Dharmadasa sprays foam in the wake of SLC fireworks! Neil ’s
brilliance will be remembered for long!
 Thousands
of cricket crazy fans celebrated Sri Lanka’s World Cup Twenty20 triumph
from Katunayake to Temple Trees to Galle Face in joyous celebration,
singing, dancing lighting fire crackers and having a ball.
When those celebrations were expected to rub off on the Cup winning
players and Sri Lanka Cricket, what was noticed from that memorable cup
winning day between the two party’s was controversy, controversy and
nothing but controversy.
Why this had to happen was inexplicable. Obviously old wounds had not
been healed and forgotten. Both sides were trading punches, insults and
calling names and the end result was that the cricketing world was
laughing their sides out. First it was the players refusing to sign
their contracts. Thankfully indications are that, that impasse has been
finally sealed and closed.
Outbursts by two former Captains
Then came the outbursts by the two former captains and legends of the
game Mahela Jayewardene and Kumar Sangakkara on arrival at the Airport
against a member of Sri Lanka Cricket.
In this highly charged atmosphere we would not want to point fingers
and say who is right and who is not wrong. Ultimately the
Jayewardene/Sangakkara and the Board official episode was referred to
the Sri Lanka Cricket Board’s Disciplinary Committee by the Executive
Committee for their views and recommendations.
This seemed to have lit a fire and before it could get blown into an
inferno, in stepped the right thinking President of SLC in fireman’s
boots Jayantha Dharmadasa to sprinkle foam on the fire and douse it.
Alls well that ends well and we hope that President Dharmadasa would
probe every avenue to bring these warring parties together and get them
to forget differences and not sully the game, because the game’s the
thing played by gentlemen.
Whatever is finally said and done and the dust settled, it is hoped
that these little incidents will not be again blown out of proportion.
But DISCIPLINE is a must and must be maintained at
whatever cost. No one is greater than the game. In this whole episode
that should not have been, pity that SLC had to lose their legal eagle
Dinal Philips who always played a straight bat.
Neil Chanmugam was all class
It was sad the passing away of one of the best all round cricketers
produced by the country in the 1960s and 1970s --Neil Chanmugam at the
age of 74. Chanumugam started his career that grew illustrious as the
years rolled by at the school by the sea S.Thomas’ College, Mount
Lavinia and played for the school’s First Eleven in 1958 and ‘59. On
leaving school, he turned out for the Tamil Union and after a short
stint at the Wanathamulla Club, switched to the Sinhalese Sports Club
where his fame as a brilliant big hitting batsman, brilliant off-spinn
bowler and a brilliant fielder in any position grew. He was simply
brilliant. I played with and against him and can vouch for his
brilliance.
Excellent spin combination
At S. Thomas’ he formed an excellent spin combination with leg
spinner Lareef Idroos. At that time there were off spin/leg spin
combinations in schools in Priya Perera and Raja de Silva of St.Joseph’s,
Nanda Senanayake and Sarath Vithanage of Royal College and Cyril Ernest
and the writer at St. Benedict’s College.
I visited his residence to pay my last respects in the company of my
good friend Mahinda Athulathmudali another classy off spinner and seen
leaving and saying hello was another all round Thomian cricketer Ian
Pieris who captained S.Thomas. Pieris and Chanmugam both played for
Ceylon and they are best remembered for their last wicket century stand
that they hoisted at the Colombo Oval against Gary Sobers’ 1967 West
Indies team hitting bowlers such as Wesley Hall, Lester King and Lance
Gibbs with consumate ease. All rounders of the class of Chanmugam don’t
come dime a dozen. Today’s game is starved of all rounders of
Chanumugam’s class.
Off spinning all round legend
Along with yet another off spinning all round legend, the one who
later became the power behind the throne of that era when Sri Lanka
gained Test status in 1982 the one and only Abu Fuard, Chanmugam formed
a dreaded pair. On leaving the University, Chanmugam joined the Maharaja
Organization and led them to being Mercantile cricket champions for many
years helped and encouraged by the brothers Maharaja and Rajamahendren
proprietors of the Organization who were great promoters and supporters
of Mercantile and Sri Lanka cricket. Rajamahendren served as Vice
President of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka when the
Patron Saint of Sri Lanka cricket Gamini Dissanayake was President.
We extend our deepest sympathies to Niel’s wife Oosha and children
Anouk, Deepika and Devin. May the turf lie lightly on him.
End of an innings for Pietersen
South African born Kevin Pietersen who set foot in England, took the
English cricket scene by storm making ripples in the county scene and
did not have to wait long to sport the British Lions cap. He repaid the
faith the England selectors had in him by scoring tons of runs for
England and helping their cricket regain their lost glory. Since proudly
sporting the Brit cap, he scored tons of runs and added the urgency and
the intensity to the bating putting all opposing bowling attacks to the
sword and bowlers dreaded when he walked in to bat. He in fact
shouldered and carried the England batting on his broad shoulders and
helped them cricket regain its lost glory and also helped it gain
esteemed respect.
Captaincy that is the longing of every cricketer, did not take long
in coming for the hard hitting right hander. England offered the
captaincy to him and he led by example and from the front and with great
aplomb.
Captaincy romp ends abruptly
But for reasons known only to those who matter, the captaincy romp
ended abruptly. But Pietersen went on unperturbed making bags full of
runs with his extraordinary batting for his adopted country. But then as
usual when a cricketer is on the ascendancy, green eyes sprout and it
was no different with Kevin Pietersen. Also he had the misfortune of
getting unnecessarily involved in controversy and it was not long when
his credentials came in to question. He had a bang with his countryman
Andrew Strauss who was appointed captain of England, followed by a bash
with coach Peter Moores and he was in the deep end and finally drowned
after the Ashes tour where Australia strangled England 5-nil.
Following the disastrous tour of Australia although he was among the
runs, the England selectors dumped him which did not go down well with
Pietersen’s supporters who were convinced that Pietersen had been made
the scapegoat for England’s failure in Australia. Many former cricketers
spoke out saying that Pietersen had been unfairly treated and that he
has many more runs to score for England and help their cricket rise from
the Ashes.
No plausible reasons
England did not give plausible reasons for leaving him out. But the
latest is that with the reappointment of Peter Moores as England’s head
coach and with whom Pietersen had a bitter experience that Pietersen’s
chequered England career is finally ended. The latest is that the
England and Wales Cricket Board Managing Director Paul Downton has gone
public saying that there was ‘no way back’ for the brilliant batsman.
This is what Downton said during a Lords news conference flnked by
new coach Peter Moores and England Captain Alastair Cook: ‘I arrived in
Sydney (the venue for the 5h and final Ashes Test) on 31st December, and
it was clear that there were two issues. Andy Flower’s future and what
we were going to do with Kevin. ‘I watched every ball of that Sydney
Test match and I’ve never seen anybody so disengaged from what was going
on. What you need from a senior player is backing, support and everybody
working together’.
That nails the lid on Kevin Pietersen’s wonderful career with
England.
It sure must be galling to the hellishly talented right hand batting
genius who had hopes of making a comeback. It sure must be like that
perennial by Billy Ray Cyrus -achy, breaky heart’.
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