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Saturday 14th May, 2011

ing our first game in England. And all in for lunch.’ When I went in for lunch, I those things would have been looked said, ‘I am going in for tea’ and then I into by England. I am glad we batted said, ‘I am going to remain there till first. close of play.’ I may have told you this, Question: Your memories of the Moshin Khan called me every session. Tamil protest at Lord’s during the Every single session before the match, at match? lunch, at tea, close of play, both days. He Sidath: That was worrying. It was egging me on saying; you’ve got to took us completely by surprise. I wait for the next session. He used to call had just taken up my guard and I me and say, ‘brother, you’ve got to do it, heard this noise. Believe me, it’s you know.’ It was one of those rare occa- not fun when you see 20 to 30 guys sions. charging into the ground and you Question: Did any of your brothers don’t know what they are going to were present at Lord’s to see your do. I was certainly worried. I knock? moved out towards the cor- Sidath: I think my eldest brother don. But I always said that that’s (Sunil) flew on the second day, if I am the best thing that has happened not mistaken. I remember him talking to to me because for two or three me and I told him that I was feeling very minutes the slip cordon and I was tired at the end of the second day. We talking to each other and the fear didn’t have physiotherapists or any of of this or the worry of this, these guys to look after us those days. I made me completely forget the believe, if we had a physio, I would have tensions of the match. By the batted on. I was just too tired. time they (the protestors) were Unfortunately, we had two rain sessions. removed, I just felt completely Then Duleep came in and started scoring relaxed. and I was happy to just watch him and Question: Amal Silva was wait. But it was very, very special. If you your batting partner, what was ask the other guys, I think Mahela and his reaction? Marvan have got superb hundreds at Sidath: He was also wor- Lord’s as well. It is special. ried. He was on the non-strik- Question: It’s been 17 years since you er’s end and he would have scored the 190 at Lord’s. After all these been approached before me. years, what’s the greatest complement We had very little time to you’ve got on that knock? think, I think they had Sidath: Well, the greatest compliment planned it in such a way they I got was from Jonathan Agnew. In fact, just rushed in. They would someone gave me a Wisden Almanac; I have taken just 15 seconds to still have it with me. He’s quoted there enter the . So, we both saying that it was the best of looked at each other and that entire summer. (Jonathan Agnew were wondering what to do. I shared the new ball with in was just watching them; I that 1984 Lord’s Test and currently does was more concerned the for BBC). whether somebody had a Question: This was the same summer knife or a gun or some- when West Indies whitewashed England thing. But they just had 5-0 where 11 hundreds were scored. placards. They were not Sidath: That’s why that’s a great com- intending to harm us or plement. So many hundreds were scored anything like that. But it against England by the West Indies, but worked out well. he says that the best innings of the sum- Question: Was this mer was mine. I felt that was a real com- before you had faced any plement. deliveries? Question: Was there any sort of com- Sidath: Before the first placency on the part of England? ball was bowled.I was Sidath: When you go out to play, you taking my guard and I play as hard as you can. Though you may heard this huge noise have thought you can beat these guys, like a rush of people when you are out there, you play as hard with a shout. I looked as you can. They may have thought that up and I suddenly saw, I they will beat us. But they certainly did- can’t remember exactly n’t have the fire power to do that. how many, but I think Question: What did you make out of at least 20 guys just Botham off-spinners in Sri rushing in. They were Lanka’s second innings? holding things in their Sidath: When the match was heading hands and we realised to virtually a no-decision in the second it later that they were innings, he started bowling off-spin. just placards. I tell you, That’s when Duleep was reaching his it’s not fun when you hundred (his second in the see all these guys rush- match). It was going to be the end of the ing into you. day’s play or something and Botham Question: Coming tried a few off-spinners. I don’t know just back to your knock, how he (Duleep) got out, he had a hun- were there some anxious moments dred for the asking. Very unfortunately. I before you reached your hundred? don’t know what happened to Duleep. Sidath: I don’t really recall being anx- His concentration or something, per- ious you know. I was just very focused on haps. He just hit a silly shot and got out. my batting and I wasn’t thinking of the Question: Did Botham bowling off- milestones. I really was not. I just went spin mean the English were taking there saying, ‘look, I am going to bat for things lightly? as long as I can. They were the instruc- Sidath: He bowled off-spin because BY REX CLEMENTINE tions from my and the team. the match was . They may have They said you hold your end, the rest we thought that, ‘okay you guys are not (Continued from yesterday) will do from the other end. They wanted declaring or whatever.’ That was just one me to just play the anchor role. That’s of those occasions. ri Lanka’s inaugural visit to what I did. I just batted on. I was enjoy- Question: You would say England to play a Test Match in ing it. It was one of those days where had the better of exchanges? S1984 was a great success thanks things were just falling into place nicely Sidath: Definitely. I tell you, we had largely to the exploits of Sidath and I was timing the ball well. I felt good them. We had them at 130 odd for five Wettimuny. As a 28-year-old, Wettimuny and the feet were moving. I just enjoyed when Alan Lamb was dropped. I was at batted for 637 minutes, the longest batting out there. When you are batting, first slip, the ball was coming to me and innings played at the Mecca of cricket to you look around and you see this majes- Amal dived, obviously trying to have a date and in this second interview of our tic sort of pavilion and the surrounding. go at it. It was very wide, he just got his segment ‘Lords at Lord’s,’ Wettimuny What more do you want. You just enjoy glove to it and he missed it. If we had sheds light to some of the happenings the batting. Yes, I was just determined to Lamb there, you never know. But we cer- during his knock. bat on. Session by session was my plan. tainly had the better of exchanges. He was in 1985 named as one of the When I went out, I said, ‘look I am going (To be continued) Five Cricketers of the Year by Wisden and here Wettimuny states that there was a greater complement than the isden, Cricket’s Bible named would be the man to College, the leading Buddhist school in ‘Wettimuny remembers in particular the Wisden’s recognition. Sidath Wettimuny one of the Five take that honour, or conceivably Desmond Colombo, and progressed through the chapter on wristwork. When we cannot Here are the excerpts: WCricketers of the Year in the Haynes. Few, surely, would have backed schoolboy competitions which give the quite explain something in a stroke we Question: Were you all surprised by 1985 Almanac and its Editor John a 28-year-old Sri Lankan Buddhist, and a island’s cricket so much of its strength.’ refer it to the wrists, or else to timing; and ’s decision to put you in Woodcock paid the following tribute: vegetarian at that, to demonstrate his ‘However, Ramsey Wettimuny, father of end by vouchsafing the information that after winning the toss? ‘Many followers of the game were of stamina for 637 minutes, or 642 minutes if the household, may have had the decisive timing is largely a matter of wrists. But Fry Sidath: I was. I was hoping that we the opinion that the most agreeable crick- the two holds-ups by Tamil protesters are impact on his sons. He became chief goes on to analyse the subject in scientific will win the toss and bat. I always felt et they watched in 1984 was played on included. But Wettimuny did so, and engineer of the Ceylon Transport Board detail, using terms like longitudinal arm- that if the wicket is good, I would rather the first two days of the Test match turn. All this impressed the young Sidath: get in there early and try and establish against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, when our visi- and those cuts and cover drives he pro- myself early on. Especially as a bats- tors were batting. Their batsmen stood in duces at Lord’s owed much to the last- man, it’s always good to be fresh when you go into bat. I thought the wicket the natural position, rather than with bat second flick of the left wrist which Fry pre- aloft; they used their feet, and bouncers What Wisden said scribes as the source of proper timing.’ looked good. Yes, it was overcast in the morning, so we had a huge debate were few and far between.’ ‘His last 90 runs took 418 minutes, but whether to bat if we won the toss. I ‘This was a great occasion for Sri thereby converted sceptics who had previ- and visited England, where he was to the end he remained neat and effective remember telling Duleep, ‘look, we’ve Lanka, on which they won many new ously doubted Sri Lanka’s right to Test attracted to cricket for the first time and on the off side: of his twenty boundaries, just got to bat.’ However, they won the admirers. Wettimuny’s 190 will have made status.’ also - being technically minded - to the sixteen came from cuts and cover drives toss and I think they put us in because him something of a legend.’ ‘His innings of 190 was enhanced by works of C. B. Fry. Indeed, he read Fry’s to the area around the Tavern. As if his there was a bit of a cloud cover. They ‘Had cricket followers known in some of the finest cover driving seen in Batsmanship (1912) so often that a typed stamina had not been taxed enough, he must have thought that they would roll advance that the record for the longest England all summer, which was all the copy of it had to be made. Then he built was then subject to a series of telephone us over and, you know, get the early Test innings ever played at Lord’s was to more creditable for someone who had an indoor cricket school and there inculcat- calls from official dignitaries, congratulating advantage on a new wicket. They must be broken last summer by an opening never played at Lord’s before.’ ed in his sons the principles of batsman- him on putting Sri Lanka on the cricket have thought that we were nervous play- batsman, most would have assumed that ‘The Wettimunys attended Ananda ship as expounded by Fry.’ map.’

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