MALAYS WHO PLAYED THE ROYAL THOMIAN

Geoffrey Meedin

February 21

MALAYS WHO PLAYED THE ROYAL THOMIAN
The Sri Lankan Malays who are proud of establishing the first cricket club in the country (CMCC at Rifle Green Colombo 2 in 1872) had an unrelenting urge for the game of their foreign master the British to whom they had a soft corner. When George Bernard Shaw an Irish dramatist had once said that “Cricket was a game played by 11 fools and watched by 11,000 fools” the Malays who loved this game of Gentlemen were in no way taken aback as they were never tagged with this label all their lives. Until 1996 when Sri Lanka became World cup champions and almost embraced cricket as our National sport, the interest in cricket island wide was at a pathetic low being treated as the pastime of the Suddha’s and local elites (Kalu Suddha’s) unsuitable for the nationalist thinking Sri Lankan sons of the soil. Only cosmopolitan schools doggedly pursued a cricketing calendar of fixtures for their respective schools and clubs over-inclined towards the Englishmen (often nicknamed as torch bearers-suddhata pandang- by some locals) had the courage to follow and play the game with much attached interest. Royal and St Thomas' Colleges therefore became two of the earliest schools to have cricket in their sports curriculum.

A foreigner once when asked what she thought was the best example of audience participation in sports, she said it would be a close-run finish between a Calcutta Test match (an occasion she had the pleasure of witnessing in 1993, and provided the nearest feeling to a religious experience she have had) and school cricket in Sri Lanka.

She continues “My first taste of these matches was at the Royal Thomian, which is the most famous cricket match in the country. In Sri Lanka, tradition demanded that the annual matches be enjoyed in the form of riotous celebration. School cricket, I learned extremely quickly, was a different kind of sporting experience in this country, one which bore no relation at all to the game in the land of its origin. The main way of integrating oneself into the melee was to unashamedly consume as much alcohol as possible, Start in the late morning as the first ball is being delivered and progress throughout the day, increasing meanwhile the vocal support, dancing, and frequency of pitch invasions. It is difficult to explain the phenomenon of a match like the Royal Thomian. This annual three-day match is played by two of the premier institutions in Colombo”

Royal and St Thomas' Colleges. have the significance of being the second longest continuous school's cricket match in the world (135 years), and is beaten only by an annual Adelaide college match which bowled its first delivery in 1878. That is between Prince Alfred's-where the Chappell brothers were educated-and St. Peter's. The Eton-Harrow encounter, which is the only schools event remotely comparable in England, was interrupted during World War I. There is something absurdly incongruous about the main reason for these celebrations.

After all, the reason for the Royal Thomian match is to celebrate the rivalry between the two most respected and prestigious schools in the country, and yet the behaviour displayed by most of the crowd is anything but respectable. But there is much more to the event than the cricket. The buildup of immense publicity, the pageantry and extravaganza which form a kaleidoscope of colour virtually bursting at it seams, the electrifying atmosphere in the milling crowd, the childish revelry among all age groups, the fever pitched excitement, and the annual pilgrimage of old boys from distant shores all form the spirit of the Royal Thomian.

The match is really a vehicle for an annual reunion and celebration where all ages of people, from 20 to 95, can act like schoolboys again. People return year after year to see the match, and many ex-pupils who now living overseas, make it a great excuse to come back to visit. As with most cricket scenes in the subcontinent, this one is a male-dominated affair, which, as many spectators would defend, is the charm to it.

Even the most prestigious gathering of the Sri Lankan elite (MPs, company directors, lawyers and what were considered to be 'respectable professionals') revealed their true souls to be nothing more than that of rumbustious schoolboys. In fact one former President (Hon J R Jayawardena) and 3 former Prime Ministers (Hon DS Senanayake, Hon Dudley Senanayake & Hon Sir John Kotalawala) have played in the series. The players on the pitch were probably the only sober people in the ground, and took the game seriously. Many international players started their cricket careers from this match, and the schoolboys whose mood was tense, cynosure of all spectators/followers of the game wanting to grab the limelight through the press, knew that it could be their chance of glory in front of the biggest sporting crowd in the country.

However, looking at the results over the last few decades, most of the games have ended in a draw. This may be because of the higher level of the game, or else because each side is being more defensive, playing to avoid losing rather than to win. It is surprising to see people fiercely defending the honour of their old schools, even after leaving some ten, twenty or fifty years earlier.The strong sentiments behind the theory of the 'old school tie’ that most English of concepts were expressed with relish, and allegiances still remained loyal and true. The stadium filled with an amazing 20,OOO people on the final day would be awash with flags of blue and gold for Royal College, and blue and black for St Thomas’, giving the other known name for the encounter, 'Battle of the Blues'.

Listed hereunder are those Malays who represented their respective Colleges at the annual Royal Thomian Big Match

A C Amath (STC)
1900- 21st Encounter@ CCC Grounds
Batting: 18 and 01
Bowling: 7-1-29-1 and DNBw.

A C Amath (STC)
1901- 22nd Encounter@ CCC Grounds
Batting: 02 and 04
Bowling: 12-6-11-3 and 16-2-38-4.

A C Amath (STC)
1902- 23rd Encounter@ CCC Grounds
Batting: 04 and DNBt
Bowling: 10.4-0-22-2 and 13-2-45-5.

A Sourjah (STC wicket keeper)
1905- 26th Encounter@ CCC Grounds
Batting: 39 and 09

A Sourjah (STC wicket keeper)
1906- 27th Encounter@ CCC Grounds
Batting: 04 and 05
Dismisals: 4 (2ct & 2St)

M S Ahamat (RC)
1932- 53rd Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 16 and 35 (opener)

M S Ahamat (RC)
1933- 54th Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 05 and 20 (opener)
Bowling: 6-0-24-1 and DNBw

M H Rahim (RC)
1970- 91st Encounter@ Oval Grounds
Batting: 06 and DNBt

T M S Saldin (RC)
1972- 93rd Encounter@ OVAL Grounds
Batting: DNBt and DNBt
Bowling: 8-1-32-0 and 10-1-28-0(opening bowler)

T M S Saldin (RC)
1973- 94th Encounter@ OVAL Grounds
Batting: 13 and DNBt
Bowling: 5-0-19-0 and 10-2-15-1

T M S Saldin (RC)
1974- 95th Encounter@ OVAL Grounds
Batting: 24 and 4
Bowling: 10-3-14-2 and 2-0-13-0

T M S Saldin (RC)
1975- 96th Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 70 and 4
Bowling: 19-8-25-1

T M S Saldin (RC CAPTAIN)
1976- 97th Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 0 and 9
Bowling: 14-4-32-2

Haroon Musafer (RC )
1978- 99th Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 47 and 75 no (Best Batting Double on Debut)

R Jurangpathy RC)
1978- 99th Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 21 and DNBt

Haroon Musafer (RC )
1979- 100th Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 53 and DNBt
Bowling: DNBw and 18.3-11-32-2

R Jurangpathy (RC )
1979- 100th Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 9 and DNBt

Haroon Musafer (RC )
1980- 101st Encounter @ Ovals Grounds
Batting: 03 and 18
Bowling: 30-11-44-6 and 3-0-11-0

R Jurangpathy (RC)
1980- 101st Encounter @ Ovals Grounds
Batting: 11 and 6
Bowling: 1-0-4-0 and 3-0-11-0

B R Jurangpathy (RC )
1983- 104th Encounter @ Ovals Grounds
Batting: 5 and 5
Bowling: DNBw and 21-7-21-3

B R Jurangpathy (RC )
1984- 105th Encounter @ Ovals Grounds
Batting: 64 and 23
Bowling: 16-2-76-2 and 8-0-47-3

B R Jurangpathy (RC )
1985- 106th Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 35 and DNBt
Bowling: 8-1-26-0 and 18-4-35-2

B R Jurangpathy (RC CAPTAIN)
1986- 107th Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 56 and DNBt
Bowling: 25-1-38-1 and 6-1-20-0

Zulki Hamid (RC)
1990- 111th Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 01 and DNBt
Dismissals: 6 catches

Zulki Hamid (RC wicket keeper)
1991- 112th Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 05 and DNBt
Dismissals: 8 (6ct & 2st)

Zulki Hamid (RC wicket keeper)
1992- 113th Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 44 and 17

Z Kanaka (STC wicket keeper)
1998- 119th Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: DNB and 07

Z Kanaka (STC wicket keeper)
1999- 120th Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 9 and 17

Z Kanaka (STC wicket keeper)
2000- 121ST Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 1 and 46

Z Kanaka (STC Captain/wicket keeper)
2001- 122nd Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 3 and 42

T M S Saldin jnr(RC)
2001- 122nd Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 35 and 01

Javed Bongso(STC)
2011- 132nd Encounter @ SSC Grounds
Batting: 19 and 16

Javed Bongso(STC)
2012- 133rd Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 97 and 17

Javed Bongso(STC)
2013- 134th Encounter@ SSC Grounds
Batting: 5 and 19

A C Amath of St. Thomas’ was the first Malay to have played in the oldest big match series whilst T M S Saldin of Royal College has the credit of being the first Malay to have captained a Royal-Thomian cricket encounter. Other Malays who had the privilege of captaining their alma mater at the big one were B R Jurangpathy, Z Kanaka and Javed Bongso, The highest score made by a Malay was 97 runs by Bongso for STC in 2012 followed by Haroon Musafer’s 75 runs for RC in 1978 and TMS Saldin’s 70 for RC in 1975. Figures of 6 wickets for 44 runs by Haroon Musafer were the best bowling feat by any Malay in the series.

Meanwhile Zulki Hamid’s 6 dismissals (2 ct and 4 st) in his debut 1990 is the best wicket keeping series record. Also the most dismissals in the series, 16 by Z Hamid 1990/92 and 14 by Z Kanaka 1998/2001 are engraved in the Royal-Thomian Statistic Book.

The Saldins (TMS Snr & TMS Jnr) became the only father and son combination to represent their school at the big match.TMS Saldin Snr has played 5 Royal-Thomians the highest by Malay. The Jurangpathy brothers(R & BR) who played for Royal also go down on record in the Royal Thomian Wisden as brothers who played in the series.

Haroon Musafer & R Jurangpathy of Royal had the fortune and privilege of playing in the centenary match under the captaincy of the renowned Ranjan Madugalle alongside Asantha De Mel and Sudath Pasqual and Guy De Alwis playing for the opposition, all those team mates who went on to represent the nation at the highest level. A C Amath (unofficial Test) and B R Jurangpathy (Official Test) have also played for their country.

The National press ultimately reports the match with relish and every newspaper devotes its back pages to it, usually demoting an international match to the inside pages. The Press Box is filled with most of Colombo's sporting journalists, and they follow every ball closer than anyone in the stadium. No ex-pupil from either college is allowed to report on the match for his paper, in case emotions run too high and the match account becomes too biased.

Disce Aut Discede /Esto Perpetua