Sunday Observer got:

School cricket moving...

by Dinesh WEERAWANSA

There were no major inter-school cricket tournaments then. There were only traditional inter-school fixtures played during the first term of each school season. Unlike today, a team did not play about 15 to 17 matches per season. There were no third term matches then.

Yes, we are talking about inter-school cricket in Sri Lanka some three to four decades ago.

Since there were no major inter-school cricket tournaments then, major feats and milestone achievements of outstanding schoolboy cricketers were confined to either clapping or cheering by spectators or to a standing ovation when they return to pavilion.

At a time there was no organised inter-school cricket tournaments or a strong controlling body to administer school cricket, it was the country’s leading publishing house - the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), better known as Lake House, that came forward to play the role of a true corporate citizen.

The ANCL, under the then Chairman, the late Ranapala Bodinagoda, entrusted the country’s flagship English newspaper - the Sunday Observer, to meet the challenge and organise an award ceremony to recognise the outstanding achievements and milestone achievements of schoolboy cricketers around the country.

It is with this sincere vision of rewarding the most outstanding schoolboy cricketers and inspiring them to do even better at the next level that the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year awards ceremony was launched by the Sunday Observer way back in 1978.

A close chit-chat ... Minister of Information Keheliya Rambukwella and Chairman and Managing Director of ANCL Bandula Padmakumara exchange some views while Mrs. Samanmalie Rambukwella is engrossed with the proceedings of the show.

Chathuranga Kumara of St. Joseph’s College - the Best Allrounder All-Island receives award from Bandula Gunawardena - Minister of Education with Minister of Sports C. B. Ratnayake on right and Pramod de Silva - Senior Associate Editor, Sunday Observer on right and on the left after Minister Gunawardena...... Chairman ANCL Bandula Pathmakumara, Waruna Mallawarachchi - Head of Corporate Relation, ANCL.

Ever since, the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year went from strength to strength and became a household name in Sri Lanka. It was a big morale booster for schoolboy cricketers who, during that era, did not have any awards ceremony to recognise their laudable contributions with the bat and ball.

That was the secret behind the success story of Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year event which has come a long way during the past 32 years, producing many legendary Sri Lanka national cricketers who have created a name in the international arena.

The first recipient of the prestigious Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year title was none other than Ranjan Madugalle, the current ICC Chief Match Referee. He won this title in 1978 and 1979 as Royal College Captain and went on to captain NCC and Sri Lanka with distinction.

The first ever Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year awards ceremony was held at Navarangahala in 1978. Incidentally, the General Manager of ANCL, Abhaya Amaradasa, then a schoolboy at Royal, had been in-charge of sounds, representing the Royal College Radio Club.

Over the years, the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Contest has produced many top Sri Lanka national stars - Arjuna Ranatunga, Asanka Gurusinha, Roshan Mahanama, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Dharmasena and Thilan Samaraweera to name a few.

The sponsor of the inaugural show in 1978 was Haliborange but later, the Bata Shoe Company succeeded them. The proud sponsor of the current Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year is Sri Lanka’s national mobile service provider - the SLT-Mobitel.

The Observer-Mobitel healthy partnership transformed Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year event to be a Mega Event, introducing big cash awards to over 40 title winners and solid trophies for them to keep in their trophy cupboards forever.

It was the ANCL Chairman Bandula Padmakumara who inspired ‘Team Observer’ to meet new challenges and give a new facelift to the most sought-after event in school cricket in Sri Lanka. With the support of SLT-Mobitel CEO, Suren J. Amarasekera, a keen promoter of the game, the ‘Team Observer’ was able to take the contest towards new horizons.

When the success story of the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year is spoken about, we cannot forget the live-wire of the event right from its inception to date - veteran sports writer and current Deputy Editor of the Sunday Observer, A.C. de Silva. He has been a part and parcel of the Mega Event during his four-decade long distinguished career in journalism at Lake House.

Sunday Observer staffers Leslie Fernando - the senior journalist on left and A.C. de Silva - Deputy Editor(Sports). Pictures by: Chinthaka Kumarasinghe, Kavindra Perera and Vipula Amarasinghe

Veteran Sports Journalist Leslie Fernando has been his able lieutenant for nearly three decades, handling the big hassle of counting thousands of votes that pour each week for the Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year contests. It is no easy task to keep a close tab on voting and meet justice to all.

The AC-Leslie partnership has done a commendable job to keep the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year event going.

Joining the rich traditions of the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year lately were ANCL’s Advertising Consultant Chanaka Liyanage who has been the ‘link man’ of the healthy Sunday Observer-Mobitel partnership for the past three years and Mobitel’s young and energetic Yarthav Mathiaparanam. If not for their contributions, we would not have achieved this tremendous success and immense popularity.

The official partnership of the Sri Lanka Cricket, Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association, Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association of Sri Lanka, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sports has added more value to the prestigious event which now has follower to duplicate. We at the Sunday Observer are happy to see others following the great milestones of Sri Lanka’s English newspaper with the largest circulation.