Friday 13th May, 2011

I remember I got hit on my guard in the match against Essex. I retired at 75 or some- thing. I still remember that knock, because the next day John Snow wrote an article and the headline was;‘Watch out for Sid’. Aravinda got a fabu- lous 60. He came in when we were something like 20 for three and he really showed his class in that match. There were two fast bowlers and we put on lot of runs. That was just before the Test Match.

BY REX CLEMENTINE in when we were something like 20 for three and he real- ly showed his class in that match. There were two fast idath Wettimuny hails from a family bowlers and we put on lot of runs. That was just before of sportsmen. His father Ramsay the Test Match. SWettimuny represented Sinhalese Question: Aravinda was only 18 at that time. Did Sports Club for several years and three of his that knock confirm that he was going to make his Test sons followed in his footsteps and represented the debut at Lord’s? club in first class and later went onto represent Sidath: I would think so. That was one of his better the country. Sidath’s name in Sri Lankan cricket annals knocks on that tour. The confidence and the arrogance is well established after he became the first Sri Lankan with which he batted showed even at that tender age to score a Test hundred. He also went onto become the when he took on those fast bowlers. I think he made first Sri Lankan to score 150 and fell ten runs short of some 60 odd. We lost three pretty fast and then becoming the first to score a double hundred in Tests. we had this interesting stand and he looked really good. His 190 came at the home of cricket, Lord’s as Sri Lanka Question: At that point, did you tell yourself that gained the major honours in the one off Test in 1984 here’s a guy who will make a big impact on Sri Lankan against David Gower’s English side during Sri Lanka’s cricket? maiden Test tour of England. Sidath: Well, we always knew. From the time we saw In the first part of this interview, in our segment him, even at the nets, he was always a step ahead of the ‘Lord’s at Lords,’ Sidath Wettimuny tells us about the rest. You could see that he had an inborn confidence in himself when he went to bat. He didn’t bother who was bowling and he just hit the ball on its merit. That was one of the key strengths in his . He didn’t give a damn about who was bowling. ‘You pitch short and I would hook you’; that was the attitude of his whether it was the fastest in the world or a club bowler who bowled. That characteristic was evident in Aravinda even in those early days. Question: What was the mood like, before the Test Match at Lord’s? Sidath: It was a good build up. One prob- lem we had was that we were getting a few injuries while going along. I remember Vinothan John was struggling before the Test Match. D. S. (de Silva) also had some issue; either groin or ankle. We were concerned about injuries. It was a fairly long tour before the Test Match. Those days, the sad thing was contributions by his father to his cricket, the lead up that you had these long tours, but it was just one Test prior to the Lord’s Test and sensing those days that Match. That created a lot of pressure because it felt that Aravinda de Silva would go onto become a towering fig- if you didn’t do well in the Test Match, whatever you did ure in Sri Lankan cricket when he smashed a quick half- in the preliminary matches counted for nothing. That century against Essex leading up to the Lord’s Test. was unfortunate, but we did have a good build up. Amal Here are the excerpts: batted beautifully. After his Lord’s hundred, one of the Question: Let’s begin our chat by speaking of your better knocks Amal played was against Warwickshire early days. How big were the contributions of your soon after the Test Match. Our batting was okay. The father (Ramsay Wettimuny) to your cricket? only sad thing on that tour was Roy (Dias). He had one of Sidath: His contributions were immense. My father, those peculiar tours. He was batting very well. But at 30 as you may have heard, built the first indoor nets in the runs, something happened and he got out. Roy never got country at the Sports Ministry Health Department to a big score on that tour. Not because he was batting just help us learn play cricket with Mr. Bertie badly, he was batting beautifully, but something hap- Wijesinghe coaching. He was a student of the game pened and he got out. It was really sad because Roy was who wanted us to learn the game the way it should be really batting well. Our bowling looked good too. played. He felt that cricket is a way of life and it Ashantha was bowling well and even D. S. and Vinothan could help you fashion your day-to-day living if you John. John sustained a groin muscle strain just before play in the right way and he did everything for us the Test Match. to gain from the game. Question: It’s said that playing a Test Match at Question: It’s said that he died very young. Lord’s is the pinnacle of the career of a cricketer. What How old was he? was the feeling like when you turned up at the home of Sidath: Sadly he was only 49 and I was only cricket? 17. That was the year before I captained Ananda. Sidath: The only way I can describe it is, I would He was looking forward to see the three of us assume; it’s like a tennis player going to play at (Sidath’s elder brothers Sunil and Mithra too Wimbledon or a golfer going to play at St. Andrew’s. It’s represented Sri Lanka) Ananda, but he the Mecca of cricket you know. It’s a place where you get didn’t. He never saw me play for Sri Lanka as a special feel. It has a lot of old world charm. Now it has well. Very, very unfortunate, but that’s how it changed and it’s lot more modern. But there’s lot of old works. world charm in that ground still. It gets to you and you Question: Some of your former team-mates feel that this is a special place and you want to do some- have said that preparations for the 1984 thing here. As any other cricketer would, we all were England tour weren’t ideal as rain in really looking forward to doing our bit. We knew as a hampered preparations for the tour. Your country the impression we got in England. It was that, thoughts on the lead up to the tour? ‘oh! it’s Sri Lanka’ and we were very keen to make sure Sidath: I am struggling to remember the that we made an impression because we felt that we details, but I remember that about ten of us went Sidath Wettimuny during his were good and we believed in ourselves. It’s just that we to Lord’s thanks to Mr. Raja Mahendran. He sent hadn’t got the reputation. So, from that stand point it epic 190 at Lord’s. us to England about ten days before the tour and was a very good game for us because we established kept us there and made us go to Lord’s and have a among the English people that we were a side to be reck- few practice sessions, which were very useful because oned with. There were so many people you know during we were getting familiar with the conditions there. Not and after the match, who were very, very complementary that we played at the middle, but we had the indoor facil- of our cricket. They said they thoroughly enjoyed ities and we were just getting acclimatised. Some of the watching us play. batsmen went early and that was very, very useful, I Question: The West Indians were smashing England remember. up when you landed in London. ’s team Question: Do you remember how the practice match- whitewashed England in the five-Test series. Did you get es you played went ahead of the Test Match: an opportunity to see any of that cricket? Sidath: I really can’t remember the details, but we Sidath: Oh yes, we did, but of course on television. did play some games. I remember making a hundred We were on the move. So we watched them on television. against Gloucester and Essex which I think was the They were a fabulous team and that was the time they game before the Lord’s Test. I remember I got hit on my were thrashing all the teams in the world and they guard in the match against Essex. I retired at 75 or thrashed England as well. But I think England felt that, something. I still remember that knock, because the next when they come to us, they are not going to have any day, John Snow wrote an article and the headline was; such problems. So, we would have caught them by sur- ‘Watch out for Sid’. Aravinda got a fabulous 60. He came prise.

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