Polonowita calls it a day
by Ranjan Anandappa
Anyone completing an uninterrupted service for over half a century in
an institution could be considered an indefatigable person. After 53
years of continuous service at Sri Lanka Cricket former all Ceylon
cricketer Anurudha Polonowita has decided to retire from his present
national curator post.
Since his playing days at Ananda where he captained his school in the
under 14, under 16 and 1st XI, Polonowita has never looked back serving
his alma mater and his country's cricket in no uncertain terms and in
various capacities after his playing days. His capabilities as a
prominent figure at the Sri Lanka Cricket Board was beyond doubt and one
could say that he has been involved almost in every position of the
Institution from player to administrator. During Polonowita's era which
spans from 1958-2013 as a player and an administrator Sri Lanka Cricket
had undergone many transitions and Polonowita was part of it. His
contribution to Ananda cricket with the late P.W. Perera is
immeasurable. Polonowita's tenure as the Ananda College cricket coach
for 38 years made Ananda the best cricket playing school for many years
and remained undisputed champions. He went on to produce over 25 Test
and ODI players which included two Test captains namely Arjuna Ranatunga
and Marvan Atapattu. More than 15 talented under 19 players and 'A' team
players have been under his scrutiny.
After representing the Sri Lanka Schools Under 19 team in 1958 in a
triangular series involving Sri Lanka, India and Australia which Sri
Lanka won, Polonowita made his debut for the country as an all-rounder
in 1960. He played against almost all Test playing nations in an era
where Test cricket was not played in the country and Sri Lanka pressing
hard for full membership of the ICC.
Polonowita was an automatic choice for the then, Ceylon team as a
balanced all-rounder. His left arm spin and useful late order batting
coupled with his exemplary fielding specially in the 'gully' position
made him an important 'cog' in the team's machinery.
He was a member of the Ceylon team that toured India in 1962 which
recorded a historic win under Michael Tissera, the India team was
captained by the late Nawab Of Pataudi (Mansur Ali Khan). Incidentally
this win, in an unofficial Test, happens to be the only one Sri Lanka
has recorded against a fully fledged Indian team in India. Sri Lanka are
still looking for that elusive Test win on Indian soil.
Likewise Polonowita was a member of the 'Ceylon' team that beat
Pakistan in an unofficial Test played at the Colombo Oval. Michael
Tissera had the honour of leading the team once again.
The Pakistan team was led by Imitiaz Ahamed and had the players of
the calibre of Javed Burki and Intikhab Alam and had a galaxy of top
players.
Besides being a member almost in every possible position sans the top
post of President of SLC, Polonowita mastered the art of pitch
preparation visiting countries like Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan.
He was appointed as the national curator in 1994 - 2000 on an
honorary basis and his expertise in pitch preparation had given him the
opportunity for the pitch preparation at the 1996 World Cup held jointly
in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which the Lankans won. He was also the
curator during the Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, World Cup 2011 and the
T20 World Cup 2012.
Polonowita after taking up the job as curator from year 2000 has
prepared 86 Test pitches and 174 ODI pitches. It was his pitch
preparation that saw Sri Lanka piling up the highest Test score of 926
at the R. Premadasa Stadium against India and the highest partnership
between Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara against South Africa at
the SSC.
As the national curator, Polonowita has formed a Curators Department
and has seven graduates with Agriculture Degrees who are being trained
as curators and made them in charge of the Stadiums managed by SLC. He
has also imparted his knowledge and trained the groundsmen employed in
clubs playing in the Premier division.
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