The precious legend...:
Bertie Wijesinha 90 not out on May 24
by Rohan Wijesinghe
CRICKET: A slight frame is poised to blow out 90 candles on
the 24th of May 2010. That’s Reginald Bertram Wijesingha for you. The
oldest living Sri Lankan cricketer. I found the legend, blessed with
charm to spare, chilling it out in his sitting room, walls peppered with
his family photograph.
|
Bertie Wijesinha - represented S.
Thomas’, SSC and Ceylon at cricket and was in Ceylon team in
athletics in 1941. |
Seldom has such versatility found residence in one human being.
Cricketer, coach, commentator, curator, administrator, teacher besides
being the “loveliest of dad”. Truly awesome Beneath his gentle manner
lurked infinite dignity, compassion and modesty. The man of many summers
then shepherded me to his living room, at 180/1/A Watarappola Road,
Mount Lavinia, his cabinets bursting with scrap books, 62 in all, bordes
of lovely stats to mull over, a feast of good reading for another day
perhaps.
Glory days at SSC
To open the salvo he spoke of the glory days when his beloved SSC
made a serious assault on all the titles. No “may the best side win
nonsense” with crusty ‘FC’ at the helm team saturated with a unique
collection of exotics such as Sargo Jayawickreme, Fairlie Dalpethado, M.
K. Albert, Hector Perera, Lucian de Zoysa and C.I. Gunasekera. Rushed
interview in full swing, our genial legend never ever denigrated anyone
of anything. Straddling the divide between past and present with such
typically deep tact.
In fact it is with particular pleasure and interest that he watches
the new crop on Telly. At sundown he relaxes, nose stuck in a book or
his cars plugged to a stereo, heavy classical stuff running through his
veins.
Tiny tearaway pacie
Born in the then quiet little city of Kalutara, he was soon enrolled
at S.Thomas’ College in the year 1926 by his cricket-mad dad, reputed
for his batting at Trinity, The little tearaway pacie soon blitzed his
way into the Thomian under 9 team inspired, encouraged and coached by
John Halangoda, and in the classrooms sang off the same hymn sheet as
Pat Mearthy, Sathi Coomarasamy, Donald Fairweather and Lucien de Zoysa.
I fast forward his “progress by the sea” to the year 1938 whence he
captained the Thomian side which lost to Royal, Bertie resolved to make
amends. Skippering the side for the second time, STC won all the matches
leading upto the ‘Big Match’ before comprehensively hammering Royal in
revenge for the year before. The skipper led the way with 63 and 70
topping it all with 4 for 56.
There was infinite promise in that analysis. Against the star studded
Julian Cahn’s XI made up of Test stars born in the Commonwealth, the
youngster slammed a lovely 62. The boy had arrived. That year the
prodigy scored a thousand runs and took 19 wickets in just 7 school
matches.
Tying knots
Following excellent performances in club cricket besides anchoring
Ceylon in the Gopalan Trophy matches against stiff South Indian
opposition, Bertie was picked for Ceylon against Pakistan in 1949 and
top scored with 29 in a total of 112 and topped it up with 5 for 99 with
his medium pace. Bertie also represented Ceylon against Australia, West
Indies and India.
At about this point of time he was pursuing lovely Dorothy Weerakoon,
and top order batsmen, with equal passion, and had resounding success in
both pursuits. In 1949 he inevitably tied the knot with Dorothy besides
tying batsman in all sorts of knots. A time of blissful joy and happy
perspiration! All this after he had represented the country in athletics
in 1941, making him one of the four double internationals ever produced
by this country. The others being C.T.A. Schafter. Ranil Abeynaike, and
Dr. Buddy Reid rich company then.
Hat-tricks to begin and end
Bowling was Bertie’s forte. In fact the shy teenager roused himself,
with a hat-trick on debut against St.Benedict’s College in 1936, and
retired his reputation also with a hat-trick in a club match at 63 years
of age, plainly a triumph of the spirit. Bowling a lovely off stump line
his bustling medium pace would swerve crisply to slip.
A whippet of a bowler, pounding in off a 15 yard run. His slight
frame took on stature with the new ball in hand. With the shine on the
cherry, the terrible threesome would polish off the top order, that
triangle made up of Bertie, Fairlie Dalpethado and D.S. Jayasundera, the
heart of the SSC attack. Bertie would go one better strangulating the
batting in the middle overs with his flighty off spin, that would burst
upon landing. So nimble in the field, Leslie Ames and George Duckworth,
Captain and Manager of the visiting Commonwealth side both described
Wijesinha as the best fielder they had seen on their entire tour of
India, Pakistan and Ceylon.
Dorothy - the precious catch
Most Guru’s are saturated with more theory than Darwin. Not so Bertie
Sans coaching certificates to wave this way and that, his innate ability
to point to the finer points of the game were obvious. Inspite of which,
gracious spouse Dorothy is delightfully ignorant as to the difference
between a stump and a bat. This after 60 years of marriage to a
legendary coach. She keeps a lovely house though, and her Spaghetti
Bolognaisse is a major triumph. Coaching his Alma Mater S.Thomas’ to
begin with he shifted tent to St.Benedict’s College and thence to
Trinity College.
His six years at St.Benedict’s College were his sweetest, producing
four champion schoolboy teams in the mid 60’s. Whilst in the UK, he was
invited to coach the Nottinghamshire Juveniles, many of his wards going
on to play for the county.
He taught English and Latin in parallel to his cricket coaching
adding heaps of value to those hallowed blackboards as well. Bertie’s
coaching was symbolised in Sidath Wettimuny’s artistry, a technique that
should have been carved in marble, eyes nailed to the seam, left elbow
way up among the clouds, as the bat ran so sweetly through the ball,
whilst Ian Botham ran out of expletives.
The hordes at Lord’s rose in glorious appreciation for that big
hundred. A huge portion of that ovation belonged to Bertie as well, is
Sid’s contention, entirely.
Farm and Milk the bowling
With the willow he built a reputation for dour reliability, with his
neat compact, crispy style.
A quick tumble of giant SSC wickets would bring the little right
hander to the middle, to farm the strike and milk the bowling, besides
ensuring that the tail did not lose its head.
Housewive’s tweaking radio knobs
If all that was not enough, the maestro took to commentating in
harness with his team mate Lucien de Zoysa, enticing even housewive’s
and schoolgirls to tweak the radio knobs for commentaries on the Royal-Thomian,
comprehensively elevating the stature of that particular “Big Match”
lots of notches skywards for sure.
Proud dad
In 1953 Bertie secured employment at Lake House in the capacity of
the Sports Editor, crossing pens and sharing the canteen with the likes
of Mervyn de Silva, Tarzie Witachchi, Denzil Peiris and H.D. Jansz among
others. Runs and wickets don’t pay your bills and feed your kids. With
his brood growing like an accordian. Bertie took the passage to
prosperity, securing employment at the Royal Military Supphes Department
in Nottingham UK and enjoying every minute of the 20 years there.
The dimunitive legends is so utterly proud of his offspring Rohan,
Nedra and Dameskh. The death of their daughter Maya, their precious,
vivacious, eldest, was a particularly painful period for the Wijesinha’s.
No doubt their simple belief in the Christian faith strengthening their
resolve to hang on to sanity.
Onwards to his 100
We of the cricketing fraternity are indeed priviledged to have shared
the warmth of his friendship, sense of subtle humor, eloquence behind
the mike, besides of course his ebullience on the cricket field. No more
need be said as he marches towards his glorious 100 with the Blue Black
and Blue fluttering so proudly and inseperably beside him, as always. |