I pen these words on a cold winter’s night in Amsterdam with a tinge of sadness that I will not be able to make it to the Royal Thomian big match this year. However, let me thank ‘ThePapare’ for giving me this opportunity to contribute this article which will allow me to rekindle the ‘Royal Thomian spirit’ inspite of being far away from home .
Well, memories of the Royal Thomian are many. And I must confess prioritizing these is a huge challenge. However, I will endeavour to highlight some golden memories still etched in my mind as fresh as ever; Memories that will stay with me for ever!
2009 Big match-
Let me start with the big match in 2009. Many pundits now term this big match as the ‘mother of all fight backs’. The record books show a ‘draw’ in front of the year 2009. However, that draw was in a sense, a victory for the Thomians as all those who followed that match would vouch for it. On the verge of the match one of the headlines read ‘ Royal go in as favourites against the inexperienced Thomians’. Yes, experience in abundance Royal had in their ranks with the likes of Kusal Perera, Kithruwan Vithanage,Bhanuka Rajapakse ,Ramith Rambukwellaand Royal’s ex -captain Haroon Mawjood. We Thomians had just 3 colours men and 8 freshers and I was the youngest from either side making my big match debut as a mere 15 year old!
Royalists won the toss and elected to bat first on placid SSC track. I recall running underneath the giant blue and black flagon to the field with my precious colours cap perched on my head and armed with my ‘puma’ wicket keeping gloves courtesy Kaushal Silva. It is a sensational feeling that still sends a chill up my spine. The realization of a dream of any cricketer from Royal or S.Thomas’! To play in the big match!Kusal led the assault on us with a majestic 145 supported by Bhanuka’s 80 odd. I did a tidy job behind the wickets and Royal declared on a mammoth 313/9 inviting us to bat the rest of the day. We managed to score 54/4 at stumps.
The second day’s morning session was a disaster for us as wickets fell like ‘nine pins’ and I walked in to bat a 80 odd for 9. I was confident from the first ball and stroked three crisp boundaries as we edged near the 3 figure mark. But alas! Dinesh Walpita was LBW with our total reading a paltry 99 and myself 13 not out. Asked to follow on by Royal, we were again in trouble losing two wickets cheaply and it was left to our Skipper Nirushan and Fahim Saleemthe most prolific scorer of the season to do a ‘miracle’ to pull us out of the rot. And boy! Didn’t they rise to the occasion! It was a lesson of determination and concentration as the ‘Nirushan- Saleem’ pair put on a 200 plus unbroken partnership with each getting their coveted centuries.
Come the third day, we lost our Skipper to a controversial slip catch and there after wickets fell at quick intervals and within an hour we were back in deep trouble. With wickets tumbling I could hear the words ‘ Sachin pad up’ and here was I going in to the middle to take strike to the ‘hat trick’ ball from Mawjood after we had lost 3 wickets for 2 runs in no time. I played down that crucial ball as the scoreboard read 285/6. We were just 71runs in front with 4 wickets in hand and more than 2 ½ sessions to play. A daunting task , one might say!
I remember Saleem advising me to watch for Mawjood’s googly and I managed to read it off his hand every time he bowled a googly. I was not afraid to use my feet to the spinners and kept rotating the strike . I was building a solid partnership with Saleem and came in for lunch still unbeaten getting over the first hurdle . We knew we had to bat till tea and the most decisive session was the post lunch session. As were battling out with confidence the Royalists were getting nervous and I was at the receiving end of some ‘right royal sledging’. More the chatter from the Royalists around the bat I was resolute not to give my wicket away. In turn I kept talking silently to God above, occasionally marking the sign of the cross. With 45 minutes for tea Saleem was out for a monumental 165 runs. The responsibility of seeing us through now rested squarely on my shoulders as the ‘senior partner’ batting with the tail. After batting the entire post lunch session I came in for tea still unbeaten on 40 odd with Lalindra Peiris at the other end supporting me. A ray of hope of saving the match appeared on the distant horizon. However we lost ‘Lalla’ after tea but I got to my 50 with a sweep to the fine leg boundary. And as I held my bat aloft to the dressing room I could see a swarm of Prefects with blue and black flags not to mention the old boys among them my beloved brother Sarinda and my dad’s friends Uncles Mithraka, Arjuna, Anushan and Viresh to name a few joining in the run to the middle. If I were to describe the feeling, I was in euphoria! I was eventually run out for 58 and by then we were in safe waters. We finally ended on 411all out leaving Royal to score 198 to win in 20 overs. And to cap a memorable debut big match I effected a superb run out to dismiss Kusal and brought off a sensational diving catch to send back Kithruwanwhich signalled the end of the chase for Royal. They ended up with 42/3 and the match going down in the record books as a draw. Thus ended my first big match with heaps of golden memories. We proved to the world that the ‘Thomian grit is no myth’!
2011 Big match-
If my 2009 big match innings was a ‘back to the wall’ innings then my 2011 big match innings was an attacking one. It nearly brought off a dramatic victory for College if not for the umpires calling for ‘bad light’ and stopping the match with STC just 34 runs away of victory. It was a high scoring match with both sides scoring heavily and Royal made a sporting declaration in their second innings setting us a target of 268 runs in about 44 overs. ( a run rate of over 6 runs per over). We took up the challenge as myself and NuwanKavinda tore in to the Royal attack and we were getting close to the target. Nuwan was caught in the deep for 67 while I scored 77 not out when the umpires called off the match for ‘bad light’ with the score board reading an impressive 234/4 with STC agonisingly falling short by a mere 34 runs with more than 4 overs remaining in the mandatory overs .
2012 Big match-
The year that I captained we had enjoyed one of the best seasons recording seven outright victories. If one considered playing the big match a proud privilege then captain your alma mater is a rare honour. I thank God and my parents for being with me right through my cricketing journey. The pre match ceremony and then walking out to the middle in the College blazer to toss are proud memories that comes once in a life time. However, my swan song innings scoring another half century (59) is a memorable one for many reasons. It was my last innings for College at a Royal- Thomian big match as was to my long time team mate and last year’s captain ChamodPathirana. We had put on many partnerships during our junior cricketing days but this was the icing on the cake. We put on a record breaking 158 run partnership for the 4th wicket breaking 48 year old Thomian record held by Anura Tennakoon and Sarath Seneviratne established in 1964. As the match ended in a tame draw and I was running back to the pavilion with a stump in my hand as a souvenir I was also carrying loads of golden memories in my mind of the Royal Thomian big match! Inside my trophy cupboard stand two trophies for ‘the Best Fielder’ one from 2009 and one from 2012 which stand testimony to the many colourful memories I have of this great cricketing tradition sacred to all Royalists and Thomians.
May I wish both sides the very best of luck at the 136th ‘Battle of the Blues’!
ESTO PERPETUA!
