1954 - 1958 REMINISCING BY MICHAEL TISSERA
The 75th encounter in 1954 was my first "Big
Match". I was really still a tot - a few days short of my 15th
birthday.
It was only a few weeks earlier that I was
playing tennis one evening on the Warden's Court in Mt. Lavinia when
I was summoned to bowl at the First Eleven, preparing for a match
against St. Benedict's. I must have bowled well for I was in the
team that week-end. Ironically it was my bowling that gave me my
first big break.
To play in the Royal match is the dream of
every Thomian cricketer and fortunately 1 did enough in the matches
leading up to the big one, to keep my place.
Royal were favourites having had a better
record. Nirmalingam was Captain and they had Ubhaya de Silva, Ranjit
de Silva, Kreitszheim and Crozier from previous years. Among the
freshers were the talented Perimpanayagam, Michael Wille and
Jothilingam - brother of the skipper.
Bar Weerasinghe led us. Tyrrel Gauder was our
batting mainstay and we also had two of the previous year's heroes,
Dan Piachaud and Geoff Wijesinghe. Tony Witham injured himself at
practice and unfortunately could not play. Sri Lanka's present motor
racing champion, David Pieris opened bowling. Incidentally David's
son, Johann leads S. Thomas' this year and Geoff Wijesinghe's son,
S. P. Wijesinghe is likely to play. This set of Fathers and Sons
will have played in Jubilee games.
We won the toss and batted. Royal's Captain,
Nirmalingam opened bowling amidst great excitement. Gauder flashed
at the first ball of the match and there was a roar of appeal. "Not
out" s id the umpire. Later he confessed he hadn't realised the
match had started! Skipper Weerasinghe opened batting for us and was
the mainstay in a disappointing performance by our batsmen. We
collected 131.
When Nirmalingam opened batting for Royal the
two skippers equalled a 28 year old record by opening their
respective innings. The previous occasion was by D. W. L. Lieversz (Snr.)
(Royal) and R. Jayatilleke (S. T. C.) in 1926.
Nirmalingam was in fine form until he ran himself out for 69.
Rabindran, Ranjit de Silva and Jothilingam made useful contributions
and Royal ended the first day in a strong position at 230 for 7-99
runs ahead. Most predictions were of an easy Royal victory.
On the second day Royal continued to 290, a
lead of 159 runs and we were up against it. Our openers gave us a
fine start by putting on 74 with Gauder showing the way. He was out
for 61 and two more wickets fell early. I joined Geoff Wijesinghe
and shared a partnership of 73 which took us out of danger. When bad
light stopped play 45 minutes early we were 191 for 4 with
Wijesinghe not out 42. An honourable draw.
In a difficult situation my 48 runs gave me
immense satisfaction and was perhaps the best innings 1 played
against the old foe. I still treasure a book on cricket given to me
by Royal's present coach Gamini Salgado, after that performance,
with the inscription "For a great innings played, for a greater
innings to be played yet, in life! May you play that as well as you
did in your first big match"-from a Royalist.
The big match was a tremendous experience and I
doubt that any other cricket occasion provides the same atmosphere,
serious cricket in carnival surroundings.
I was fortunate to play in four more big
matches and captain two of them in 1957 and 1958. Unfortunately all
games were drawn but some fine batting performances featured the
years 1956-1958.
In 1956 Jothilingam, who had a miserable season
leading up to the big game, clobbered a fine 121 when Royal were
struggling at 103 for 6. Ronald Reid for S. Thomas' replied with a
superb 158 not out to break Norman Siebel's 20 year old record of
151 not out. Royal claim that Reid was out at 37 caught behind, but
then they also claim that Siebel too, was out.
In 1957 Michael Wille leading Royal and opening
the innings scored a fine 121. A fitting adieu to his cricket in
Ceylon, for he left soon after to make Australia his home. For us
Ronald Reid again produced two fine innings of 65, once not out.
With that he achieved the highest aggregate in the series - 325 runs
beating Neil Joseph's (Royal) record of 317 runs.
In 1958 Royal had two outstanding batsmen In
Lalith Senanayake and Michael Dias. Both played good innings. We had
a famous last wicket stand between J. K. C. Gunasekera and Dennis
Ferdinands, both using the long handle to advantage. Great stuff of
which we see little today.
Over the period 1954 to 1958 Royal produced
three cricketers who played for Ceylon. Fritz Crozier a flighty
left-arm spinner, full of guts and a great team man. Nihal
Kodituwakku, the pint sized opener who looked a midget next to some
international fast bowlers he played against. They didn't need to
bounce at him. Finally, Daya Sahabandu a fine left-arm spinner who
still takes wickets regularly for his Club in Sara cricket. S.
Thomas' contributed five. Dan Piachaud played against the MCC.
Earlier he played with distinction for Oxford and the MCC. R. J.
Reid a good opener, Neil Chanmugam who had fine big match
temperament and T. C. T. Edwards who opened and also played for the
Daily Mirror Eleven facing West Indians - Hall and Watson with
little bother. He still reminds me that he would have got a ton if I
hadn't run him out. The other was myself. Besides us, Idroos toured
India but didn't play in the Test while Dennis Ferdinands
represented the Ceylon Cricket Association in the Gopalan Trophy.
Nihal Gurusinghe was a trialist. Other than for Piachaud all played
in the Thomian team in 1958. Royal produced some fine cricketers who
didn't play seriously after leaving school - a pity.
Lorensz Pereira, Michael Dias and Lalith Senanayake had immense
talent and could have played representative cricket had they tried.
Many players of the 1954-1958 era, from both
schools are now living abroad. During a recent visit to Melbourne I
was fortunate to meet Tony Witham, Dennis Ferdinands and two Royal
Captains, Fritz Crozier and Lorensz Pereira. It was great
reminiscing on old times. The Centenary match in March 1979 will no
doubt give us a further opportunity to live in the past.
