Robert Wright

The College Magazine of 1947/48 pays tribute to Robert Wright and George Macky who were celebrating 25 years of teaching at St. Anthony’s. About Robert Wright it is said that he; “excelled in every department of the game. Apart from his brilliance as a batsman and bowler his fielding it is claimed “there was no one to equal him”.

A tribute to ‘Bob Wright’ as a boxer says that: “he was lithe as a panther and devastating in attack. There was a fascinating quickness in his movements that eluded most opponents and led them on to the final clinch and the inevitable extinction”.

He had also been an outstanding soccer player and had been an integral part of the Old Antonians team which won the championship of the Kandy District Football League. This was not all – and the mind boggles at his versatility- it is said: “as a hockey player he was a wizard carrying over to his game something of the quickness and grandeur that characterised him as a boxer”.

It is mentioned that in 1923 his versatility as a sportsman: “was pledged to maintaining a splendid tradition of sport built up by men of the calibre of Anderson and Wright himself”.

When “Bob” Wright joined the staff, he was a well known personality, and could have secured employment anywhere because of his qualifications and his sports record. In fact, even if he had lacked any other talents his personality was such that most employers would have identified him as a born leader of men. Fortunately for us, the school and its wellbeing came first!

He joined the College as a Science master and as early as 1948, the Magazine claims that he had already produced many brilliant students who adorned various professions. He taught officially till 1959 and the tribute to him in the “Antonian 1956-59” written by George Denlow is a gem.

He tells us among other things, that Robert Wright was a member of the team when Jack Anderson played his record breaking knock of 291 and that Wright contributed with his spin bowling and agile catching to make the team a formidable one.

When I first entered the class of Mr. Wright my first impression of him was that he was made of steel and although his eyes did twinkle at times he was hard as nails. The first time I got my algebra wrong he caned me but before doing so he said wryly: “I say Franklyn, I dusted your father’s pants and your brother Ranjit’s pants and now I shall dust yours as well”! I don’t think any student ever resented Bob Wright for having dusted his pants although the caning which was carried out with a deft flick of the wrist was rather painful and feared by all.

He was thorough with his “Hall & Stevens” Text Book and would in a voice which was rich and authoritative say: “open your books to page….” And when we had finished he would give the answer without looking at the book. He perhaps had taught from that text for many years!

Having officially retired Mr. Wright continued to teach. Mr. Wright, when the college was finding it difficult to find a coach, stepped in and was our cricket coach in 1961. He would bowl to us in his impeccable cream tussore trousers, white shirt, tie and well polished shoes.

He was long past his best, but his heart was very, very large and he loved the school and the game passionately. Mr. Denlow in his tribute says: “ Boys of St Anthony’s remember in times to come that, if things like loyalty to the school cease to matter, it will be still your duty to see that the score keeps mounting on the score board if only for the sake of people like Mr. Wright whose constant anxiety for the past thirty years has been that the school should do well and the score should keep mounting.

George Macky

The ‘Antonian of 1960-62’ paying tribute to George Macky on his retirement commences with this statement: “A lad of life, an imp of fame”. It goes on to salute George Macky for his association with the school for more than fifty years. The article states: “ Having been a brilliant scholar, an excellent sportsman and an actor and a singer of no mean repute, his all round achievements have proved a source of great inspiration to many generations of Antonians.”

He joined the school in 1912 and captained the Cricket team in 1921. He excelled in football and Hockey. In 1922 he had the distinction of being the first Antonian to pass the Intermediate in Arts of the London University, which he accomplished whilst still in College. He subsequently graduated from the London University. During the years 1926-32 he captained the Old Boys Football Teams which won the Miller and Winchester Cups in successive years. He also coached the Football and Cricket Teams.

The magazine of 1947-48 has a tribute to Mr. George Macky. He had captained the Cricket team in 1921 and of course his son Michael captained in 1964 and 1965. Two other sons Louis and Dicky also played for college.

The Principal in his Report in 1947 notes that the team lost three and drew two of the matches during the previous year. The report indicates that the school had emerged ‘after four years of exile’ and it is probably a reference to the war and its impact on the school. Reference has been made to John Halangoda’s ‘prowess as a cricket coach’ and also the contribution made by Messrs LV Berenger, Robert Wright and George Macky in assisting the cricketers.

He was Director of Studies and his excellence as a teacher was acknowledged as being the result of his ability to understand a student and induce him to achieve thoroughness to the same extent as his superlative master. The magazine of 1947-48 refers to him thus: “Generations of Antonians have looked with affection and respect on that face…. They read in it lessons which they cherish for life. Beneath a veil of sternness you see a core of genuine kindliness.”

I encountered Mr. Macky in the GCE Ordinary Level class, but had been brought to his notice before because my father knew him, and also, I had become a close friend of Michael from the time I joined the Under Fourteen Cricket Team. I can say that my love for Mathematics commenced with my coming under his tutelage and I grew to enjoy my Mathematics thanks largely to his skill in making the learning of the subject an intellectual pursuit and joy.

One undying memory of George Macky is the sense of loss he exhibited on the death of his beloved wife. I remember him wandering around the grounds and sometimes seated under the Pride of India Tree looking as forlorn as one could ever be. When I lost my own wife I used to often think of how hard it would have been for him after being married for so long!

I also remember an incident which showed what a fine balance he had in his mental approach to life, what education was about, and his sense of values. I was waiting for my car to go home for the holidays and I was seated with my friend and classmate Lal Gunasekera who later became a Neuro Surgeon. Mr. Macky walked up to us and we jumped to our feet. He asked me what my position in class had been. I had been around the fifth and Mr. Macky had a disgusted look on his face and he said : “I say, what do you think your father would say?” He then turned to Lal with a mischievous glint in his eyes and said: “I say you must have come first? But what’s the use you cannot hold a bat!”

I recall that Mr. Macky, after I had been appointed a prefect walked up to me and congratulated me and said: “I say Franklyn, I voted against you, because your father is my friend”! That was the ethical standard of the man I sincerely believe was God’s gift to education and I thank God for having given us the opportunity to have someone of his stature as a mentor.

George Denlow

George Denlow lived to within four years of his centenary! At the age of 92 he wrote his memoirs which demonstrated that he had not lost his writing skills and wit. His mellifluous language is in great evidence in that document which I was privileged to read because he sent a copy to my brother Ranjit. He says in his book that Ranjit had in one of his own publications mentioned that the two people he owed his education and moulding in life, were his mother and George Denlow, which he regarded as the type of tribute which a teacher yearns for!

Mr.Denlow was the author of the Antonian Centenary Magazine which is a historical masterpiece and a collector’s dream. This was a monumental work and required intense research which was his forte and which he encouraged in his students at St. Anthony’s.

It is a recorded fact that having done a manuscript the original went up in flames along with the printers establishment, compelling him to recreate his work, which must have been an enervating task which a lesser mortal may have abandoned. Mr. Denlow exhibited a great sense of commitment in building up the morale of the Antonians and his publications such as his Newsletter generated much interest among a wide circle of readers.

Mr. Denlow had been in the record breaking class of Mr.P.B.A. Weerakoon. In the Cambridge Matriculation Examination the whole class had either first or second classes, which was a record in the British Empire. George Denlow secured a first although one of the youngest in his class. He later graduated from the University of London and secured a Post-graduate diploma as a Trained Teacher.

I did not have the privilege of being his student as I was in the Science stream but all of us admired Mr. Denlow and felt that he belonged to a very special class of teachers. He was always with his pipe in his mouth which gave him a look of great profundity and wisdom. Neat and elegant in his dress he was a model for any teacher. I did not see him with a frown on his face ever, and he was always a calm, understanding, pleasant and patient person to deal with.

Mr. Denlow was the founder of the Geographical Society in 1951 and its Senior President. He converted a normal classroom into an exotic Geography Room which was state of the art and a veritable lab where he and his students produced maps and models which won many accolades at exhibitions. St Anthony’s received much prominence thanks to George Denlow’s universal acceptance as an authority on Geography, and his legacy to students of Geography, was three books which were the bible for teachers of the subject. When the change to Swabasha came, Mr. Denlow took lessons in Sinhala from a venerable Buddhist Monk for the purpose of continuing his teaching but apparently the Sinhala he learnt was too sophisticated and not practical enough for him to maintain his high standards of teaching. What was exceptional was that a person who knew no Sinhala initially, learnt enough to collaborate in a venture with Lake House to translate his material to Sinhala so that it would be of greater practical value with the switch to Swabasha.

It was unfortunate that Mr. Denlow migrated to Australia in 1959, which was a loss to the nation as well as to his old school which he loved dearly and served so faithfully.

He was a live wire of the Teachers Association and its President for several years. He was also closely involved with the Old Boys Association and a Committee member in the Centenary Year when Messrs. Wright and Macky were Vice Presidents.

These three stalwarts will remain in our memories as teachers who were always ready to go the extra mile and to guide students towards becoming good, well rounded citizens. It was my pleasure and privilege to have known them all. In the words of Sir Walter Scott – “But search the land of living men, Where will thou find their like again?”

Source: https://www.sundaytimes.lk/130512/plus/three-pillars-of-st-anthonys-wright-macky-and-denlow-43518.html

Permit me to turn back the pages of time and take our minds back to the third week in January 1951 when Chris Duff-Tytler and I were in “The Rainbow Cottage”. This was my first year in college at 6 years of age. Our warden in “The Rainbow” was Reverend Brother Hugh, in dormitory No.4. Our matron was the dear Mrs. Griffs.

The tennis courts below “The Mansion?” had one sand court and the other was a cement court. Just above the cement court was a little incline with a cage as an added attraction to the garden setting. In this cage was a pet monkey named Mary which proved a big attraction to the boarders. Many boarders at different times would pay Mary a visit and the monkey, in turn, responded with enthusiasm. I think Mr. Saram was in charge of the monkey in the cage!

One day, Chris Duff-Tytler, Tony Maxworth, and I obtained special permission from Brother Hugh to visit Mary, and he approved it. This was necessary because that section of the boarding was “out of bounds” for us tots. Accordingly, during recreation from 3.00 – 5.00 pm after tea we paid Mary a visit. Fortunately, the usual rush of boarders was not there and we practically had the cage to our own. The moment Mary saw us she bounded off her perch and in a flash was facing us on the other side of her cage. While we were “communicating” with her with all types of antics I very foolishly poked my finger through the cage. Mary immediately went on a war footing!

In a flash, she grabbed my finger and gave it a healthy bite! I screamed in horror, Tony and Chris began banging the cage raising their voices at the same time to distract her. This had the desired effect and she let go of my finger instantly. I was in tears more in shock than in pain. Tony and Chris took me to the sickroom, where Mrs. Mulholland arranged for me to pay a visit to Doctor Anthonisz. The good doctor gave me an anti-tetanus injection, attended to the wound, and gave me some tablets which I think were mild antibiotics. He then gave me a letter for Mrs. Mulholland with strict instructions that I give it to her without fail.

I returned to “The Rainbow” the center of attraction for a while because the news of my encounter with Mary had made the “Rainbow” grapevine. Mrs. Griffs took me under her wing and looked after me with some TLC and instructions not to wet the finger etc. That was the last time I visited Mary.

Miraculous Escape

A very painful memory of a near fateful Sunday in 1958. To cut it short, my brother Errol VanCuylenburg, Alexander Duff-Tytler, Norman Thompson, and a few of the juniors were engaged in a game of soccer, while not far away Ranjith Samarasekera was practicing his javelin throws. David Berenger managed to get hold of the javelin when Ranjith took a break and tried his hand at hurling it. And, hurl it he did!

It was Alexander Duff-Tytler who saw the weapon of mass destruction hurling towards Errol and with some quick thinking pushed him aside. If he had not executed this masterstroke, the javelin would have pierced Errol’s neck and severed his jugular vein. Due to his quick thinking, the javelin caught Errol on the cheek ripping it open, and the scar of this horrible wound remained until a few years ago.

I was with Tony Maxworth and Maximus Jayamanne listening to “Sunday Choice” in Brother Columban Macky’s room when somebody came running over with the frightful news. Meanwhile, I think it was Anton Rambukpotha who carried Errol to the college car with a huge crowd following all caught up in the drama of the moment, and I think with Father Rosati’s permission he was taken in all haste to the college Doctor, Dr. Anthonisz. I think he was taken in the blue fiat which Father Rosati used to drive like Niki Lauder !! That day. I believe they got a driver – the driver who normally drove the “Dhakku”, which was a sort of a small truck which took the sick to the Doctor. I believe that evening he broke all speed records!

The Tale of Three Roses

Many Antonians of the early sixties era will remember that famous Anthonian -Kingswood cricket encounter in 1961 with Michael Landsberger keeping wickets for college. Kingswood was at the crease and having lost two early wickets, the new batsman who had just made his way to the wicket was determined to increase the run rate showing scant respect for our bowlers. What transpired next still chills the bone when recalling the incident. Attempting a mighty hook shot, he missed completely and propelled by the momentum of the stroke, brought down the bat with a sickening thud on Michael’s head! So horrifying was the sound that an ominous silence spread over the ground when we saw Michael collapsing in a heap! Unconscious, he was carried off the ground on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital.

I was in “The Journey’s End” at the time and around 7.00 pm. during study time, we heard that Michael who had been discharged from the hospital was in the sick room. Our warden Reverend Father Bruno Daniels supervising prep time suggested that we all pay Michael a visit after dinner, to lift his spirits, offer some encouragement and give him a much-needed morale boost. Accordingly, after dinner, we trooped in and gathered around his bed. Michael, his head bandaged like an Egyptian mummy lay there in obvious pain, severely concussed. Well-intended questions were directed at Michael by us concerned Journey’s Enders deeply concerned for his welfare-“How are you feeling Michael?” “Is there anything you need?” “Can we get you some Ovaltine?” “Are you in severe pain?”……..etc. Father Bruno remained silent, in deep distress. Finally, worry and concern etched on his ample cheeks, he asked Michael in hushed tones –

“IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU NEED MICHAEL-ANYTHING AT ALL, JUST LET ME KNOW AND I WILL GET IT FOR YOU. DON’T WORRY, WE ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU……”

The transformation was stunning! Michael, who up to that point had remained comatose, slowly opened or rather, half-opened one eye and establishing eye contact with Father Bruno responded

“IF YOU DON’T MIND FATHER, PLEASE GET ME A PACKET OF CIGARETTES-PREFERABLY “THREE ROSES” !!

Considering the seriousness of the situation never has an answer to a question had such a dramatic effect and turned a grave moment into one of high comedy. While the rest of us cracked up in peals of laughter, Father Bruno recoiled as if he had been stung by a snake! The somber mood evaporated into hilarity, while Father Bruno stormed out of the sickroom in high dudgeon muttering under his breath followed by comments from the rest. One comment which I remember to this day is a classic –

“FATHER, WHILE YOU GET A PACKET OF THREE ROSES FOR MICHAEL, COULD YOU ALSO PLEASE GET A PACKET OF NAVY CUT FOR LINTON ?”

(Referring to Linton Van Starrax, one of the “Journey’s Enders’ present). Uproarious laughter erupted in the Sickroom, much to the consternation of the matron in charge! Michael subsequently made a complete recovery, and life continued on its merry way !

Michael sadly passed away a few years ago, and among my memorabilia of things, Anthonian is the last letter he wrote me a few weeks before he passed on. Each time I look at it, it brings a wrench to my heart……

The Ghost Who Walked By Day

There was a large storeroom in the vicinity of the refectory from which Jamis the Cook (Master Chef) made his daily requisitions. The Storekeeper’s name escapes me and in his absence, the storeroom was always locked. But not on the day when Keith Haynes walked in trying to retrieve a ball. As can be expected with Keith, he fell into the large flour bin! His attempts to climb out were unsuccessful, and as time passed he panicked.

Now, who should happen to pass by, but Mrs.Mulholland. Hearing the sounds of Keith in distress, she rushed into the storeroom and after a dramatic struggle rescued Keith who being fair by nature was now covered from head to toe in flour, and this made him look whiter than white ! A small crowd had gathered to witness the drama, and Mrs. Mulholland now in full charge of the situation evoked riotous laughter when glancing at Keith, she made the following announcement…..

“I THOUGHT I WAS RESCUING A BLOODY GHOST!!”

(Sadly, it was Michael Landsbergher who in his last letter to me drew my attention to this incident)MOMENTS OF MIRTHby Bernard VanCuylenburg(Melbourne)

Although years have gone by since he made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the sovereignty of our motherland, Col. Fazly Laphir continues to inspire us all. He will long be remembered as one of Sri Lanka’s greatest war heroes who sacrificed his life to save over 1,200 of his fellow soldiers when the LTTE surrounded and attacked the Mullaithivu army camp killing over 600 soldiers on 18 July 1996.

In early August this year, as part of the annual lecture series of the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka, Brigadier HP Ranasinghe delivered a lecture under the theme “Epic of a War Hero Colonel Aslam Fazly Laphir PWV RWP RSP”. The heroic life of Fazly and his values of leadership were featured in the speech, where Brigadier Ranasinghe stated that “the name of Col. Aslam Fazly Laphir is written in gold letters in the history of Sri Lanka, as one of the salient, gallant war heroes, who fought and sacrificed his life to eradicate terrorism from our motherland, and to protect the sovereignty of the country, as the Ten Giant Warriors of King Dutugemunu, who fought to bring the country under one flag”.

Fazly was educated at St Anthony’s College, Katugastota from 1969 to 1978, where he showed early promise in sports. As a left arm medium pace bowler, Fazly was in the First XI squad under Mohan Ratnakumar in the early part of the 1978/79 season before joining Science College Matale, where he completed his advanced levels. Fazly was the eldest of eight children to the late Dr AHM Laphir, an old Antonian himself, and Mrs Sithy Laphir. He grew up in Madawala Bazzar, a little-known village situated 6km from college.

Foregoing an opportunity to study engineering in an overseas university, Fazly joined the army in mid-1980 with the blessings of his parents. After completing eighteen months at the Sri Lanka Military Academy in Diyathalawa, he was commissioned as an officer in February 1982. His leadership qualities and strategic acumen were on display even at this early stage of his career, when Fazly was ranked in the top two officer cadets of his class, the Intake 14.

Fazly was initially posted in the rank of Second Lieutenant to the 1st Bn-Rajarata Rifles. His subsequent appointments saw him serving in the 1st Bn-Gajaba Regiment and then in the 3rd Bn Gajaba Regiment. With the formation of a Combat Tracker Team or Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in August 1985 and later in its evolution as the Special Forces Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. Fazly was one of its founder members, and didn’t take long before he was elevated to lead the 1st Special Forces Regiment (1SF) as their Commanding Officer.

Major General Kamal Gunaratne, writing in his book “Road to Nandikadal” had this to say about Fazly. “He dedicated his life to the Army and he derived great satisfaction from the pursuit of and the elimination of terrorism. He was the Commanding Officer of the first regiment of the Special Forces (1SF) at the time he was called to serve in the rescue mission of Mullaitivu and undertook the task with passion, despite the lack of preparedness. He was the epitome of professionalism and courage, lending inspirational leadership to his beloved troops and ultimately sacrificed his life in an endeavour to rescue his comrades from the jaws of death”.

Fazly has left a proud legacy to his family, St. Anthony’s College and Sri Lanka.

This bridge still stands as a testimony to the splendid ambitions and fortitude to the men engaged in its construction. To Antonians, it is a bridge of memories, specially in the if you were a boarder. Being a boarder, specially in the senior years, one often tempted fate!! Going out of bounds was frowned on by College authorities, and at times the punishment for breaking this rule was severe. But going out of bounds or, to use a better word from the lexicon of the day, ‘ scooting’ was imbedded in the psyche of every border! Sooner or later one had to scoot! And the more daring the adventure, the better. Scooting to Katugastota for whatever reason, was often resorted to.

Once you made your way through the main gates at the entrance to the College and turned right onto the bridge, the road to freedom stretched before you. Most of us would scoot to “Pilawoos” restaurant for a much needed energy boost! Given the prevailing unhygienic conditions in that worthy Eating House, how we did not succumb to some vile infection, or come down with a horrible disease is a miracle and a mystery to this day. But then, we were Borders, and Borders very quickly learned the art of survival!

Some of us would go to the Sigiri Cinema to watch a movie. I often wandered at the time as to what was worse – getting caught for scooting and being punished for it or having your life blood sucked out of you whilst watching the film, by the bugs that infested the theatre seats. I called these voracious creatures ‘Mini Draculas’!! And of course, in the theatre, those that were addicted to nicotine had the time time of their lives inhaling and exhaling as if there were no tomorrow, at a time when smoking was permitted everywhere!

The Moraes Pharmacy, the first shop on the right as one exited the bridge into Katugastota, was another favourite hangout. I usually made my way to the ‘Fatima Studio’ to meet my classmate Mohammed Ismail, whose father was the proprietor. While discussing academic matters I was entertained to tea and home made delicacies.

The more daring would meet their fair damsels and admirers at some preplanned rendevous… Cupid was no respecter of persons, and even at that age we suffered from a bad case of love!!

I often obtained permission from Father Bruno to go to Katugastota for a haircut… permission which was not often grudgingly given because it was refused one went anyway! Anything was better than the haircuts at College in which your opinion as to how you wanted your bushy mane cut, did not matter to the College barber. He unceremoniously plonked you in a chair and ran the infernal machine through your fair with fiendish, almost sadistic delight! When you looked at the mirror in the dormitory, you shrieked in horror at the tonsorial nightmare that stared back at you. The barber at the shop in Katugastota was all charm and obeyed your every whim in anticipation of a healthy tip when he finished trying to make you look like Tony Curtis!

Apart from the engineering aspects of bridge building, schoolboys at St Anthony’s were building bridges at strong, or even stronger than the old Katugastota bridge. Bridges which like our iconic bridge have stood the test of time with the passing of the years. These were called bridges of friendship and it is these bridges that have bonded us as Antonians. This is evident in the Antonian camaraderie and spirit of fellowship which is now legendary, wherever one finds the son of the old Alma Mata, be it in any corner of the globe, ‘Rally Round the Banner’ and ‘Antonians will be there’ resonates soundly in Antonian hearts and minds. The bridges of friendship we build at College have brought us thus far. As to where the roads may lead in the future, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Source: http://www.antonian.org.au/

I will remember St. Anthony’s as the school that taught me English. The first few months were really difficult, but I survived. We boarders were quite vocal at cricket matches and joined the seniors in cheering. “Krishna bowler” the cheer-leader would shout and we would all follow with “Thrash the bowler”. Who this Krishna was, I could not figure out. It took me two cricket seasons to realise that the cheer-leader was shouting “He’s no bowler”. Almost 50 years later, at the OBA dinner to mark the College’s 150th anniversary, I was sitting with Jayantha Udukumbura, my classmate and friend from lower school, and was happy to learn that he too had a similar difficulty with the same Krishna. Udda of course went on to captain the college team, while I opted to cheer him from the boundary lines.

I soon picked up grammar and pronunciation. We had little choice, for on boarders’ day one chap would recite the best “sixers” of the year at the assembly and we would not want to be quoted.

Learning English at the feet of Father Robinson in Upper School was a rich experience. He took us – along with Jim Hawkings, the one-legged Long John Silver, Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey and others – aboard the “Hispaniola” to the Treasure Island singing the famous pirates’ song, “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest ……Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest … …Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!” What drama, what fun and what a lot we learnt!

Life as a boarder was never dull. But, honestly, I cannot talk good of the food. On weekends, I and Kithsiri Weerasuriya (Kiththa is a senior lawyer at Attanagalle courts) would spend hours gazing from the grounds at the College entrance for our parents to emerge, bringing eats, “feeds” as we called them. On most days, we would be disappointed.

I had the fortune of being in College in the Rosati era. When Father Rosati passed away, it was as if we had lost a close elderly relative. Father Leo (later Bishop Leo) was in charge of the Rainbow Cottages and I had the privilege, along with 125 others, of being caned by him on the day the College Hall was opened. His family joined the Rainbians at dinner and we reacted to laughter from the head table with a “hoot” as he was just coming in. He was furious and caned us all.

Another important thing that I learnt at St. Anthony’s was to respect the cultures of others. I had Sinhalese, Tamils, Burghers, Chettis, Muslims and even a German, Helmut, as fellows. It was a rich multi-cultural setting from which we all benefitted.

Years later, I was on the SACK staff for a short stint. It was nice to be on the staff along with those who had taught you- Messrs. Mendis, Weerasinghe, B.L. Fernando, Willie Fernando, Rajendran, Angelo Peris to name a few, not forgetting Mr. Brown – and his beautiful daughter, Drusilla, who was a good friend. You don’t want me to give their nicknames, or do you?

Source: http://www.antonian.org.au/ (From SACKOBA Centenary, the centennial publication of the Old Boys’ Association, St. Anthony’s College, Kandy.)

The 1981 cricket team wrote its name in golden letters in the history of Antonian cricket when they beat Trinity College to break the long standing 64 year old Asgiriya Hoodoo.

Leading to the big match, all the newspapers were crying the same as in the past years, “Can the Antonians break the Asgiriya Hoodoo”. We were certainly the favorites but we just had 2 victories to our credit against the lesser known Vidyartha College and St Sylvester’s respectively. Nevertheless we had a fairly successful season and grabbed the major honors against Royal, St Josephs, Kingswood, Rajans and came close to winning in all these games but unfortunately failed to do so. So we hadn’t really mastered the art of winning as we still didn’t know how to win games regularly. Our rivals had lost a few games during the season. Therefore we were tagged as the favourites.

On the morning of the game, one look at the wicket, it appeared the Trinity grounds-man had clearly prepared a wicket for a 5 day game than a 2 day one. I reckon the curator had done everything within his reach to save the match for Trinity from the very outset. It was a placid belter of a pitch. However we won the toss and decided not to bat, but asked our rivals to take first lease of the wicket. The thinking behind that decision was twofold, one batting first in big matches doesn’t win you many games as history has shown us in the past. The other, our batting was a bit shaken from the battering we received at the hands of the Peterite fast bowler Rumesh Ratnayake the previous week.

The 1st ball of the match bowled by our pace bowler Merryl David was fiercely cut to the point boundary for four runs by Praneeth Yainne the Trinity opener. That’s how the proceedings started. However our decision was justified to some extent when we had Trinity struggling 100/5 at lunch. Soon after lunch our decision to bowl first was further reinforced with Trinity in big trouble at 139/8. However Trinity’s last 2 wickets led by ex Antonian junior cricketer Anton Anandaraj youngest brother of the Raj brothers: Dharmaraj, Dhanaraj, Balaraj and co. who all played for college in the 1960s) added around 70 runs and took their score to a respectable one passing the 200 mark. One of the newspapers the next day had captioned it quite correctly “Caged Lions Break Free”.

Personally as a bowler I felt there was hardly anything in the wicket. It was the most unresponsive wicket I had bowled in my entire 1st X1 career. So full marks to Pradeep Fernando for picking up a fifer and he was the only bowler who managed to extract some spin out of a docile pitch. The other reason for Trinity losing those early wickets was due to some reckless batting on the part of their batsmen.

We started our reply a few minutes before the tea break. Marlon Von Hagt and Prasanna Goonatilleke gave us a fairly solid start as they posted 50 runs on the board. Prasanna went on to compile a valuable 50. Anura Dunuwille and Angelo Leanage figured in an entertaining 2nd wicket partnership before Angelo was out for a quick 37. I walked in at the fall of Angelo’s wicket in the last over of the day’s play. Many would have questioned my captaincy as to why I did not send a night watchman at that stage of the game. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a “torch light” for our “Murakaraya” so I had to front up. Austin Bartholamuez was bowling the last over and he was feeding me with half volleys outside the off stump. I just couldn’t pierce the offside field, eventually ended hitting one straight into the hands of Lalith Pilapitiya in the covers and was out for a blob to the delight of the Trinity team. These 2 blokes Austin and Lalith really enjoyed that moment as they were fairly close mates of mine. They rubbed it in further by coming close to me and grinning widely into my face. I didn’t see the funny side of it as I was upset and furious with myself. I turned my back on them and headed towards the pavilion. What I like to point out here is, out in the center the Trinity – Antonian was always played very hard and clean, both sides were very competitive. Then again there was a lot of comradeship between the 2 sides on and off the field.

End of 1st days play there was not much between the 2 sides. Trinity 203, Antonian response 160/4. We had a slight edge going into the 2nd day but it was very much “Even Stevens” overall. The Trinity camp must have been happy with their effort more than we were at the end of day 1. That evening I was a bit down cos I hadn’t contributed much to the teams cause, but was quick to realize we need to look at the big picture and focus on the team’s performance rather than my personal effort. There were many discussions and suggestions as to how we should approach day 2. One suggestion was to declare overnight, another one was to bat until lunch and get a good lead as possible. We finally settled for the decision, let’s bat the 1st hour and see how things turn out.

Father Stephen Abraham was the principal during that era, an excellent administrator in all respects. You have to earn his applause. He will not give it to you easily. On the 2nd day before leaving to the grounds, he walked up to the vehicle and had a word of praise on my 1st day’s captaincy and asked me to keep up the good work.

Pradeep’s dad while warming up on the 2nd day was all praise and appreciation how I shuffled the bowlers in the 1st innings, little words of encouragement which I needed at the time.

On the 2nd day, Anura Dunuwille continued his good form unbeaten on 45 overnight, batted attractively and took his score to 78 which was an excellent knock in the context of the game. Anura upon his dismissal, made it very clear to all at the pavilion that the bowling was tight and run getting was difficult. LV Ekanayake was given the license to pull out the big shots and was our main hope to get a big lead quickly with some monster hits. LV couldn’t make much headway, going for the big hit was caught on the long-on boundary and we decided to close our innings at that juncture. We enjoyed a slender lead of 12 runs when the declaration was made.

Trinity had about an hour’s batting before the lunch interval. We decided to open the attack with Angelo Leanage’s pace, which proved to be a good move as Angelo gave us the all important breakthrough when he had Trinity’s opener Praneeth Yainne caught in the very first over of the innings. We managed one more wicket, the wicket of Zilwa before lunch. Maurice De La Zilwa scored a rapid 34 and had taken Trinity to a comfortable 57/2 at the lunch break.

The match looked heading for a draw at lunch. That must have been the belief of everyone at the grounds as well as the people who were following the game on radio. Lunch was fun as both teams enjoyed a good laugh. Most of the jokes, fun, humour and laughter came from the Trinity camp more than us. We the Antonian side got that feeling and we could see that, the Trinity team as the underdogs felt they had reached safety at that stage. That’s how the game was flowing at that point and no one could be faulted for thinking that way.

Mr. Muthalib our coach requested me to talk to the team before we walked out into the field after lunch. I can’t remember saying much in the huddle nor did any of the other team mates. I still quietly believed that we could win this game, good I was not thinking loud, most people wouldn’t have agreed with my belief. Like me, I won’t be surprised if some of my teammates too quietly believed that we can spring a surprise from here.

Pradeep Fernando’s double strike in the very 1st over after lunch, turned the game on its head. Pradeep sent back Trinity’s deputy skipper Suresh Perera and Dambawinne Junior back to the pavilion to the delight of the Antonian supporters. Now the team started to believe. It was quite evident from the body language of the players as the adrenaline started to pump in us. The lusty cheering, support, encouragement that we received from the thousands of Antonians at the ground was huge at this stage because all Antonians believed that we can make a match of it.

Trinity’s Captain Tikiri Ellepola and Roshan Rajadurai battled hard and started to repair the damage with some solid batting taking the score past 100. It seemed, again, the game was heading for a draw but we still kept the pressure on by having attacking fields. Shammi Karunaratne was introduced late into the attack at this stage. Shammi surprised one and all as he got some sharp turn and a bit of bounce and had Rajadurai clean bowled with a delivery which spun sharply from outside off hitting middle stump.

Tikiri Ellepola their captain was their main hope and he was “no tattu batsman” nor a “dasher” but someone who believed in keeping the scoreboard ticking. We quickly read that Tikiri had the habit of rushing down the wicket every single ball while Shammi was bowling. A quick mid pitch conference took place between Shammi, Kanchana Fernando the wicket keeper (who was substituting for our regular wicketkeeper Dunuwille) and I. The message to Shammi was quite clear keep bowling the off stump line but throw in the “sucker ball” wide outside off. The plan worked instantly, Ellepola brilliantly stumped Kanchana Fernando bowled Karunaratne. Ho, ho, you little beauty boys. We had 8 fielders on the off and just a single fielder on the on-side when Shammi was operating to Ellepola. In those days the slog sweep nor the paddle sweep was rarely used as it happens today. Shammi bagging those 2 wickets at that stage too was another key moment in the match.

Suddenly the scoreboard read 106/6 and we had Trinity by the throat. This time around, we made sure to put our foot down and hold them there. The Pradeep Fernando/Karunaratne bowling combination proved to be a deadly one at this stage. Our fielding was brilliant in both the innings, Marlon stood out with his slip catching. Pradeep was like a rash all over Trinity claiming his 2nd fifer in the game a match bag of 11 wickets in the match. Pradeep Fernando is normally a Bishen Singh Bedi type of bowler but he was very intelligent to adjust and vary his pace and bowl more like Derek Underwood on this particular wicket which paid rich dividends.

I tilted my hat a little bit while writing this article for the fine sportsmanship displayed by the Trinity captain Tikiri Ellepola. Anura Dunuwille our regular wicket keeper had taken ill. I requested from Tikiri during the lunch break if Kanchana who was a reserve can substitute as wicketkeeper. Tikiri said “Yes”, he could have said “No”, and no one could have faulted him as he was playing by the rules. Some captains may have said a substitute is fine, but he can’t keep wickets. Thinking about it, I reiterate it was an excellent gesture and a good piece of sportsmanship by the Trinity captain.

The moment we bundled out Trinity in the 2nd innings the Antonian supporters had already started the celebrations as if we had won the game. We were set to make 112 with ample time left in the match. The whole team knew that cricket can be a funny game and very well understood a match is not won until the winning run is scored. Marlon and Prasanna once again gave us a solid start posting their 2nd 50 run stand and we were well on the way to victory. At the fall of the 1st wicket, I promoted myself to bat at number 3. The scoring was slow but steady and I decided to drop anchor. Anura and Angelo 2 of the batting stars in the 1st innings were out in quick succession. Their intent was correct, they didn’t want to make heavy weather of the small total but were keen on attacking, but both perished deceived by the “donkey drops” of Senaka Dissanayake. Trinity supporters at this stage with our score reading 86/4 had come alive cheering their side loudly expecting the unexpected to happen.

Pradeep Fernando, my deputy, the “man of the moment”, undisputed man of the match eventually, walked out to join me in the middle. Even after a good 35 years, I can still picture the determined look on Pradeep’s face as he joined me. My message to Pradeep, no need to do anything rash, runs will come as far as we stay at the wicket and we need to make sure there are no more hiccups. Runs started to come a bit more quickly. As we crossed the 100 mark, pressure started to ease off quite a bit. We quickly reached the target from there onwards.

Fate had it, that I hit the winning run by pulling Senaka Dissanayake to the mid-wicket fence. Turning back for the 2nd run half way through I realized to my surprise the Trinity players (funny fellows) had grabbed all the stumps and the bails. The stumps grab by the Trinity players having lost the game at the time looked a bit strange to me. Maybe they were smart to realize they were a part of history too, though ending on the losing side. The stumps grab, maybe our Trinity mates can take some consolation telling their children/grandchildren how they deprived the Antonian skipper any piece of memorabilia. I was rolling in laughter writing this bit. I am sure my Trinity mates will take this in good spirit, a little bit of humor at their expense.

Was I worried about not getting any memorabilia? No, No, not at all, my only focus was on reaching the winning target and as we did, it took out a huge heaviness off my chest. The Trinitian’s didn’t have it easy at the other end as Pradeep managed 2 stumps and a bail. The Trinity Lions on the day had to settle for some dead timber (memorabilia) as their food cos the Antonian Eagles were soaring high, circling all over the hill capital as the Antonian victory celebrations started. The other heroes who played in the team apart from the ones I have mentioned so far were Priyantha Jayasundera and Lakshman Panditharatne respectively. The reserve bench had players with good potential such as Dhashantha G, Diyabalanage, Channa M, Feroz Khan, Punchihewa and co.

Though Pradeep Fernando was undoubtedly the “Mega Star” of the match, all will agree it was a 100% team effort as contributions came from everyone including our support staff. We were one strong unit throughout the season. Celebrations ran late into the evening and night. The next 2 weeks until school closed it was a chain of dinners hosted by many a well-wisher and old Antonians who were all keen to meet the history making team.

As a team, if we were to dedicate this win, it will be to Mr. Muthalib our coach. His passion for the job was just awesome. He gave more than a 100% day in and day out to get the best out of us as cricketers. This win against Trinity, Muthalib our coach can quite deservedly can boast of another proud achievement during his coaching days.

The 1981 side was just an above average side with not many big names in it at the time. We were the “little David’s”, who were able to beat Trinity at Asgiriya, in the midst of a whole lot of “Antonian Cricketing Goliaths” such as the legends Jack Anderson, ACM Lafirs, Josephs, Doranegamas, Premaratnes etc. who all failed to conquer Trinity at their own den. The 1981 team certainly will have a special place in the history of Antonian cricket.

The 1981 game was the last Trinity-Antonian encounter played at the small Asgiriya grounds. No one had any clue it was going to be demolished when the 1981 big match was played. If we had not beaten Trinity at the small grounds it would have gone down in history that we never beat them there. Knowing the Trinitian’s they will always make it a point to mention it. 100 years of cricket between the 2 schools and it’s a shame we Antonians can boast just a solitary win at Asgiriya. Damn it boys.

We have not tasted any wins at the new Asgiriya stadium in the last 34 years either. Even the likes of Murali the world record holder, Piyal Wijetunge, Ruwan Kalpage all who played together in the same team for college and later ended up representing the country couldn’t beat Trinity at Asgiriya. It seems the big match in the future is going to be played at the neutral venue “Pallekelle Stadium”. So given all of the above the magnitude of the 1981 win is humungous. So Hail the “1981 Team” needless to say a tremendous achievement in the history of Antonian cricket. Even today from time to time, many an old Antonian who was present at that match as school boys talk about that victory with so much eagerness, excitement and enthusiasm. They surprise you how much that victory means to them even after a good 35 years. Going down memory lane, those little moments, even today brings a bit of joy to us in a fast paced world. Last but not the least, “when the one scorer comes to write against your name, he will not write whether you won or lost, but how you played the game”. So both teams can take a lot of pride that we played the game upholding the highest traditions and sportsmanship on that day. One newspaper even went on to say “Crowd behaviour at the game was exemplary”, and other schools should follow the standards set by these 2 institutions. As players we set the tone and led by example on the field. Full credit should go to the players of both teams.

God willing, looking forward to meeting up with all my mates and have a few laughs at the forthcoming 100th encounter between these 2 great schools.

(NB: This particular game, there was ball by ball commentaries and the game was televised too, a first in the history of Trinity / Antonian big match).

I would arrive in college even before the blue clouds lined the unpolluted Colombo skies and leave the college gates at the threshold of sunset, which certainly added a few extra hours to my regular school day. Hence, I occupied my time by being an altar server at holy mass and a keen spectator of Josephian sportsmen at their practice sessions in the afternoon.

The walk down to the Maradana railway station after school with my father during those late afternoons was a fascinating experience. Although it was a stone’s throw distance from the college to the railway station, we had a regular stoppage at a small saruwath kade near the Olympia Cinema. My father always made it a point to buy me a glass of normal rose-coloured sherbet, although my eye always focused on the numerous multi-coloured saruwath glasses kept on display in the showcase of this roadside cool-drink stall. While I enjoyed my cool drink, my father would buy a copy of the late edition of the Observer or Times and have a quick glance at the last page – the sports page. It was the time when our English dailies carried full coverage of not nly Test cricket matches played by the Englishmen, Aussies and the West Indians, but also their domestic matches, such as Sheffield Shield and county matches.

St. Anthony’s Vs St. Joseph’s at Darley Road 1954

My father was a keen follower of Australian cricket. On our way to the railway station he talked about his sporting favourites and their deeds. I could vividly recall how excited he was when he painted the vivid picture before me of the tied Test in 1960 between Australia and England. The names of his favourites: Neil Harvey, Norman O’Neill, Alan Davidson, Richie Benaud, Frank Worrell, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers, Wesley Hall, Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine, among others, gushed out of him; but the graphic account always ended with the hero of the match, Joe Solomon, who ran out the last Aussie batsman, Ian Meckiff, with a bullseye throw in the penultimate ball of the match when the scores were tied!

Having being denied participation of any major sporting activity on the playing field at school, I had to rely on my imaginary world of sport to give me the glory which I sought. When my father described the tied Test, I felt like I was there and could imagine every detail as if I had seen it. Sometimes, I would be a spectator; other times a player along with the 22 greats who played and achieved immortality!

From the day I heard about this match, it had a supreme impact in my book-cricket score cards. Although in my book-cricket matches, the same 22 players took part in my replaying the First Test in Brisbane – Australia vs West Indies 1960. I never ever achieved a tied match as I had the habit of opening the pages of my school text book used for my book-cricket with numbers in ‘6 or 4’ while the Aussies were batting and opening the ‘1 & 2s under the names of West Indian batsmen. By then, naturally, my father’s favourite team was turning out to be mine too!

During the train journey from Maradana to Hunupitiya station, I was in my imaginary world of sports, with Neil Harveys, Keith Millers, Davidsons and O’Neills. Once in a way, my dreams turned to Truemans and Stathams!

If it is not on Test cricket, my father would talk about school cricket of his time and his favourites such as Robert Fernando, K. W. Dewanayagam and Hector Perera (Snr) among others. Some days he recounted explosive hitting of schoolboy cricketers and of those great school matches of the past, which he had witnessed.

It was during one such occasion I heard of incredible power-hitting of T. M. Deen of St Anthony’s College, Katugastota. My father was there at his college grounds, in Darley Road, among hundreds of spectators who were kept for 50 minutes or so in utter disbelief in day one of the match. And once again in day two, also for a brief period. My father had a liking for this match and whilst pointing out the landing areas of those mighty sixes hammered by T.M. (Tom) Deen, he casually added that despite their entertaining cricket, the Antonians had a close call at the end and the honours had to be shared. Many a decade later, I had the opportunity of browsing through the full scorecard of this historic match. The scorecard makes one’s hair stand on end as would a Hitchcock thriller.

St Anthony’s College, Katugastota celebrated its centenary in 1954 and was fortunate to have one of the all-time great cricket teams during the season. The team was led by A.C.M. Lafir, who his coach Maurice Perera called “captain courageous”.

When the Katugastota schoolboys travelled down to Colombo for their fourth match for the 1954 season, to confront St Joseph’s College, the local press predicted an exciting match. The college magazine of St. Anthony’s noted: “With an outburst of publicity in the press, we travelled to Colombo to meet St Joseph’s. This encounter was looked forward to with extreme interest by many, some of whom made a special trip for the purpose.”

The match evoked another interesting aspect. Although St Joseph’s had a long list of victories (29 in all till 1954) under its name since the inaugural match between these two schools in 1899, their opponents has recorded only six victories up to 1954. Importantly, the last Antonian victory over the Josephians until then was as far back as 1930, where the hill-country school was victorious by a solitary run!

A brief description of the 1930 SJC vs SAC match played at Bogambara grounds: St. Anthony’s 59 (M. D. Banda 11, five batsmen were out scoring 6 runs each) and 108 (H. Jayasundera 47, K.C. Visvanathan 15.3-6-30-7) beat St. Joseph’s 72 (Romel Rodrigo 13, Robert Fernando 0, K.W. Dewanayagam (Capt) 0, K.C. Visvanathan 29, Noel de Costa 15, Noel Bevan 11) and 94 (Gautamadasa who was not called to bowl in the first innings had the figures of 13-3-28-6. SJC were 32 for 1 at one stage, but collapsed for 46 for 6 and 91 for 7 before being bundled out for 94) by one run.

Deen slammed four sixes and six boundaries in his all too brief knock of 60 runs. Two of his mighty hits landed in the Home for the Aged, one in the Bonjean Hall Tower and the fourth in a boutique on Darley Road.

When the Antonians met the Josephians at Darley Road, on March 5 and 6, predictions were made of a possible Antonian victory. The Antonians piled up massive totals in their previous three matches: 246 against St. Peter’s, 382 in an innings victory against St. Benedict’s and 267 against Ananda. On the other hand, the Josephians had to be content with tame draws against St Benedict’s, Royal and Wesley.

The Josephians took first lease of the matting wicket, with their opening batsmen Y. Ratnayake and C. Vandort facing Tom Deen and Sali Doranegama. The openers did not last long, Vandort was out for 1 (ct. C. Pereira bld. Deen) and Ratnayake for 6 (ct. & bld. Deen). 26 for 4 at one stage, the home team totalled 199. Skipper Chrysantha Fernando (77), R. Brohier (26) and 23 extras were the chief contributors. Tom Deen claimed the figures of 11-1-47-4. K.R. Caldera and T.A. Buhar were his other victims. The Josephian batting line-up also included Talat Ismail, Mahinda de Silva, R. Rudolph, L. Caspersz and M. Berenger.

The visitors began their innings with Ronnie Stephens and skipper A.C.M. Lafir, followed by G. Fernando and W. Premaratne. The match which had gone on until then without creating much excitement, except for Lafir’s elegant knock, suddenly sparked with the arrival of T.M. Deen to the middle.

According to an account (“Cricket Notes 1954 – The matches as Cecil Rodrigo saw them”) appeared in the College magazine of St. Anthony’s: “——Darley Road, the Home for the Aged and the tall Bonjean Tower were the landing places of Deen’s colossal sixers. Both the Josephian pacemen were thrashed for a six each and even, Berenger, the most accurate schoolboy bowler of the year, found a place in the Home for the Aged. Deen’s innings lasted only 55 minutes during which time he kept the spectators on their toes. It was a memorable innings the like of which, according to sports writers in the local press, had not been seen on local cricket grounds since the days of such men as Oswin Wright and Neil Joseph.”

Maurice Perera, the coach of this invincible Antonian team (1954) had this to say about Deen’s classic innings: “T.M. Deen, a dynamic personality, unpredictable like Keith Miller, yet a brilliant all-rounder, struck terror into the hearts of his opponents with both bat and ball. His carefree attitude towards the game enabled those who were fortunate enough to witness it, to see one of the finest bits of hitting ever seen at Darley Road. His sixers soaring to all parts of the ground brought the large crowd to its feet.”

St. Anthony’s had 221 (T.M. Deen 61, S. Doranegama 45) on the board before the Josephians took their second turn at the wicket, little after noon in day two. The Josephians started off on the wrong foot. By the time of the milk interval they were 26 for 6. Interestingly, all six wickets were taken by the Antonian opening bowling pair – Deen and S. Doranegama. Face-saving innings of Mahinda de Silva (ct. G. Fernando bld. Deen 70), R. Rudolph (31) and L. Caspersz (23) lifted the total to 155 thus leaving the Antonians to score 133 in couple of hours of playing time remaining.

With an impressive match record in the previous three outings behind them – “that time saved St Peter’s, the weather saved Ananda” and an innings victory over St Benedict’s where no interference of weather or time – it was almost certain another Antonian victory was on the cards in their centenary year. For the first time over the Josephians after a lapse of 24 years; and for the first time at the Darley Road grounds.

Ronnie Stephens and skipper Lafir started off the run chase steadily and were involved in a 30-run partnership. Stephens scored 23 (bld. M. Berenger) and Lafir 18 (bld. T. Buhar). Thereafter, the same two Josephian pacemen claimed the wickets of W. Premaratne (12) and G. Fernando (01).

And when the batsman who set the ground alight in the 1st innings, T.M. Deen walked to the middle, the scoreboard read 42 for 3. He was once again in his cavalier mood, slamming another couple of towering sixers which saw the ball soaring high and high before landing far away from the grounds. Unfortunately, his extraordinary big hitting came to an end when he was out for 33 (ct. Ratnayake bld. Berenger).

The second highest scorer in the first innings S. Doranegama also had a short stay at the middle before he was clean bowled by Buhar for 12 runs; 86 for 5 at one stage, the Antonians were struggling at 113 for 9 (Ranjit Doranegama 8, J. Abdeen 1 and G. Pamunuwa 1) when wicket-keeper Cuthbert Pereira, who was injured early in the day, was joined by the last man A. Sivananthan.

Cecil Rodrigo’s “Cricket Notes 1954” in the Antonian magazine graphically described the tension-filled last phase of the match. He says: “Deen once againtook the wicket amidst roars of cheers. In his usual style he went out for the runs and top scored with 33 runs which included another two sixers. But after his departure victory left us and went in close reach of St Joseph’s. Our last pair, Sivananthan and Cuthbert Pereira, the latter despite a swollen eye, stuck to their guns for a full 20 minutes. They were neither perturbed by the cheering nor upset by the sting of Buhar who bowled so accurately. This pair put a thrilling end to a game that was doomed to end with a result.”

At the end, the Antonians were 119 for 9 (C. Pereira n.o. 4 and A. Sivananthan n.o. 2, Buhar 4 for 34 and Berenger 4 for 42).

Thus came an exciting end to a great cricketing encounter.

Source: https://quadrangle.lk/magical-moments-time-great-escapes/

The 1972 Trinity Antonian big match was played in Katugastota on the 24th & 25th March 1972. It was a historic period as Trinity who were celebrating its centenary year and I captained the Antonian team whilst Athula Unantenne was the captain of Trinity College. We knew each other for quite some time having played with each other from our childhood days. Just as much as the game was important to them it was equally vital to us from our perspective to beat Trinity in their centenary year and be part of history forever. The Antonian squad, led by me, was a well-knitted team coached by T M A Cooray, an old boy of the college who represented the first eleven team in the 1940’s. We played 10 games in that year, won 3, lost 2 and drew 5. We would have beaten Dharmaraja if not for rain on the first day. St Benedicts would have been another game that we could have won in that year but time was a factor. All in all it was a good season. My best score was against Ananda College where I went on to score 102 runs which included 14 fours. Our last game before the big match was with St Peters College. The Peterites comprised of a brilliant outfit of players like Roy Dias, Raj & Lalith Obeysekara, B Wijethunga, E. Thevarayan, and N Wirathunga. Even though the match ended in a draw it was a good result for us with the openers Merril and Suresh putting on 117 runs for the first wicket and both batsmen been run out for 49 and 65 correspondingly while the middle order performed splendidly well ahead of the big game.

Philomen, Premalal and Shane each scored 43, 47 and 36 respectively facilitating a mammoth score of 284 in the first innings. Premalal was at his brilliant best with a chanceless 47 in 50 minutes. He was a player who could bat at any position and on his day he could take any bowler apart with the bat though he did not perform with the bat to his full potential.

Going in to the big match we were very happy with our batting as we had adequate strength in this department and it hardly required any changes to the existing lineup. We had an accomplished opening pair featuring a left & right hand combination of Merril Dunuwila and Suresh Gunatilaka who figured in many commendable opening partnerships during the season. They were regarded as one of the best opening pairs in school cricket that year. Both were technically correct and skillful batsmen in their own way. Merril was the wicket keeper of the team as well. Anton Perera opened at the start of the season and was confined to the permanent significant role of batting at number 3, myself at 4, C P P Raj (Philomen) at 5, Shane Balthazar no 6, Premalal De Silva (Vice Captain) no 7, Mohamed Rizvie at 8 followed by Bernard Ranasinghe, Bede Perera and Charlie Paul were a formidable band of cricketers that that gave enormous strength to the batting line up.

In the bowling department Premalal and Rizvie spearheaded the attack with left arm spinner Charlie Paul who bowled consistently well throughout the season was a force to reckoned with in his first year. Philomen Raj was a useful medium pace stop gap bowler who had the knack to pick a wicket whenever it warranted. He was also an outstanding batsman and terrific fielder. Right arm off spin bowler Bede Perera came in to the team almost toward the end of the season following the departure of Benedict (Ben) Wikramanayake mid-season after his 19th Birthday. Incidentally Ben was a good all round cricketer who had played with me from the age of 12 along with Premalal and Philomen until 1972. Hiran Jayasundera was unlucky not to make it into the 11 though he was a promising cricketer and so was S R De Alwis a good leg spin bowler. I was prepared for the big match with specific strategies about our bowlers. Bede Perera was identified as a potential match winner for us and I wanted to give him long spells while confining myself to bowl in patches of short spells.

The Trinity team too consisted of some potentially good cricketers. Kurukulasuriya, Assauw, Unantenne, Joshua, Dissanayake, Obeysekera, Schoorman, Abeysekera, Niyangoda, Hamzi and Wasalathanthri were all good players who represented their school in that all important year for them.

Our plan was to put Trinity to bat first had we won the toss. It made things easier for us when Athula Unantenne won the toss and elected to take first lease of the wicket. Our aim was to dislodge them for a score around 150 to 170 which we successfully achieved. Trinity openers scored 17 runs after two overs before Assauw was caught by Raj off Rizvie. Captain Unantenne joined opener Kurukulasuriya and added 53 runs for the second wicket before Raj dismissed Kurukulasuriya. Trinity reached 103 for the loss of three wickets before Bede Perera was introduced. Bede Perera clean bowled Dissanayake in his first over and had Obeysekera leg before wicket in his next over to complete his second over with the figures of 2-2-0-2 and Trinity after a good start was 107 for the loss of 5 wickets. Unantenne reached his half century and provided resistance by adding 25 runs for the sixth wicket before Bede Perera took a return catch off Unantenne and Trinity lost their sixth wicket for 142 runs.

Charlie Paul and I took two quick wickets and when Bede Perera bowled Wasalathanthri to take his fourth wicket, Trinity after winning the toss and batting first managed only 168 runs off 67.2 overs in 165 minutes. Bede Perera finished with impressive figures of 15.2 overs 10 maidens 10 runs for 4 wickets. Philomen Raj took 2 for 47 and I finished with 1 for 25 off 11 overs.

The strategy through the afternoon session when we resumed our innings was to pile up a decent score keeping our wickets intact. The two openers did just what the doctor had ordered.

Merril Dunuwila and Suresh Gunatilaka opened the innings for St Anthony’s and added a brilliant 119 for the first wicket. Suresh scored 59 before he was bowled by Obeysekera. Anton Perera joined Merril and took the score past Trinity first innings score of 168 before Merril virtually sacrificed his wicket for the sake of the team in search of quick runs as we had planned the previous day and was caught by Schoorman off Wasalathanthri for a well compiled 80 runs including 12 fours.

The batting lineup was adjusted after the first day’s play to suit the situation aimed to accelerate the run rate when we were 119 for 1 wicket at close of play with Merril and Anton at the crease. We were in a strong position then and I wanted the team to score quickly and declare at lunch with a good lead. I promoted Raj to bat at 4 and dropped down to number 5, I also promoted Premalal De Silva (Vice Captain) at 6 ahead of Shane Balthazar at 7, followed by Mohammed Rizwie at 8, Bernard Ranasinghe, Bede Perera and Charlie Paul. In hindsight, I should have sent Premalal in front of me being the man in form coming in to that game. We lost 5 quick wickets in the process in our quest for runs for the addition of only 21 runs and when Bede Perera joined Premalal de Silva with a score at 193 for 8 wickets, a lead of only 25 runs. The pair put together a useful unbroken partnership of 45 runs in 27 minutes and when I declared the innings at 238 for 8 wickets, Premalal was not out 33 with 4 fours and Bede Perera was 20 not out with 3 fours. S Niyangoda was the most successful bowler with 3 for 63. Though some thought we should have gone for quick runs on the first day, the plan, however, was to step up the run rate from the next morning and amass a score of 260 plus by lunch and declare. We fell short of the target by 22 runs and Merril missing out on a second hundred in a big match!

Trinity started their second innings at 1.30 pm with a deficit of 70 runs. Openers Kurukulasuriya and Assauw added 50 runs for the first wicket. Philomen Raj took the first wicket when Charlie Paul took the catch off Assauw and with the score at 50, Charlie Paul took another catch off Bede Perera to dismiss Kurukulasuriya. Bede Perera took two quick wickets and when Trinity was 4 for 72, I had both Obeysekara and Schoorman trapped LBW in successive overs and they collapsed to 81 for 6 wickets shifting the atmosphere of the jubilant Antonian supporters sensing victory. We went through a phase of frustration creeping in to me when an apparent partnership was building between Joshua and Abeysekara. Going in to tea they were 114 for 6, a partnership of 33 runs between them looking ominously dangerous at that stage giving confidence to their camp and Trinity supporters likewise some hope of a draw.

The persistent of Bede Perera paid dividends soon after tea giving us the opening we required for a breakthrough. He had Joshua stumped by Dunuwila for a well compiled 32 off the first ball after tea!  The fall of Joshua’s wicket by Bede Perera off the first ball after tea revived and galvanized the Antonian fans once more to a deafening uproar amid a multitude of people cheering the team. Soon Bede Perera bowled Abeysekere and Trinity were 119 for 8 when Hamzy joined Niyangoda who added a further frustrating 25 runs before I held on to a catch to dismiss Niyangoda to give Bede Perera his sixth wicket of the innings and the tenth wicket of the match. When I had Hamzy caught by Balthazar to dismiss Trinity for 144 in their second innings, we had a target of 74 runs in 85 minutes.

Merril Dunuwila opened with Suresh Gunatilaka and the partnership reached 21 in 15 minutes before Suresh was out leg before wicket to Wasalathanthri for 5. Merril Dunuwila scored 32 runs in 25 minutes and took the score to 39 before Obeysekera bowled him. Premalal de Silva joined Philomen Raj and they took the score to 68 before Premalal was run out for 5. I joined with 7 runs to win and was there till the end when Philomen Raj scored the winning off Trinity captain Unantenne to record a historic victory. Philomen was a stylish outstanding batsman capable of batting at any slot. He was a brilliant all round player produced by St Anthony’s in that era. Philomen Raj scored 33 runs in 30 minutes and it gave me great pleasure to be there at the end to ensure victory and celebrate and savor the moment of success against our arch rival and remain in the annals of the antiquity of cricket between two great institutions in the hill country of the nation!

The celebrations went in to the night with friends and team mates relishing the ecstasy of this great win in what was a memorable year to the opponent. We also spent a short time in the old boys club house to show our goodwill and appreciation to their support to the team throughout the season and fulfill their benevolent entreaty to a pinch of the native swill and thereafter going to the centenary fair of the vanquished are cherished moments of that exciting day.

It is ironic that few months after leaving school Athula and I joined the tea trade as trainee tea tasters of two leading tea export companies and sharing a room at the YMCA in Fort is another twist in the fairy tale.

Premalal joined Ceylon Tobacco and later Singer Sri Lanka. Merril and Benedict are currently residing in the USA. Philomen is back in Sri Lanka following a stint in Oman. Shane served in the Army and has retired. Charlie Paul lives in Melbourne.

In conclusion, I wish to add that Bede Perera having previously played only in three games performed commendably well in bowling, batting and fielding that paved the way for this amazing win. He was unafraid and held the pressure well when things were getting tough with skill and courage in his debutant year and remained an important figure to the team. A simple boy from a simple family who brought credit to his Alma Mater! Well done Bede.

Finally a word of praise to the statistician and scorer, the affable Frederik Martin, who played a significant role in compiling the score sheets of the first eleven team for two seasons and going to the extent of gifting the “ready reckoner” to me soon after the big match. If not for him and a close associate from school days, the amiable Alston Mahadevan, a senior prefect of the college who was in command of the pavilion, policing the area sacred to the two teams, whose persuasion, influence and resolve drilled on me to contribute for this article, the evidence of a journey down memory lane perhaps would not have been possible.

Source: https://quadrangle.lk/when-a-fresher-helped-me-to-be-part-of-history/