{"id":59518,"date":"2021-03-14T14:25:39","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T14:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=59518"},"modified":"2021-03-14T14:25:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T14:25:39","slug":"a-man-i-called-my-hero-some-of-ranjits-memoirs-and-his-hero-ben-navaratne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-man-i-called-my-hero-some-of-ranjits-memoirs-and-his-hero-ben-navaratne\/","title":{"rendered":"A MAN I CALLED MY HERO – Some of Ranjit’s memoirs and his hero Ben Navaratne"},"content":{"rendered":"

A MAN I CALLED MY HERO – Some of Ranjit’s memoirs and his hero Ben Navaratne<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Life in Kotahena was a great joy, and during the cricket season every <\/span>bare patch of ground that could accommodate a game of softball cricket <\/span>in the area, was occupied by hundreds of young players of all ages and<\/span>
\nsizes. My love for the game thrived in that vibrant sporting <\/span>environment. There was no supervision and we managed our own little <\/span>test matches working our way through, in the best way we could. <\/span>Before long, around the age of 12 or 13, I was playing hard ball <\/span>cricket and started representing my school at the under 14 age group<\/span>
\nand making some progress as a batsman in the top order, however except <\/span>for my rather defensive technique which I had developed on my own, <\/span>there wasn\u2019t much to show.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then things started to happen in the last match of the season, when <\/span>the junior coach started running out of options to fill the slot of <\/span>wicket keeper after some rather disastrous choices where the extras <\/span>contributed very heavily to the opposition total. <\/span>The wicket keeping gloves were offered to me and it stayed in my <\/span>possession\u00a0 thereafter. It was the turning point in my cricket story.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

St.Benedict\u2019s College has had\u00a0 a long line of brilliant or very <\/span>competent wicket keepers over the years and the incumbent first eleven <\/span>WK was Allan Gunasekera who excelled both with the gloves and bat. For <\/span>some strange reason there was no understudy for this vital position. <\/span>The master in charge of cricket, walked towards the group that had <\/span>gathered together to form the second eleven squad and requested those <\/span>who were wicket keepers to raise their hands. The only one that went <\/span>up was mine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe renowned Past Srilankan Cricketer Bertie Wijesinghe the Senior <\/span>Coach, and the rest of the coaches got into a huddle and fairly <\/span>quickly came to the conclusion, very wisely, that they would manage <\/span>with a stop gap, out of those already in the senior squad. I stayed in <\/span>the second team and worked on my skills and enjoyed my new role with a <\/span>degree of success.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the next year, I was Allen\u2019s understudy, but my batting may have <\/span>impressed Mr. Bertie Wijesinghe, that I was soon opening the batting <\/span>at 15 years old in the 1st X1. Cricket was in my genes, but things had <\/span>moved so fast that my life now revolved around the game and I gave<\/span>barely minimum attention to my books.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was enamored with the gloves and spent hours on my own and also with <\/span>Allen\u2019s help in refining my skills. It was around this time that I <\/span>took a keen interest in learning about International\u00a0 and Srilankan <\/span>cricket greats and following test cricket, particularly the Ashes <\/span>Series\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

The name Ben Navaratne was by now quite familiar to me and I had heard <\/span>some of his amazing deeds behind the stumps, but not realized that he <\/span>and his wife and 8 children had come to reside on the same street as <\/span>we lived, just about 400 yards away. It also happened that BENO his <\/span>eldest son was in my Grade in school. What\u2019s more Mr. Ben Navaratna <\/span>was an old Benedictine too. I however never dared to get near him, let <\/span>alone attempting to make conversation. I just admired this tall, <\/span>smart, well structured, self confident human being from a far. Despite <\/span>his stature, there was something that was always sincere and likeable <\/span>about him. Without even meeting him my admiration for the man was <\/span>absolute.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben had got into the Ceylon\/Srilanka National team in 1940\/41 touring <\/span>India under Sago Jayawickrama and had been chosen initially for his <\/span>outstanding skills as a wicket keeper and also as a batsman in the top <\/span>order. However his skills with the gloves behind the stumps for the <\/span>Sinhalese Sports Club was already a topic of conversation even before <\/span>he had obtained his country\u2019s cap. <\/span>His regular inclusion in Ceylon\u2019s International games built Ben\u2019s <\/span>confidence behind the stumps so much, that he was almost <\/span>indispensable, when it came to Wicket Keeping.<\/span><\/p>\n

After S.S. Jayawickrema his first National captain, he played under <\/span>F.C.De<\/a> Saram for the country and was left out only on very rare <\/span>occasions. However as time went on he was considered as a specialist <\/span>behind the stumps and was confined to the lower order and his batting <\/span>suffered. He held his position\u00a0 in the Ceylon side until 1952 and <\/span>retired from the International scene after England visited us, that <\/span>year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben Navaratne was a genius, he was an artiste with the gloves and used<\/span>his hands with lightning speed not only baffling the surprised batsmen <\/span>but spectators too with his stumpings. <\/span>He stood out on the field and led the way and was the catalyst to the <\/span>others, providing the energy.<\/span>
\nThere were times he stood just behind the stumps even to the quickest <\/span>during that time,\u00a0 D.S. Jayasundara.<\/span>
\nBen\u2019s sharp guttural voice boomed when he went up, on an appeal and in <\/span>those days unlike now, the unsuspecting man in the white coat could <\/span>have been vulnerable without any technology to assist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cricket enthusiasts, we are told, thronged the grounds to see him <\/span>perform and he was, In their eyes a great showman and an entertainer. <\/span>When he played for the Commonwealth team against England, together <\/span>with some the greats in the world of cricket at that time, some hailed <\/span>him as one of the best. <\/span>Others spoke in terms of Ben being a magician with the gloves. <\/span>Folk lore had many interesting narratives about some of Ben\u2019s antics, <\/span>such as lifting the bail with his tongue on a stumping, just as the <\/span>batsman missed the ball. <\/span>Ben Navaratne\u2019s masterly skills and big hands did not require him to <\/span>do anything unbecoming of the game which he loved so much and he is <\/span>still being spoken about as one of the finest gentleman the game had <\/span>seen in every aspect.<\/span><\/p>\n

My first real meeting with my hero was in April 1961 when I toured <\/span>India with the Srilanka Schools Cricket team led by Anandian Yatagama <\/span>Amaradasa and the team was hosted for a lavish\u00a0 dinner by Ben <\/span>Navaratne and his very gracious wife Rose and some of his family, who <\/span>had moved to Chennai, since Ben had been assigned as the English <\/span>Stenographer at the Srilankan High Commissioner\u2019s Office in Madras. He <\/span>had a long spell at the Supreme Court in the same capacity and was <\/span>said to be outstanding in his work place too. The tour party had a<\/span>
\nfine time and I had the immense pleasure of having a close <\/span>conversation with the person I greatly looked upto.<\/span><\/p>\n

The family had settled down well and\u00a0 were extremely happy there, but <\/span>they suffered a huge setback when Government policies were changed and <\/span>their 4 year contract was annulled in 11 months. He had by then given<\/span>
\nhis Kotahena home on rent and went through the hardship of the <\/span>children commuting to school from Thalangama a fair distance every day <\/span>. Except for a few short hellos, I did not see much of him. However if<\/span>
\nmy memory serves\u00a0 me right, BENO his son who had by then, joined my <\/span>class, kept feeding\u00a0 me on his doings. I am almost certain that he <\/span>donned the gloves again for the SSC, at an age which only a rare few <\/span>would have attempted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018\u2019 My dad managed to strike a contract\u00a0 with the British to work in <\/span>Borneo for five years from 1962 to 1968. This era would have been the <\/span>most calmful years of my dad\u2019s life,\u201c wrote Lakshman Navaratna, one of <\/span>his sons who took after his father, as a wicket keeper at St. <\/span>Benedict\u2019s under Felix Dias but rather early made a decision to move <\/span>permanently to Canada with his family and now resides there. <\/span>Lucky further added \u201cHe was only able to take five of his children to <\/span>Borneo. I was left behind for five years in Srilanka, my crucial years <\/span>of growing up.\u2019\u2019 \u2018\u2019This period of my Dad\u2019s life is a Major Void in my <\/span>Life. I shall leave this period of my Dad\u2019s life to be written by a<\/span>sibling who was with him in Borneo \u201c<\/span><\/p>\n

My School boy cricket tour to India in 1961 as the first wicket keeper <\/span>had given me a huge boost to my cricketing prospects and the fact that <\/span>I played an important role as stumper in a team that returned <\/span>invincible also helped in a big way.<\/span>
\nThe Wicket Keeper talent in the country was growing and at a high ebb, <\/span>with plenty of healthy competition which motivated me to work hard on <\/span>my batting too. I managed to put in some very impressive batting <\/span>performances in my remaining years at school, not forgetting to <\/span>maintain high standards behind the stumps. Having Coach Bertie<\/span>
\nWijesinghe at St. Benedict\u2019s was a huge bonus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Herbert I. K. Fernando, fondly called HIK, who took over the role <\/span>of WK from Ben was maintaining those expected very high standards, as <\/span>the Country\u2019s first keeper and had by now, entrenched himself in the <\/span>job. He was a very useful performer with the bat in the middle order <\/span>too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harold Andrado whom I considered to be my mentor on cricket matters <\/span>and a family friend, living in our very close neighborhood, had <\/span>already spoken to my dad about both me and my brother Sunil joining <\/span>the Nondescripts Cricket Club. I had while at school also played some <\/span>lower division matches for them and to some extent made up my mind. <\/span>However there were many other Division One teams wooing me to join <\/span>them on the premise that, with HIK also turning out for the <\/span>Nondescripts my opportunities would be restricted. Making the right <\/span>decision was going to be critical for my cricketing future.I decided <\/span>to put my trust on my parents and Harold and joined the NCC.<\/span><\/p>\n

In August 1964 Pakistan sent a team to play Srilanka under the <\/span>captaincy of the seasoned Imtiaz Ahmed and I was delighted to be <\/span>picked as the wicket keeper in the first game against them, for the <\/span>Board President\u2019s X1 led by Michael Tissera who was also captaining <\/span>the unofficial test against the visitors. This was my first experience<\/span>
\nagainst an international opposition. We beat the Pakistanis <\/span>convincingly in the 3 day game at the Colombo Oval. I was slotted into <\/span>the pivotal number 3 position in the batting order and was clean <\/span>bowled second ball, by a peach of a delivery from fast bowler Farouk <\/span>Hameed, which I found unplayable. However behind the stumps I had <\/span>already claimed one victim in the Pakistan first innings and grabbed <\/span>three more in their second which was of tremendous personal <\/span>satisfaction. This was the first ever win by any Srilankan team <\/span>against an international test playing nation in our country\u2019s cricket <\/span>history and thus gave us immense joy.<\/span><\/p>\n

I found myself welcomed at the NCC with both alms and playing <\/span>alongside HIK who kept wickets in the first innings, handing me the <\/span>gloves in the second. This acknowledgment by the club, to a great <\/span>extent openly projected the fact that I was HIK\u2019s understudy. Srilanka <\/span>was touring India soon after and I was selected as the 2nd Wicket <\/span>Keeper on tour.<\/span><\/p>\n

The tour of India was a dream and I gained a great deal out of it, <\/span>mainly with my personality and confidence, considering myself, sort of <\/span>an adult handling my own affairs. Although I didn\u2019t expect to play in <\/span>the Test matches, it was my goal to learn all I could about the <\/span>international game and meet people and be sociable. Those were times <\/span>when Srilanka National Teams, toured overseas with a minimum of <\/span>support staff. A manager and a Masseur were about the most that were <\/span>accommodated in the tour squad. A coach was a luxury and rarely or<\/span>
\nnever toured. The fitness aspects as a team were rather basic and <\/span>mainly confined to a fair amount of jogging and some speed work. Any <\/span>extra effort\u00a0 was left to the own devise of the individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n

While I did have very high expectations of receiving advice and help <\/span>from the experienced seniors considering the knowledge, talent and <\/span>skills that were on hand, but the extremely tight schedule which <\/span>included 3 tests, paying attention to a 2nd Wicket Keeper was <\/span>understandably the least of their priorities. Seeing the ground<\/span>situation I did appreciate that I had overestimated my own importance.<\/span>Having said that, it had to be admitted that despite a rather big <\/span>squad, the playing opportunities I got were considerable and had to be <\/span>appreciated. The fact that practice times were limited between <\/span>important games, at the end of this great tour I realized that I could <\/span>have done a lot more on my own initiative. A little too late and a <\/span>good lesson learnt.<\/span><\/p>\n

But just watching two skilled stumpers Herbert I. K. Fernando and <\/span>Farouk Engineer in action hour after hour, in the three tests was an <\/span>education. I was proud to see HIK being hailed as the BEST in ASIA. <\/span>How thrilled was I to be called his understudy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Srilanka not only salvaged its reputation by beating India led by the <\/span>charismatic Pataudi (Mansur Ali Khan) and this victory in January 1965 <\/span>remains as our only International Test (unofficial) victory on Indian <\/span>soil. Being the youngest in squad, I did my share of carrying water <\/span>and other errands onto the field and the entire squad took\u00a0 pride in <\/span>this historic win, under the leadership of Michael Tissera.<\/span><\/p>\n

With financial constraints, the the squad numbers going on overseas <\/span>tours were restricted and the selectors solved the problem by using a <\/span>make shift reserve Wicket Keeper out of one of them specialist <\/span>batsmen. As a result I was sidelined and missed out on the tour to <\/span>Pakistan in 1966.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Ben Navaratne returned to Srilanka from Borneo, I had already won <\/span>my Srilanka cap and playing as a batsman, with the incumbent nearing <\/span>retirement. <\/span>Ben was back at Kotahena and my friendship with him, more as senior <\/span>mentor took root. He took on the role of coach at St. Benedict\u2019s and <\/span>we all had the opportunity of picking his vast cricket brain which he <\/span>divulged with absolute generosity. I was intrigued, he was a freak but <\/span>despite how difficult it was going to be, l diligently worked on the <\/span>areas that appealed to my liking.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a rare honor for me to be H.I.K\u2019s understudy and tutored by BEN <\/span>almost around the same time. Two great Srilanka Cricket Legends. <\/span>Ben\u2019s outstanding humility and his unconditional faith in his maker <\/span>always impressed me and struck a chord in my life. We all knew that he <\/span>was a regular, if not a daily mass goer at St. Lucia\u2019s Cathedral and <\/span>was a prominent member of the church choir with his booming voice. It <\/span>is also known that, he either walked or went by\u00a0 Bicycle, after mass <\/span>on most days of the week, to milk his cows that grazed on the outside <\/span>of the playing areas of the SSC grounds and returned home in the same <\/span>manner displaying what a fit man he was.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some years after, the great man sold up and moved to Colombo 5, when <\/span>Ben and his wife Rose attended mass at St. Theresa\u2019s church <\/span>Thimbirgasyaya. Despite his failing health he led the congregation <\/span>singing with gusto, in his powerful voice. I must admit that despite <\/span>my nil talents in music, I found pleasure in following in the <\/span>footsteps of my model BEN, by\u00a0 continuing to sing loud at services in <\/span>church even to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A MAN I CALLED MY HERO – Some of Ranjit’s memoirs and his hero Ben Navaratne Life in Kotahena was a great joy, and during the cricket season every bare patch of ground that could accommodate a game of softball cricket in the area, was occupied by hundreds of young players of all ages and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[28129,3402,33202,33203],"class_list":{"0":"post-59518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-ben-navaratne","9":"tag-michael-tissera","10":"tag-s-s-jayawickrema","11":"tag-srilanka-cricket-legends","12":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"\nA MAN I CALLED MY HERO - Some of Ranjit's memoirs and his hero Ben Navaratne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Life in Kotahena was a great joy, and during the cricket season every bare patch of ground that could accommodate a game of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A MAN I CALLED MY HERO - Some of Ranjit's memoirs and his hero Ben Navaratne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Life in Kotahena was a great joy, and during the cricket season every bare patch of ground that could accommodate a game of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-man-i-called-my-hero-some-of-ranjits-memoirs-and-his-hero-ben-navaratne\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eLanka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-14T14:25:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/A-MAN-I-CALLED-MY-HERO.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-man-i-called-my-hero-some-of-ranjits-memoirs-and-his-hero-ben-navaratne\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-man-i-called-my-hero-some-of-ranjits-memoirs-and-his-hero-ben-navaratne\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\"},\"headline\":\"A MAN I CALLED MY HERO – Some of Ranjit’s memoirs and his hero Ben Navaratne\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-14T14:25:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-man-i-called-my-hero-some-of-ranjits-memoirs-and-his-hero-ben-navaratne\/\"},\"wordCount\":2653,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-man-i-called-my-hero-some-of-ranjits-memoirs-and-his-hero-ben-navaratne\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/A-MAN-I-CALLED-MY-HERO.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Ben Navaratne\",\"Michael Tissera\",\"S.S. 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