Wunderkidz in a Blunderland: tensions and tales from Sri Lankan cricket^**

^{* *}This article was drafted in early 2007 and finalised later that year.

^ 1 CitationTurner, ‘A Temporary Fracture or a Permanent Breach?’ In December 2007, Murali became the highest wicket taker in Test cricket overtaking Shane Warne's record of 708 test wickets.

^ 2 CitationRoberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 1–3; CitationRoberts, Essaying Cricket, 126–30.

^ 3 Right at the outset Sathāsivam was made captain of the Ceylon team selected to play the whistle-stop game against Bradman's Australian team in March 1948 when Derek de Saram, who was senior to him and a good batsman and experienced skipper, was the logical choice. To outsiders it looked as if the Tamil Union trumped the Sinhalese Sports Club, though personal ambitions probably counted for more (Roberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 20–1).

^ 4 For some information, including an assessment conveyed by Nirupama Subramanium, a journalist from The Hindu, see Roberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 7 and CitationRoberts, ‘Landmarks and Threads in the Cricketing Universe of Sri Lanka’, 125–6.

^ 5 Roberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 7.

^ 6 Indeed, the Sri Lankan squads have been the most multi-ethnic and multi-religious international team for some time. The 15 players at the World Cup included 2 Tamils (Arnold and Muralitharan), 1 Moor (Maharoof), 1 Malay-Sinhalese (Dilshan), 1 Sinhalese-Burgher (Atapattu) and 9 Sinhalese on the ethnic front; while on the religious side there were 2 Catholics (Vaas and Fernando), 8 Buddhists, 1 Protestant (Arnold), 1 Muslim and 1 Hindu. When one adds fringe players such as Ian Daniel (Colombo Chetty) and Michael Vandort (Burgher), the spread is even wider.

^ 7 Re: Sathāsivam, see Roberts, Essaying Cricket, 173–8 and plates 8 and 38.

^ 8 For fuller information on the issues in this section, see Roberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 5–7 and ‘Landmarks and Threads in the Cricketing Universe of Sri Lanka’, 125–6.

^ 9 For historical information on cricket in Sri Lanka during the colonial era, see CitationFoenander, Sixty Years of Ceylon Cricket, CitationPerera, The Janashakthi Book of Cricket, 1832–1996, and Roberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 8–17.

¹⁰ The match against Bradman's team is described by Jack Fingleton in CitationRoberts, Crosscurrents, while several pictures taken at this ground appear in that book and in Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plates 9, 10, 11 and 134.

¹¹ See the pictures in Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plates 46 and 82. Also see plate 45 for Dissanāyake's triumphant return to Sri Lanka in July 1981.

¹² We were colleagues in the University of Ceylon B team in the late 1950s.

¹³ See the striking picture taken by David Colin-ThomÄ“ in Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plate 153.

¹⁴ Roberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 25–7.

¹⁵ Another Ceylonese who played for Cambridge (and Nottinghamshire too) was Gamini Goonasena of Royal College, who went on to captain the Light Blues and made outstanding contributions in English county cricket as well as MCC tours (see Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plate 17–20). The individual achievements of these three men, and subsequently of Jayasinghe and Inman, undoubtedly assisted Sri Lanka's cause in MCC, and thus ICC, circles.

¹⁶ See Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plate 44.

¹⁷ CitationRoberts, ‘The Political Antecedents of the Revivalist Elite within the MEP Coalition of 1956’.

¹⁸ On the 1956 political revolution by ballot and its far-reaching ramifications, see Mervyn de Silva, ‘1956: the Cultural Revolution that Shook the Left’. Ceylon Observer Magazine Edition, May 16, 1967; CitationPeiris, 1956 and After; CitationWriggins, Ceylon. Dilemmas of a New Nation; CitationKearney, Communalism and Language in the Politics of Ceylon; K.M. de Silva, Managing Ethnic Tensions, 1986; Roberts, ‘The Political Antecedents of the Revivalist Elite within the MEP Coalition of 1956’; CitationRoberts, ‘The 1956 Generations: Before and After’; Roberts, ‘Landmarks and Threads in the Cricketing Universe of Sri Lanka’, 126–8.

¹⁹ D.P. de Silva, Weerasinghe and Jayasinghe can be seen in the group pictures from the Indian tour of 1964/65 in Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plates 44 and 21. For Kehelgamuwa, see plate 27. The de Silvas, namely, D.H., D.P. and D.S. de Silva, all from Mahinda College in Galle, provide a rare case of three brothers who played for their country.

²⁰ Both Dudley and Robert Senanāyake are in the group picture of the St. Thomas College team that played against St Peters’ College of Adelaide in Colombo on 26 March 1928 (Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plate 2).

²¹ For fuller information on this unseemly episode, see Perera, The Janashakthi Book of Cricket, 1832–1996, 320–6, and Roberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 23–5 and Roberts, ‘Landmarks and Threads in the Cricketing Universe of Sri Lanka’, 129.

²² Roberts, ‘Landmarks and Threads in the Cricketing Universe of Sri Lanka’, 131.

²³ Roberts, Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka's Cricket History, 17–20.

²⁴ For the squads sent to England in 1975 and 1979 for the ICC Trophy and the World Cup, see Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plates 35–7.

²⁵ Warnapura is seated beside Gamini Dissanayake (President, BCCSL) and J.R. Jayewardene (President of Sri Lanka) in a photograph that was probably taken at the Colombo Oval prior to Sri Lanka's first ever Test Match, that against an England team led by Fletcher in 1982. Roberts, Essaying Cricket, plate 79.

²⁶ CitationThird Eye, ‘Sanath Jayasuriya: A Class Act’.

²⁷ For one, the Saravanamuttu Stadium was not accorded Test matches. For another, when Chandra Schāffter was Manager of the touring SL squad in England in early summer 2002 (appointed by the Interim Board), he was unceremoniously dumped at the end of this trip and subjected to character assassination by members of a new board headed by Hemaka Amarasuriya, a board that was in league with Sumathipāla interests and that in fact paved the way for the latter's return to power at SLC via the electoral process in mid-2003.

²⁸ Re: Sumathipāla, see articles by Charlie Austin and Michael Roberts in Essaying Cricket, 120–2 and plates 61 and 62.

²⁹ CitationRoberts, ‘Rangiri Stadium and Its Tempestuous History’.

³⁰ CitationRoberts, ‘Rangiri Stadium and Its Tempestuous History’

³¹ De Mel was a bowling all-rounder who played for Sri Lanka in the 1980s and was in fact the highest wicket-taker at the 1987 World Cup. He is also a double international because he has represented Sri Lanka at bridge. In the 1980s he was a bosom friend of Sidath Wettimuny who was both club-mate at the SSC and a member of the SL team. De Mel and Tissera were also appointed to the Interim Board headed by Rienzie Wijetilleke in mid-1999, while Wettimuny became Chairman of Selectors – in a governmental intervention that deposed Sumathipāla and aimed at reforms in the cricket scene. This background suggests that de Mel may occasionally consult Wettimuny on cricketing matters, in part because Wettimuny's non-partisanship is beyond question and in part because he was the Gavaskar of SL cricket, technically-sound in batting.

³² CitationNote Menon, ‘Why do we love to love Sri Lanka?’; and Simon Barnes, ‘Put Your Shirt on Sri Lanka to summon their Maverick Match-Winning Spirit’. The Times, April 28, 2007.

³³ Charlie Austin, ‘Sumathipāla as New President: Hero or Villain?’.

³⁴ This summary is based partly on Austin's writings in www.cricinfo.com and also derived from an interview with Trevor Penney reported in the same source at the time Moody left at the end of his contract in mid-2007. One illustration has been the story of Chāmara Silva. He made two golden ducks in his debut Test in New Zealand in late 2006. Where earlier tour committees may have dropped him, he was retained for the 2nd Test match and re-paid the faith in his capacities with a striking century in a difficult situation.

³⁵ Austin, ‘Sumathipāla as New President: Hero or Villain?’.

³⁶ Austin, ‘Sumathipala as New President: Hero or Villain?’

³⁷ In the VB series in Australia in early 2006 Sri Lanka overturned the local expectations by outplaying South Africa and reaching the finals, where it beat the powerful Aussie side in the first game.

³⁸ Tissera was the manager of the team from c. August 2005 to May 2007 and was interviewed by Sa'adi Thawfeeq in June 2007 after he ended his stint. The possibility that Tissera himself contributed to good management and selection on occasions should be considered. Moody was clearly the supremo at the outset, but as the team toured and Tissera chaired selection meetings for a spell (till a Selector was sent on tour for this express purpose), it is likely that his opinions were given the weight they deserved both on formal occasions and informally.

³⁹ CitationSchoorman, ‘Sri Lanka's Cricket is on a Firm Footing’, 37–8.

⁴⁰ During a formal interview (with SLC approval from Duleep Mendis) over breakfast at the Hyatt Hotel in Adelaide in late January 2006.

⁴¹ Note Mahela Jayawardene's qualified endorsement of Gordon's input when Sa'adi Thawfeeq explicitly questioned him on this point (Montage, March–April 2007, 11).

⁴² An email note from Michael Tissera conveyed this information to me after I sent an email letter to Tissera as well as Duleep Mendis (CEO of SLC) strongly urging them to refrain from considering Chappell. This was based on my own evaluations and grapevine information gathered from the Adelaide cricket circuit. In brief, my advice was not required. Note, too, that in recently selecting Trevor Bayliss as Moody's successor after a short-listing and interview process (Trevor Oliver was also interviewed), SLC set up a consultative body of past cricketers that included Tissera, Warnapura, Wettimuny, Aravinda de Silva and others. It follows that similar consultations were deployed in early 2005.