Sports
Sebs’ cricket stalwart Cooray retires after more than three decades of service
by Reemus Fernando
Franklyn Cooray, the former Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association official, retired as the Master in Charge of Cricket of St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa after completing more than three and half decades of yeoman service recently. Franklyn Cooray who was popular in cricket circles as Frank Cooray, was the longest serving team official at the time of his retirement. During his 37 year association with schools cricket, Cooray witnessed the evolution of First XI cricket from mere Traditional matches to present day tournaments of varying divisions and was involved in St. Sebastian’s cricket as a coach and Master in Charge guiding the destiny of many future national cricketers.
Cooray played First XI cricket for St. Sebastian’s from 1962 to 1966 and was among the very few Sebs cricketers of his era to have tasted Big Match success. He captained all age group teams of St. Sebastian’s. After leaving school he worked at the Irrigation Department as a Senior Technical Officer and played in the Government Services ‘A’ Division Cricket tournament until making a premature retirement in 1983.
He was entrusted with the responsibility of training cricketers of St. Sebastian’s in 1984 by Rev. Bro. Nimal Gurusinghe, when coaching was voluntary. Three years later Cooray was included in the tutorial staff by Rev. Bro. Granville Perera. He was the coach cum Master in Charge of St. Sebastian’s from 1987 to 1994 and held the latter position until his retirement this year.
During his tenure as a coach, Cooray provided guidance at different levels to several Sebs who later became household names. Of them Dulip Mendis, Roger Wijesuriya, Susil Fernando, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Sajeewa de Silva went on to play Test cricket. “Kaluwitharana was coached by Brother Gurusinghe before he came under my supervision at senior level,” Cooray recalled in an interview with The Island.
Cooray was the Master in Charge of Cricket when the likes of Prasanna Jayawardena, Dinusha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Amila Aponso, Avishka Fernando and Oshada Fernando learnt their ABC of cricket at St. Sebastian’s.
While being the MIC, Cooray was also entrusted with the responsibility of the curator after a turf wicket was laid at the St. Sebastian’s ground in 1990.
He was selected to SLSCA Executive Committee in 1988 and a year later became the Under-19 tournament secretary, a position he held until 2006. He was among the leading officials of SLSCA who were instrumental in introducing the two-day league tournament and the Under-19 tournament structure with three Divisions. As of late it has undergone many changes.
However he was against introducing the points system that determined winners on first innings points. “That system would promote the culture of playing for trophies. I never encouraged the point system for first innings wins. We gave points only for outright victories. During our time we hardly batted after tea. We would try to score as much as possible in the morning and declared and get the opposition to bat in the afternoon. That way we would try to win outright. That was lost after the points system was introduced,” opined Cooray.
Cooray also lamented the absence of natural stroke play among present day cricketers. “Players going for their natural strokes is something that we are missing greatly these days. You must encourage batsmen to go for their natural strokes,” said Cooray.
He was the Under-19 tournament secretary of the SLSCA at a time when computers were yet be utilized for calculation of points and to make points tables of the league tournaments. Yet as schools cricket reporters would recall he was readily available with a near accurate points table of the tournament at the end of every week during the schools cricket season.
Apart from holding the Under-19 tournament secretary position, Cooray also held the junior national coach position briefly. He was the coach of the Sri Lanka Under-15 side that toured England for the Under-15 Lombard World Challenge.
His contribution to cricket was recognized by the International Cricket Council in 2009 when he was presented with a medal during its Centenary Medals Presentation for Volunteers.
As he steps in to retirement with loads of fond memories from cricket, Cooray thanked former administrators of St. Sebastian’s Rev. Bro. Nimal Gurusinghe and Rev. Bro. Granville Perera, late Rev. Fr. Bonnie Fernandopulle who made it possible for him to take up coaching and cricket administration and coaches including Kanishka Perera who helped during his tenure.
In its fourth season, the WPL now feels part of the system, shaping careers and standards in increasingly visible ways. Most notably, it played a part in India winning their first ODI World Cup last year. How ’bout that. Almost silly that there was a time when this idea struggled to get off the ground.
While rivalries are still taking shape in this five-team league, Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru has all the ingredients of being the best one. Borrowing from its IPL counterpart, it pits two of the biggest names in Indian cricket, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, against each other. They are also the only teams to have lifted the trophy so far, with MI holding a slender 4-3 head-to-head advantage
There is an extra layer of significance this time. Harmanpreet and Mandhana return to the venue where the defining night of their international careers played out two months ago. The DY Patil Stadium will stir fond memories not just for the two captains but also for the India players on both sides, even if the sea of MI blue in the stands is expected to outweigh RCB’s red, black and gold. It was here that the duo shared an emotional hug after India clinched the World Cup, before circling the ground together, singing and dancing long into the night. On the eve of the WPL opener, both admitted those memories came flooding back as they walked into the stadium.
Harmanpreet has since spoken of the venue becoming a hub for women’s cricket in India, a sentiment Mandhana echoed ahead of the season. “Whenever you enter the ground, you remember exactly where the last catch was taken,” she said, recalling Harmanpreet’s leap at extra cover to dismiss South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk and seal the win in the final. “This is still just one-and-a-half months later, but even after 20 years, if we come back to this ground, we are still going to remember exactly what happened on November 2.”
The friendship remains untouched but once the WPL begins, Harmanpreet said the focus will be on “how we can win against each other.”
For defending champions MI, the template established in the inaugural season – continuity, role clarity, a strong core and enviable depth – continues to serve them well. Retaining five players ahead of the auction preserved the backbone of the batting, while the return of familiar faces ensured stability. While other teams opted for reshuffles, MI doubled down on their processes, backing experience, investing in youth and trusting a leadership group that has grown with the league.
RCB arrive with a sense of renewal after missing the knockouts last season. Mandhana remains the face of the team, supported by T20 firepower in Georgia Voll, Grace Harris, Richa Ghosh and Nadine de Klerk, though Ellyse Perry’s withdrawal leaves questions at the top. Their bowling, however, looks formidable, with pace from Lauren Bell, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar and de Klerk, and spin options in Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil and Harris.
G Kamalini 17, was retained by MI ahead of the auction alongside players like Harmanpreet, Sciver-Brunt, Matthews and Amanjot, which is an indicator of how highly she is rated. A left-handed wicketkeeper-batter with the ability to go big, Kamalini offers flexibility in the line-up. She made her WPL debut last season and announced herself in just her second game, against RCB, holding her nerve to seal a last over victory, She continued to impress in the domestic circuit, which earned her a maiden India call-up late last year for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, where she made her international debut. Captain Harmanpreet indicated ahead of this season that Kamalini would be given a “special role”, suggesting a move up the order, and said she expects the teenager to be one of the “main players” in the team.
After missing WPL 2025 and spending more than a year sidelined by a series of injuries, spin-bowling allrounder Shreyanka Patil returns to the tournament that launched her into prominence. She was just 20 when she debuted for RCB in 2023, and her rise was swift, with India T20I and ODI caps following later that year. Patil enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2024, finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker as RCB went on to lift their maiden title. She made her return from injury at the Women’s CPL last September, featured in the domestic season for Karnataka, and was one of four players retained by RCB ahead of the auction. In the lead-up to the season, Patil has focused on fine-tuning her offspin, batting and overall fitness during a month-long conditioning camp at the private academy where she trains.
As Sri Lanka arrive on the doorstep of another World Cup, there is the usual attendant instability. The captain has been switched out but the team is still losing against good opposition. The top order is being rejigged frequently, and yet consistent scores are not forthcoming. There are strong elements in the attack – such as the bowling of Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga – but there is fragility elsewhere. It might not take much to turn them around though. The raw materials of a decent T20 side are there.
Pakistan, meanwhile, have no serious work-ons from Wednesday, save for the catching and ground fielding. Head coach Mike Hesson described their big win in the first T20I as “very clinical”, praising not only the bowling that decked Sri Lanka for 128, but the top order batters who aced the chase as well.
That they are putting up such performances while key players – such as Babar Azam – are away in the Big Bash League, is especially impressive. If they are to put together a good campaign in the forthcoming World Cup, Wednesday’s win might have been the day they planted their flag in Sri Lanka. So far, they seem at ease in these conditions.
In the T20I tri-series in Pakistan last month, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan had topped the run list, hitting 191 runs at a strike rate of 147. He has now made a bright start in Sri Lanka, hitting 51 off 36 in his first innings on the island. Farhan was especially good at taking down the round-arm seam of Nuwan Thushara, which caused significant problems for Sri Lanka, who require early wickets from Thushara. Farhan’s dominance will make Sri Lanka think twice about playing Thushara in this match.
Second on that run chart from the tri-series last month was Kamil Mishara with 169 runs at a strike rate of 139. He couldn’t get going on Wednesday, registering a three-ball duck after he spooned a catch to mid off. But he has shown glimpses of serious talent at the top level. Impactful innings in this series and the one to come against England will likely seal his spot at the top of the order.
The Dambulla surface for the first ODI was conducive to spin. At this time of year, showers are possible, but are unlikely to last long enough to wash out the match.
Pakistan may see no need to change their XI while Sri Lanka may consider bringing in Matheesha Pathirana for Thushara, which will mean Dasun Shanaka is required to bowl with the new ball.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (capt.), Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana/Nuwan Thushara
The first T20 International against Pakistan in Dambulla underlined, yet again, how heavily Sri Lanka lean on their talismanic opener Pathum Nissanka. When he gets going, Sri Lanka can push into the 180 plus scores that win you games. When he fails, the innings tends to unravel like a loose sweater. On Wednesday night, they were skittled with four balls to spare.
Ranked third in the world in T20Is, Nissanka has been a model of consistency over the past 24 months, scripting more than his share of Sri Lanka’s recent successes. But cricket’s law of averages is an unforgiving umpire. When he departs cheaply, the rest of the batting order too often looks short of ideas and shorter on intent.
That brings the debate around Kusal Janith Perera into sharp focus. If the selectors believe KJP belongs in the squad, then he must be in the playing XI. He remains one of the few in the current set-up who can clear the ropes against both pace and spin, a necessity in T20 cricket. Leaving that firepower unused doesn’t make sense.
Charith Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis offer adequate part-time spin options and with the bat both are better suited to the demands of T20 cricket than Dhananjaya de Silva. The Test captain was previously cast in a similar role ahead of the last T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA, a move that failed to deliver dividends and was quietly shelved after the tournament. Curiously, the same experiment has resurfaced, funnily enough, on the eve of another World Cup.
Sri Lanka may well be the only international side juggling three different captains across formats, with all three turning up in the T20 XI. How can that be?
A top order of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis, followed by Kusal Perera at number three, gives the batting unit a far more settled look. Crucially, that trio has the ability to maximise the six overs of Powerplay, when the field is up.
Further down the order, Dunith Wellalage at number eight could provide a safety net if there is a collapse. At present, the top order is overly dependent on Nissanka and without Wellalage, the lower order offers precious little resistance once the chips are down.
With a home World Cup around the corner, Sri Lanka need to finalise their combinations rather than shuffle the pack. Experimentation is part of the process, but doing so this close to a global event is a gamble with long odds.
While Sri Lanka have made reasonable strides in Tests and ODIs, the T20 format continues to throw up worrying signs. There was at least a sense of gradual progress under Charith Asalanka and Upul Tharanga, slow, perhaps, but forward. What is unfolding now feels like a return to square one, dusting off old plans that previously backfired and hoping, against evidence, for a different result.
Rex Clementine ✍️
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