I
love to watch the "Battle of the Blues"
When the Warden of St Thomas' Dr
David Ponniah requested me to contribute an article for the souvenir of 2003
"Battle of the Blues" I was naturally surprised, due to the fact that it's
seldom one finds articles written by the fair sex in the brochure of any big
match.
But, as the Warden had stressed
that being a member of an illustrious cricketing family an article by me
will generate interest, I refreshed my memory of the "Battle of the Blues"
from my teeny weeny days.
Though I have heard of thrills,
spills and the carnival atmosphere of the big matches, especially the Royal-Thomian
my very first experience of the clash of the two prestigious schools was,
when I was taken to the Colombo Oval (Sara Stadium now) by my parents to
witness the "Royal-Thomian". Despite being a ten-year-old girl, I enjoyed
every minute of this game, naturally supporting the Thomians.
My Father the late Dr Lyn de Zoysa,
represented the Thomian 2nd XI Cricket Team. He was rather
unfortunate to have been deprived the opportunity of playing for the 1st
XI and the honour of being a member of the "Battle of the Blues" team due to
his higher studies. Though his first love was cricket, he ended up as a
Physician.
One will be surprised to know that
my Mother Phyllis de Zoysa (nee de Silva) too was a Cricketer of repute. She
had done even better than my Father, representing the All Ceylon Ladies
Cricket Team against England's Women's Cricket XI captained by Molly Hyde in
1948.
My Father's disappointment in not
being able to represent his Alma mater in the "Battle of the Blues" must
have been erased, when he had the satisfaction of witnessing his two sons,
Lakmal and Anuk, welding the willow for St Thomas'. My brother Lakmal played
from 1975 — 1979 and thus was fortunate to be a member of the Thomian Squad
in the battle in the Centenary Encounter. Younger brother, Anuk played from
1977 — 1980. Both were fluent batsmen. Lakmal as an opener, Anuk at one
drop, did exceptionally well in their school cricket career at St Thomas'.
My cousin Dr Manjula Karunaratne captained the Mini Battle in 1977. He
always felt that he should have been played instead of one of my brothers at
the Big Match.
As my first love was cricket, I
thank God for selecting a renowned cricketer to be my life long partner. I
had to make sure he was a Thomian to get the approval from my father.
My wonderful husband Duleep is a
very modest person where his achievements are concerned. But every year when
it gets close to the big match he starts relating all about his explosive
innings, to the three children and me.
He even goes to the extent of
telling Niru, Sanjeev and Meneka, given half a chance he would love to sport
the Blue and Black cap again and take guard at the center.
It was pleasing to see Duleep's
nephew, Manoj Mendis emulating his Uncle. Manoj was a solid opening bat,
representing St Thomas' from 1991 — 1993. Manoj too was an exciting batsman
who scored two consecutive centuries (1991-1992) as an opener. Manoj's
younger brother, though failing to enter the big battlefield, played an
active role in the mini battle.
Like Father, like son, I assume
that's natural. My elder son Niru, after playing for the Thomian Under 13,
15 and 17 teams, left for Australia to further his studies. But my younger
son, Sanjeev, is a current member of the Thomian 1st XI Squad,
and Duleep's and my ,1 cherished dream will be a reality the day we see him
wear that prestigious Blue and Black blazer and signal his entry to the
"Battle of the Blues" arena.
Dilhara Mendis
