When Channa sprinted after Chella

Richard Dwight

When all is said and done, the one thing that will remain is the good we've done, all else will pale. That's how some of us will like to remember the elegant, Channa. H. Gunasekera, the lanky sedate cricketer, on his passing away recently.

As an accomplished cricketer, he represented All Ceylon, the SSC, captained Royal and played as well for his firm Brooke Bond. It must be however mentioned, that he proved to be a versatile sportsman for Brooke Bond to be actively involved in cricket, hockey, soccer, tennis and athletics.

At times he prided over the fact, that his timing in the 110 yards hurdles in the public schools' meet, was better than Lakshman Kadirgamar's to be a record.

His deeds on the field of sport are far too many to recount here. They have paled to loom and sooner than later will pass onto oblivion. Whilst that's true, it's equally true to say, that the good however will remain and of the good he did, one does stand out as a gesture of very rare sportsmanship, which merits recalling here.

IT was the 70th Royal-Thomian cricket encounter played in 1949 at the Colombo Oval. S. Thomas' in reply to Royal's first innings score of 242 were 45 for 3 with the Thomian skipper Shanti Kumar batting along with C. Chellaraj, and at 56 Chellaraj was palpably run out and given out - but the Royal skipper, Channa was quick to realise that the batsman by mistake had collided witht he fielder to bring about the run out.

Not to be outdone, Channa in order to appease his own conscience and set things right, being the athlete he was sprinted after Chellaraj, who was now near the cool of the pavilion and apologetically requested him to come and resume his innings. This did enable S. Thomas to get up to 225 conceding a 17 run lead, and the match eventually ended in a draw.

Whilst all else is forgotten, this act of Channa's is often spoken of - for deeds such as this, in a sense, has life, to influence and inspire others to greater heights.

Channa while he lived, did in his own way make a valid contribution for the furtherance of cricket and, to him, who wasn't enjoying good health for sometime now, his passing away peacefully, must have been a sweet release.

And as our minds dwell on him, we are reminded of the beautiful words of the hymn writer - "only remembered, only remembered by the good we've done."