NEVER PLAYED FOR
ROYAL !
Somewhat embarrassing answer to questions posed by young and old Royalists
whenever they query about my past cricketing career at Royal. Although I
have played cricket at various levels-From Sultanwatte Softball cricket Club
where I started my cricketing career to Sara Cricket at the Colombo
University and Moors Sports Club and finally to English County Cricket when
I was at Cambridge, I have never played for Royal not even the 'A' team! It
surprises many - some say that like Einstein I am a late developer in
cricket - Einstein could not enter University as he was poor m his studies!
With this uncommon Arabic sounding name, 'Greetings' is the real meaning,
being talked about in the cricketing circles today, I thought it is not a
bad idea to do some research to find out why I did not or could not play for
Royal during my era- 1963-1970.
With a logical analysis I came to the obvious conclusion that I did not play
for Royal because there were much cricketers at Royal at that time. Jagath
Fernando, Samarage, Hettiarachchi. Sunimal Yapa, Adamally, Thalayasingham
jnr are some names that come to my mind from those who excelled at cricket
during my time.
In my opinion to be a successful
cricketer several attributes are necessary - good technique, belief in
yourself, match temperament, mental toughness and luck! When it comes to
school level I think parental guidance and support (within limits!) also
becomes an important factor.
I had the opportunity of playing softball cricket from a.. very young age,
joining my brothers and cousins, most of whom excelled in both cricket and
hockey at top level. As expected we had more than the required numbers for
two teams, one of the advantages of an extended family system!
I was introduced to leather ball cricket when I came to Royal from
Greenlands (after I left both the name and the character of the school
changed!). Soon I became a minority among the minorities as I was a Muslim
in the Tamil medium, the only musallman for that matter. There was no
shortage of aliases -thambi, thoppi, hambe, nana, etc., (By the time I left
school I had forgotten my real name!). Our Class was divided into two teams
-"A" and "B". The elite (depends on your roots!) were admitted to the "A"
team captained by Thalay' - George Bush of our time -while the leftovers
like me had to join the "B" team. I had the company of the likes of
Chandrakumar the Galbody, Veema, Abraham, Ganeshalingam. The very first ball
I faced from Thalay - I am not sure if it was a Kookaboora or what - hit me
in the groins. With softball you get yourself behind the ball always and
excel in pull and hooks, but leather ball is a different ball game
altogether, specially when you have no protection whatsoever, as was the
case during 'interval cricket' at Royal on those days. From that point
onward I instinctively started to play away from my body when facing a
leather ball. Although I was coached later by Mr. Bertie Wijesinghe of the
basics of cricket and guided by my uncle Gulam Razick it took me years to
overcome that fear long after I left school.
When I joined the University of Colombo in 1971 the cricket team was
captained by Sarath Seneviratne and included the Thomian pacies Rudra and
Ravindran. Sarath was well known for his two consecutive 90s in two
successive years at the Royal-Thomian. Although Seneviratne is a Thora I
must admit that he was one of the most stylish cricketers I had ever come
across during my entire cricketing career. He had faith in my cricketing
ability and continued to play me in the team even when I failed miserably,
match after match. Two of the essential attributes of a successful cricketer
are self-confidence and match temperament, this you can get only through
experience and continued encouragement from others - captain, players,
coach etc. Some acquire these attributes pretty soon while people like me
who were given the leather ball baptism by the likes of 'Thalay' take a
longer time!
When I went for the Commonwealth
Scholarship interview in 1977, one of the panelists asked me why I have
chosen Cambridge University for my PhD. I replied - "to play cricket while
studying." He queried if I played for Royal and when I said "no" he was
somewhat sarcastic about my ambition. Fortunately another member butted in
saying that Norton Fredrick who was in the Sri Lankan side had never played
school cricket. In the very next year, at the Big Match played at Lords,
Gajan Pathmanathan. a well-known Royal cricketer opened the innings for
Oxford while the Cambridge opener was an unknown Royalist!
Another critical factor one should have If you are to become a successful
professional is mental toughness. In today's context without this you cannot
survive in this highly competitive atmosphere. You have to stomach all
sorts of abuses, slanders, sarcasms, eyeballing, shouldering etc., both on
and off the field. You need to have this armory facing the likes of [lie
West Indies pace trio - Andy Roberts. Colin Croft and Malcolm Marshall and
scoring 86 as I did in 1980 - mind you without helmet and other modern day
protective gear - elbow guard, body guard and the likes. Every four will be
followed by a barrage of four letter words and a bouncer! Even aristocratic
Pakistanis like Imran Khan, who was hammered for a four! Against Essex when
I thumped three consecutive fours against the West Indian Norbert Phillips
he almost floored me with a beamer, which prompted his captain Keith
Fletcher to stop him the very next over as he did not want to be a party to
a cold blooded murder! My educational background gave me tremendous
confidence and some sort of superiority complex over the others, which
helped me to hold my cool against this sledging! Finally you have to have
lady luck smiling on you-wrong decisions by the umpire, dropped catches,
unexpected opportunities to play for the side - there are many cases where
such events have helped players make the grade. I replaced Ian Peck, who has
represented England at Rugby and a minor county cricketer, as an opener in
my first year at Cambridge. Ironically in my 3rd year as coloursman this
same Peck became the first player in the history of Cambridge to be elected
as captain without having worn a Cambridge Blue!
During my Cambridge years I had opportunity to mingle with players like
Aliaster Hignell, who played rugby for England, Paul Parker, who introduced
the sliding fielding technique now mastered by the Australians, lan Greig,
brother of the famous Tony Greig, and the incredible hulk Derek Pringle,
England test cricketer, now a successful journalist. From the likes of
county players of the caliber of David Gower, Keppler Wessel, Graham Gooch,
Geoff Boycott, Derek Randall, Clive Rice I learnt the importance of
accumulating runs without going for full-blooded shots, the trademark of Sri
Lankan cricket and on occasion the downfall of some of our talented,
youngsters.
By the time I acquired some of the critical factors required to be a
successful cricketer I realized that it was time to hang up the boots as no
one has yet discovered the technique to slow down that inevitable process
of aging! Even though I did not make it to the top I have no regret
whatsoever. It was full of fun and pleasure - be it softball or leather
ball; class matches with Duro suitcases as wickets or first class match
played at England. It provided me an opportunity of enjoying life, learning
the art of team spirit, breaking communal barriers both on and off the field
and to become a true citizen of One Sri Lanka.
My dreams of continuing my cricketing link with my alma mater nearly
suffered a setback when my son denied entry to College. Fortunately my
appeal was upheld after an inquiry, and I managed to continue my genetic
link with Royal!
Azees M. Mubarak
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