THEN AND NOW BY D.B. GUNASEKARA(SNR)
In the nineties very little facilities were
afforded us for the game in that we had, indeed, very poor playing
fields. They were really so small that they were unfit for matches -
so much for the grounds. Then, in the choice of bats, boys had to
contend with something too heavy for them, as there was not a large
range to choose from. In spite of these drawbacks and the want of
coaching boys were very keen and tried to pick up something from
players of visiting sides that were not too frequent then. On
entering College it struck me forcibly how big made the first eleven
cricketers were. To mention a few: Royal had Loftus, de Vos,
Cockburn and Francis Jayasuriya and St. Thomas' had the Edirisinghes,
Oliver de Alwis and Claude Orr. The Royal lot were a set of joyous
adventurers who were out to hit every ball. Incidentally, Claude Orr
had first played for Royal in 1892 and then for St. Thomas' in 1893,
1894 and 1895. The two Principals, Warden Buck and Mr. Harward,
evidently with a view to bring a better understanding between the
two Colleges, set about arranging 2nd and 3rd XI matches which were
played simultaneously on the two college grounds; so that,
naturally, the teams in later years came on the grounds as FRIENDS
when they played for the first eleven in the BIG MATCH. As far as
Royal went, Mr. Harward, who knew the game well enough
theoretically, along with Ossie Van Hoff (a member of the Staff),
endeavoured to improve our standard. Mr. Harward used to get up
sides, weekly, to play against the College XI. Cricketers like
Brooke Elliot, Gordon Field, Ward and S. M. Burrows, the then
Director of Education, turned out very often for his side; and the
coaching of St. Thomas' was carried out by that famous cricketer F.
Stephens, a master of College and a very good cricketer who played
for All-Ceylon and the C. C. C.
Some really good cricketers ware turned out
during this time. St. Thomas' gave Ceylon cricket men like Oliver de
Alwis, Claude Orr, J. A. Scharenguivel, D. L. de Saram, A. C. Amath
and F. L. Goonewardena, while Royal turned out Elmore Jayatilleke,
J. C. Weinman and E. Weerasuriya. Though I mention only these names,
other players in these days were not very much behind. Everybody
knows about D. L. de Saram, but I must make special mention of E.
Weerasuriya, who I think, was the best right-handed batsman, bar
none at the time. It was during this period that the Combined
Colleges XI beat the redoubtable Colts. Later still there have been
really good products of the two schools like V. S. de Kretser,
Leonard Arndt, S. Saravanamuttu and E. Kelaart. The batting of that
time was of the run getting variety. Most boys could score all round
the wicket and could effect most shots. Of course, by doing this,
and on account of the not over-rolled grounds, their scores did not
reach the three figures. I do not mean that the bowling at the time
was of a poor order, for there were good class bowlers like D. L. de
Saram, J. A. Scharenguivel, A. C. Amath, A. S. Peglotte and V. S. de
Kretser to pick out but a few examples. Fielding was the weakest
point all round. This I attribute to the lack of good grounds to
practise on.
The present day boys are more fortunate in
having such great facilities thrown in their way such as better
grounds, better materials and a wider range to choose from,
literature on the game and keen old boys to help them along - not to
mention the advantage of watching good class club matches and
visiting teams in action much more frequently than in our time. The
improved wicket and the idea of "Test Cricket" have made them play
(at least try to play) orthodox cricket. Some few have been
successful, others overdo it. In spite of their slowness in getting
runs, I am not prepared to run down the sides of today. The boys
today have at least taken to piling up big scores, a thing little
known in our days. As for bowling, they certainly have, very often,
true and heart-rending wickets to bowl on. It is due to this that so
few show themselves as really good bowlers. Further, we must take
into consideration that boys have to start and end their school
career much earlier than before. In fielding they should be better,
having better grounds. Some really good cricketers who came out of
the schools in the present period are the Van Geyzels, L. D. S.
Gunasekera, Neil J.oseph, F. C. de Saram, S. S. Jayawickrama, H. F.
Goonewardena, C. E. L. de Silva, R. Hermon, B. R. Heyn and N. A. de
S. Wijesekera who scored a hundred in last year's match (1931).
These players compare very favourably with those turned out in our
time. The experiment of Warden Buck and Mr. Harward of playing 2nd
and 3rd XI matches has undoubtedly worked well, for it is noticeable
that the "after the match scraps" that were so frequent before this,
were gradually disappearing. Today it has reached its peak in that
the boys of the two schools meet as one and right good cordiality
prevails. In conclusion, I am not prepared to compare the cricket of
then and now. It is a vast question. But I must state here that I
enjoy the game as then played, when boys were out to hit the ball
and not, as in most cases today, where the ball is made to hit the
bat. By this I do not for a moment suggest that the boys of today
should play recklessly - but they should use the bat as a scoring
weapon just a little more frequently.
(Reproduced from "Royal-Thomian Souvenir"—1932
by G. R. S. Gunasekard and E. W. Goonawardena)
