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| Monday, 22 November 2004 |
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Life and Times in Sports Little Kalu - big surprise... by Premasara Epasinghe We pray to God to protect our "Little-Kalu" We pray to God to protect our "Sweet Romesh". This refrain was heard over and over again from all corners of the St. Sebastians, College grounds, Moratuwa, when the tiny-tots of St. Sebastians College and Nalanda College clashed in the Under 13, Sri Lanka School Cricket Tournament "A" Division quarter-final encounter in 1982. The two captains were Romesh Kaluwitharana (St. Sebastian's) and Bhagya Epasinghe (Nalanda). At that time, I coached the Nalanda Junior Teams from 1980-1982.
"Brother Gurusinghe, you have a future Giant and a Test player in the 1990s. Little Kalu, has all the ingredients of a great cricketers. Look after him. He is a National Asset." By the beginning of 1990s, Romesh Kaluwitharana projected an image of dynamism. Power was unpredictable. No one knew at what moment his inner spring will send a surprise to his rivals. Little Kalu was in short, a "Man of Big Surprises." People loved Kalu The people loved him, amidst all his fluctuations, and ups and downs, because, to the cricket loving masses, he was the true embodiment of the true spirit of cricket. Within an innocent smile, captured everyone. Further, he was unassuming, simple and approachable. He may fail today. He may be brilliant tomorrow. That contradiction was attractive to all cricket lovers. In brief, he handled a touch of surprise and excitement to any game he played, either, behind the wickets or in front of it. Debut century - Half a century in signing off Kaluwitharana started his Test career with a stunning, power packed century against Alan Border's Australian team in 1992 at the SSC grounds. Kaluwitharana with striking elegance, drove, cut and pulled as if there was no tomorrow. He just massacred the powerful Australian attack, hitting 20 silky boundaries in his brilliant innings. He scored 132 not out off 158 balls on his Test debut. It was an innings that I will always remember. I watched his epic innings from the commentary box, and described the run of play. He signed off his international career by scoring 54 in the Second Test against Pakistan at Karachchi early November 2004. Drummer in the Band Once, Ian Healy former Australian star keeper said, "I am the Drummer in the Band". This statement in short, shows the importance of a wicket-keeper to a side. The stumper is the hub around which the rest of the fielding revolves. Therefore, the position of wicketkeeper is easily the most important in the field. Through my experience, (school, university and club) I realised wicketkeeping is hard work. He cannot relax. A moment he relaxes, he may miss the vital chance. Wicketkeeper must be "Alive" and not lethargic. He should serve as an inspiration to the rest of the side. Of all position in the field, that of Wicketkeeper, is at once the most important and the most exacting. Therefore, it can be laid down as an absolute principle in team selection, the best wicketkeeper, irrespectives of all other considerations, should always be chosen. Like a lizard swiped off the bails I can still recollect one of the Kalu's brilliant stumpings, which helped Sri Lanka to win the semi-final against India in 1996, at Eden Gardens, Calcutta. Little Kalu, in a split of a second, snatched the ball like a lizard and swiped off the bails in a flash off his batting partner, Sanath Jayasuriya's bowling. Sachin Tendulkar, played for a delivery and got a slight edge and the ball trickled down. He moved a little out of the batting crease. Kalu, very smartly and intelligently, did the rest. At that moment, I was commentating live the proceedings of the match over the air waves of Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation from Eden Gardens, Calcutta. I consider this as one of the best stumpings I have seen in my commentating career. This match was played on 13th March, 1996. High Drama at Eden Garden Dharmasena sealed the Indian coffin, when he dismissed skipper Azharuddin for nought caught and bowled. Javagal Srinath (6), Ajay Jadeja (0) Mongia (1) Kapoor (0) soon followed. This was the 1079th ODI and 155th ODI in the world cup. Eden Gardens erupted and became a hotbed of blood thirsty fanaticism. The match was abandoned and awarded to Sri Lanka by the match referee Clive Lloyd. India's every move in the field became dismayed and sullen. The flag waving and boisterousness I was witnessing, gave way to frustration and anger. Fires were lit in the stands. Then bottles sailed over the fence. Going through memory lane One-man six-an over fiesta I will never forget Sri Lanka-India semi-final played at Eden Gardens, Calcutta, before a crowd of about 80,000 - 100,000 spectators for many reasons. One was Aravinda De Silva's epic innings of 66 in 47 balls, with 14 boundaries. He walked into bat, when Sri Lanka scoreboard read 3 wickets for 5 runs. (Jayasuriya 1, Kaluwitharana 0, Gurusingha 1) Aravinda scored 57 runs out of Sri Lanka's first 67 runs in first eleven overs. In short, it was One-Man Six-an-Over fiesta. Everyone of De Silvas boundaries, was a gem. Another memorable incident was the dismissal of Master - Batsman - Indian Kohinoor - Sachin Tendulkar, for 65 runs in 88 balls. Tendulkar was in full cry, and it was "Little Kalu" - the wicketkeeper, who turned the tables in favour of Sri Lanka. Test & ODI career record In 49 Test Matches, he scored 1933 runs with 3 centuries and nine half a centuries. His average was 26.12, which is not a very satisfactory figure for a batsman of his calibre. Little Kalu was an explosive batsman and undoubtedly the most popular cricketer among the masses. Romesh Kaluwitharana played in 189 One Day Internationals, scoring 3711 runs, with an average 22.22. He had two centuries and 23 fiftees to his credit. In his Test career, he had a tally of 119 victims (93 caught - 26 stumped) behind the stumps. In One Day Internationals, he had the most numbers stumping - 75, and held onto 132 catches behind the stumps - a total tally of 203 dismissals. St. Sebastian's - Nalanda clash I first saw little, tiny tot Romesh Kaluwitharana when he was captaining the St. Sebestian's Under 13 Team in 1982. Incidentally, my son Bhagya Epasinghe, was his rival captain - Nalanda. I was coaching the Nalanda Junior Team at that time. (1980-1982) St. Sebestian's met Nalanda in a quarter-final match at Moratuwa on October 1982. It was a vital match for both teams. Winning the toss, Romesh Kaluwitarana decided to bat first and scored 224 runs, with "mighty atom" Romesh Kaluwitarana, scoring a blistering 75 runs. Nalanda started badly losing 04 wickets for 49 runs. Bhagya, concentrated and kept the score-board ticking and played a captains innings and remained unbeaten with a well compiled chancelers 92 runs, to register a win to Nalanda. Brother Nimal Gurusinghe Guide, philosopher and coach Romesh Kaluwitharana's coach, and mentor was Bro. Nimal Gurusinghe. He was the guide, philosopher and teacher not only for Kaluwitharana, but for many Sebestianities. Undoubtedly, he was one of the best cricket coaches that I have seen. Going down memory lane, I still remember how he congratulated Bhagya and Romesh and uttered the following words. "Romesh, you played well. But, you must learn to play a long innings like Bhagya. You must never throw your wicket when you are batting. Bhagya good luck to you, and your team." At the later stages of his career Romesh sometimes, threw his wicket away due to wrong shot selection. Special chapter in cricket Mahavamsa on Sanath & Romesh Someday or other, when the cricket Mahavamsa (Great Cricket Chronicle) will be written in the future it will record, two outstanding names of two players, who changed the pattern of ODI Matches in the world in 1996. These two are Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana. They made cricket up-side down with their swashbuckling art of power hitting. They changed the established cricketing tact Most teams going into the world cup 1996, believed that key for success was solid slow start, steady acceleration, a hearty slog in the last ten overs. This is an established cricketing tact of life, we have seen so far. But, Sri Lanka upended this train of thought. Against India, they scored 50 off the first 5 overs. Against poor Kenyans, at Asgiriya stadium, Sanath (44 runs - 27 balls - 5 X 4 - 3 X 6) and Romesh (33 runs - 18 balls - 4 X 4 - 2 X 6) gave a flying start (83 runs for the first wicket). This match was played on 6th March 1996. It is the 1074th ODI played in the world and the 150th ODI in World Cup Tournaments. Sri Lanka amassed 398 for 5 (50 overs) with Aravinda De Silva top scoring with 145 - ( 115 balls - 13 X 4, 5 X 6) is the highest ever total in an ODI. The previous all time highest was 363 for 7 (55 overs) of England against Pakistan at Nottingham on 20th August 1992. It was Sanath & Romesh who prepared the ground for this record - breaking total. Romesh Kaluwitharana was an outstanding product of St. Sebestian's College, Moratuwa. Graduated into the big league he represented Sebestianites, Galle CC, BRC, Moratuwa SC and Colts CC. Romesh - Most Popular Cricketer in Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan cricket crazy public loved little Kalu. Whenever he was dropped from the Sri Lankan team, the general public sympathised with him. He is the most popular cricketing personality in Sri Lanka. When he retired he thanked everyone for all the support he received over the years. Romesh Kaluvitharana is the one who introduced Indoor Cricket to Sri Lanka. It is another landmark in the history of cricket in Sri Lanka. Unassuming, pleasant smiling "Little Kalu" was born on 24th November 1970. His father's name Dayananda Kaluwitharana and mother Beula Kaluwitharana. His mother Beula, was the wing behind his wings. She was a tower of inspiration to Romesh. His home is adjoining to St. Sebestian's College grounds, Moratuwa. From his childhood, cricket was his life. His cricket was always surprising. Equally, his departing from cricket has been overwhelmingly surprising. I wish my dear "Little Kalu," good luck in his future endevours. May God Bless Romesh and family. Kaluwitharana is employed at the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation as the Business Development Manager. |
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To the discerning, Kalu's potential was quite evident. I am happy, I
have been one of those critics to recognise, what the future of Romesh
Kaluwitharana was to have, in our cricket history. Immediately after
Nalanda won the match, I spoke to Kaluwitharana's coach cum motivator and
Teacher-Brother Nimal Gurusinghe.
