The Big Match By Anura Gunasekera

Obviously, I am writing about the Royal –Thomian as that was the first and, in my view- quite likely to be shared by many others of the Royal -Thomian tribethe only one which merits the title. I do not think it necessary to apologize to our many friends from other schools for this seemingly arrogant assumption. They would be sensible enough to understand accept
reality.

A couple of years ago I contributed a short article titled, “ A Hallowed Event”, to the Dilmah, History of Ceylon Tea website. The writing was built around a request for leave from Gamini Salgado, then a young SD ( Assistant manager) on Houpe Estate, Kahawatte, trying to obtain his release for the Royal-Thomian weekend. His British PD, Ian Tait, brusquely denied the request and Salgado missed the match for the first time in twelve years. The date of the request was 11th March 1946. The significance of the episode was that Salgado had captained the Royal team to victory in the big match in 1942, just a few days before he left school to start his planting career, as a nineteen year old. The point of the story was the importance of the match, the spirit as alive seventy-five years ago, as it is now. The event itself would have been much smaller in scale then, and not the three-day extravaganza that
it is today. However, It was still an important item in the calendar of many people then, as evinced by Gamini Salgado’s request for leave, notwithstanding a possible estate visit to coincide with the match weekend, from Francis Henstock, then country manager of Ceylon Tea Plantations’, the owning company of Houpe.

2021 must have been the first instance since the inception of the match, 142 years ago, that it was played without spectators. It may be recalled that the 2020 encounter was the last cricket match in the country to have been played in the presence of spectators, before the Covid pandemic compelled government to impose a ban on all such events. In fact, the ban was imposed the day after the match, leading to much speculation in society that the authorities deliberately withheld the ban, in order to allow the match to be played simply because it was the Royal –Thomian, despite medical specialists’ predictions that the match would prove to be a “super-spreader”!! I am aware that other schools which had traditional encounters cancelled because of the ban did not take kindly to the leeway afforded to our match in 2020.

Fortunately for the authorities- who may have implicitly colluded in the furtherance of a great tradition- and for the match organizers, there were no recorded cases of Covid infection directly attributable to participation in the event. Quite surprising really, as the conduct of the spectators, as publicized in many social media posts especially, defied all Covid protocols for safe interaction.

As a spectator on all three days, from the security of the “Mustangs”, I must confess that after some initial tentativeness and displays of caution, business amongst the elderly old boys of both schools was, “ merriment as usual”, especially after the customary libations loosened inhibitions. Whilst my family has been always indulgent about my affiliations to the old school, they were not impressed by my decision to attend despite many dire predictions.

My son Isuru, a member of the “Colts” tent, was quarantined for ten days in a distant part of his home, by his irate family, when he returned to the fold on Sunday morning. My half-Russian daughter-in-law has still not been able to
understand the Gunasekera obsession with the RoyalThomian match. It is also still not clear as to where Isuru spent the Friday and Saturday nights.The fact that the 2021 match was played, “in camera” as it were, despite the constraints and uncertainties involved, demonstrates the strength and value of the tradition which has fostered it. I am told that notwithstanding the absence of spectators, that the workload was no less than in other years, whilst the
uncertainty of it actually taking place, subject as it was to the progress of the pandemic, put more pressure on the organizers than in a normal year. Despite these impediments an abbreviated but very tasteful match souvenir was also published, apparently designed in entirety by the young Thomians responsible for its compilation.

I am sure that Royal would also have produced something similar. All those responsible for making the 142nd encounter possible – in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles- the respective school authorities, the student officials of both schools and the other organizing and facilitating bodies, are to be congratulated.

The scheduling of the event, preceded by a number of postponements and changes, was governed entirely by the Covid pandemic which obeys only its own rules. It could not be held in March as the “O Level” examinations, moved from its original date owing to pandemic issues, had been shifted to that month. The Sooriyawewa stadium, Hambantota, was identified as a suitable venue for a May engagement but the event itself was cancelled due to another wave of Covid infections, with twelve of the twenty two Thomian match squad testing positive for Covid, despite being in the bio-secure bubble !! It was rescheduled for September but the rapid escalation of Covid countrywide, with the number of infections and deaths increasing exponentially, again compelled a
postponement.

This is the first time that the match was played without a preceding season, in which the engagements with other schools serve as conditioners and preparations for the main event. That in itself was a serious shortcoming as many members of the Thomian team were freshers, in one of the youngest Thomian squads since 1999, according to Dinesh Kumarasinghe, Thomian coach. Apparently, some of the players did not have any previous tournament experience at 1st X1 level, having participated only in Under 15 tournaments and that too in 2019. The absence of pre-conditioning and experience was reflected in the final result, with the Thomian team taking the field as clear underdogs.

The usual pre-match, preparatory celebrations were absent, and there were no displays of the customary “March Madness”, Covid restrictions again ruling out events such as the Cycle Parade and the vehicle rallies. Nor were the usual pre-match gatherings of old boys, “Class of ‘55” and other such events, celebrated.

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The actual match itself did not generate the usual excitement as its start was delayed by one and a half days due to incessant rain. The pitch had been under covers during that period, a situation which has a crucial impact on playing conditions, especially under overcast skies. Royal had been fortunate to win the toss and, predictably, sent the Thomian team in to bat.

Under conditions ideal for seamers, opening bowlers Sonal Amarasekera and Kavidnu Pathiratne, assisted by left arm spinner Gihan Balasuriya , had reduced STC to 35 for 8 wickets before Yasiru Rodrigo and Mahith Perera had restored some sanity, with STC eventually finishing at 89 all out, its lowest score since 2000 and probably one of the lowest in the series. Despite the bowling-friendly conditions and the visible inexperience of many of the Thomian side, analysts still consider the bowling outcomes to be rather flattering, attributing many of the dismissals largely to
the batsmen’s lack of application under demanding conditions.

Royal batting second had been far more comfortable, making a token declaration at 112 for 4, in the face of a clear absence of any possibility of contriving a decision. The Thomian second innings had been a mere formality, ending at 32 for 1 at which point bad light had ruled out any further play.

big match

Thus ended the 142nd encounter in a heraldic series, the second oldest in history, continuing uninterrupted during two global conflicts and other calamities. The Royal –Thomian has successfully defied both warfare and pestilence. The latest event itself produced forgettable statistics but, as a link in an unbroken chain stretching across the ages, three centuries in fact, it signified the richness of a magnificent tradition, sustained by successive generations of the Royal-Thomian tribe, demonstrating the same indomitable spirit.

Anura Gunasekera (STCML 1955 – 1966) 24th Nov 2021