By Revatha S. Silva

[caption id="attachment_172402" align="alignleft" width="455"] Yohan Goonasekera with his wife in Australia now[/caption]

Former Sri Lanka Test and One-Day International (ODI) player Yohan Goonasekera, who lives presently in Melbourne, Australia, is 63 years today (8). Born on 8 November 1957, the left-handed Goonasekera was Nalanda College, Colombo Vice Captain in their 47th “Battle of the Maroons” Big Match of 1976, against Ananda College, Colombo. Ravindra Fernando captained Nalanda that year whilst Ananda was captainedd by Ruwan Perera.

That year’s Nalanda College first-eleven team included the late Aruna Ranasinghe, Hemantha Devapriya, and Susantha Karunaratne.

1983 New Zealand tour

Yohan Goonasekera made his Sri Lanka debut at the age of 25, in March 1983, in New Zealand. It was Sri Lanka’s first Test tour after five of their most regular Test players, including Sri Lanka Captain Bandula Warnapura, went for the rebel tour to South Africa in October 1982 to get a 25-year ban. The other four were Ajith de Silva, Lalith Kaluperuma, Mahesh Gunathilaka, and Anura Ranasinghe.

In Sri Lanka’s next tour after that rebel tour, which was for an unofficial two-match ‘Test’ series and two-match ODI series in Zimbabwe in October-November 1982, young Arjuna Ranatunga failed in his batting. He got a “golden duck” as Sri Lost against Zimbabwe, which was not a Test country then, by an innings and 40 runs.

Sri Lanka were led by Duleep Mendis while Duncan Fletcher captained Zimbabwe.

Yohan comes in for Arjuna

[caption id="attachment_172403" align="alignleft" width="453"] Yohan Goonasekera as Nalanda College Vice Captain for their 47th “Battle of the Maroons” Big Match against Ananda: (Seated from left) Ananda Jayaweera, Anura Pasqual, Jayantha Narangoda, S.P. Fernando, Ravindra Fernando (Captain), Gunasekera, Susantha Karunaratne, Hemantha Devapriya, and Aruna Ranasinghe. Standing from left: Upali Karunaratne, Chandana Peries, Manjula Kandage, Anura Kodituwakku, Upali Gamage, Nanduka Jayasinghe, Kapila Perera, and Kenneth Kariayawasam[/caption]

Ranatunga was dropped for the subsequent March 1983 New Zealand tour, which included two Tests and three ODIs. Ranatunga’s place went to Yohan Goonasekera.

Goonasekera, on 2 March 1983 in the first ODI in Dunedin, got Sri Lanka debut alongside wicket-keeper Guy de Alwis, Mithra Wettimuny, and Susil Fernando.

Somachandra (D.S.) de Silva happened to be Sri Lanka’s Captain for the first ODI and both Tests as the regular Sri Lanka Captain Duleep Mendis, who had been appointed in place of Warnapura, and his deputy Roy Dias both got injured during the three-day warm-up game against in New Zealand by the bowling of Dayle Robert Hadlee, elder brother of Richard Hadlee.

Mendis returned as captain only in the last two matches of the tour, the second and third ODIs.

Not a sweet memory

Goonasekera’s batting in the series was not enough to impress the selectors to stick with him over the budding left-hander Arjuna Ranatunga. Goonasekera made runs of only four and eight in the first Test in Christchurch, 13 and 23 in the second in Wellington, and 23, 11, and 35 in the three ODIs, played in Dunedin, Napier, and Auckland respectively. He took only one wicket that of Bruce Edgar in the third ODI with his slow left-armers.

[caption id="attachment_172404" align="alignleft" width="279"] The lanky left-hander with wife years before[/caption]

The series created not so sweet memories for Sri Lanka as they lost the two-match Test series 2-0. After losing the first Test by an innings and 25 runs, they fought hard, though, in the second. Sri Lanka restricted the strong New Zealanders to 201 in their first innings after scoring 240. Yet the Lankans collapsed in their second essay for a paltry 93 and lost the match by six wickets.

Sri Lanka lost the three ODIs by 65 runs, seven wickets, and 116 runs respectively.

Young Vinothen John impress

The Christchurch first Test was more historic for Sri Lanka as they gave debut for as many as seven players - Guy de Alwis, Mithra Wettimuny, Rumesh Ratnayake, Sridharan Jeganathan, Susil Fernando, Vinothen John, and Goonasekera.

Sri Lanka had begun a new journey after the turmoil created by the rebel tour.

The 22-year-old Vinothen John impressed in the series by taking the wicket of great Kiwi batter Glenn Turner on many occasions in that series. When he missed the third ODI for being unwell, Turner whacked 140 runs in a mammoth New Zealand total of 304/5. John took Turner’s wicket in four out five innings which he played in the series.

Yohan sets a Sri Lanka fielding record

In the second Test in Wellington, John took 5/60 as Sri Lanka bowled out the Kiwis 39 runs below their total of 240. Out of John’s five scalps, four were “c. Goonasekera b. John” - Turner got out for 10, Jeremy Coney two, Richard Hadlee 30, and Warren Lees 0.

Goonasekera took all four catches fielding at the gully position. Taking four catches in a single Test innings became a Sri Lanka record until it was broken by Hashan Tillakaratne a decade later.

The next series for Sri Lanka, a home series against Greg Chappell’s Australia, Arjuna Ranatunga impressed as never before. Highly recommended by legendary Gary Sobers who was Sri Lanka Coach for the series, Ranatunga won one match for Sri Lanka single-handedly.

His place was assured in the national side. Yohan Goonasekera entered Sri Lanka cricket annals but was not to be seen again in the big league.