Shameera Weerasinghe - an epic feat

SUPUN Perera

It is creditable for a schoolboy cricketer to reach great heights during his tenure for his Alma-Mater. To reach that rare double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets is the dream of any schoolboy cricketer. This is exactly what Shameera Weerasinghe the St. Joseph's College cricket captain has achieved.

In the ongoing cricket season and as the saying goes Shameera has really displayed Josephian 'spirit' to the maximum by leading a very young and a highly talented bunch of cricketers.

I have seen Shameera from his under 14 days playing for St Joseph's and from then onwards he has shown fighting qualities and dedication and the will to always endeavour for victory.

"It is a great achievement. I'm so happy that my hard work has really paid off. The coaches, entire Josephian team rallied round me to achieve this Success. Further let me thank Rev. Fr. Sylvester Ranasinghe the Rector of the College who had been of immense inspiration to me in achieving this milestone," observed Shameera who admires the once legendary Australian leg spinner Shane Warne as his role model.

Shameera Weerasinghe performs as a right arm legspin bowler and a hard hitting middle order batsman. But his true colours with the bat came at the right time when he made an invaluable half century against traditional rivals St Peter's College in the 74th annual encounter where St Joseph's won by an innings and 42 runs.

He had the great privilege of leading St Joseph's in the 75th (Platinum Jubilee) Battle of the Saints' encounter which his side as underdogs and ultimately grabbed major honours in the drawn encounter.

Prior to the big 'un his achievements are worthy of mention. Against St Sebastian's College he scored a delightful century which was a treat to watch in Moratuwa. Then against DSSMV at Wijerama Mawatha he went on to make his highest score of 127 n.o and another spectacular 118 in Kandy against St. Anthony's College Katugastota.

However his memorable moment came against St Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia where he produced a superb allround performance by scoring 106 and having a match bag of 13 wickets to register a memorable victory for the Darley Road school after a lapse of 11 years.

The half century he made against Royal College was 'precious as Gold' when the home team was tottering. With Ananda College too he had a good double scoring 43 and capturing 5 for 40 which nearly brought a historic victory for the Josephians.

Shameera's milestone is extremely rare indeed. Still, Sri Lanka Schools' Cricket Association has yet to confirm whether it is an all-time record or not. However he could be tagged along with a former great leg spinning allrounder of St. Joseph's who left an indelible mark in school cricket, Raja de Silva.

Incidentally Raja de Silva became the Schoolboy cricketer of the year in 1961. Certainly Weerasinghe too is in line for honours.