers in its early days in test cricket, the arrival of the well-over-six-feet Ravi Ratnayake was God-send. He started off slowly and at one stage the number of appearances and wickets was almost identical. However he did go on to become the hero of Sialkot with his eight wickets in an innings – pressed into service to partner Sidath Wettimuny as opener in a test on Indian soil, Ravi made 93. Definitely, a utility man !

Being at the right place at the right time, certainly helped Nilantha Ratnayake. He was doing his studies in Australia when the injury-hit Sri Lanka side made use of his fast-medium bowling for some one day games. He didn’t set the Gangers or the Yamuna on fire, but NLK had made his mark. A brilliant sportsman at Trinity, NLK also excelled as a wing three quarter in rugby and as an athlete.

After Gunatillaka, the Antonians took a back seat until the emergence of three talented spinners, Ruwan Kalpage, whose brilliant fielding was his chief stock in cricket trade, made many appearances for Sri Lanka in ODIs. His test career was brief, chiefly due to the presence of a dusky magician who was a member of the Antonian team he led.

Left arm spinner Piyal Wijetunga should have played more tests than the two he did. Unfortunately, the vagaries of fortune saw to it that his career was snuffed out in its infancy.

Much has been written about the moderns, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara.

As Shakespeare said “painting the lily and gilding refined gold is ridiculous and wasteful expense”. The off spinner has some years left in the game and he will be driven by that record. Sangakkara, we hope, will go on for much longer.

The argument that bowler’s don’t make good captains may have worked against Murali – one wishes the stylish left hander will be handed the reins some day and thus become the first test captain produced by the hill country.