When the Classen brothers were big news
 While
in Adelaide I visited the imposing St. Peter’s Cathedral and on my way
to the Adelaide Oval for the Sri Lanka- India game that ended in a
historic tie, I met two former Wesley cricketers Radley Classen and
Warwick de Kretser who sported Wesley College colours in the late 1950s
and early 1960s.
After the game, I was their guest and was glad to meet Warwick’s wife
Peggy who had prepared a sumptuous dinner, with a tasty dish of prawn
curry prepared by Warwick, who Radley told me would out beat any chef
with his preparation of prawn and crab curry!
While Warwick did not attain the heights that the Classens attained
at cricket, he was also a cricketer and hockey player of repute. But it
was the Classen brothers Radley, Brian and Herman who rewrote history at
Wesley with their stupendous feats, with Brian being the most
outstanding.
Talk about old times
After dinner it was talk about old times, believe it or not of 50 to
60 years, about their sporting careers, their team mates and the
interesting incidents, reminiscing and anecdotes that they could vaguely
still remember.
While Radley was an excellent all-rounder, it was Bryan out of a
family of five brothers, the others being Doug, now going on 87, Hector
deceased, Radley 80 Bryan and Herman deceased who was a brilliant,
all-rounder with his leg spin, googly bowling and batting as his forte
made it to the All Ceylon team as a schoolboy.
In that era sporting national colours as a schoolboy was a great
achievement considering the rich talent and the cricketers the schools
produced at that time. Bryan who won his spurs as a schoolboy played
against England, Australia and India. He also toured India with his
contemporaries being F.C. de Saram, Mahadevan Sathasivam, Malcom
Spittle, C. Ivers Gunasekera and Vernon Prins.
Five centuries
Bryan scored five centuries for Wesley with his highest contribution
being 157 not out against Richmond. His bowling figures were amazing
taking 8 wickets in an innings on two occasions and five wickets and
over in an innings in 13 matches. His best performance, for some unknown
reason has not been recorded on the Wesley record board. It was against
Zahira in 1950 when he took 9 wickets for 37 runs. This oversight, I am
told is being rectified. Radley recalled with much affection many of his
old cricketing colleagues – Stanley Jayasinghe (Nalanda), Conrad Barrow
(STCML), Stanley Oorloff and many others such as F.C. de Saram, Sargo
Jayawickrema, Mahadevan Sathasivam, T.S. Musafer (wicketkeeper), the
Abeywardena brothers, Herbie Felsinger, Ansar and Abu Fuard, Derrick and
Spencer Mack, Tita Nathanielsz, Bobby Schoorman, Ken Joachim, Dick
Vabcuylenberg, Roger and Clive Inman, Michael Tissera, Tony Don Michael,
George Jayatunge and many others too numerous to mention.
Played for three years
Radley played for Wesley for three years – 1950, ’51 and ’52,
captaining the side in 1952. Bryan and Radley won their cricket colours
in 1950, in their first year and were held in high esteem by the well
known coach Alban V. Fernando.
Incidentally ‘AV’ was the cricket correspondent when I joined the
‘Times of Ceylon’ in 1961 and had the privilege of being shown how to
write and describe the game and must say a big thank you to him for what
I am in the world of cricket writing today. Radley was an opening bowler
and opening batsman, a rare combination and achieved much distinction in
both areas. He recalled making about five centuries whilst playing for
Wesley, Times and Vikings. He had scored several 50s for the Colts and
was unfortunate not to score a century for the club he loved so much and
represented for so long.
Three plums
Radley held three plums of school life – cricket captain,Senior
Prefect,Games Club secretary- a feat rarely achieved. It is said that
Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, also a Wesleyite ( former Govenor General of
Ceylon)came a close second holding the positions of Senior Prefect and
Games Secretary. He also worked for five years in the ’Times of Ceylon’
and “Sunday Times’ under distinguished journalists such as Felix
Goonewardena, Tori De Souza, who was my first Editor, Subbiah Muttiah,
D.S.C. Kuruppu, Francis Ashborn, Felician Fernando , Victor Gunewardena
and Ben Alwis. Radley also recalled the games between rivals ‘Daily
News’ and the ‘Times’, and when the ‘Times’ trounced their rivals which
team had Bertie Wijesinghe and Mahes Rodrigo.
Accident at Galle Road
He recalled the accident at Galle Road, when a drunken driver crashed
onto the motor bike ridden by Bryan with Herman as the pillion rider.
The brothers were returning after a late night show at the Regal when
the accident occurred which killed Herman when he was just 18 and with a
wonderful cricketing career ahead of him.
Herman was a clever left-arm spinner and was tagged the Ernie Toschak.
Toschak was Australia’s number one left-arm leg-spinner at that time.
His early demise took away a bowler who could have reached great
heights.Radley who was described as the Brylcream cricketer by Nihal
Amerasekera, who is 80 now is still sporting that Brylcream look. He
served as the Sri Lankan Counsul in South Australia for nine years
before retiring from that prestigious position.
Bowling terror
Radley modelled his bowling on former Sri Lankan pace ace D.S.
Jayasundera who was a terror. He also worked for the South Australian
Public Service and rose to the position of Senior Publicity and
Promotions Officer of the Transport Authority in South Australia.
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