Sportscope

Kiwis clip their own wings?

Elmo RODRIGOPULLE

The New Zealand cricketers are slated to tour Sri Lanka in August/September later this year for three Test matches and five One-Day Internationals. But from reports reaching us, the Kiwis would carry out a risk assessment before committing.

But come August/September the security situation would definitely be better and the Kiwis should have no qualms about playing here.

The concerns of the New Zealand Cricket could be understood considering that during their previous two tours they had the mortification of experiencing two bombs going off. The first one was in Pettah and the next one right in front of the Taj Samudra in which the players were staying. During that attack on Navy Commander Clancy Fernando, some of the cricketers were taking a stroll on the Galle Face green.

On both occasions some of the players requested to be released and flew back home. But some of them stayed back and joined by new recruits, and to the admiration of the Kiwis it must be said that they went ahead with the tour, not unduly worried of the results, but they were determined that continuing with the tour was the thing. Every Sri Lankan appreciated and applauded their stand.

We understand the concerns of the Kiwis. With the Munich massacre in 1972 of Israeli athletes, it was the consensus that no more would sportsmen be the targets. But the Lahore lashing of the Sri Lankan cricketers by senseless terrorists seemed to have changed the thinking with the insensible and frustrated terrorists seem to be going for anything.

But New Zealand Cricket and the cricketers could rest assured that when tour time comes around the security in Sri Lanka would be at its best and that they could even be provided with Presidential style security.

Abeyratne a good choice

Ajit Abeyratne, the new chairman of the rugby selection committee was an excellent sportsman at Trinity College, Kandy.

Abeyratne had the honour of captaining his school in rugby for two successive years. As a ruggerite and playing in the position of number 8 he was outstanding and as captain he always led from the front and was always an example.

While still a schoolboy he showed promise as good national material and once he joined the CR and FC national honours were not long in coming. As a cricketer he was an all-rounder. He was a medium pace bowler, with the ability to move the ball both ways. As a batsman he was a hard hitting right hander and many were the bowlers who suffered from his bat.

On leaving school he joined the Colombo Cricket Club and played first division. Had he continued in the game he could have won national representation. But he put aside bat for the oval ball and while it was rugby's gain, it was cricket's loss.

After his playing days were over,he took to coaching and was also the national coach from 1985 to 1988 and performed creditably at that. His selection as rugby selection committee chairman is a good choice and has been hailed in all quarters. Known to play a straight bat, and with him at the helm propped by others of repute such as Tikiri Marambe who captained Sri Lanka in 1985, Daya Jayasundera, Marco de Silva and former Sri Lanka skipper Viraj Prasantha, ruggerites vying for national honours could rest assured that they will be judged on merit and no other criteria.

And with the appointment of this new selection committee one hopes that the musical chairs in that sport that was much respected in the past would come to an end.

Another Trinitian in the selection panel is Tikiri Marambe. Marambe too was an excellent ruggerite in school and later for the country.He was one of the best scrum halves produced by the hill capital school and country. On leaving school he joined forces with the CR and FC and later scrummed his way into the Air Force and continued his good form and national honours were not long in coming. He had the good fortune of playing for the Airmen when the irrepressible Harry Goonetilleke was the Commander. Harry put Air Force rugby at the top, even coaching his charges and what rugby did the Airmen dish out at that time. Harry's son Roshan is now top in the Air Force and sport in the force is assured of good times.

Tikiri - a cricketer too

Incidentally Tikiri's brother Nihal was also a wonderful cricketer and ruggerite at Trinity. Nihal played both sports for the Army and had the misfortune of suffering a career threatening tackle which crocked his knee and that was the end of an innings for him. And in the swim of rugby things is a former team mate of Tikiri Marambe, Nalin de Silva a former Isipatana stalwart who was a granite hard number 8. The likeable Nalin has been selected to bind rugby in the forces - Army, Navy, Air Force and the Police in order to pick a tough as nails rugby squad from the forces. Nalin was a dare devil as a player and having been in the Air Force knows the talent that exists and on him has fallen the task of picking a squad of rugby terminators.

At Isipatana Nalin played in the illustrious company of Sriyantha Rajakaruna, Hafi Abdeen, Kumar Jayaratne, Mahinda Jayawardena, Sena Bowela and several others whose names do not come to mind. I remember and watched in awe the rugby this dream team played in the early seventies.

One game that is still vivid in my memory is the inter-school match when Isipatana locked horns against Royal at the Police Park in 1971.

On that day the Royalists under Jagath Fernando another brilliant cricketer and ruggerite kicked off as favourites. But they never bargained for the fire and fury of the Isipatana fifteen as they played like men possessed to defeat the Royalists. What rugby the Isipatianians produced on that day. They made Royal rugby look ordinary and I make bold to say that, that game was one of the best games seen for a long time. The rugby was of a very high standard.

Incidentally Jagath was a cracking opening batsman and I remember the century he made for the Board President's XI against Hong Kong. The local team was led by Michael Tissera and the writer too was a member of that team. Jagath would certainly have earned representative honours, but he too put aside bat for rugby and was a brilliant stand off, before he too had his knee crocked by a fierce tackle.

That was the time when The Times Group had expert rugby writers in M.B. Marjan, Austin Daniel and M.V. Muhsin. They were also a dream team with yours truly at the helm.

They produced superb and knowledgeable rugby copy that was lapped up by our readers.

That was the time when we even got Minister of Sport K.B. Ratnayake to change teams after they were picked. We gave reasons as to why so and so should not have been picked and questioned as to why and how so and so was not picked.

Once when a Sri Lankan squad to tour was picked I remember Marjan, Daniel, Muhsin and the writer analyzing the form of those picked and questioning the squad. And I remember headlining that piece thus: Square pegs in round holes. The moment Ratnayake read that story, he got his able and efficient secretary Lionel Madugalle to study and make a report to him. And what happened subsequently is history now with several of those picked being dropped and the deserving being included.

Sadly Marjan is no more, with Austin Daniel and M.V. Muhsin domiciled in Canada and the US. Muhsin later went on to become the first Sri Lankan to become Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the World Bank. Muhsin was a Ryde Gold Medallist from Trinity. Yours truly is still batting.

With Nalin in charge of rugby in the Forces, he is sure to produce a Delta Force.