Sri Lanka Schools: Thomian victory no surprise to Coach (31 March 1999)

31 March 1999

Sri Lanka Schools: Thomian victory no surprise to Coach

Our Special Correspondent

The victory of the Thomian 1st XI in their annual encounter with Royal College the 120th big match came as a shock and surprise to many, if not all Thomian supporters, but not so to Dinesh Kumarasinghe, the enterprising young Thomian coach.

Kumarasinghe was a student of S. Thomas' College from the days of Warden Anandanayagam and began to play cricket from an early age. He played for the College under S. K. Jayasinghe in 1986 and 1987. On the eve of his leaving school in 1988, the then Warden and Sub-Warden of the College. Mr. Neville de Alwis and Fr. Duleep de Chickera invited him to join the College staff as junior cricket coach and soccer coach.

He accepted this invitation and sacrificed a lucrative career outside, which his talents and tenacious character would have otherwise earned him. The faith placed in him by Warden de Alwis and Fr. De Chickera was not in vain and has borne much fruit over the past 11 years.

Kumarasinghe received valuable training under successive senior coaches in the calibre of Bertie Wijesinghe, the late Trevor Edwards and Nihal Kodituwakku. His guru and mentor however is old Thomian Kumar Boralessa from whom he has gained much over the years. Kumarasinghe helped Edwards and Kodituwakku with the senior team while coaching the under 17 and second XI himself. In 1992 he assisted Nihal Kodituwakku when the Thomians emerged victorious in the Premadasa trophy tournament under Suresh Gunasekera. He continued to assist the senior coach by handling the fitness of the players.

In 1996 his under 17 team emerged all island champions in the age group tournament. He accompanied that team as coach when they went on tour to Malaysia later that same year, where they won all their matches. In 1997 he assisted Kodituwakku by handling the fitness and discipline of the senior team. It was evident to all who witnessed the 1997 Thomian victory against Royal College, that the fitness of the Thomian boys contributed in no small measure to that historic triumph. Subsequently, he accompanied the Thomian team as Coach, on their historic tour of England, where they won all their matches including those against county teams. In 1998 he was appointed to coach the 1st XI along with Jerome Jayaratne. their joint effort resulted in the Thomians winning the Coca Cola Trophy for the first time and the Mustangs Trophy for the third successive year.

At the beginning of the 1998/99 season the Acting Warden of the College Mr. D. A. Pakianathan did not have to look far for a new coach for the 1st XI. He reposed complete trust and faith in Kumarasinghe and appointed him to the most sensitive coaching post at STC. The season began with a bang with STC winning two matches in the 1st half of the season, and ended in a blaze of glory with the Thomians retaining the D.S. Senanayake Challenge Shield after a brilliant display of Thomian Grit and positive cricket.

Kumarasinghe at 29 is probably the youngest cricket coach STC has ever had in the long history of Thomian cricket. Furthermore the victory at the Big Match is all the more an achievement considering the fact that the team was probably one of the youngest sides ever fielded by the College - no less than 7 players were 16 years old or younger.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)