Star bat Senaka Dissanayake back as coach of Dharmaraja College

Story and pic by Upananda JAYASUNDERA - Kandy Sports Special Corr.

CRICKET: A batsman who starred in his early years at Dharmaraja College and who scored a fine double century on the freshly re-built Asgiriya Stadium - Senaka Dissanayake of Dharmaraja College, Kandy is putting his experience into practice and is now running his own cricket school on the Kandy police grounds on weekends. Senaka Dissanayake make that magical double-century knock in the 1984 'Big Match' against Kingswood has not looked back once he came into big cricket.

He captained the under 17 cricket team at Dharmaraja in 1971 and went from strength to strength. Coming into the first eleven team he played in that team from 1982 to 1984. Besides the memorable double-century knock, he made 198 against Nalanda and 119 against Zahira, Colombo, and he also made 100 against St. Thomas' Matale and 105 against S. Thomas' Mount Lavinia.

The high point of his career was his selection for the under 19 National team that toured Australia in 1984 led by Aravinda de Silva. That team also included Marlon Von Hagt - another Kandy lad as vice-captain, Roshan Mahanama, S. don Anurasiri, Gamini Wickremasinghe and the late Sujeewa Kamalasuriya who was drowned in the tsunami.

In Australia, Senaka remembers that he opened batting in all three 'Tests' and one-dayers. His highest score was 56 at the MCG and the effort that gave him the greatest pleasure was his partnership with skipper Aravinda de Silva which realised 121 runs for the 3rd wicket. Aravinda on that occasion made 142 runs.

Coming on to inter-club cricket, Senaka had a 10 year stint with his home town club - Kandy Cricket Club and he was among the runs. He made 149 against Ambalangoda Rio on the Colts grounds, made 107 not out against the NCC at Asgiriya and 104 against Galle also at Asgiriya, 102 against Moors Sports Club in Colombo and 116 against Sebastianites.

He also represented Central Province during his playing days in club cricket.

Senaka went across to Australia around 1995 and represented Chemside Park Cricket Club for seven seasons as a player cum coach. He had the opportunity of passing the Level II coaching course. He earlier had got through Level One course in Sri Lanka as a schoolboy.

He coached his old school Dharmaraja from 1991 to 1993 and is now back as coach. He is also running his own cricket academy when he came back to Sri Lanka in 2002.