After a very enjoyable & thrilling opening game of seniors cricket against the Jaffna Central College old boys on 01/11/09, the old Royalist in Sydney played their second over fifties cricket match against a (mostly ) over fifties St Johns College Jaffna old boys side on Sunday the 22nd of November 2009, at “Upjohn Park", Kirby Street, Dundas, NSW 2117
With temperatures nudging 41 degrees, the two teams played out an interesting game of cricket, interspersed with breaks every 10 overs to facilitate rehydration and conserve much needed energy. While the teams gave of their best in terms of the cricket, emphasis was placed on camaraderie and fellowship as a first priority and it would be fair to say that all participants had a very enjoyable time despite the excessive heat.
It was a 12 players per side, 30 overs an inning game and every batsman reaching 25 had to retire with bowlers allowed a maximum of 4 overs each.
The Royal Team:
Janaka Subasinghe ( Captain ), Mahen Selvarajah, Pras Kariyawasam ,Roan Abayasekera,
Vipula Godamune, Deva Mylvaganam, Suren Chanmugam, Ned Balgunan, K Sooriyakumar,
Raj Kumar Karunairatnam, JP Jeyapalan & all the way from ACT former Royal teacher and past pupil of both schools, the ever green 70 year old , Thilla Kirubaithillakan .
The St Johns Team:
T Thirukumar (Captain), Neville Emerson, Ashok Ponnudurai, Dr P Lingathas, Dr.Rajan Varatharajan, Dr.N Gowripalan, Rajan Sivarajah, Anton Priyatharan, Sudharshan Shanmugarajah, Jay Ranjan,
N Ravindran, & Paki Rajakone
For the record, the Royal team ( which changes with every game they play ) was comfortably beaten on the day, by the Johnians, who were far better prepared than their Royal counterparts.
Royal batting first managed to score only 117 for the loss of 9 wkts in their allocated 30 overs.
( For Royal, Janaka Subasinghe -25 retired, JP Jeyapaln – 23 n/out, Nad Bagunan 18 n/out & Mahen Selvarajah 14 and for St Johns Rajan Sivarajah took 3 wkts, P.Lingathas & N Gowripalan took 2 wkts each, Sutharshan Shanmugarajah & Asok Ponnudurai a wkt each)
In reply the Johnians scored 120 runs with 11 overs to spare, for the loss of only 2 wkts. ( For St Johns Rajan Varatharaja – 28 retired, Neville Emerson -25 retired, Asok Ponnudurai – 25 n/out, P Lingathas -18 n/out & Anton Priyatharan – 14 and for Royal the only wicket taker was Suren Chanmugam)
The following awards were handed out
Best Batsman (Royal)- Janaka Subasinghe, Best Bowler ( St Johns )- Rajan Sivarajah,
Best Fielder ( St Johns )- T Thirukumar & Man of the Match ( St Johns )- Rajan Varatharajan
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Prior to the main trophy ( the C E Anandarajah memorial ) being handed over to the Johnian captain T Thirukumar, a message from the son of the late Mr Anandarajah ( Rev .Dev Anandarajah – resident in Melbourne ) was read out.
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.For those of you, who might not know much about Jaffna St Johns College .
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The school was established in 1823, by The Church Missionary Society, with just 7 students at the “Nallur” English Seminary and later shifted to “Chundikuli”, the Colombo 7 of Jaffna. Technically, S.Thomas College , Mt Lavania is a “brother” school to them. In the recent past, due to ongoing political unrest, the school has been forced to conduct classes at various other locations in the Jaffna peninsula, but has nevertheless managed to maintain it's prestigious reputation and record as an outstanding academic institution amongst all Jaffna schools in the region. One of the darkest periods in the annals of the school's history was the shocking & callous murder in 1985 of their well known past pupil & much loved principal Mr. C. E. Anandarajah – simply because he had organised a'Friendly Cricket match' between the schoolboys and the services personnel stationed in the area. On that fateful day in 1985, when news spread of his untimely demise, all schools in the region immediately closed as a mark of respect and a spontaneous gathering of students, parents, past pupils & general public took place in the school grounds to honour a great educationist and fine gentleman.
It was therefore fitting that the two teams played for a trophy presented in his name by the Old Boys of St Johns College. We sincerely hope that this fine tradition will continue and foster even more fellowship amongst the old boys and community here in Sydney.
Click here to view an album of photos by the Organizers |
