14 Tuesday 4th August, 2009 ed to play for the 1st XI while still playing for the Under-14 team. How happy his coach would have been when young Warnapura scored a debut centu- Like a ry against Prince of Wales College. He silenced all his detractors and from then on there was no turn- ing back. duck Warnapura scored nine centuries in three sea- sons, including a record-breaking century in the ‘Big Match’ against Ananda College. He went on to to water captain the Under-14, Under-16, First XI and also the Combined Schools teams. The experience he gained Mahela’s handing over the reigns as a leader from a very young age would have great- of captaincy to his thick pal Kumar ly helped him in achieving the highest honour of Sangakkara, for reasons best known becoming his country’s first Test captain. to him has proved fruitful. Warnapura also represented his school in athlet- Kumar took to his new role as ics and soccer. captain of the Sri Lankan National Moving over to club cricket, he played for his cricket team like a duck takes to club Bloomfield with equal success. He holds the water. He proved his leadership qual- local record of scoring four consecutive centuries in ities, in his first assignment, where first class cricket (three against Bangladesh and one he led the Sri Lankans to the finals, in the Robert Senanayake Trophy). The three cen- in the Twenty/20 World Cup in turies against Bangladesh were scored in Sri England. Since then he has not Lanka’s first tour of Bangladesh in 1978. He also looked back. He took up the challenge bowled and fielded well and won the ‘Man of the in a three match Test series, against Series’ award. Warnapura’s batting figures in these a strong Pakistani side with confi- unofficial ‘Tests’ read 3M-31-1NO-167 n.o.-388R- dence and he led the team from the 194.00AV.He took seven catches. front much like a seasoned skipper. Warnapura played representative cricket at a The negative aspect was he had to very young age. He holds the record for the highest lead a side sans his main strike individual score in first class cricket by a Sri bowler Murali and left arm seamier Lankan, making 294 against the visiting Malaysian Vaas, two of the bowlers who have Cricket association team in 1972. been in the limelight as far as the Sri Warnapura was still a schoolboy and he bettered Lanka bowling attack is concerned, Jack Anderson’s 291 (1918), as the highest by a for the past 15 years. schoolboy.He also played for the Sri Lanka Under-19 To make matters worse, fiery team against the Australian Udner-19 team and pacie Malinga was sidelined due to scored a brilliant century. He scored another centu- injury. Kumar left that drawback ry against the Pakistan National Under-25 team. behind his mind and pinned his Warnapura made his ODI debut in the inaugural hopes on the bowlers at his command World Cup held in England in 1975. He made his who responded positively. debut in the match against the West Indies at Pacies Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Manchester on 7.6.75. He also played in that eventful Thushara, Angelo Mathews and leg match against Australia in the same World Cup spinner. Rangana Herath were out- when Duleep Mendis and Sunil Wettimuny had to standing and it was they who called be rushed to hospital as a result of being hit by the shots in Sri Lanka’s triumph in Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson. Warnapura the first two Test matches on home made a courageous 31 in that match. soil against Pakistan which ended a Warnapura was vice captain of the Sri Lanka long drought of 25 years to reach the team which toured England in 1979 to participate in cherished goal. the ICC Trophy for Associate Members. Sri Lanka beat Canada in the final to win the ICC Trophy. Sri Letter Lanka’s captain Anura Tennekoon fell ill and it was Warnapura who captained the side in the final. With The Sri Lankan bowlers who were the victory in the ICC tournament, Sri Lanka outstanding were leg spinner Herath entered the World Cup competition that followed. who had 15 wickets under his belt Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test in Feb. 1982: Sri Lanka skipper Bandula Warnapura (L) and England captain Keith Fletcher on their way to the Sri Lanka then created a big upset beating India having twice taken five wickets in an toss. (Files) quite comfortably to become the first Associate innings. Member to beat a Full Member in a World Cup. Nuwan Kulasekera was declared Once again, it was Warnapura who captained the man of the Test Series against the side in the absence of Tennekoon, who had dam- Pakistan, for his haul of 17 wickets. aged a hamstring the previous day. He was ably supported by Thushara The highlight of Warnapura’s international Mirando. career came in 1981, when Australia, led by Kim I presume the Pakistani selectors Hughes toured Sri Lanka. This tour was a great suc- did blunder when they sidelined Warnapura’s cess for Sri Lanka and would have had great a Danish Kaneria, from the first two impact on the decision to grant Test status to Sri Test matches. That proved to be Sri Lanka. Lanka’s gain. A case in point is how Bandula Warnapura’s magnificent century in this world reputed leg spinner, per- the second one-day-international against Australia formed with the cherry in the final at the SSC grounds which helped Sri Lanka to its Test at the SSC grounds, where he is an unbreakable first win against Australia was hailed by the baffled the Sri Lankan top order bats- Australian captain as “world class.” men, with his leg spinners, spiced Australia batted first and were making steady with the googly and the fizzing flip- progress until Warnapura himself stepped in to per, which brought him five wickets make the breakthrough, by bowling Hughes. From in the first innings. He continued in 148 for 3, Australia were all out for 188, due to some the same vein in the second innings, great bowling and exceptionally brilliant fielding. when he claimed cheaply the prized record Warnapura, with the responsibility of leader- wicket of Mahela Jayawardana. ship weighing heavy on him, decided to take the Malinda Warnapura was another by M. A. Cyril the Under-14 team by the very powerful senior play- attack to the Australians. When the spinners were of his victims. One wonders, if he er’s ‘Mafia’. introduced in the 10th over, Warnapura launched was selected for the first two Tests, as andula Warnapura is the proud holder of the These senior players had at the time told young into them. The first fifty came in 55 minutes in the well, whether he could have turned unbreakable record of being the country’s Warnapura that there are no vacancies in the team 12th over and in the next over, Warnapura took 12 the tide in Pakistan’s favour. When Bfirst Test captain. for new aspirants and kept him away for two years runs from a lofted drive over extra cover, a back cut one focuses on Sri Lanka’s perform- However, his Test career was destined to be a from the Under-12 team. Then he was kept perma- and a hook. He reached his 50 with a six off Ray ance in this Test series, the grey area very brief one. nently as a reserve in the Under-14 team for another Bright. He hit Bright for another six later. that was quite evident was the Bandula Warnapura was born on March 1, 1953, two years. Warnapura’s father, who was a respected Sidath Wettimuny, the other opener, though pathetic batting of the top and mid- at Rambukkana. He was educated at Nalanda Senior Physician in the Health Department, was so overshadowed by his skipper, nevertheless played a dle order batsmen. There were flash- College, Colombo. He turned out to be one of the frustrated that he wanted to remove his son and magnificent role as the anchor man. Meanwhile, es of brilliance from the willows of finest cricketers produced by Nalanda, but had it admit him to another school. It was Nalanda’s good Warnapura was approaching a milestone which no Mahela, Sanga, Paranavitana, not been for the intervention of that great coach fortune that he failed in his attempt. other Sri Lankan batsman had achieved at the time. Samaraweera, Warnapura and Nelson Mendis, Warnapura may even not have Nelson Mendis found that the Under-14 team had He was on 92 in the 34th over. He lifted the first deliv- Mathews, but consistency was lack- played for his school, let alone becoming the coun- only a couple of seniors and that Warnapura was far ery from Terry Alderman to the fence and then two ing sans Sanga. This should be food try’s first Test captain. ahead of them in class. He also observed that he had balls later executed a fine cover drive to bring up his for thought for the selectors. A case When Nelson Mendis took over Nalanda College the makings of a good all-rounder as well as an able century. in point is that Sri Lanka was unable junior cricket as Master-in-Charge cum Coach in leader. He appointed Warnapura as captain of the His century came off 114 balls and contained 12 to register a total of 300 runs in the 1965, he found that Bandula Warnapura, who was a Under-14 team in his first year and the youngster fours and three sixes.