The whole dressing room was in tears. The feeling was unbearable. We fought so hard for a good part of 300 over’s, but after 15 years we had lost the shield. Royal deserved to win but, the way we played, we definitely didn’t deserve to lose.
It was a phenomenal match. Nearly 1200 runs were scored and it went down to the wire. Nevertheless that didn’t compensate for our feelings of despair, if at all it just made it so much harder to bear. For the coloursmen who experienced the glorious sensation of victory in 2005 it was so much harder to see the shield getting handed over. I personally never forgave myself until the end of last year’s match. Honestly I had let my team down as a 3rd year coloursman and as the vice-captain of the team. After scoring a century in 2005 and taking 3 wickets, a lot was expected of me and I failed to deliver, badly. I failed in both innings and didn’t take a single wicket. 5 of our batsmen scored 50’s and that was a record, if I’m not mistaken. I just couldn’t bear the pain, for as a frontline batsman I felt if I had just scored some runs or at least occupied the wicket for a few over’s we could have saved the game. Despite regrouping well and winning the mustang trophy convincingly the following week, the feeling of defeat was still lingering amongst us. This is when I vowed to myself that I would somehow build up a match winning side next year and embark on a mission to get the shield back. I always believed that impossible was nothing and that I {we} can do everything through Christ Jesus.
Few members who were supposed to be present that year had to leave us which was unplanned and we had not managed to find sufficient replacements and we entered the Dharmarajah match with a young and inexperienced side and I don’t think we were mentally and physically ready for the game. Thus it resulted in a very poor performance for we were bowled out for 71 runs in the 1st innings and we barely managed to save the game. I had failed in both innings again and I was feeling quite down, even though I didn’t show it to my team mates and managed a small motivational pep talk. I had three main goals in mind for our team. Win the big match, win the mustangs & win the lemonade tournament. Personally I wanted to reach 1000 runs and get 50 wickets. However at this point of time all these goals seemed to be looming in the distance and quite out of reach. A gut feeling told me not to lose heart and to keep working on my game and to have faith in the young side I had.
I strongly believe fielding is a key element and we worked doubly hard on this area. Maza had to leave us temporarily as he got selected for the under 19 national team. This meant that Shash and I had to shoulder the batting responsibility, Jehaan and Ruchira had to shoulder the bowling responsibility. The freshers started showing promise and gradually match by match we were gaining experience and were gelling as a unit. Shash started bowling some part time off spin and gradually he managed to evolve into a match winner. Despite Jehaan and Ruchira being relatively out of form with the ball, Milan managed to compensate and showed a lot of promise. The 3rd term came to an end with the team doing well in patches. We had a few excellent performances but what was missing was that we were not performing as a team. I too managed to hit some form scoring one century and a few half centuries. However I pulled a groin muscle and was forced to give up bowling which was very disappointing as I loved to open the bowling. I was also feeling a little dejected that we hadn’t managed to win a single game outright in the 3rd term and I knew that winning matches in the 1st term was going to be relatively harder.
1st term started with a big blow. We played Nalanda on an under prepared wicket at their home ground and we lost the match in a very low scoring game. Nalanda chasing 100 to win were also stuttering at 50-5 at one stage as that pitch was playing all sorts of tricks. However they managed to scrape through to achieve the win. We were all momentarily dejected but I knew it wasn’t the end of the world and I managed to boost the players saying we had a very good chance of even winning that game.
A significant turning point for me was Mr. Ajith Jayasekara giving me a stern pep talk. He told me that I was playing a bit irresponsibly and rashly and that I’m a big match centurion and to go out there and bat with confidence and purpose, that opened my eyes to a great extent, in the same match I scored a 100 against Wesley in just over a session and I think I didn’t look back from there.
I personally felt there were too many matches in the 1st term for it took its toll on us all. I could see that the guys were exhausted and not sufficiently motivated. After talking to Mr. Abeynaike, we adopted a resting schedule for players and I too took a game off. Maza returned to the side which had a positive impact on our performance. His all round contribution helped greatly to balance the side and our performances improved. Each one of us had a good idea as to what our responsibility was and we managed to consistently achieve good results. One noteworthy performance was against St. Josephs, who were undoubtedly the strongest side that season. They had run over sides with over five players representing the junior national pool. However we had a good outing with them and this boosted our moral greatly. One key pattern that I noticed was that whenever Maza, Shash or I did well it meant that the team in general had a good outing. I gradually realized that the 3 of us held a huge responsibility and that we probably held the key to this year’s Royal-Thomian. As the 3 most senior members it was our duty to perform at the front and set an example. This created immense pressure for us. However, we managed to deal with it relatively well as we were heading the performance table. Apart from us Milan had shouldered a lot of the bowling responsibility. We were gradually depending on him, which was in a way scary because I always believed that you can’t pressurize and depend heavily on freshers when you enter the big match. Dinesh too was showing much promise as a 15 year old and there was some stiff competition in the middle order which is always healthy.
The time came when a few serious decisions had to be made. The big match was around the corner and we still had three problems. We hadn’t found a proper opener to assist Shash, we needed to finalize the middle order and we needed to decide on the wicket keeping position. A few tough calls were made and the best fitting 11 was chosen based on current performances. Upon finalizing the side we didn’t look back on that decision. Looking back at the outcome of the big match I do not regret walking on to the field with the 10 guys I had beside me.
Despite finalizing the team we still lacked one essential factor which I wanted to desperately achieve. We needed to depend on each other for strength and believe in ourselves. Furthermore we hadn’t tasted victory yet and despite the Royal-Thomian being three days I was anxious that the boys taste victory beforehand. The timing of the Trinity match couldn’t have been better for we managed to pull off a convincing win in style. The team was finally moving smoothly in all departments and we were performing well. We crushed Zahira the following weekend by tea time on the second day and these back to back victories did more than words can describe for our guys. I can still remember the looks on Haroons and the Royal coach’s face when I turned up for the Royal-Thomian press conference at 4pm after the 2nd days play of the Zahira match. I was not supposed to attend the conference due to the match and when Haroon asked me whether the match got washed out as there was a tinge of drizzle in the air, I jokingly said, “Nah, we finished them off by three so I could come for the conference”.
We entered into the traditional residential camp and the big match was just a few days away. Despite being a 4th year coloursman who had experienced victory, defeat and a draw in the 3 years I played I felt like a fresher and the pressure was getting to me. I was confident but also very anxious. I spent a lot of time on my own practicing and also praying. It was very heartening to see the guys practicing extra individually and polishing a few rough patches we had. There was a feeling of hunger and determination in the air and I sensed that our target was achievable. Ruchira did a very influential thing by creating a poster saying THE SHIELD WILL BE BACK and hung it at the entrance of the dressing room. This idea gradually crept into everyone’s minds and they began to believe it possible. For the 1st time I sensed that Mr. Abeynaike too was desperate to avenge last year’s defeat. He might not remember this incident due to a small drink or two, but after Mr. Kumar Boralass’s dinner he hugged me and Maza and asked us if we’re going to bring the shield back and if we were going to score some runs for him. He had a tear or two in his eyes and that was indeed a heartwarming moment for me as I’m sure it was for Maza. We promised with sincerity and the final result was very symbolic of this promise.
The build up to the match was intense with every newspaper carrying huge articles and write ups regarding both teams and their strengths and weaknesses. My captain’s party, the cycle parade, the blessing of the team at the chapel, awarding of colours at assembly, wardens breakfast on the eve of the match, all gradually heightened the feeling of anxiousness. I was so nervous the day before the match that I took Nirrushan with me and despite a power cut took a small hit in the indoor nets in the late evening in virtual darkness.
The wait was finally over and we reached the SSC on that wonderful morning. There was a small delay with the vehicle carrying our kit bags and I had to request Haroon to take the team photographed earlier than scheduled. The Opening ceremony went well and after our equipment arrived we got into our brand new kits, graciously sponsored by some old boys. We did some fielding to get the guys into the motions and relieve some stress and before I knew it I was called to have the toss. For some weird reason I felt like I might lose the toss, maybe because the last three years we had won it. Dismally the coin turned in Haroon’s favour and he had no second thought in putting us in on a hard wicket which was relatively green. We quickly had to adjust our team plan for we too had planned on exploiting the early swing at the SSC and putting them in. It was also risky that Shash, Maza and I were right at the top of the order for a few early wickets meant that it would be us who would be back in the hut. Nevertheless I believe d that if the best of us couldn’t handle the heat it was pointless to promote others to safe guard us. Thus I blocked out all negative feelings and had a two minute hit outside.
My father was also present on the turf and I could see that he was more anxious than I was. He threw some balls at me with all his best intentions at heart. I distinctly remembered my father saying that he had a word of knowledge from God that I would score more than 125 which I had done in 2005 and that we would win this year. He is a very religious man and I never doubted his words of knowledge. I was quite skeptic until one of his dreams came true in 2005. I can remember when I was just a kid in grade 8 or 9 he told me that he had a vision of me playing a Royal-Thomian and scoring a hundred and getting out in a weird way and there being confusion in the middle. As a small kid who was still dreaming of playing a big match I had forgotten all about this until he reminded me in 2005 about this dream, after I scored 125 and got out ‘hit wicket’. I didn’t know I was out and the square leg umpire had to walk up to me and tell me I was out and indeed there was confusion in the middle. Thus I secretly hoped that his words would come true this year too.
We met just seconds before the bell rang in a circle in the middle of the dressing room with one final team huddle before the match. Ranil sir prayed out loud and asked for Gods favor and hand in hand I knew we were all doing the same. With one positive shout of jubilance and determination we wished each other luck and RA and Shash walked out to the middle. If I remember correctly the OTSC stand with their DJ played the theme song ‘party starter’ when the openers walked out to the ground shaded by the college flag held up by my fellow prefects and symbolically it truly turned out to be one heck of a party.
I was padded up and sitting beside Mr. Abenaike and Mr. Charith Abeygunawardena who had trained us faithfully the past two years. Mr. Ajith Jayasekara patted me on the back and said “ son don’t forget you are a big match centurion, walk out there like you own the place, they should be scared to see you walking out…” That really gave me some confidence and settled some nerves. The first over ended without much confusion and RA batted out the second over with a few runs on the board. Shash started the 3rd over by clipping Charith Fernando to the square leg boundary with a traditional Pussegolla flick. However the shouting was subdued as he was rapped on the pads twice in consecutive deliveries and umpire Kottachchi raised the finger on the 2nd appeal. The Royal jubilation was very evident as they were undoubtedly targeting Shash, Maza and I and they were off to a good start with Shash walking back to the pavilion. I can just remember Mr. Abenaike wishing me all the best and I walked out of the dressing room along that long flight of stairs, down on to the cement and then on to the turf with all the bravery I could muster. That feeling is truly indescribable. I knew I needed to make an impact on this game and I needed to set an example for my boys. I was shouldering the weight of a lot of anxious Thomians and by god I intended not to let them down. I tapped hands with RA n took guard. Thankfully the 1st ball hit the middle of my trustworthy CA bat and I was off the mark without much hassle. The over’s ticked by and gradually I settled in and we were building a steady partnership. We managed to leave balls outside the stumps and work with singles dispatching the odd ball to the fence. I knew after the new ball was over and the pitch settled there were runs for the asking and I was biting my lip and waiting till I could settle into a good rhythm and play my shots freely. RA batted with much maturity and we managed to put on a healthy partnership of 66 runs until he played across the line and was trapped in front. The scorecard read 83-2 when, in my opinion, the hero of the match walked out to the grounds. Maza calmly approached me and gave a small nod while we punched each other’s gloves. I just knew that it was his day. He was oozing with confidence and from the 1st ball onwards he was flowing with elegance.
We kept milking the bowling and I reached my 50 and I was determined to make capital use of the situation. I knew that I had the opportunity of reaching two of my personal milestones, I had scored 912 runs before the Royal-Thomian and I knew that the 1000 run mark for the season was within my reach. Moreover I knew that I had the unique chance to join a 2 man club of double centurions at the Royal-Thomian, thus I pressed on with more determination than ever. The total reached 100 which came pretty soon as the Royal bowling was not very impressive and they definitely didn’t exploit the conditions. I was very surprised when Haroon as the main bowler waited until the last over before lunch to bring himself in to the attack as the 7th bowler when he should have been spear heading the attack. I believed in stating my intentions very clearly and as captain to captain I was keen on having the psychological edge. Thus as he released his first delivery I charged down the track met the ball on the full and whacked it over mid wicket for a boundary. I’m sure this rattled him for he bowled a very poor over and I scored 14 runs from it. We closed for lunch at 140-2 and that marked the end of a very good session. With sound words of advice from our coach Maza and I strode back after lunch. All the jitters had disappeared and there was only one thing on my mind, not to lose the initiative and to make capital use of the situation so that we laid the foundation for our bowlers to attack them with a comfortable cushion of runs behind our belt.
Maza started the session by driving Charith to the boundary and that set the tone for that session. He was just fabulous and he flayed the Royalists to all parts of the SSC. His fifty came up in no time and before I knew it I was at my 90’s and a memorable achievement was just ahead of me. I was practically praying silently before every delivery for all the nerves had set in again. A painful few over’s ticked by with just the addition of a few runs and I was still stuck on 96. Haroon came into the attack and for a moment I remembered how two years back when I was in a similar position at 94 how he bowled me a full toss and a rank short delivery that I hit for successive fours to bring up my hundred. How I wished he would do me the same favour this year too. I kept telling myself ‘singles’ and that I have plenty of time in the world but those moments of anxiety are indescribable. I played defensively to a couple of deliveries and before I knew it against my rational mind I was charging down the track to meet the next delivery that left Haroons hand. It wasn’t as flighted as it seemed to me initially and I had to go down on one knee to meet the dipping ball on the full, but despite making good contact I didn’t get as much elevation on the ball as I wanted and to my dismay the ball was traveling much flatter than I intended it to. It was heading straight at short mid wicket and my heart was in my mouth. Luckily the fielder was relatively short and not paying much attention and by the time he put his hands up and jumped to catch the ball it brushed his fingers and passed him with force heading towards the mid wicket boundary. I jumped for joy as the ball crashed into the fence right in front of the royal boy’s tent and that was a symbolic slap in their face as I raised my bat to the dressing room and my family in joy to celebrate my hundred. My fellow prefects ran to meet me with flags in their hands and Eranda and Sushan embraced me and with Maza we formed a small huddle and performed a group hug. I just needed to thank God so when I went back to the wicket I knelt down on one knee and made the sign of the cross and looked towards the heavens and just said, “thank you Father” before taking guard again.
We continued to punish the royal bowling and I remember clearly telling maza during a water break, “machang can you remember Sukitha and Malinga bashed us last year and made a record partnership, lets somehow repay the favor this year and break that record man” and Maza too was hungry for revenge and we set about taking control of the match. His innings was flawless and he reached his 1st ever big match century by pushing a single on to the off side. He too expressed his joy like a kid jumping for a chocolate and again we celebrated in the middle with a few prefects and spectators running on to the ground to congratulate him.
Haroon in desperation tried 9 bowlers but failed to break the partnership and we surpassed the highest ever partnership at a Royal-Thomian before stopping for tea at 302-2. I managed to reach my 150 with a single just before the break and I was ecstatic as this was the 1st time I had ever reached 150 passing my highest score of 140 against Ananda in 2006. Both of us marched off with much pride with three figures to our names and we were met by the entire dressing room just outside the boundary amidst the prefects and our parents. My dad was crying and he hugged me so hard that my arms hurt, Ranil sir too hugged me hard but reminded me that the job wasn’t over and that this was just the beginning. I nodded knowingly and we went out after tea with the plan to accelerate and declare soon.
Sadly our record breaking partnership of 238 runs came to an end when I was caught trying to smash Feroz Ahmed over extra cover for 161. Maza then with a license to hit just threw everything he had at the Royalists and I think he made his next 50 runs in about 20 balls smashing fours and sixes to all parts. He too was caught trying to attempt another big shot at long on 162. Despite losing a few wickets trying to score some quick runs we declared with a formidable total on the board. 374-7. I wanted to reach the 400 mark and break the record for the highest score but then again that would have meant sacrificing a sufficient crack at the Royalists before the day ended. Ruchira and Dinesh shared the new ball but sadly were all over the wicket and I had to resort to spin sooner than I anticipated as the light was also fading. Shashrika drew 1st blood when he deceived Kavisha Desilva in the air and Vishwa pulled of an impressive stumping. Royal juggled their batting line up and sent in Feroz at 3 to protect their main batsmen namely Kusal and Bhanuka. However Warnakulasuria who was the other opener was soon caught at bat pad with the score remaining on 40. We were anxiously awaiting Kusal or Bhanuka at the crease to have a go at either one before the day ended however they sent in a 2nd night watchman, Thanthrigoda who just lasted a few balls and he was caught at slip off Milans bowling again. Suddenly the scoreboard read 40-3 and Bhanuka came to the crease but just after a few deliveries the umpires offered the light to the batsmen and they walked off accepting it with gladness marking the end of a very successful day for us.
The second day started with much enthusiasm. We all knew that if we did well for the majority of the day and played to our potential the dream of winning another Royal Thomian and bringing the shield back could be a reality. Bhanuka stroked a few boundaries and punished some waved bowling before hitting a half volley straight down mid off’s throat. I attribute the next three dismissals to some brilliant fielding. Kusal the other danger man who looked threatening creamed a ball towards the extra cover region off Maza and substitute fielder Nilshan Fernando held on to a truly stunning catch. Next feroz gloved a ball of Milan that jumped of the wicket and Shashrika fielding at gully made a full stretch dive to pull off a one handed blinder. Soon after Thilin fielding at silly point managed to hold on to a drive of Charith which was truly breath-taking. Thus royal were tottering at 100-7. The latter order didn’t provide much resistance except for Haroon who was the last man out soon after lunch. Milan as a fresher had taken 5 wickets which was a truly wonderful performance.
Again we prayed and huddled before sending Royal in for the follow on. We knew that we had the last lap to run. Despite being exhausted we entered the field with revived spirits at the thought of victory and avenging last year’s defeat. Youngster Dinesh provided the 1st break through having Desilva caught behind. Again Royal shuffled the batting order and Haroon came in at 3 who didn’t last long against the swinging ball. Maza sent him a wonderful in swinger that did him all ends up. Maza was the hero again dismissing both danger men Kusal and Bhanuka. He had Kusal caught behind with a wonderful out swinger and managed to bounce out Bhanuka who went for a hook and just top edged the ball. Again royal was looking down the barrel with some resistance coming only from Warnakulasooria who made an agonizing innings and crawled to 50 before Jehaan made his contribution towards the match, apart from his brilliant slip catching, to have Warnakulasooria caught behind off a well directed googly. Ahmed had been brilliantly run out earlier by Thilin who threw the stumps down from point. When bad light stopped play Royal were struggling at 120-6.
The situation was identical to 2005 with Royal trailing by an innings and 6 wickets down. Only difference being that we managed to win all 6 sessions so far whereas royal in 2005 managed to win the last session on day two with a 90 run partnership. There was no Royal resistance what so ever and it seemed like they were actually batting without much purpose amidst some wonderful bowling and fielding by our lads.
At camp after a good shower we could all smell victory the next day. We had just received the souvenirs of both schools and we were enjoying the jokes and silly stuff written in them about us. I reminded the guys along with our coach that it’s not over until the last wicket is taken and we went to bed with determined spirits and wonderful anticipations for the next day.
The atmosphere at the ground was electrifying on Saturday. People had turned up in anticipation of a memorable Thomian win. We took the field and encountered a small period of half an hour without a wicket before Thantrigoda was caught bat- pad off Milan. Sash produced a truly brilliant piece of fielding to get rid of Abeykoon who was stranded in the middle of the wicket, for Charith had driven a ball down the ground and halted at the sight of Sash diving full length to his left to stop the ball with one hand. He instantly transferred the ball to his right hand and without even recovering from his awkward position, on the floor and unbalanced, he was able to throw the stumps down. That truly is a lasting memory of this memorable match. The next to go was Lakshitha, who was stumped attempting a slog. With 9 wickets down the feeling was inexplicable, every second seemed like an hour gone by and we all wanted the win as soon as possible. It finally came when there was confusion in the middle again. Charith pushed the ball towards me at short midwicket and Boteju set off for a single while Charith was rooted at the strikers end. I pounced on the ball and just ran towards the non strikers end and broke the stumps as hard as I could and the momentum took me towards our boys tent. A sea of Thomians rushed to the middle led by my fellow prefects and they surrounded me with jubilee, I barely managed to recover a stump before they carried me off the ground with echoes of victory running in my head. That marked the end of one of the happiest days of my life, a mission accomplished and a defeat avenged. For victory is sweet but victory mixed with a tinge of sporty revenge is always sweeter.
The celebrations were wonderful, like Vidyesh requested during his speech at the Royal-Thomian dinner in 2005 I too tried my luck and requested a tour abroad to celebrate this effort. Warden was kind to consider the offer and arrange with the OBA to send us on a trip abroad, a trip too we thoroughly enjoyed.
As an end note it was nice to recall that one day long after this memorable victory I was scrutinizing both souvenirs in detail and one minute part in the Royal souvenir made me livid. The editors had written this small paragraph in reference to their victory in 2006 –
“A year is not a long time to forget things and forget you will not, not for another hundred years the bashing the Thomians got in true blue black style. Thus proving to you the myth of Thomian grit”.
The shield was with us for 15 years and that we lost it after scoring nearly 600 runs and fighting in both innings down to the last 7 balls of the match in 2006. If that isn’t an honorable fight and if you would like to call that a blue and black beating I really don’t know what you call what we did to Royal in 2005 and in 2007. For two victories that finished early on the 3rd day that annihilated Royal by an innings is more like a blue and black beating to me. I need not defend Thomian grit; there have been countless examples over the centuries where Thomians have displayed Thomian grit. It is virtually impossible to disprove and relatively sad to see that we do not hear anything regarding a Royal grit! Furthermore Thomian grit is not only fighting to save a match like Mr. Mahinda Halangoda & Mr. C.P Richards did in the famous centenary match, I believe that It is also bouncing back with a vengeance and determination like we did this year to avenge a defeat. It is indeed a pity that the Royal editors didn’t see the article published in their own magazine written by the senior games master – Mr. M.T.A. Rauf. As he goes on to say in his second paragraph –
”…the royal college 1st eleven team is determined to retain the prestigious D.S. Senanayake Trophy but experience has taught me not to under estimate what is called as Thomian Grit, they will come back with a vengeance….”
It was symbolic that our souvenir the tent committee brilliantly designed had an influential theme of a phoenix rising from the ashes to attain its lost position. We were indeed privileged by the grace of god to accomplish our mission and truly bounce back with style and vengeance. May the shield remain in college for many a year to come and if lost may it be quickly regained with determination. Long live THOMIAN GRIT.
ESTO PERPETUA
