Anurudda "Anura" Polonowita (born 23 July 1938) is a former

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

who played for

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

from 1960 to 1969. He later became a prominent cricket administrator and groundsman. In September 2018, he was one of 49 former Sri Lankan cricketers felicitated by

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Cricket for Sri Lanka (BCCSL) on 30 June 1975 as a national spo ...

, to honour them for their services before Sri Lanka became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Early life and playing career

Polonowita attended

Ananda College ''Appamādo Amathapadan'' (Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada) , motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana , location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha , city = Colom ...

, where he played in the first XI for five years. In his final year, 1958, he captained the team and took 80 wickets in nine matches with his left-arm spin. On his first-class debut he took 5 for 45 in the first innings of the Gopalan Trophy match in 1959–60. In the Gopalan Trophy match in 1960-61 he took 4 for 16 in each innings (match figures of 29.4–14–32–8) to help Ceylon to a 169-run victory. Polonowita played a part in Ceylon's first two important international victories. When Ceylon defeated a Pakistan team in 1964–65 in Colombo he took three wickets in the second innings. Four months later, against India in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

, he top-scored in Ceylon's first innings with 53, took three catches, took 3 for 7 in India's second innings, and was at the wicket when

Michael Tissera Michael Hugh Tissera (born 23 March 1939 in Colombo) is a former Sri Lankan ODI cricketer who played in the 1975 Cricket World Cup. School Tissera was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, where, initially appearing in 1954 aged fourte ...

hit the winning runs. He was selected to tour England with the Ceylon team in 1968, but the tour was cancelled just before it was due to begin. After playing for

Sinhalese Sports Club The Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. Singhalese is the most successful club in Sri Lankan domestic cricket, having won the Premier Trophy a record 32 times to 2017. Although the name is correctly spelt wi ...

for a few seasons he helped to form the

Nomads Sports Club Nomads Sports Club is a former first-class cricket team in Sri Lanka. Nomads are one of the oldest Sri Lankan cricket teams. They won the P Sara Trophy in 1964-65 and 1967-68 in the days before the competition had first-class status. They co ...

in the 1960s and take it shortly afterwards to the premiership in the

P Saravanamuttu Trophy The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988–89 seas ...

Later life

When President Premadasa built the Khettarama Cricket Stadium (later named Premadasa Stadium) in the 1980s he sent Polonowita to Australia on a three-month course to study curatorship to ensure the ground would be properly maintained. From 2000 to 2013, Polonowita was the chief curator for

. He prepared more than 90 Test pitches. He has also been the chairman of the umpires committee, chairman of the tournament committee, a member of the selection committee, vice-president, national coach, and manager of the Test and Sri Lanka A teams. He also coached the Ananda College cricket team for 38 years. Polonowita worked for Colombo Municipal Council for 40 years. He oversaw the establishment of 23 pre-schools for less privileged children in Colombo and the training of 45 pre-school teachers to staff the schools. At the time of his retirement he held the position of Director of Sports. He and his wife Chitrangini have two daughters and a son.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polonowita, Anurudda 1938 births Living people Alumni of Ananda College Cricketers from Colombo All-Ceylon cricketers Sri Lankan cricket administrators Sri Lankan cricket coaches Sinhalese Sports Club cricketers Nomads Sports Club cricketers Sri Lankan civil servants