The match both sides would rather forget
by A.C. de Silva
FLASH BACK: Low scoring featured the Royal-Thomian crickets series
when it started in the 1880s and a significant feature was the series
was replete with 'ducks'.
The early matches were marked by poor scores, may be partly due to
the fact that the grounds on which the matches were played were not
developed enough and scoring runs was almost a chore.
Take for example the third clash - that's the 1881 game on the site
of Gordon Gardens now part of President's House premises.(Ever heard of
cricket there?). The match was played on February 24 and 25.
Royal in the good old days was known as the The Academy and they
batted first and made a mere 110 - a somewhat satisfying score in the
good old days. This score, however, had the Royalists getting a lead of
13 runs on the first innings as S. Thomas' were bowled out for 97 when
they went in for their first innings.
Came the second innings and it's hard to believe, Royal (known as the
Academy) were bowled for an unbelievable low score of 15 in the second
innings, was yet able to pull off a win , as the Thomians on that
occasion collapsed dramatically for only 20 runs in their second
innings. So, the Academy won the match by a mere 8 runs.
Though winning the game and going two-up in the series played by the
boys only (the first-ever match in 1878 had masters too playing), the
Royalists will partly like to forget crowing too much about the match
itself, as they had ten 'ducks' in the match, four in the first innings
and six in the second innings. O. Van Hoff, Wilfred de Kretser and C.C.
Van Rooyan scored a 'pair' with C. de Silva missing a 'pair' being not
out 0 in the second innings after getting out for a 'duck' in the
first.The Thomians were beaten in the race for 'ducks' and they got 7,
with skipper F.W. McDonnell and W.E. Grenier getting a 'pair'. The match
was a whole duck pond.
One would have naturally expected the Thomian bowlers to capture top
honours, but, actually, it was a Royalist A. Weinman who took 10
wickets, getting three wickets in the first innings and seven in the
second innings.
The best bowler in the Thomian side was D. Wendt who had a hand in 9
dismissals - four in the first innings and five in the second innings.
SCOREBOARD
THE ACADEMY (ROYAL) – 1ST INNINGS
O. van Hoff b Wendt 00
A. Jansz run out 10
de Silva c McDonnell b Wendt 00
C. Walloopillai c and b D Saram 13
J.W. De Saram c Wilkins b McDonnell 39
Wilfred de Kretser c and b Wendt 00
A. Weinman c Wilkins b De Saram 01
William de Kretser lbw b Wendt 14
B.W. Bawa c McDonnell b Orr 09
C.C. Van Rooyen b Wendt 00
H. Dickman not out 11
Extras 13
Total 110
Bowling: D. Wendt 5 wkts, De Saram 2 wkts
McConnell 1 wkt and C. Orr 1 wkt
S. THOMAS’ – 1ST INNINGS
F.W. McDonnell b Weinman 00
C. De Saram b De Silva 03
C. Wickremasinghe b Weinman 03
E.R. McDonnell b Dickman 23
W.B. De Saram b Dickman 09
D. Wendt c Dickman b Weinman 04
C. Orr b De Silva 16
T. McLeod run out 05
C. Wilkins b De Silva 04
W.E. Grenier run out 00
R. Heyzer not out 00
Extras 30
Total 97
Bowling: A. Weinman 3 wkts, H. Dickman 2 wkts
C. de Silva 3 wkts, J.W. De Silva 1 wkt
THE ACADEMY (ROYAL) – 2ND INNINGS
O. Van Hoff lbw b McDonnell 00
A. Jansz b Wendt 00
C. De Silva not out 00
C. Walloopillai run out 04
J.W. De Silva b Wendt 02
Wilfred de Kretser run out 00
A. Weinman c Orr b McDonnell 02
William de Kretser run out 06
B.W. Bowa b Wendt 00
C.C. Van Rooyen c De Saram b McDonnell 00
H. Dickman c McDonnel b Wendt 00
Extras 01
Total 15
Bowling: D. Wendt 4 wkts, McDonnell 3 wkts.
S. THOMAS’ – 2ND INNINGS
F.W. McDonnell b Weinman 00
C de Saram b De Silva 00
C.R. McDonnell b Weinman 04
W.B de Saram b De Silva 04
D. Wendt b Weinman 00
C. Orr b Weinman 01
T. McLeod not out 03
C. Wilkins b Weinman 00
W.E Grenier b Weinman 00
R. Heyzer run out 02
Extras 03
Total 20
Bowling: A. Weinman 7 wkts, C de Silva 1 wkt |
