Monday 13th October, 2008 Channa, a man for all seasons

by Trevor Chesterfield

Channa Gunasekara, once described by a contemporary as being the Len Hutton of Ceylon, con- fided about fifteen months ago how he would have enjoyed even five minutes of with the great Yorkshireman. While the tall, upright batsman, of whom it was said had a flashing cover-drive similar to the England opener, and may have consciously based his game on that of the man with whom he shared a birth date (June 23), it is also suggested that he had a style of his own. ‘Channa,’ his much older cousin Ievers (CI) Gunasekara once remarked in an interview, ‘was never dull. His bat was a part of him. His strokeplay always so often a defining moment, showed his disciplined qualities. He retired too soon.’ However, his death on Saturday, aged 77 years and 110 days, closes a remarkable family chapter in the annals of the game in what was Ceylon and now Sri Lanka . His father, Dr Churchill Hector Gunasekara, was the second- born Ceylon player to his country and has a gate named after him at the Sinhalese Sports Club. As Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, left, and Rahul Dravid, right, react after Australia’s Mike Hussey, center, was clean bowled by Harbhajan Singh, had been his father, CH (Channa unseen, on the fourth day of the first cricket Test match between India and Australia in Bangalore, India, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008. (AP) Hemasiri) was very much his own person and while he had excelled at other sports and enjoyed tennis, he was dedicated to the game which last century brought his family Watson and Haddin steady respect in England and on the island. So often the son fades into the shadow of the father. But not the younger CH. A tall man with supple wrists and Australia against India stylish technique and balance, he opened the batting for Ceylon in the by PETER ENGLISH session, found scoring extremely pre-Test era which suggests that he tough on a deteriorating wicket and SCOREBOARD had a limited first-class career. Yet BANGALORE, India (AP) - Shane against some excellent Indian bowl- he disputes his career statistics, as Scoreboard Bowling: Lee 26-6-64-1 (2nb), Clark 17-3-58-0 Watson and Brad Haddin shared a cru- ing. with the incorrect spelling of his Australia 1st Innings: 430 (1nb), Johnson 27-4-70-4, Watson 19-4-43-3 (3nb), cial 65-run partnership to help “The wicket is deteriorating a lit- name (an international website has India, 1st Innings White 13-2-39-0, Clarke 17-3-38-2. Australia retain the initiative as it tle, but definitely not as much as I the father and son with different G. Ghambir lbw Lee 21 Australia, 2nd Innings struggled to 193 for 5 wickets Sunday, thought it would,” Watson said. family name spellings), they were an V. Sehwag c Hayden b Johnson 45 M. Hayden lbw Khan 13 taking a lead of 263 into the final day The tourists crawled through the irritating reminder of people not R. Dravid lbw Watson 51 S. Katich c Laxman b Harbhajan 21 of the first cricket test against India. middle session, making just 65 runs, checking facts. You soon came to S. Tendulkar c White b Johnson 13 M. Hussey b Harbhajan 31 India’s on-song bowling attack and lost their way after the break understand this side of him. Always V.V.S Laxman c Haddin b Johnson 0 M. Clarke c Sehwag b Sharma 6 made the visitors work hard for every until the Haddin-Watson partnership. willingly generous with his time, he S. Ganguly lbw Johnson 47 S. Watson 32 run, taking 3-29 midway through the “We went into it aggressively,” M. S. Dhoni b Clarke 9 B. Haddin not out 28 was a man with a sharp mind and final session to reduce Australia to Watson said. “We knew it was the best H. Singh c Haddin b Watson 54 Extras: (12b, 11lb, 3nb, 6w) 32 indepth knowledge of facts, figures 128-5. way to get out of a little bit of a hole.” Z. Khan not out 57 TOTAL: (for five wickets) 193 and recall of past players, Channa But Watson scored 32 not out and He added that Australia would have A. Kumble lbw Watson 5 Overs: 68 was a fine person to talk to about wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was also enough time to dismiss India even if it I. Sharma b Clarke 6 Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-49, 3-99, 4-115, 5-128. the past and how he saw the pres- unbeaten on 28 to ease the pressure as batted on for another hour on the fifth Extras: (23b, 23lb, 6nb) 52 Still to bat: C. White, B. Lee, M. Johnson, S. Clark. ent and the future. Australia struggled to build a poten- morning. Total: (all out) 360 Bowling: Khan 15-4-30-1 (1nb), Sharma 12-3-27-2 His bright eyes would shine with tially match-winning total. “If we bowl well, I think (we can Overs: 119 (6w), Singh 27-5-76-2, Sehwag 7-1-12-0 (1nb), a smile when recalling many humor- Australia, who took a 70-run advan- win),” Watson said. “The ball is going Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-76, 3-94, 4-106, 5-155, 6- Kumble 7-0-25-0. ous anecdotes of his career. And tage into its second innings after dis- to reverse swing fairly quickly, which 195, 7-232, 8-312, 9-343, 10-360. Umpires: A. Rauf (Pak) and R. Koertzen (SA) being a coach and was quick when it missing India for 360 in the morning is very handy for our quicks.” came to pointing out flaws in a play- er’s technique. It was for this reason that he was appointed a national selector by the old Board of Control Alonso wins in Japan David Morgan attacks IPL deal in new threat to Test game for Cricket in Sri Lanka. OMAYA, Japan (AP) - Renault’s Fernando Educated first at the Royal Street – which England have contracted dollars from Sri Lanka if they cancel Alonso won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday by Scyld Berry College preparatory school Glendale to play against Sri Lanka, followed by the tour – an enormous sum for Sri in a race that will be remembered for a second-lap three one-day internationals, the last Lanka, but peanuts if they sign the in Bandarawela, he went on to cap- collision between championship rivals Lewis David Morgan became ICC presi- on May 30. deal with India, which will release tain Royal College in 1948 in the Hamilton and Felipe Massa. dent on the strength of his quiet diplo- macy and negotiating skills developed The battle-lines have therefore been their players to the IPL for the next 10 annual Royal College game against Both leading drivers received pit drive-through S. Thomas’s. He first played for a penalties, and while Ferrari’s Massa recovered to in the Welsh steel industry. When the drawn up ahead of the ICC meeting in years. In theory, Sri Lanka would be Ceylon XI at the age of 19 against snatch eighth and one championship point near leader of the sport’s governing body Dubai on Tuesday and Wednesday – a liable to suspension from ICC and the end of the race, McLaren’s Hamilton finished issues a public rebuke, something is significant battle in the war between international cricket for “non-accept- the Commonwealth XI and in out of the points in 12th. seriously amiss. India, with its Asian allies plus able non-compliance”; but India com- 1952/52 against the MCC side led by Hamilton’s championship lead is now cut from Speaking on Saturday from his Zimbabwe, and the rest of the cricket mands the votes to prevent a ban. So, D B Carr. Apart from his respected seven to six points with two races remaining this hotel in Dubai, Morgan said that the world. unless something unexpected turns up newspaper and magazine articles, he season, while Ferrari moves six points ahead of deal which Lalit Modi, chief commis- The ECB are privately delighted to in Dubai, it looks as though England also did radio and later spells of tel- McLaren in the constructors’ championship. sioner of the , have Morgan, a former chairman of will win the battle and lose the war. evision commentary, this came after “What can I say, it was a bad day, I’ll move on proposed to Sri Lanka last week for the the ECB, on their side in this diplomat- In future, nobody will be able to his retirement from working as a tea to next week,” Hamilton said. “I long-term release of their players to ic offensive. The trouble for them is stage international cricket during the buyer for Brooke Bond Ltd. that what Indian officials say and what IPL, or the new Champions League for went wide at turn one, it the IPL was “quite unacceptable behav- Yet it is in his later years, when was a mistake, and then Indian officials do are not the same domestic winners, because iour against the background of Sri he became an author of note, with Felipe hit me off, I went Lanka’s signed agreement with the thing, and that – above all – IPL money India would not like it. Test matches newspaper articles and his authorita- on the inside and he ECB”. If ratified by the Indian board, speaks louder than anybody’s words. were never staged in England in May broke left and hit me pretty the deal would force the abandonment Sri Lanka’s 13 best cricketers are until 2000, when somebody had the tive essays on four the pre-Test era hard. of Sri Lanka’s Test series in England contracted to the IPL. Their IPL bright idea of staging seven Tests players, Sargo (S S) Jayawickrama, “I lost one point in May. salaries are many times higher than every summer, and maybe they won’t F C (Derrick) de Saram, Mahadevan which I guess is damage Morgan pointed out that only last what they receive from their own board be in future either. Sathasivam and C I (Ivers) limitation.” month the ICC reaffirmed the primacy for international cricket. None would If anything is staged at Lord’s in Gunasekara were included in the of with the unanimous want to miss the IPL final, which is to late May, it is likely to be a Stanford delightfully privately published ‘The agreement of all Full Members. be staged on May 25, or the semi-finals, Twenty20 quadrangular tournament Willow Quartette’ in the late 1990s. Everyone signed up to the order of pri- or the qualifying round which is due to involving England, West Indies, Sri He had been working on his impres- orities, starting with ICC events like end on May 19 or 20. And nobody would Lanka and possibly New Zealand. Test sive autobiography, ‘Through The the World Cup. In second place come pay to watch Sri Lanka’s second team cricket being replaced by 20-over tour- Covers’ at the time of his untimely events under the Future Tours playing England, one possibility which naments? It’s the new way of the world. death. He is survived by his wife has been canvassed. Programme: that is, international Shanti and only son Chanaka, who Fernando The ECB would expect to receive (C) The Telegraph Group, cricket between Full Members, like the resides in Melbourne. Alonso (AP) two Tests – at Lord’s and Chester-le- compensation of around two million London, 2008

Monday 13th October, 2008