On making the ‘First XI’ and relevant political lessons
Perhaps
it is the fact that Sri Lanka is not playing any international cricket
right now and has a fairly lean schedule ahead that makes me dwell on
cricket these days, forgive me. I was remembering an article written by
my school friend and now architect, Sumangala Jayatillake for a Royal-Thomian
Souvenir a quarter of a century ago. He was relating a dream about
playing in the Roy-Tho and coming up with a fantastic performance. He
ended the piece, if I remember right, with a quote: ‘Everyone is a hero
in his dreams’. He followed it up with another post script: ‘I knocked
out Mohammed Ali in another dream!’
I have had cricket dreams like that and long before Sumangala
articulated his. My dreams were associated with records. As a young boy
there were two things that bugged the hell out of me. The first was the
fact that S. Thomas’ had shot out Royal for nine runs in the 1885
encounter.
Thomians maintain that Royal didn’t turn up on the second day and
considers the game forfeited while Royalists, given absence of any
proof, considers the game drawn. There is no disagreement however
regarding the fact that Royal were all out for nine. That bugged me. It
also bugged me that STC had the highest total of the series (at the
time): 351 for seven if I remember right (broken several times since).
So here’s the dream. Royal bowls out STC not for eight runs, not for
seven, not for three or one but zero. The scoreboard reads: St. Thomas’
all out for 0. The innings is all done in 10 deliveries and includes
three hat tricks. The wrecker? Self. Obviously I couldn’t take all
wickets if the innings was over in 10 deliveries, so there was a partner
in crime. Rajitha Dhanapala, a classmate who from Grade Three used to
come home after school and stay with us until his father, who taught at
Royal along with my mother, came to take him home.
Rajitha and I, in my dream, opened batting and we broke the record
for the highest total. I am sure one of us broke the record for the
highest individual score, then held by Duleep Mendis (184) but can’t
remember who it was. The rest of the match was not dreamt. It was not
necessary. The point was to dream-out those uncomfortable
bragging-rights owned by the ‘other school’.
Rajitha was a cricketer. I was a fan. He played first eleven cricket.
I cheered. Fast forward to the year 1984. Check the big match souvenir.
Royal was led by Sandesh Algama. The book will show that the top four
run-getters of the season didn’t play in the big match. Chandana
Panditharatne and Assaji Ranasinghe, both stylish and dependable batsmen
were dropped, along with Rajitha, the only one to score a century that
season The fourth, Kapila Dandeniya, was touring Australia with the Sri
Lanka Under 19 team. Royal escaped with a draw thanks to the heroics of
Nalinda Premachandra and Chandana Jayakody, both in the team for their
bowling skills, incidentally.
More than a quarter of a century later, I went to see an ‘Under 13’
cricket match being played at the Mercantile Cricket Association
grounds. This is the first junior level cricket match I went to see
after leaving school. Royal vs. St. Peter’s. Semi-Final. I went there
because there was a boy called Thiran playing. Thiran Dhanapala. He made
some runs. Royal lost by a few runs in a closely fought game.
Whether Thiran will go further than his father is left to be seen,
but I was happy to be there with my friend. It was not exactly justice
catching up after a quarter century, but it made me happy.
It happens a lot doesn’t it, this business of the deserving being
sidelined and those with ‘connections’ being penciled in? It is less
about what you have done and what you can do but who’s who you are,
isn’t it? It is about the Old Boys Club, about wining and dining with
the right people, throwing parties and having a certain air about you,
isn’t it? And it is not limited to Royal College or cricket, is it?
In a few days time nominations will be submitted for the forthcoming
General Election. Peruse the lists carefully. Try to find out how many
decent people with credentials were ‘dropped’ by the various parties in
favour of those who have lots of money or have ‘spectacle’ value. There
will be film stars and sports personalities, the filthy rich and the
thugs, I have no doubt. Already the city walls have been plastered with
the ugly mugs of the rich, those who have the bucks, the men and are
absolutely free of shame.
There are rare cases when a good rugby player is also a decent
cricketer. Among those at Royal in my time I remember Ajitha Pasqual,
Michael Muller, Jagath Fernando, Graham Lawrence and Rajiv De Silva.
Krishan George and Sampath Agalawatte were likewise multi-sports
personalities, the former securing colours in basketball, rugby and
athletics. For the main part, though, cricketers don’t make good
politicians and neither do film stars, singers and beauty queens.
Check the lists. Let us see if any of the major political parties can
come up with candidates with some kind of relevant accomplishment. I am
willing to wager that incompetence and unsuitability will be what
describes best those who do make the lists and indeed those who get
elected, which of course is an indictment of the voter and supports the
contention that people get the Governments they deserve.
Strong and visionary leadership does not on the other hand pander to
the least common denominator, does not calculate a candidate’s worth in
terms of his/her ‘star value’ or spending capacity but the ability to
function as a responsible and honest lawmaker who delivers on tasks
assigned.
The ‘lists’ then will show us what kind of people we are (for
candidates are chosen for ability to secure votes) and as seriously what
kind of leaders we have.
Thirty five years after dreaming a crazy dream and 25 years after
burning inside at an injustice my friend had to suffer, I got some kind
of consolation. That is too long for a society to wait, especially since
we’ve waited for several decades now for a different kind of politician
and political culture to emerge.
Today it is up to the leaders of the various political parties. And
if they don’t deliver then tomorrow they will not be consulted or
heeded.
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