THOSE GLORIOUS SIXTIES
This article, coming from a Captain who
succumbed to the wiles of witchcraft (1993 article, "When the
lime failed") may not provide the ideal inspiration to the
Thomian Captain on this momentous occasion. However, if I were
to leave a comforting thought with him, on the last occasion of
even greater historic significance (100th encounter), only the
heroics ofHalangode and Richards saved STC from certain defeat,
and by the law of averages the tables must surely turn. STC
should be in the box seat this time and probably end up
victorious as Royal are not known for such bravado.
I will dedicate this article to those who in my
opinion (with due apologies to anyone who may feel piqued at being
denied honourable mention) were the outstanding personalities of the
sixties.
Coaches - Messrs George Ponniah (under 14),
Lassie Abeywardena (under 16) and Orville Abeynaike (first eleven
Coach cum Master in charge) were as good a combination as one could
ever get. The first ensured the basics were firmly instilled, no
fancy stuff, just extolling the virtues of playing in the "V". No
batsman then or in later years would get castled "through the gate".
The second worked tirelessly to sharpen special skills of players
giving full reign to anyone who could play shots. He would wheel
them over dozens of times from half the length till he felt a
batsman had got over a particular weakness. I remember Michael
Tissera often donning his pads during our practices just to iron out
some little weakness which bothered him and the maestro would work
it out for him. Mind you, by this time Michael was captaining
Ceylon. The last named rounded all this up to make each one a
committed individual with discipline the key. Not a man for humour,
a quaint twitch of his upper lip was the only indication he was
pleased. The only chink, if one may call it that, was that he
worried too much and defeat, though rare in those days, was like the
end of the world to him. In 1967 we stumbled and lost to Trinity
chasing just over 100 and he wi shattered. He managed to put it
behind him till the impossible happened in a 3rd term match the same
year against Dharmaraja and mind you, at home. In those days such
teams were cannon fodder. We had dominated proceedings as expected
and were left to make 80 with loads of time. A guy called Alwis
bowling fastish leggies aided by a slightly damp wicket due to a
light shower just before we went in, ran through us taking 7 wickets
and we were all out for 66. For several days we had trouble finding
the Coach. Defeat in the 1969 RT was the last straw. Yet he remained
highly revered and the kind you leamt to respect as a father figure.
All these great men are no more but they left indelible memories for
all those who benefited from their wisdom and guidance.
Captains - In my book the late Premalal
Goonesekere has to take top billing, the only one who succeeded in
converting the Thomian dominance during that era into an actual
victory (1964). He was a master tactician. Chelliah's late inclusion
was all his work. He had done so much research he had seen the Royal
Captain Shaw Wilson's strange vulnerability to anything pitched leg
stump in the blockhole by left armers of medium-quick pace. Didn't
it work, Chella did exactly as he was asked. Sarath Seneviratne led
arguably the best ever Thomian team (1965) though victory eluded
him. If one were to go by statistics, then Anura Tennekoon too had
to be right up there. He had a team in 1966 with 9 freshers (my 1st
year) with only himself and Sriyantha Rajapakse as seniors. Only the
Trinity and Peterite games were drawn, all the others were won
comfortably including Bens, Nalanda, Ananda, Wesley & Joes in a row.
Lifebuoy, Vaseline and other trophies came later. Deservedly this
team became the undisputed best that year and were awarded the Times
of Ceylon trophy.
Batsmen - Anura Tennekoon was in a class of his
own. Perfect technique and loads of concentration. Consistency was
his strong point and the only time I saw him lose his cool was when
he was dismissed cheaply in the 1966 RT. Sarath Seneviratne was
absolute elegance but fate decreed that he would not make a 100 in
the RT having fallen in the 90s in consecutive years, 1964 & 1965,
probably a unique record. Sriyantha Rajapakse was easily the best
left hander in schools that time and could decimate an attack when
in the mood. Didn't he rise to the occasion with a cracking century
in 1966 whenAnura had failed. Ajit Jayasekera and David Ponniah were
by far the best opening batsmen seen in a long time. A solid opening
stand was guaranteed. Even in that infamous 1967 RT they had cruised
to 56 and then that dramatic collapse when we slid to 57 for 6.
Pressure was alien to them and how they delighted the crowd in the
2nd innings in what most surely rank as one of the finest century
opening stands. David crowned it all with his century, the first in
RT history on debut. Needless to say they were the automatic choice
as openers for Combined Schools.
Bowlers - Keith Labrooy and Barney Reid were
the pick of them. Ironically both were dual purpose left armers.
Barney may have held a slight edge as he could bowl tight on any
surface and lots of away games those days were played on mat. Many
will not forget his feat of 8 for 2 when the Sebs were shot out for
just 9 runs at Mount.
Fielders - The late Tony Sirimanne & Sarath
Seneviratne dazzled in the covers. Dennis Chanmugam had one of the
strongest arms. It was said that only Keith Boyce of West Indies
could throw flatter from the boundary. Azam Hameed could field
anywhere and never spared a thought about getting bruised. Helped by
his Rugby skills he would fling himself around (Jonty Rhodes style)
on even the harshest of grounds. He must have saved countless runs
and as for catching, I have seen him take some blinders. Anura
Tennekoon and Sriyantha Rajapakse were the sharpest I have seen in
the Gully and leg trap. Rarely were there grass stains on their
flannels as they had such incredible anticipation & moved so quickly
into position.
All-rounders - Sriyantha Rajapakse and Dennis
Chanmugam were of a class who could swing a match single handed.
Dennis in the year he captained (1968) was a revelation. I have
never seen the likes of a transformation from an average all-rounder
to an absolutely brilliant one. It was no surprise that he became
Schoolboy Cricketer that year. Azam Hameed had extraordinary talent.
Though he may not count among the greats as a Cricketing all-rounder
(his exploits were more with the bat), as an all-round sportsman he
had no parallel. A few moments of indiscretion (which he quietly
reminds me he does not regret) cost him colours in two sports,
otherwise he had them all, while captaining Rugby to boot.
Groundsmen - Karuna (curator) and Karuppiah
(baggage boy) were indispensable. Though they were a far cry from
Royal's ubiquitous "Kadalay", what a supporting role they performed.
Many of us had for long suspected that they were under instructions
from the Coach to spy on misdemeanours. We were soon wise to it and
also knew they could be bribed. All it took was a bottle of the
cheapest Arrack (around Rs.5 at that time) to get them to turn a
blind eye.
All these great individuals enriched our lives
and made those glorious sixties all the more memorable.
ESTOPERPETUA
P.L.D. KARIYAWASAM
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