OVER TO YOU BERTIE (FINAL)
The Royal-Thomian of the sixties
When the decade began the CH & FC and the CCC. was
exclusively European in membership. In 1962 the CH & FC rugby team was
invincible with players of the calibre ofTait and Legget. However, within a
year their stocks had receded drastically as British companies Ceylonised
their workforce in response to allegations of racism and to stave off take-overs.
By the sixties end, CH & FC and CCC had amalgamated and opened their
membership to non-Europeans.
At the
start of the sixties spiked baiting gloves were in vogue. By the late
sixties all gloves had sausage cushioning. Similarly the protector with
straps gave way to the plastic slip in. The brown pith helmet (aka gal
thoppi), although still de rigueur in 1960, had become a collector's item in
a couple of years. (In the 1961 big-match Thiagarajah broke tradition and
wore a cloth hat. The fate of the pith helmet was sealed when the 1963
Thomian team discarded it en masse for the cotton hat.) The decline of the
pith helmet overlapped with the arrival of the flannel shirt. Flannel pants
were also gaining acceptance, but at a slower rate. S.S. Kumar was the first
Royalist to play In full flannel.
At the time of the 1960 Royal-Thomian Dahanayake was
caretaker PM, a post card cost 3 cents and JFK had just assumed office. In
1969 former Thomian cricketer Dudley Senanayake was PM, a post card cost 5
cents and the Poya day had long replaced the Sunday holiday.
Every decade is special to those who participated In it
as players
and spectators. What made the sixties big-match memorable
for those who experienced it were inspired individual performances and four
exciting finishes (62, 64, 65 and 69), In addition, the 1965 Thomian team
was arguably the best Sri Lankan school team of all time, and Royal's 1962
pace attack was as lethal as it gets.
A
Secular Spirit
Although Sinhalese nationalism was all the rage in the
political arena, and Royal's school population was predominantly Buddhist,
Royalists (and Thomians) were race and religion blind. Individual sportsmen
and captains of team sports were pilloried for their performance and
selections, not for their ethnicity. I doubt whether any Royalist ever
realised, or cared, that nine of Royal's cricket
captains In the sixties were non-Buddhists. A commendable
secular atmosphere also prevailed at S. Thomas' (STC), which although a
private Christian school produced five Non Christian Captains in the same
period. Captains ofS. Thomas' was at a spiritual advantage because he could
take two bites at the divine cherry. For Instance, the Thomian skipper
arrived for the 1969 game with his spinning linger blessed by the "Lode" at
the behest of Warden "Plantain" Selvaratnam, and a lemon obtained from a
kattadiya. (In a 1993 souvenir article he described a hillarious scene in
which the Warden's sombre supplications had to compete with the "incessant
bellows" of "ado plantain!" from the street below.)
The Wanatamulla
Oval
For those whose memory of the big match doesn't go beyond
the fifties, the Oval was the traditional home of the Royal-Thomian,
although the match was played there exclusively only from 1950. Also, while
the Oval could always accommodate the Royal-Thomian, the modern day home of
the Royal-Thomian consisted of nothing but the modern pavilion, suited for
final practice and after match dinners, but far from a big-match venue.
Unlike the SSC of today the dressing rooms at the Oval are set apart at
opposite ends which lent a spatial dimension to the rivalry. To talk of a
Royal and Thomian camp was more than metaphorical.
At the
southern end of the ground, between the sight screen and the Mustangs tent.
was the commentators box, the home. for the duration of the game, of Bertie
Wijesinha (from whom this article gets its title) and Luclen de Soyza. They
articulated the finer points of the game in impeccable English and were a
much loved institution. In addition, Bertie's erudite post-mortem's for the
Ceylon Observer are the definitive analyses of the Royal-Thomians of the
decade.
The SSC
grounds for all its development has nothing to match to match the Oval's
picturesque ivy covered scoreboard. The trip to the Oval provided ample
opportunity to wave the flag and flaunt one's allegiances through Colombo's
roads. And as Baseline and Serpentine Roads became congested there was
splendid opportunity for interaction and jollity, and for the sense of
anticipation to build up. Nearing the grounds spectators were often
confronted by the Intrepid sight of persons climbing the radio towers to
plant a school flag.;
As the decade
unfolded
A young spectator's concentration is most fresh during
the first
two
sessions of the match. From'1961 to 1967 S. Thomas' batted first and as a
result the chronicler became more familiar with the mannerisms of the
Thomian top order than that of their Royal counterparts. They were Morrell.
L. S. Perera and Medonza, and the triumvirate ofTennekoon, Goonasekera and
Seneviratne, who between the three of them accounted for 60% of their
schools first innings totals between 1963 and 1965, which averaged 251. It
was frustrating to be a Royal supporter during this period when a draw was
the most that could be hoped for. Thomian batting domination seemed
ominously set to continue for the remainder of the decade unless Royal
started winning a few tosses. Batting first was so important because the
fielding tended to wilt in the last hour before tea. The team batting second
had to start new the next day against a fresh attack and could only hope for
a draw even if things went well.
From 1960 to 1964, Royal averaged 5.4 coloursmen per
season, and 5.6 for the five remaining seasons of the decade. For the first
half of the decade STC averaged 6.4 coloursmen per season, but this dropped
to 4.8 for the latter half of the decade. However, considering that Royal
and STC lost a game each with 6 coloursmen, and STC won the Times of Ceylon
trophy for the best school team in 1966 with only two coloursmen, what made
the difference were freshers unburdended by reputation who debuted strongly.
In the late sixties those who entered Royal College
between 1962 and 1964 came to the fore and although STC still managed to
spring surprises with relatively raw talent, it was to little effect. Royal
had many players who could have walked into most school sides but struggled
to secure a permanent spot in the Royal team. In addition, the luck of the
toss finally began to favour Royal, with immediate results.
Dream Teams
Ranjit Gunasekara, Royal's 1968 captain, described
Royal's cricketers of the late fifties and early sixties as demi-gods, in an
article which appeared in Royal's 1995 souvenir. The cricketers of the
sixties would have been simialary revered by collegians five or more years
their junior. From the 62 and 60 players/legends who represented Royal and
S. Thomas' in the sixties respectively, the following is a selection of best
teams in batting order.
ROYAL TEAM
N. Hettiaratchy, J. Femando, S.S. Kumar, V. Malalasekera,
M. Dias, A. Jayaweera (captain), S.D. Jayaratne (wicket keeper), S.
Rajaratnam, R.C. de Silva, D. Lleversz, D. Sahabandu 12th man: D. Caldera
STC
TEAM
Ajlt Jayasekera (wicket keeper); C.E.M. Ponnlah.
Anura Tennekoon (captain), S.B. Seneviratne, S.J. Rajapakse, P.L.D.
Kariyawsam, M.L. Idroos, B.D. Reid, K. Labrooy, H.S.M. Pieris, G.
Balasingham 12th man; M.A. Hameed
I looked at the relative merits of" players up to the
time of leaving school. In a.fantasy team a dose of reality is injected by
judging people according to what they were in school. If player was good at
school and also matured at the club level, this is a plus. After all, the
purpose of this exercise is to celebrate the achievements of those we
identifleld as Royalists and Thomians and acknowledge that special rapport
we had with them and the pride they instilled in us. I also give players
extra brownie points for good performances in the big match irrespective of
poor form during the season. It is irrelevant whether players blossomed in
the late fifties or early seventies, providing they played in the sixties
and made their mark as Royalists/Thomians rather than as ex-Royalists/Thomians.
However, I make a exception for Sahabandu who bowled fast for Royal but
went on to become, arguably, the best left arm spinner that Sri Lanka
produced at international level, many of whose best international efforts
were at the Oval.
The
Thomian team of 1965 and the Royal team of 1962 contribute the bulk of
players in both sides. Whereas only two players from 1965 onwards make the
Thomian side, the Royal team has three players from the 1969 side and many
excellent candidates from the late sixties, whose exclusion is regrettable.
Thomian talent was concentrated in the early sixties, and their best players
stood shoulders above, not Just fellow Thomians, but also their Royal
counterparts. Royal's talent was distributed over the whole decade, the
specialists in the first half and all rounders in the second half. While STC
lost her ability to churn out champions by the decade's end, the freshers of
the 1968 and 1969 teams the 1970 side one of Royal's best. (The 1970 side
certainly had a better spin attack, and, as a result, a more balanced attack
than the 1962 team. However, it didn't have Darrell who, along with R.C de
Silva, was capable of routing sides for astonishingly low scores.
Many
Thomians would rue the omission of the late Premalal Goonesekera, a great
leader and the only one to have succeeded in converting STC's dominance in
the early sixties to and actual victory. When Bradman was asked to pick his
best Australian team he went for those who could be picked on either their
bowling or batting, not because they could do both. Hence, I pick players
on their specialist skills, and not on their ability to lend balance to the
overall team or their leadership qualities.
It is a
pity that no room can be made for Dennis Chanmugam, schoolboy cricketer of
the year 1968, and Azam Harneed, argubly the most outstanding all-round
sportsman produced by STC during the sixties, the latter who produced two
hard hitting second innings knocks in successive Royal-Thomians. The absence
of batsmen such as S.C. Samarasinghe, Nanda and Lalith Senanayake, all of
whom would have made the best fifties Royal side. and Brian Pereira, will no
doubt raise many eye brows. However, no other openers from either school
came near to matching Heltiarachy's and Eernando's performances at the Qyal
and at the national level.
Michael
Dias, Nanda Senanayake and Samerasinghe made only one good score each in the
Royal-Thomian. Yet, Michael Dias, who in Michael Tissera's opinion, would
easily have played for Ceylon, if he was so inclined, gets the nod ahead of
his contemporaries. Jayaratne keeps on the strength of his ability to keep
up to D. Lieversz and his 6 dismissals in single innings.
Royal had a surfeit of all rounders, who were primarily
batsmen who could bowl spin (N. Senanayake, Kudahetty, Skandakumar, Mendis.
Wickremasuriya, Jayaweera, Paul, Yapa), and medium pace (Dias, Kumar, Macan
Markar, Gunasekara and Caldera), S. Rajaratnam is the only genuine
all-rounder in the final side. Hence, the Royal team, with the exception of
her opening bowlers, is filled with semi-all rounders, while the Thomians
field a team of specialists. Their well balanced attack is headed by Pieris,
Balasingham and Reid. This is backed up by Labrooy, Tennekoon (left arm
spin), Rajipakse fand jKariyawasam (off spin), and idross (leg-spin).
Cost a
Giant Shadow
The two
players who had a psychological grip over their opponents had reputations
that preceded the Royal-Thomian. Royal's preeminent sporting icon was
Darrell Lieversz who, in the years 1961 and 1962, captured the imagination
of Royalists in a manner that is unlikely to be duplicated. When he wasn't
the epitome of ath-leticism he was the embodiment of the fast bowling
aesthetic, obtaining a haul of over 60 wickets in two successive seasons.
Arguably, no school bowler in Sri Lanka came close to matching his dominance
in 1962, when one for a brief shining moment he made Royalists feel like
kings, darrell's embodiment of strength, speed and sporting craft, Sarath
Abeysundera, to name his first son Darrell in the hope that he too would
excel in sport. For possibly the only time in the history of the big-match a
team arrived at the Oval (in 1962) with their minds already focused on
"saving" the game, such was the reputation of Royal's opening bowlers after
dismissing St. Peter's twice for under 50. At the end of the first day's
play Thomians were simply satisfied that St. Thomas' "couldn't lose".
darrell was of age to play in 1963 and freed of the burdens of captaincy
would have been recurring nightmare for the Thomians. (In-1962-63 Darrell
went on to create a bowling record in the Sara trophy tournament which was
eventually beaten by fellow Royalist Sahabandu).
The
Thomian second innings of 1967 is one most Royalists would rather forget.
Many consider it to be a batting onslaught unparalleled in the history of
the event. At the centre of it was opener Ajit Jayasekera whose carefree 31
in the first innings enabled St. Thomas' to reach 50 in 30 minutes. It has
always been the custom for teams batting first in the Royal-Thomlan to start
cautiously and lay the platform for an acceleration of the scoring rate in
the last hour to tea. However, Jayasekera's approach was more akin to modern
day openers exploiting the first 15 overs of a limited over game with the
fielders restricted to the circle. While Malalesekera was calculating in
his ruthlessness, Jayasekera appeared to be contemptuous of every
convention associated with sensible batting.
In the
second innings St. Thomas' made 263 for the loss of three wickets, at four
and a half runs per over, beginning with a opening stand of 118, and ending
with an unbeaten fourth wicket stand of 108. D.A. Ponniah who scored an
unbeaten century was a mere bystander playing second fiddle to Jayasekera
(75 run out) and M.A. Harrieed (59 n.o.). Jayasekera annihilated an attack
led by Chitty and Brian Lleversz, who between them had captured 113 wickets
leading to the Royal-Thomian.
Jayasekera loomed large in Royal's thinking between 67 and 69. In 1968
Ranjith Gunasekera applied the screws on Jayasekera with the same sort of
urgency that the Thomians approached D. Lieversz in 1962. Just before taking
the field for the sceond Thomian innings in 1969, assistant coach Channa
Gunasekara took the Royal captain aside and urged him to go on the
defensive without hesitation if things got out of control. At the back of
his thinking was no doubt the possibility of Jayasekera breaking loose and
duplicating his 1967 efforts. The Royal-Thomian is all the richer for larger
than life characters such as Jayasekera, who forced their opponents to dig
deep.
Memories are made of these
The one Innings of the sixties which time doesn't dim and
the memory of which improves like good wine, is without doubt Vijay
Malasekera's century of 1963. Bradman's 254 in the Lords test of 1930 was
the first time in international cricket that a batsman had so mercilessly
and contemptuously dominated an attack. It is also considered to be
Bradman's most perfect innings. Likewise, Vijay established a new yardstick
for measuring Royal-Thomian hundreds while the salient feature of his knock
was its flawless quality. Every time he left the crease one never fell he
was going to loft it or miss it completely. Me minimized risk through
decisiveness and the application of brute force.
The
majesty with which Vijay toyed with the Thomian attack and the speed with
which the runs flowed after lunch made it seem that he scored his century
between lunchand and tea. For the record Malasekera (112 n.o.) and Cedric
Fernando (47 n.o.) scored 66 runs in 79 minutes before lunch and 99 runs in
43 minutes after lunch.
People
like Vijay. by rising to the occasion, embody the hopes and aspirations of
their supporters. This is why he, Tennekoon (1962), Wadugodapitiya (1965).
Jayasekera (1967) and Samarage (1969) will be long remembered. They made
spitits soar and gave the Royal-Thomian that transcendent quality.
Very few
people recongnise the importance of Tennekoon's batting in the first innings
of the 1962 game. At 15 years of age he kept the mighty Royal bowling at bay
and featured in a 88 run partnership with Selvadurai (68 n.o) which rescued
the Thomian innings from a shaky 86 for 6 (the last 4 wickets falling within
the space of 11 runs). Although Tennekoon's contribution was only 28 Darrell
Lieversz found him hardest to bowl to of the Thomian batsmen because of his
tight technique, and rates his batting above that of Selvadurai.
The
sixties didn't witness any match winning solo bowling performances.
although N. Senanayake, D. Lieversz, Kumar, L. Thalayasingam, Wadugodapitiya
and Gunasekara (Royal), Idroos, Labrooy. R. d Silva. B. Reid and Balasingham
(STC), turned in economical hauls of 4 wkts or more. Labrooy the only
person to capture 6 wickets in an innings, which he achelved twice, must be
rated as the bowler of the decade. No bowler from either side had his
ability to bottle up batsmen and force them into errors.
A catch that won a match
They do
not come and better than Upali Samarage's spectacular catch to end a 42
minute long fifth wicket stand in the Thomiar second innings of the 1969
game. His effort will be forever etched ir the mind's eye. Its timeliness is
what makes it more significan than the eually brilliant catches taken by de
Saram and Caldera in 1968. Royal either captured a wicket before the drink
break (at £ pm) or enjoyed no meaningful success from thereon. Frustration
and errors on Royal's part would have paralleled growing confidence on the
part of the Thomians. Time was running out when Samarage came running in
from deep mid-wicket and diving to his front grabbed the ball inches off the
ground.
Cricket at its finest
The most
competitive cricket occurs when a team is chasing quick runs in order to set
a target. The batting side has to score runs fast and not lose wickets
quickly. The team on field has to capture quick wickets in an attempt to
delay the Inevitable declaration and regain the Initiative. The heightened
alertness on the part of batsmen, fielders and bowlers, and the precise
mathematical projections being made in the pavilion, is mirrored in the
reaction of the crowd, which comes alive at the possibility of an eventful
afternoon, and is caught up by the unfolding drams as much as the players.
Deathly silence rapidly alternates with roars of enthusiastic approval,
unlike the more dispersed crowd reaction, which accompanies a game in
either gestation or in a stalemate. This scenario was realised in two
successive matches, 1968 and 1969, with Royal at the crease. Twice STC threw
everything into in the fray but her hopes were sunk by the discipline of
Royal's second wicket pair who saw Royal through to over 70 runs before
departing. By coincidence the same batsmen, S. Thalayaslngam (32 twice) and
Jayaweera; (49 and 25) were involved on both occasions.
Best
Captains
Premalal (Joonesekera's
peers concede that he was shoulders above them as a thinker and strategist.
His account of the 1964 game which appeared in a commemorative souvenir of
1979 clearly indicates that he didn't react in an ad hoc manner to
opportunities but arrived at the game with a carefully wrought out strategy
based on a clear understanding of the weaknesses of Royal's batsmen. His
counterpart a Royal was Ranjit Gunasekara, the 1968
captain, who orchestrated hard fought wins against St. Joseph's and Nalanda,
who were possibly stronger than STC in 1968. Ranjith also understood the
game inside out and was steeped in the knowlege of its traditions and finer
points. He was so calm and unruffled that a pipe wouldn't have been out of
place.
Background heroes
Mahes Rodrigo is of legendary status to the 1962 team.
Mahes treated captain and vicecaptain to breakfast on Saturday morings over
which the state of play was assessed. He very rarely entered the dressing
room and by encouraging Royal's cricketers to work things out themselves
prepared them for the 'tougher innings of life.
The other great Royal coach was Colonel Derrick deSaram
who by the decade's end had engineered a successful "coup" in wresting the
Senanayake Shield from S. Thomas', In 1968 the Colonel came in to the
picture and changed the attitude of Royal's teams by Inculcating a risk
taking mentality. His was the start of a successful campaign that ended in
1974, a seven year period during which Royal could and almost won the Royal-Thomian
every year.
The convention adhered to by both sides in those days was
in giving priority to enforcing the follow on and insulating oneself from
defeat. This was achieved by stretching the first Innings for as long as
possible. If the follow on was enforced it required the bowlers to be on the
field for over three sessions at a stretch with detrimental, effect.
The
Colonel was in favour of declaring by tea irrespective of the score. To him
it was more important to wrap up one's opponents first innings as early as
possible even if It meant batting again and keeping one's opponents in the
game. If this required the dominant side to make a competitive declaration
it was a risk that made her all the more deserving of victory. He didn't
mind if Royal lost, if she did so gallantly and magnanimously, as was the
case against Wesley in 1969.
Even those
at the receiving end of the Colonel's barbed comments considered it a badge
of honour. S. Thalayasingam, who had one of the safest pair of hands, fondly
recalls the Colonel's remark that the only reason he held on to his catches
at first slip was because he was too slow to get away from
them.
:
L.S. Gauder was Thomian master-in-charge of the Thomian
first XI until 1962 when Orvllle Abeynaike took over. However, the person
responsible for the great batsmen St. Thomas' produced was Lassie
Abeywardene, the coach of the under XVI, to whom Tissera turned to for
technical advice even when Ceylon captain. They were to S. Thomas' what John
de Saram was to Royal in the sixties. Many of Royal's players of the late
sixties progressed along with Mr. de Saram from the under XIV through the
2nd XI to the first team. There was no player who came in contact with him
who did not consider him a friend. His clever wit and equanimous
disposition contributed in no small measure to the palpable comaraderie
that prevailed in every team he was associated with.
The
cruel hand of fate
Jayaweera, one of the architects of Royal's 1969 win, and
the best all-rounder to come out of Royal, would have been a victorious
captain in his own right, if rain hadn't Intel-vended in 1970. However, no
one was more cheated by fate than B.N.R. Mendis who starred in three Royal-Thomlans
(1967, 1968 and 1970) except the one Royal won and he was in line to
captain. Many believe that but for losing the toss darrell Lieversz would
have led his team to victory in 1962 and returned figures commensurate with
his talent. And it was Kariyawasam's misfortune to lead STC at a downward
point in its cricket cycle.
Unsung
heroes
In addition to cricketers who made the Royal-Thomian but
either never achieved the glory and recognition their talents deserved,
there have been many unsung heroes of Royal cricket in the sixties, class
players (Ronnie Shockman, Chandra Abeyewickrema, Nigel de Kretser, Suren
Anketell etc) who never got Royal colours. However, eyen they were not as
neglacted as cricket's under class.
'In addition to treating the main and practice turf,
setting up the mat at Royal, Noor, head groundsman since the early sixties,
lugged the baggage, washed the pads and seasoned the bats, for little
honour. The Colonel was never happy with the state of pitch preparation. "Noohur"
(as Derrick pronounced it) waited until the Colonel was out of earshot to
castigate the "rate peralanne giya mahathaya", as he so ungraciously but
understandably, described the head coach.
A
community linked by shared experiences
As much as incidents on the field, everyone has a
favourite off the field incident. The Thomian captain of 1969 and 1970
fondly recalls an incident at his home which Involved the father of his
Royal counterpart driving his stately Rover into a ditch in the process of
leaving for home. "This bloody Royal-Thomian" he exclaimed, and while
neighbours toiled to get the car out he cheerfully had another drink with
his host, the Thomian captain's father.
More than
individual glory, players cherish the friendships made across battle lines,
which subsequently encompassed their respective families. However, members
of both schools, including the 122 players, participated in the Royal-Thomian
for the most part as spectators. In retrospect what provides most
satisfaction is being there, in whatever capacity, when history was made and
knowing that there are people with whom one can share such moments and
reminisce. It was a privilege to witness the great performances described
earlier and have that special link with others in attendance. What unites
Royalists and Thomians born before 1960 are these shared memories most
poignant.
Elvis when
once asked what he thought about the wild reaction to his stage
performances, replied that he would have looked funny shaking his hips to an
empty hall. Likewise, the enthusiastic and informed supporters of both
schools were indispensable to the Royal-Thomian's unique atmosphere. No more
colourful character graced the Oval than the late Ponniah Thangiah (aka
Kadalay) who was the link between the sixties and the two decades that
preceded and followed it. Born in 1926 his association with Royal commenced
in 1947 and ended with his death in the early nineties. It was Kadalay who,
sensing that pitch invasions would lose Royal time and derail Royal's
attempts to capture the remaining Thomian wickets in 1969, used his
authority to restrain Royal's enthusiastic supporters. At the game's end
amidst the congratulations and offers of support from old boys, he only
asked for acceptance and to be indentified as part of Royal. This article is
in many ways a tribute to Kadalay and an acknowledgement of his contribution
to the Royal-Thomian tradition. He had more Royal blood running through his
veins than those who studied or taught" there.
EARDLEY LIEVERSZ
The author wishes to thank
the following for their assistance with the article - Nirmal Hetttaratchy, Pramoddhaya
Kariyawasam, Prasanna Mendis, Darrell Lieversz and Kusum Perera.
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