Gamini Goonesena
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
16 February 1931 Colombo, Ceylon |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 1 August 2011 (aged 80) Canberra, Australia |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting style | Right-handed batsman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Leg-break and googly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1950–1962 | Ceylon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1952–1964 | Nottinghamshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1954–1957 | Cambridge University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1964 | New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Source: CricInfo
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gamini Goonesena (16 February 1931 – 1 August 2011), born in Colombo, was a Sri Lankan first-class cricketer prior to his country being granted Test status. A gifted allrounder who was a right-handed batsman and legbreak/googly bowler, he played first class cricket over a 19-year timespan, 1949–1968, representing 14 different teams.
He was educated at Royal College Colombo where he played in the Royal-Thomian encounter. The Royal College first XI squad was hard at practice in the final week preceding the annual Royal-Thomian encounter. Goonesena was a mere 'net bowler' but coach F.C.de Saram, a percipient observer of the game and its players, in an inspired move, insisted that Goonesena be picked for the 'Big' match to be played over the weekend. This was an unprecedented move for a player to make his debut in the 'Big' match. Goonesena played and captured 4/46 in the match, dismissing both Thomian openers in the crucial second innings, as Royal cruised to a comfortable 9-wicket victory. In the 1948 fixture he announced his burgeoning potential with a match analysis of 10/80.
At Cambridge University between 1954 and 1957, he played in 52 matches and became the first Asian player to captain the side in his last year. As captain he scored 211 in the University match in 1957, which remains the highest individual score by a Cambridge player in University Matches. He then took 4/40 in the Oxford second innings to secure victoryby an innings and 186 runs, the biggest margin of defeat since the series began in 1827. He and Geoffrey Cook, who scored 111, also put on 289 runs for the seventh wicket, setting the highest partnership for any wicket by either side University Matches and the record partnership in first-class cricket for the seventh wicket at Lord's. Both records still stand as of April 2017.
...
Wikipedia