A Spearhead For Sri Lankan Cricket: Rumesh Ratnayake

Lanka Lions in Facebook, January 2026

He will always be remembered as the fast bowler who carried Sri Lanka’s hopes in their early Test years — the man who stood tall when the nation was still learning how to belong at the highest level.

Rumesh Ratnayake was the driving force behind Sri Lanka’s first-ever Test victory in 1985, a moment that changed the country’s cricketing self-belief forever. Against India, he ripped through the batting with nine wickets in the match and finished the series with 20 — a statement performance that announced Sri Lanka were no longer just making up the numbers.

Rumesh Ratnayake of Sri Lanka during the 1991 tour of England at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, circa August 1991. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

There were other moments that defined his career. A five-wicket haul at Lord’s in 1991 — 5 for 69 at cricket’s most sacred venue — stood as a personal high point in a Test career that yielded 73 wickets. But numbers alone never fully captured what made Rumesh special.

In an era when Sri Lanka were still finding their feet among established cricketing powers, he led the pace attack with courage and aggression. The white headband, the flowing curly hair, and a whippy action that generated genuine pace and bounce — Rumesh looked different, and more importantly, he bowled differently. On pitches that offered little assistance, he could still make batsmen uncomfortable with steep bounce and hostility.

There were moments that became part of cricketing folklore. In Wellington in 1982–83, a sharp bouncer broke John Wright’s nose — only for Rumesh himself to faint at the sight of blood. Yet just a few years later, his bouncers were so unsettling in Australia that they injured Larry Gomes, and even forced the great Clive Lloyd to ask for a helmet after being struck.

It was a career that promised even more. Like many genuinely fast bowlers, injuries robbed Rumesh Ratnayake of longevity and perhaps the fuller legacy his talent deserved. Still, his impact on Sri Lankan cricket — as a trailblazing fast bowler and now as a coach — remains undeniable.

On his 62nd birthday, we wish former Sri Lankan pacer and current coach Rumesh Ratnayake a very happy birthday — a pioneer who helped Sri Lanka believe they belonged.