LEGENDARY DOUGLAS DIAS JAYASINGHE (DD) REMINISCED PRIOR TO THE 119th ANNUAL BIG MATCH BETWEEN RICHMOND AND MAHINDA COLLEGES “ LOVERS QUARREL” – Sunil Thenabadu
One of the most distinguished old boys of prestigious Mahinda College Galle Douglas Dias Jayasinghe born in year 1915 is a distinguished old boy, the first Southerner to bring honour and glory to Galle in the field of Cricket having captained Mahinda from 1934-1936. He was an allrounder a left hand batsman, a prolific scorer having notched six centuries and a number of fifties having captured around eighty wickets during his tenure as a member of the Mahinda College cricket team.DD was classified as a complete all rounder been an excellent slip fielder too.
Under the theme ‘Brotherhood Beyond Boundaries’ the Richmond College Union, Richmond College Cricket Club had connived with Mahinda Club and Mahinda College Cricket Foundation, had organised two cricket encounters between the old boys of the two schools prior to the 119th ‘Lovers Quarrel’ at the Galle International Stadium was played at the Bloomfield cricket grounds, Colombo 7.
The Veterans (50+) T20 encounter was played for the Douglas Jayasinghe Challenge Trophy. This year the encounter was won by Mahinda under the captaincy of Geethanga de Silva.
DD had also represented the college soccer team , was the Head Prefect of the school. After leaving school DD played for Galle CC, Sinhalese Sports Club and Moratuwa Sports Club , perhaps the first non-Moratuwa resident player to Captain the Club. DD was a national selector of BCCSL, Board of Cricket Sri Lanka during the years 1961 to 1973 was the Chairman of the selectors for ten long years This tenure of a decade a post which no other had held for so long to date.
DD got his first break as a Schoolboy in 1935, when he played in the Combined College XI against the touring Indian Universities occasional team He used to play on and off for Club cricket, DD first represented Galle CC, where he notched up four consecutive centuries in the Premier ‘Daily News Trophy’ matches culminating in his selection to play for All Ceylon under the late S. Saravanamuttu against New Zealand in October 1937. He donned the All Ceylon cap in year1945 having played against India. D. D. Jayasinghe had joined the Department of Education in January 1937, retired in 1974. From 1937 to 1945, he represented the Sinhalese sports club where his colleagues were heavyweights like Sargo Jayawickrema, F. C. De Saram, Ben Navaratne, Hector Perera, H. S. Roberts, Blackham Wijewardane, Gerry Gooneratne, R. B. Wijesinha, George Perera, Dr. W. L. Mendis and A. H. Gooneratne
He won his “Ceylon Cap” on October 16th – 1937. It was an era then so difficult, for an outstation player to get into Ceylon side. He got this rare opportunity as his “Bat did the Talking“.
Joining the Education Department, DD continued with his career representing and captaining the Education Department in cricket .Apart from DD , the other cricketers from the two schools who went on to represent the National team are D.L.S. de Silva (1978), Champaka Ramanayake (1993), Upul Chandana (a member of the 1996 World Cup squad) and Chamila Gamage.
There was a time lately when the National team was mainly represented by cricketers from Colombo Schools, and due to this trend, some of the finest fast bowlers produced by Richmond, Omesh Wijesiriwardena, was unfortunate to miss out on selection to the national team.
With dedication and proper training, it’s not difficult to become a cricketer, but the difficult part is to bloom into a good cricketer cum gentleman. Old Boy’s Associations are pumping in considerable funds to produce cricketers, and these cricketers build prospective futures thanks to their Alma Mater, but unfortunately, easily forget the lesson of gratitude and look only for recognition to enhance their fame.
Its pertinent to note that the motto of the new generation seems to be ‘win at all costs’, and when one team is on the verge of defeat the supporters of that team resort to nefarious tactics invading the ground creating ‘havoc’ to disrupt the game. This must be addressed seriously by relevant authorities concerned and appropriate measures taken to eliminate this newly emerged bad culture to ensure fairness for all interested parties.
The organising committee hope to organise this event annually, and the main idea behind this concept is to give a message to the new generation that the past Cricketers of both Schools maintain the spirit of the game and play in a friendly manner, which should be encouraged by the school authorities too. ‘”Cricket is not only a game, but it is a way of life. Cricket is not only with the bat and the ball, but in the head Discipline is very important. You must never to jealous of anyone, because cricket is a team game. It is a marvellous game. Although we play for different schools or clubs, at the end of the day, we were best of friends and lifelong friends. That is the spirit that you must play cricket” a quote of this gentleman cricketer Douglas Dias Jayasinghe.
In year 1945, Douglas Dias Jayasinghe had tied the nuptial knot with Swarna De Silva, a teacher attached to Central College Dehiwela and Isipatana MV Colombo. She had been a tower of inspiration and vigor to him. The duo have three sons – Nimal Dias Jayasinghe – Chairman – Managing Director of the well known large pharmaceutical company ‘EMERCHEMIE Ceylon Limited, Ravindra Dias Jayasinghe and Mohan Dias Jayasinghe domiciled overseas.
Sunil Thenabadu in Brisbane e mail sthenabadu@hotmail.com WhatsApp 0061444533242
