Benedict Navaratne – the Prince of Wicket Keeprs – Zahira College & SSC – by Alston Mahadevan
Source: Alston Mahadevan FB
Ben Navaratne was the prince of wicket keepers.
Benedict Navaratne (9 Jan 1915 – 9 June 1979) played for Zahira College before joining SSC. He made his international debut for Ceylon in 1940 when he was selected to tour India under the leadership of Sargo Jayawickrama. He made an unbeaten 23 on debut in the ‘unofficial’ Test match against India played at the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay from 31 December 1940. He was also selected to play against India in the three-day unofficial Test at the newly constructed Colombo Oval on 31 March, 1 and 2 April 1945. Navaratne like many young talented cricketers including Sathasivam and Bertie Wijesinha had very limited opportunities to play against Test playing nations for nearly 10 years due to the Second World War. During the period between the match against Australia in 1938 and the visit by Bradman’s Invincibles in 1948, Ceylon only played two unofficial Test matches against India.
Navaratne impressed Don Bradman when the Australians played a one-day single innings match against Ceylon on 27 March 1948. “The wicketkeeper Navaratne has been described by Sir Don Bradman as of world class” reported The Hobart Mercury on 12 Feb 1952. He fearlessly stood up to the stumps against fast bowlers.
He was selected to play for the Commonwealth XI against the visiting M.C.C. in 1952. The legendary Australian paceman Keith Miller opened the bowling for the Commonwealth XI. “Ben Navaratne was the prince of wicket keepers. He stood up to everybody and even when Keith Miller was bowling. He had to be persuaded to get back by Miller himself. He certainly was a brilliant wicket keeper” remembered Bertie Wijesinha.
He joined Mahesh Rodrigo as nightwatchman with the score at 14 for one and scored 58 runs against a fearsome bowling attack including the legendary Khan Mohammad and Fazal Mahmood in the four-day second ‘unofficial’ Test against Pakistan at the Colombo Oval in April 1949. When Ceylon toured Pakistan in 1950, he opened the batting with Makkin Salih in the first unofficial Test match played at Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground, Lahore. Navaratne made his final appearance for Ceylon in February 1952 when the M.C.C. side captained by Donald Carr played a three-day game at the Colombo Oval on 22, 23 and 24 February 1952.
Navaratne joined the staff of St Anthony’s College, Kandy in the early 1970s and I have two distinct memories of him. One day while talking about his outstanding career as a wicket keeper, he showed his broken fingers highlighting the pain wicket keepers go through especially when standing up to the stumps to fast bowlers. Wicket keepers are a tough breed and not even a broken finger will keep them off the field. My other memory was listening to his singing during the Mass at College. He was a devout Catholic with a beautiful voice.
