Sports

The Legend of Lucky Rogers

Published

4 years ago

2021/09/22

by Rex Clementine

Quietly, sit next to a coach giving a pep talk to Under-13 cricketers before a game and you will be left with anger and bewilderment as you eavesdrop. Coaches teach young kids some new tricks in the trade. ‘Appeal three times vociferously and there’s a good chance that you will get a decision in your favour that would have been otherwise given not out.’ That’s the current status of our school cricket. But then, there are also the rare coaches, the Lucky Rogers type. Here’s the Lucky Rogers story.

Ananda College had had a terrific season in 2009 having won 12 games. They were skippered by Dinesh Chandimal. The title was going to be decided in the crunch game between Ananda and Royal at Ananda Mawatha. Royal had KJP. Ananda were set to secure the title after being set a paltry target of 80. But cricket is a funny game. Ananda were shot out for 78. Ruchira Palliyaguru, currently an international umpire had given five leg before wicket decisions!

Well, the obvious choice is to nail the umpire. The term ‘umpire hora’ is common in our backyard. Five leg before wicket decisions in a crunch game! But Ananda boys played like gentlemen. Their coach Lucky Rogers had instilled in them that discipline and set the standards.

“To be honest, I expected a bit of bad blood. But to my surprise, every Ananda player walked up to me, shook hands and said ‘good game sir.’ Palliyaguru told The Island. ‘Then followed Ananda coach Mr. Lucky Rogers. He shook my hands and said thank you. That’s all. What a gentlemen.’

You don’t get many gents like Lucky Rogers. Ajantha Mendis played little cricket at school and his talent was spotted by Lucky Rogers at an academy. The rest they say is history as Mendis gave us some memorable moments running through India’s famed batting line up comprising Sehwag-Dravid-Sachin-Ganguly-Laxman.

The legend of Lucky Rogers is not associated with just coaching. He was a legend as a player too.

“I won the outstanding schoolboy cricketer of the year award (outstations) in the year 1988 and Lucky Rogers won it after me in 1989,” said Sanath Jayasuriya speaking to The Island. Well, that sums up the story.

Here’s bit of stats to drill Lucky Rogers greatness. He hails from Moratuwa. The famed cricket pillars of Moratuwa are St. Sebastian’s’ and Prince of Wales. But there’s a third force. Quite formidable one too; Moratu Vidyalaya. Lucky Rogers captained them at under-13, 15,17 and 19 levels. In his last year, he finished off with 1493 runs, in just ten games with an highest score of 264 not out. If you know bit of school cricket, those are stunning numbers. Not even matched by The Greatest; P.A. de Silva. Nobody else reached 1000 runs that season. Lucky did it in seven games. Mind blowing stuff.

Lucky Rogers was not just a stylish top order batsman. He was also a superb wicketkeeper. Highly rated by his contemporaries, hardly committing a blunder behind the stumps. When he opened batting, he was a class act, with an array of attractive strokes.

“I captained Sri Lanka Under-19 team to Bangladesh for the Asia Cup. We lost the finals to India captained by Sourav Ganguly. Lucky Rogers was a key figure in that side as we performed consistently well. When in the mood, Lucky could put best of bowling attacks to the sword,” recalled another Sri Lanka captain; Marvan Atapattu.

When Lucky Rogers got out of school, he was quite popular in the domestic circuit piling up runs for Moratuwa Sports Club. He made quite an impact as captain too as Moratuwa were promoted to Premier League from Sara Trophy. Lucky was jack of all trade; team’s leading batsman, wicketkeeper and skipper, who had the knack to make things happen, despite having limited bowling resources.

In 1990s, the wicket keeping gloves of the national cricket team exchanged hands between a few players; Gamini Wickramasinghe, Chamara Dunushinghe, Pubudu Dassanayake, Rumesh Kaluwitharana and Lanka de Silva. But Lucky Rogers never got a look in.

“Well, there were financial constraints facing my family and I decided to play league cricket in Australia so that I could earn a living by playing the sport and look after my family. I guess I missed out because of that,” Lucky Rogers told The Island.

Lucky represented North Cofield for seven seasons and won the Victorian Championships twice. He is hailed down under in cricket circles as much as here. Lucky credits the values he brought to the game thanks to the coaches he had; Mr. Bernard Perera, Mr. Chandana Mahesh and Mr. Manjula Peiris. It reiterates a very pertinent point, the need to have quality coaches at school level.

Lucky Rogers is an example that you don’t have to play for Sri Lanka to leave an indelible mark in the game. He championed the cause of not so fancy teams as a schoolboy and in domestic cricket and later on when he took to coaching he taught the players finer points of the game, but more importantly to play the game in the right spirit. Men like him are rare and need to be celebrated.

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Sports

Shanmuganathan hammers unbeaten double century as Bens top 400 runs

Published

14 hours ago

2025/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sharujan Shanmuganathan (File Picture)

Under 19 Cricket

Sri Lanka Under 19 batsman Sharujan Shanmuganathan hammered an unbeaten double century- his best batting performance in the school circuit- to propel St. Benedict’s to their highest total of the season in the Under 19 traditional cricket encounter at Kotahena on Tuesday.

The Bens’ skipper cracked 17 fours and eight sixes in his unbeaten knock which powered the home team to 410 for seven wickets declared against St. Peter’s. His 202 runs came in 183 balls. He reached his century in 107 balls and consumed 156 balls to pass the 150 mark. The last 50 runs of his double century needed only 27 balls.

The Bens have been struggling the whole season and had to play the relegation league before retaining their place in the top tier of the Under 19 Division I tournament.

On such a backdrop their performance yesterday was a huge turnaround as they earned first innings honours against Petes.

At Darley Road Trinity restricted St. Joseph’s to 164 runs to take first innings honours, while St. Anthony’s Katugastota and Mahanama took first innings lead in their matches ended yesterday.

Match Details

Bens amass 410 runs at Kotahena

Scores

St. Peter’s

378 all out in 81 overs (Oween Salgado 70, Dilana Damsara 54, Jason Fernando 64, Enosh Peterson 65, Thareen Sanketh 34, Lashmika Perera 28, Virul Amarapala 23; Hashen Olagama 2/55, Mewan Dissanayake 5/57) and 22 for 2 in 5.4 overs

St. Benedict’s

20 for 1 overnight 410 for 7 decl. in 83.2 overs (Didula Edirisuriya 32, Janindu Nandasena 115, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 202n.o., Mewan Dissanayake 20, Trishen Silva 27; Lashmika Perera 2/83)

Trinity on first innings at Darley Road

Scores

Trinity

264 all out in 84.3 overs (Dimantha Mahavithana 38, Rajindu Thilakarathne 33, Vathila Udara 51, Oshana Lokuge 39, Mahendra Abeysinghe 43; Yenula Dewthusa 4/66, Demion de Silva 2/52, Nushan Perera 2/53)

St. Joseph’s

5 for 2 overnight 164 all out in 61 overs (Yenula Dewthusa 20, Rishma Amarasinghe 38, Pamod Dalpadado 22, Nushan Perera 28, Senesh Solangarachchi 28; Ranul Gunarathna 3/37, Vathila Udara 2/25, Sweath Anurajeewa 3/71)

St. Anthony’s on first innings

at Katugastota

Scores

St. Anthony’s

207 all out in 79.5 overs (Januka Rathnayake 83, Kevan Fernando 29, Tharusha Dasun 35n.o.; Sadaneth Yahampath 2/32, Sachithra Tanuka 4/28, Nishitha Fernando 2/39) and 21 for 3 in 9.5 overs

Moratu Vidyalaya

53 for 3 overnight 188 all out in 64.2 overs (Isuru Nidharshana 30, Sanjana Senavirathne 67, Sithum Silva 26n.o.; Tharusha Dasun 4/47, Kevan Fernando 3/30)

Mahanama win on first innings

at Thurstan ground

Scores

Mahanama

218 for 7 overnight 291 all out in 95.5 overs (Anuka Wijewardana 37, Sithum Vihanga 32, Dulnith Sigera 80, Eshan Withanage 27, Chamika Heenatigala 23, Gimantha Dissanayake 22; Binupa Thathmira 3/40, Sanvidu Dissanayake 2/33, Thanuga Palihawadana 3/95, Sethru Fernando 2/39) and 33 for 2 in 8 overs (Sethru Fernando 2/22)

Thurstan

207 all out in 51.5 overs (Thanuja Rajapaksha 53, Sethru Fernando 29, Sanvidu Dissanayake 22n.o., Dinal Induwara 21; Anuka Wijewardana 4/54, Chamika Heenatigala 4/58)

by Reemus Fernando

Sports

Chamara Silva to coach Sri Lanka Under 19s

Published

14 hours ago

2025/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Chamara Silva

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) appointed Chamara Silva as the head coach of the Sri Lanka U19 National Team.

Silva, a former Sri Lanka international cricketer, is an ICC Level III Qualified Coach with extensive coaching experience in Sri Lanka’s first class cricket.

Before joining SLC, he served as the head coach of Police Sports Club and previously coached Bloomfield Cricket Club and Panadura Sports Club.

As a player, Silva represented Sri Lanka in 75 ODIs, 11 Test matches, and 16 T20Is, amassing 2,269 international runs, including a limited-overs century.

His appointment which became effective on March 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026.

Chamara will be responsible for preparing the Sri Lanka U19 team for the ICC U19 World Cup in 2026.

Sports

Sri Lanka gears up to host ASBC Asian Under-22 and Youth Boxing Championships

Published

14 hours ago

2025/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Umayanga Mihiran will lead the charge after his historic bronze medal win at the Asian Championships in Chiang Mai.

With less than 50 days to go for the ASBC Asian Under-22 and Youth Boxing Championships in May, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Tharanga Perera expressed his enthusiasm and confidence about Sri Lanka hosting this landmark event, marking the first major boxing championship since the Asian Championships held in Colombo in 1967.

“We have everything in place to ensure Sri Lanka delivers a world-class tournament from May 12 to 23 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium,” Perera, also Chairman of the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Development Committee, affirmed. “The stadium is currently undergoing renovations, but it will be ready on time to welcome the athletes. We anticipate at least 25 of ASBC’s 43 member countries to participate, bringing around 400 to 500 boxers and officials to Sri Lanka.”

Highlighting the significance of the event, Perera remarked, “This is a pivotal moment for Sri Lankan boxing. We’re hoping to field approximately 15 boxers — both men and women — and setting our sights on at least five medals, including two golds. We are planning to have a selection trial for the 48-member pool at Royal MAS Arena on March 29. Our athletes are inspired, especially with Umayanga Mihiran leading the charge after his historic bronze medal win at the Asian Championships in Chiang Mai — Sri Lanka’s first medal in 37 years. This championship isn’t just about the present; it’s a long-term investment in the future of our boxing program.”

Tharanga Perera, Chairman of the
Organising Committee expressed his
enthusiasm and confidence in hosting
a successful championship.

The championship will feature a new, IBA-approved scoring system, complete with a newly imported ring, gloves, and headgear. Perera, 1-star international referee himself, emphasized the importance of training local officials for this system. “International experts will come to train our team, ensuring our operators are up to speed with the latest technology. It’s crucial for our officials to gain this experience to elevate their standards. Sri Lankan 1-star officials will also get an opportunity to perform different technical roles apart from officiating. We’ll also have referees and judges (R & Js) from neutral countries to ensure complete fairness and transparency as well.”

He also mentioned the possibility of ASBC President attending the finals, adding prestige to the event.

Perera acknowledged the extensive support from the government, armed forces, and various ministries. “We’re truly grateful for the blessings and backing from the Sports Ministry and other relevant authorities. A dedicated task force, including Sri Lanka Police, Navy, Air Force, and Army, has been established to ensure smooth operations. Immigration, customs, and all logistics are under control. We’re leaving no stone unturned.”

The event is also expected to give a significant boost to Sri Lanka’s sports tourism. “Hosting a championship of this magnitude showcases Sri Lanka’s ability to handle major international sporting events,” Perera remarked. “If we deliver a successful tournament, it could open doors to more international competitions.

“Hosting a championship of this scale will showcase Sri Lanka’s capabilities on the international stage,” Perera said. “If we pull this off successfully, it could open doors to more major international tournaments. This would mean more exposure for our athletes and officials, giving them invaluable international experience — a stepping stone towards the South Asian Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games.”

“This is more than a boxing tournament — it’s a chance to prove Sri Lanka’s potential as a sports hub and create lasting opportunities for our boxers and officials. We’re committed to making this a memorable, world-class event,” Perera concluded.