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Stanley Jayasinghe in Lanka Today: Still ‘Batting’ 94 n.o.
Source:Thuppahis
A Note in FACEBOOK from Nimal Jayasingha [no relation] of Galle …. with photos added by The Editor, Thuppahi
! Affectionately called ‘Stan,’ he [has been] is one of the finest Ceylon Cricketers, one produced by Nalanda College. He belongs to a different class and was among very few Asian Cricketers privileged to play in English County Cricket. Doyen of Nalanda Cricket, captained Nalanda College 1st XI in 1951 and, as a schoolboy, made his First Class debut in 1949 and had the distinction of representing Ceylon, against the England team captained by Len Hutton in Colombo in 1950.
He is regarded as one of the finest batsmen Ceylon produced, an all-rounder, a former Sri Lanka Cricket selector, an outspoken Cricket Manager and Administrator. He represented S.S.C and N.C.C. before moving to England. A crowd puller when turning out for Ceylon, stylish and reliable and a regular feature in the Ceylon XI when played against visiting English and MCC teams, Australia and West Indies and on tours to India and Pakistan.
Ceylon Squad touring Pakistan,
1966/67 … with Cive inman seated on extreme left and stanley next to him beside captain Michael Tissera
Ceylon Squad touring Pakistan, 19166/67 ….. with Stanley J seated on extreme left , Abu fuard to his left, then Michael Tissera (capt), HIK Fernando, Anuruddha Polonowita and Manager Nisal Senaratne.
Stan moved to England in 1960, to play Country cricket for Leicestershire and also in Lancashire Leagues. He gained much-needed exposure in playing on English wickets against quality bowling attacks, including against touring teams. He partnered well with another Ceylon Cricketer, the late Clive Inman as he was instrumental in getting him to play for Leicestershire. The pair built a lifelong friendship and [constituted] a batting pair for Ceylon and Leicestershire. He was an integral part of Ceylon’s XI [in the 1960s] and he always got a call to turn up for Ceylon duty, whilst playing County Cricket which he never hesitated in accepting. At the same time being a straightforward bat, he didn’t hesitate to stand firm against any politics, selectors or even administrators for the right reasons. Be it on selections, curating pitches or managing teams.
Some of his memorable innings for Ceylon include 135 against All India at Hyderabad in 1964 while putting on a record 224 runs partnership for the 4th wicket, 118 against Pakistan at Lahore in 1966, he also had a match bag of 9 for 52 including 6 for 38 in Sri Lanka’s first Test win over India in Ahmedabad in 1965. In 1965 he publicly refused to play against the white-only South Africans who were touring England, after his own experiences of racism playing against the South Africans in 1960. Here’s wishing Stan, peace, love and happiness on this day!
Watch his exclusive interview with Quadrangle here:
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