Lord Sid Golf Champ, Saints at cricket

It was great to know that former Sri Lankan opening batsman Sidath Wettimuny, is taking the golfing scene by storm by emerging golf champion carrying away the Mark Bostock Trophy.

While the SLPL Twenty20 was taking place in Pallekele, Wettimuny holed this trophy at the annual Mark Bostock Memorial Golf Championship at the lovely Victoria golf course at Rajawella. Wettimuny who comes from highly pedigreed cricketing stock with his brothers Mithra and Sunil who too sported the Sri Lanka cap, was a slap bang batsman when he first started striking a ball with bat. But as his career blossomed, he became one of the straightest playing batsmen and his batting really came of age during the tour of England in 1984 when he bashed the England attack to score 190 in a one-off Test at Lord’s after which knock he was tagged Lord Sid.

Sidath’s career really took off when he joined Maharaja Organisation and had the fortune of having a cricket keen and promoting Managing Director in R. Rajamahendran.

Rajamahendran Vice President

In fact when the tour of England was looming, Rajamahendran

was one of the Vice President’s in the Gamini Dissanayake run Cricket Board. Dissanayake handed the tour squad to Rajamahendran for training, knowing full well that this tour was vital to prove to the lords at Lord’s who doubted our ability at top level.

Rajamahendran got the squad fine tuned and how the squad

obliged with Wettimuny making 190 and Duleep Mendis missing twin hundred and Amal Silva making a hundred is history now and need not be reiterated. Cricket will always remember that team that was led by Duleep

Mendis for silencing the mighty lord at Lord’s and Rajamahendran for making what was thought impossible, possible.

Incidentally, Sidath scored the first century in Sri Lanka’s Test history when he made three figures on the first tour after gaining Test status in the Test in Faisalabad against Pakistan in 1982. The Manager of that tour was Anura Tennekoon and Assistant Manager was Ranjit Fernando. I was there being the first ever journalist to accompany the first tour squad to Pakistan covering the tour for the ‘Times of Ceylon’ and ‘Daily Mirror’.

Saints at cricket

The now famous cricket quadrangular between the leading Old Boys Sport Club of the leading catholic colleges – St. Benedict’s, St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s and St. Anthony’s was played on Saturday and Sunday.

The final was played on Sunday between Old Bens and Old Petes with the Petes winning. The OBSC who were hosts, as usual put on a grand show. This quadrangular was started in 1963, when incidentally the writer was the Secretary and Douglas Livera was the President of the OBSC.

The Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour were two former

Benedictine captains Basil Perera and Lionel Fernando. Perera was a left handed bowling all rounder. He also served as Tournament Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket and did an efficient job. Lionel Fernando rewrote the record books and had his name in the Guinness Book of Records and ‘WISDEN’ for his stupendous feat with the bat and ball when he captured all 10 wickets and scored a double century against his old school St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala at Kotahena in 1959 as captain.

The other members of that SBC team that helped Fernando to

that record were – Elmo Rodrigopulle (Vice Capt), Sanath Jayawardene, Allan Gunesekera, Winston Dissanayake, Michael Joachim, Radley Cruez, Cyril Ernest, Leslie Fernando, Gordon Dissanayake, Nihal Fernandopulle, Ranjit Perumal, Ranjit Silva and Victor Fernando.

The Bens ground is now in a sorry state. It cannot be helped because all sport is played on it. The ground is dotted with sea sand amidst the grass. When asked why there are cream spots on the ground, Attorney-at-Law, Upula ‘Kukula’ Fernando said much to everyone’s amusement – ‘it is imported cream grass’.

Double delight for Indians

It was double delight for Indian cricket. While the under-19 team won the World Cup in Brisbane beating hosts Australia by 6 wickets on Saturday, the senior team trounced New Zealand by innings in the First Test played at Hyderabad on Sunday with more than a day to spare.

For the under-nineteeners Unkunt Chand played a truly captain’s

innings scoring a delightful century to steer his side home. The dashing right hander exuded confidence from the time he took strike and just toyed with the Aussie attack. He was well supported by another promising youngster in Samit Patel and together they were involved in an over 100 run stand for the fifth wicket to guide the team to a great victory.

Chand, in addition, led the team with great maturity: his bowling changes and field placings were well thought out; he never allowed any of the Aussie batsmen to settle down by switching his bowlers competently.

Poor catching

As for the Aussies, it was their poor catching that let them down. When seemingly set to force a win, butter fingered catching, with the captain Bistros also contributing, took them off the victory trail.

Chand, if he continues in the manner born, and if properly nursed and nurtured, should not be long in sporting the Indian cap. He has it in him to hit the top. What he needs is good guidance.

With the juniors celebrating in Brisbane, the Indians led by

Mahendra Singh Dhoni stuffed the hapless Kiwis with opener Pujara knocking a century 159 and off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin having the opponents in a flat spin. Pujara who came into the team, taking the batting slot of the ‘wall’ Rahul Dravid grabbed the opportunity to smash the mediocre Kiwi attack and prove that he is capable of slotting in for that great man Dravid.

Early days

These are yet early days and with cricket being a funny game, it is difficult to predict how he will motor from here in a Test cricket road that is full of skids and with other talented batsmen pouring out from the assembly lines. After the celebrations in Brisbane, there were further

celebrations in Hyderabad where after the Pujara century, off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (12 for 85) spun a telling web to bemuse and lure the Kiwis to their destruction. With the wicket taking spin like all Indian wickets do, the Kiwi batsmen did not have the foot work,that is essential to play good spin bowling. Good spin bowling is played with the good use of the feet. The visiting batsmen were glued to their crease. Some of them were caught plumb in front playing across the line when what was needed was straight bat cricket.

Match winners

Ashwin was given good support by left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and together they proved match winners. They both flighted the ball very cleverly and spin when it did come was vicious.

With Ashwin dominating, the chances of Harbhajan Singh who

tormented batsmen in the pre Ashwin era is not likely to get a look in. He is two short of playing 100 Tests and unless Aswin is injured or the Indian selectors have a change of heart, and have sympathy, Harbhajan will be in the wilderness. Australia and England are due to tour India soon. When India toured these two countries they were slaughtered, losing four-nil to each country and the humiliation was galling. Australia and England are known to falter against clever spin bowling. When they tour, the wickets are going to spin friendly with India all out for revenge and the Indian attack will be spin heavy, which means that Harbhajan who has tormented both teams previously, being partnered with Ashwin and Ojha in an all spin attack.

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