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| Sunday, 5 January 2003 |
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Year 10 student on Mahanama's autobiography Well nigh 4 years since his controversial departure from the game, his name yet reverberates like the noise he breathed into it as a batsman and a fielder par excellence. All good things fade away but memories linger. So much so that Roshan Mahanama, the gentleman cricketer that he was has inspired a year 10 student from Craigleigh High "Down Under", Rakith Senanayake to make a task assessment of the former Sri Lankan cricketer's autobiography, "Retired Hurt". States Rakith, "To Roshan Uncle. From the day that I got to know about cricket when I was aged 7 or 8 I have been a great fan of yours. I haven't missed out on any of your innings nor your wonderful catches. It became one of the saddest days when you retired from Test cricket. But I can understand why." As to the book Rakith writes "Reading this book allows the reader to get an understanding of a true cricketer's journey and the sacrifices and the devotion that is required to reach your goal. As well readers will appreciate the true sportsmanship shown by Mahanama throughout his career. He demonstrates how you should act when you're in the international arena, how you should obey the rules of the game, whether it be cricket or any other sport, and how, when you're in a team, you should think as a team and not be self-centred." Rakith sees the World Record breaking Test partnership of 576, against India the highest for any wicket in test cricket in 1997 as one of the unforgettable incidents in Mahanama's journey. "This innings was important to Mahanama for two reasons, obviously one is the record and the other is the circumstance under which he batted. It could have been his last match as he was being treated differently by the selectors. In this particular match Sri Lanka scored 952 for 6 which became the highest Test score of all time". And so the journey continues... Having once again demonstrated his gentlemanly qualities off the field as well when he spurned position by resigning from the Cricket Board's Interim Committee on a matter of principle, and before that as Sri Lanka "A" team coach he is on a 2-month assignment as a special coach for batting and fielding of a leading club in District Tournaments in Prahran, Melbourne. |
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