CENTURIONS ALL
by NEVILLE DE
alwis
A total of 38
centuries have been scored so far in the Royal-Thomian. The
Thomians as usual lead with 21 centuries as against a tally of
17 by the Royalists. STC has produced 19 centurions since Duleep
Mendis and his nephew Manoj scored two centuries each in
consecutive years. Duleep in 1971 and 1972, and Manoj in 1992
and 1993. Royal has produced 16 centurions, since Neil Joseph
scored two centuries, one in 1925 and the other in 1926. The
total tally of centurions is thus 35.
As is always the case,
the Thomians have to be 'first'. The first century in a Royal-Thomian
was scored by a Thomian, B.T. Jansz (103) in 1917. This was the
38th encounter. What a long wait for the first
century.
Once the Thomians
showed the way, the Royalists followed. Neil Joseph scored two
centuries in consecutive years, 1925 and 1926. This was a
record. Joseph also holds the record for the fastest century
scored in 60 minutes in 1925.
The 1930's saw many
ceaturies being scored - 7 in all. 5 by STC and 2 by Royal. 1930
saw D.B. Gunasekera of Royal score 148 and thereby break
Joseph's record of 123. In 1931, two centuries were scored,
Royal's F.C. de Saram scored 140 and N.A. de S. Wijesekere
scored 105<lbr STC. 1934, 1935, 1936 and 1937 saw four Thomian
centuries - Alex Wijesinghe 115 not out in 1934, M. 0.
Gooneratne 107 in 1935, Norman Siebel 151 not out in 1936 and
Willie Jayatilleke 110 in 1937. Siebel succeeded in breaking the
record of 148 held by D.B. Gunasekara. About Siebel's innings,
there are a few stories. One is that he was out the first ball
he faced. Another story is told to establish this theory. It is
said that Siebel carried that guilt throughout his life. When he
died he reached the Pearly Gates. He was questioned by the
gatekeeper who is St Peter under normal circumstances. Siebel
confessed. But he was allowed to proceed to Heaven. Siebel was
puzzled. Then the gatekeeper had reassured him and said, "St
Peter is on leave today. I am St Thomas who is acting for him".
The 1940's saw only
two centuries. One was by a Thomian A.F. (Chikka) Mollamure in
1941 and the other by the Royal skipper Gamini Salgado in 1942.
In the 1950's we witnessed 4 centuries, 2 by Royalists and 2 by
Thomians. In 1953, a century was recorded after a lapse of 11
years. The century was by the Thomian skipper P.I. Pieris, who
scored 123. What an exhilarating innings it was. I was
privileged to be there. When P. I. went into bat the Thomians
were reeling at 4 down for a mere 14 runs. When P.I. got out the
score read 201 for 5 - a partnership of 187. His partner was the
inimitable Geoff Wijesinghe who scored 64. P.I. considered
attack, to be the best form of defence. The Royalists wilted
under his attack. The two Royalist spinners were pulverised. The
Royal leg spinner Yohe Rajaratnam was allowed to bowl just 3
overs for 24 runs. After that he went missing in action. Tumour
Wickramasinghe, the left arm spinner was not given a chance to
turn the ball. The match ended in an innings victory for STC. In
1956 once again two centuries were scored. T; Jothilingam scored
121 for Royal and 158 not out by the Thomian opener Ronnie Ried.
This was a new record, breaking Nonnam Siebel's 151 not out
which had stood for twenty years. In 1957, Michael Wille, the
Royal skipper made 121 .This was an innings of high class.
In the 1960's three
centuries were scored, 2 by Thomians and one by a Royalist. In
1963 I witnessed a century which, in my opinion, was the best
century .scored by a Royalist - 112 by Vijaya Malalasekera. It
was a superb attacking innings when Royal was in a bad way at 60
odd for 4. In 1966, Sriyantha Rajapakse made 101. He lived a
"charmed life". Nevertheless, it was a valuable innings for his
side. In 1967, the Thomians again showed the way for the
Royalists to follow. David Ponniah, the present Warden, was the
first to score a century on debut. This was the 88th
encounter in the series. He too had the good fortune of being
dropped on 99!
In 1971, the Royal
skipper Jagath Femandoo scored 160 not out, thus breaking the
record of 158 not out by Ronnie Reid in 1956. In the same match,
Duleep Mendis scored 103 in the Thomian first
innings. In 1972, we
were witnesses to the greatest innings ever played in the Royal-Thomian
- 184 by Duleep Mendis. This century has been described as an
'epic innings', 'champagne batting' etc. Duleep's innings that
afternoon was a sight fit for the Gods. Mount Olympus was all
agog. Zeus sent his messenger Hermes and ordered all the gods
and Goddesses to abandon their Siesta to watch this fantastic
exhibition. I doubt whether we will ever see an innings of this
nature again. The score of 184 broke Jagath Femando's record of
160 not out set only the previous year. This still stands as the
record for two-day Royal-Thomian cricket. Incidentally, Duleep
also equalled Neil Joseph's record of a century in two
consecutive Royal-Thomian matches. In 1974, a Royalist, Jagath
Pattiarachchi scored a century on debut. This was the fist time
a century was scored by a fresher in the first innings of the
match. This is a rare Royal 'first'.
The 1980's saw 4
centuries. Ini 1980 Wamakulasuriya scored 197, batting for over
four sessions and in the process lulling many a spectator to
sleep!! This was also a century on debut in the first innings.
197 is the highest score in the three day Royal-Thomian matches,
In 1983 we saw a 'charmed' 145 by Rochana Jayawardena. All
credit to him for it was a perfect example of fortune favouring
the brave. 1984 saw a sedate, stolid century by Dhammika
Bulankullama who went on to score a half century in the second
innings. I believe the only other batsmen to achieve this feat
has been Willie Jayatitleke in 1937. In 1987 the younger
Bulankullama, Anura scored a scintillating century. This was an
unforgettable century. He just dismissed the Royalist bowlers
from his presence. He went on the rampage from the very first
ball he faced. It was truly a glorious display of attacking and
attractive batting.
When we come to the
1990's, we have a record of 10 centuries in the decade, 4 by
Royal and 6 by STC. Nigel Femando of Royal set the ball rolling
in 1991 when he scored 121- a majestic and an elegant innings.
1992, two centuries were scored in the same match. Manoj Mendis
scored 123, which was a century on debut in the first innings
joining Pattiarachchi and Wamakulasuriya. Gamini Perera of Royal
scored 141. This was a fighting innings
when defeat stared
Royal in the face. He succeeded in saving this game for his
side. In 1993, Manoj scored 113, his second century in
consecutive games. This enabled him to equal the records set by
Neil Joseph and Duleep Mendis in making a century in consecutive
games. The two centuries scored by Manoj were of a high class,
admired by friend and foe alike. 1996 saw a spate of records. It
was the first time that two batsmen scored centuries in the same
innings - Anouska Polonowita (165) and Yasas Dharmaratne 123 for
Royal. The second record was when Romesh Femando scored 119 for
STC in their first innings. Thereby a total of three centuries
were scored in one match In 1997, Bhatiya Karunaratne (116), and
skipper Nilanka Peiris (108) equalled the record set by
Polonowita and Dharmaratne in ttite previous year - two batsmen
scoring centuries in the same innings. 1999 recorded the last
century scored in the 20th century. Meshad Peiris
scored 104. He rescued the Thomians. He waded into the Royal
attack, took it by the scruff of its neck and wrung it. Meshad
is the youngest centurion. He was 16 plus at the time.
The new millennium has
already recorded a century by Dhanushka Perera, the Royal
opener. This is century no 38. Now the stage is set for a
Thomian to make it 39, in the year 2001.
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