Today, the Daily Morning Sports will go down the memory lane to the glorious days of schools cricket in the island nation where almost all top traditional schoolboy games regardless whether they were ‘big matches’ or normal games, attracted a large fan base surrounding the venues. We spoke to Jeremy Brohier, a senior alumnus hailing from a sporting school, Wesley College Colombo. Here Jeremy takes us through timeless classics of his heydays playing for the school on the Karlsruhe Hill which in the words of one of their great principal’s M.A.P Fernando, considers every century-old traditional cricket match versus (Royal, S. Thomas’, Trinity, Richmond, St. Benedict’s, Kingswood, St. Joseph’s) as a big match. The second oldest uninterrupted cricket encounter in Sri Lanka after the Royal-Thomian is the Royal-Wesley game which dates back to 1893. Wesley, celebrating its 150-year sesquicentennial in March this year, continues to-date the no ‘big match’ policy and carries on the fundamentals of their forefathers – A school of the common man.
Our protagonist today, Jeremy Brohier, one of the last remaining roots in the renowned Brohier clan, and known as the walking historian of his alma-mater since he compiled Wesley to the fore (The history of Wesley cricket) in 2012, a book published celebrating 125 years cricket at Wesley and is now lying in the National Archives and the National Library of Sri Lanka. His greatest feat would be the upcoming Chronicle of Wesley set to be launched in March this year; after 6-years of daunting research with a dedicated team including Kumar de Silva, Susan Brohier, Ubewansa Warnakulasooriya, Joshua Siriwardena, Lakshman Uduwara, Dilshan Boange, Miles Brohier, Peter Peiris, Chryshan Rodrigo, and Avanka Fernando, it’s a 822-page masterpiece that documents Wesley’s journey of 150-years.
We sat down with Jeremy last weekend at Campbell Park whilst the Trinity versus Wesley encounter for the R.L. Kannangara Trophy was in full swing where Janith Ravishka of Trinity broke the hill capital school’s all-time batting record scoring 241. Let’s now take the long-winding road to the early 1960s where Jeremy Brohier recollects his boyhood cricketing memoirs at Karlsruhe.
Jeremy, take us through your formative years as a schoolboy.
By some quirk of fate, I gained admission to Wesley in 1965 although I was born to a family of Josephians. Following me were my two brothers, Miles and Perry. Miles was more studious than Perry and myself. While Miles did not participate in any sporting activities at Wesley, both myself and my youngest brother Perry were a part of Wesley 1st X1 cricket teams. My 1st X1 cricket career began in 1974 as a fresher at the age of fifteen under the captaincy of Dayalan Sellamuttu in 1974, which was the centenary year of Wesley. I continued to be a member of the team until 1977 under the captaincy of Dilangen Jayasekera. Perry went on to represent Wesley from 1983 and was the opening bowler partnering Mahendra Dissanayake in the famous 1985 All-island Champion team which was captained by Mylvaganam Ganesh. Perry went to be the Archdeacon of Colombo in the Anglican Diocese, the 1st Wesleyite to have been appointed in this position. He has now completed his term and is presently the Vicar in Charge of St. Luke’s Church Borella and the Manager of Wesley College.
How was junior cricket and the years as a teenager?
As for myself, I began playing in Wesley’s junior teams at U14 and U16 levels. Captaining both levels, I can proudly state that Wesley were never defeated in any of the games under my tenure as captain. I remember that vividly in an U14 match against St. Joseph’s, I made a strategic decision with the coach who was our principal, A.S. Wirasinha to relieve the regular wicketkeeper Gershu Paul and to use him to open the bowling. That decision had a huge impact on the game when he ran through the Josephian batting line up in both innings for scores less than 20, enabling Wesley to win the game in double quick time. In addition to my cricket, I was an athlete who represented Wesley at the Colombo North sports meets and qualified to participate at the public school level.
Bowling right arm leg spin was my forte, a rare commodity in the school cricketing circuit at that time and that was the reason why I was drafted into the 1st X1 squad as a fifteen-year-old. The only other right arm leg spinner at that time was probably Premalal Fernando from Prince of Wales College and Dayalan Sellamutu as my mind recalls.
Tell us a little about your beginnings at senior level.
My first year as a fresher was very exciting. I recollect the visit we made to Jaffna as a team to play St. John’s. Word had apparently travelled around the Jaffna public that the Wesley 1st X1 team was visiting Jaffna to play St. John’s and we were surprised to see a large crowd along with our hosts to welcome us at the Jaffna train station. On the first day of the match the grounds at St. John’s were packed to the maximum to witness the game. It was indeed an experience that is difficult to describe. The game finished early on the second day with Wesley winning the game. After the game, with time in our hands, I recollect the team were taken to watch a Yul Brynner movie. I cannot remember the name of the cinema but vividly recall that the manager of the cinema recognised us and permitted the entire Wesley team to enter free, giving us ODC seats.
1st XI cricket and beyond, how were those times?
Becoming a permanent in the team of 1975 and beyond, I was always mainly dedicated to bowling and among the wickets taking many 4-wicket and 3-wicket hauls. Partnering me at the other end were spinners, Russell Kern (right arm off spin), N.R. Gajendran (right arm off spin) and the late Shammy Rajendra (left arm leg spin). As spinners, we complimented each other well because of the variety and different speeds we bowled. As a middle order batsman I had a penchant to play attacking and attractive cricket.
In 1975, the cricket encounter against St. Benedict’s was played in November as a third term match. Wesley was captained by Dilrukshan De Alwis and I happened to be a part of that team. Wesley went on to win the match by seven wickets. In the following year, rain washed off part of the first day’s play. In that game I was the top scorer for Wesley scoring 47 runs.
The captains I played under were Dayalan Sellamuttu, K. Dayaparan, Dilrukshan De Alwis, and Dilangen Jayasekera. Unfortunately after the third term games under Dilrukshan De Alwis in 1975, I was struck down with a bad attack of hepatitis and was unable to play the entire season.
Could you explain the feel and the aura of being part of the college team?
Being part of a 1st X1 cricket squad is an exciting experience that any cricketer could never forget. At times it could be flamboyant. During the time I played, we were considered as heroes to the young students of Wesley. On the first day of a match, junior students surround us before the team leaves the school premises, tapping us and encouraging us by saying “do well, good luck”. They follow us after school hours in droves to cheer and watch us play. Public interest to witness 1st X1 cricket during our time in the 70s was very encouraging, boosting our adrenalin to do well. If Wesley played at Campbell Park, the grounds were surrounded with overwhelming crowds to witness the matches. Our pavilion was always full with parents, school teachers, and visitors. I remember that to enter the pavilion there was a gate charge which was overlooked by the prefects. Such was the enthusiasm during our era. The visitors in the pavilion were treated with a piece of cake and a cup of tea free of charge during the tea break.
Campbell Park, the sporting home of generations of Wesleyites, what are your recollections at the park?
Describing Campbell Park the home ground of Wesley since 1907, it was much smaller than what it is now. Surrounded by ‘Sal’ and flamboyant trees and a gravel roadway running to All Saints Church from the Lady Ridgeway hospital end parallel to the ground created a picturesque sight. The pavilion in such a setting resembled one of an English country ground. The ground had a matting with one end facing the prison and the other end facing the pavilion. Although from beyond the boundaries the ground was picturesque, fielding on it was a nightmare especially on the All Saints Girl’s School side as the outfield was very uneven. There were ant hills in different places and if a batsman played a strong stroke and the ball by some misfortune hit one of the ant hills and a fielder was in line with the ball, it was unsure if the ball would kick up or deviate in a different direction.
You lived your teenage years through a closed economy, how did you manage the sporting activities?
During the time we played, cricketing gear was very scarce as there was an import ban in the country. Unlike the modern day cricketers who have the luxury to access cricket gear of their choice, we had to share cricket gear. During that era the pad straps were made of leather and invariably if a strap was broken, we used a handkerchief as an alternative. Batting gloves were always exchanged and were quite different to the modern gloves. The gloves were made of a thick cloth and had little rubber spikes instead of the padded sausage type modern glove. The team had to share three bats that were available and if anyone owned a bat it was a luxury. I was one who was fortunate to own my own bat, thanks to my father who was a cricketer himself playing for NCC during the last stages of his cricketing career.
Could you recall some of your unforgettable teammates from your era?
Team mates whom I recall playing with in addition to the names mentioned were, Russell Kern, A.V. Pathirajah, Mahesh Samaraweera, Hubert Gunasekera, Nandalal Hemachandra, Curklen and Eric Solomons, Alvin Ahamat, Wilhelm Dias, Greyden Van Dort, Jehan Samarasinghe, Shan Jurangpathy, Ivor Maharoof, brothers Robin and Jeremy Claessen, Jehan Jameel, Mahesh Rajaratnam etc.
On a final note Jeremy wished both St. Benedict’s and Wesley College’s who will be playing their traditional Cartman Cup encounter on the 23 and 24 this month in celebration of a 128-year legacy.
“I wish the two teams the very best as they compete against each other for the Cartman Cup and Rev. Brother Luke Gregory shield. Fittingly enough the Bens–Wesley one-day encounter will be played on Wesley’s Founder’s Day on 2 March and it is my prayer that this encounter will continue to grow and be encouraged by the generations representing both schools as the years go by in the spirit of true sportsmanship.”