Sampath takes Trinity cricket to great heights
S M Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy sports correspondent
Cricket coach Sampath Perera has taken Trinity College cricket to
unknown heights, breaking records after and establishing new marks
hitherto unknown in school cricket not only in the Kandy district
perhaps in the entire island.
His coaching record reached dizzy heights when the Trinity College
cricket team registered 11 outright wins in 2012 and also grabbed all
the trophies which was on offer in school cricket.
They were dubbed as the triple champions winning the league title,
the limited overs title and the Twenty20 championship which made them
sweep the board and proving beyond doubt they are the best in any form
of cricket whether it is the shorter form or the longer version.
But what made them 'tick' and without doubt it was the coaching
skills of Sampath who instilled into the cricketers the fighting spirit
especially when the chips are down.
He chiselled the rough edges of the cricketers and identified their
talents which is so important for a coach to get the best out of his
charges.
He instills leadership into the boys and once the game start he keeps
aloof from them and could be spotted atop the gantry on the Mahaiyawa
end of the Asgiriya stadium watching the match and taking video shots.
He does not believe in setting the field partly hidden in the dressing
room away from the eyes of others or sending messages through drink
waiters. This is the way Sampath Perera handles a match, not interfering
with the course of play.
Sampath Perera by his track record has proved beyond doubt that he is
the best in the trade today and his proven skills speaks for itself. He
is an old boy of D S Senanayake College and he captained his school in
1993. He coached his alma mater from 1999 to 2008 before coming over to
Trinity College.
He went over to Australia and qualified as a cricket coach. Prior to
that he first qualified the Level one in Sri Lanka and did his Level two
and three in Australia. He also had a stint of club cricket in Australia
with Burwood Cricket Club and did well for them. But his call to return
to Sri Lanka was so great that he returned to the island though he could
have remained in Australia and found more lucrative form of employment.
At Trinity College in his first year itself he produced the expected
results in registering seven outright wins in a season which surpassed
the record of six wins in the 1920s. In 2009 too the Trinitians recorded
seven outright wins and in 2010 they recorded a similar number of wins.
The year 2011/12 was their best when they won 11 matches including the
Big Match against St Anthony's College which broke a 26 year old
'hoodoo'.
In club cricket Sampath Perera coached SSC under 23 cricket team
which finished runner up in the league in 2003. In 2004, SSC entered the
semi finals of the same tournament. In the year 2005 he coached NCC
which entered the semi finals in the under 23 tournament. They did
better the following year by finishing runners up. In the year 2008 NCC
finished champions in the under 23 Premier.
He was the head coach of SSC from 2002 to 2004 and occupied the same
position at NCC from 2005 to 2008. When he was holding this position
playing for these clubs were former Sri Lanka skipper Marvan Attapattu,
Nuwan Kulasekera, Mahela Jayawardena, Suraj Randiv, Sachithra Senanayake,
Tharanga Paranavitharne and Jeevan Mendis. At NCC there was Kumar
Sangakkara, Upul Chandana, Farveez Maharoof, Upul Tharanga and Lasith
Malinga.
As a player he scored 1,000 runs in a season for D S Senanayake
College in 1994 which included three centuries and eight fifties. His
appearance at club cricket was for BRC from 1992 to 1994 and for
Bloomfield C and AC from 1994 to 1999 before taking wings to Melbourne,
Australia to qualify as a cricket coach at Cricket Australia.
Apart from Trinity College's excellent performance during the last
four years, he has also produced some outstanding cricketers like Akila
Jayasundera, Janishka Premasinghe, Heshan Wanniarachchi, Niroshan
Dickwella, Alwin Fernando and many others who could serve the national
team in the future.
Sampath Perera has proved beyond doubt his ability as a cricket coach
and Trinity College is indeed lucky to have him in that capacity.
He pays more attention on fitness and after completion of a match
indulges in rugby and other games to keep the boys fit. He himself is an
epitome of fitness. He still plays club cricket in the local tournaments
and has done well though nearing his forties.
With Sampath Perera to guide them, cricket at Trinity College will
reach greater heights in the future. |