Anura Nandana Ranasinghe (13 October 1956, in

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

– 9 November 1998, in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

) was a former Sri Lankan

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 represented Sri Lanka at international level 11 times in both Tests and ODIs.

School times

Ranasinghe won the best schoolboy cricketer award during the 1974-75 cricketing season when he first played cricket for Nalanda College Colombo.

International career

Ranasinghe created history in 1975 when he became the first schoolboy to play in a World Cup when he represented Sri Lanka in the inaugural tournament in England at the age of 18 years. He played in all three matches against West Indies, Australia and Pakistan in the 1975 World Cup for Sri Lanka, scoring a total of 19 runs in three innings and conceding 65 runs from ten overs. A shoulder injury meant that he was not considered for the 1979 World Cup. He was named in the 12 for the inaugural

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

where

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

played against Sri Lanka, but was left out on the morning of the game in favour of

Lalith Kaluperuma Lalith Wasantha Silva Kaluperuma (born 25 June 1949, Colombo) is a former Sri Lankan Test cricketer and ODI cricketer, who played first-class cricket from 1970 to 1983. He played in Sri Lanka's first Test team in 1982. Cricket career Kaluperum ...

. He did play in two ODIs against England, but his fortunes were the reverse of Sri Lanka's - in the first ODI, he scored a quickfire 51, but was

caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...

Geoff Cook Geoffrey Cook (born 9 October 1951) is a former English cricketer, who played in seven Test matches and six One Day Internationals from 1981 to 1983. Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, stated "A player held in great respect by his fellow professi ...

just as Sri Lanka needed to up the run rate to chase England's total. They finished six runs short of victory. In the second, Ranasinghe recorded a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

, and yet Sri Lanka won by three runs - although his nine economical overs, conceding only 37 runs, had some say in the win. His ODI performances may have played a part into his call-up for the 1981-82 tour of Pakistan. He didn't play the first Test, but came in for

Ravi Ratnayeke Joseph Ravindran Ratnayeke (born 2 May 1960), is a Sri Lankan businessman and former cricketer who was ODI captain of Sri Lanka national cricket team. Ratnayeke played 22 Tests and 78 ODIs from 1982 to 1990, his Test best bowling performance of e ...

in the second, the selectors wanting to bolster the batting. Despite the Sri Lankans doing well, Ranasinghe contributed little, scoring only eleven runs in two innings and bowling twelve overs for 40 runs - also taking the wicket of

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

Ashraf Ali. He was dropped again for the third Test, but returned later in 1982, for Sri Lanka's 1982-83 tour of India. His first innings was another disappointment, as he was dismissed for a duck, but a rearguard 77 against

Kapil Dev Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj (Pronunciation: əpiːl deːʋ born 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricketer. He was a fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, and was named by ''Wisden'' as the Indian Cricketer of the Centu ...

and

Dilip Doshi Dilip Rasiklal Doshi (born 22 December 1947) is a former Indian cricketer of Gujarati origin who played in 33 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals from 1979 to 1983. Doshi is one of only four Test bowlers that played their first Test af ...

ensured that Sri Lanka could draw the match. That was his last international game of cricket, however, as the South Africa tour meant that his career was curtailed.

Ban

Ranasinghe's career, however, was cut short by deciding to tour

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1982-83, which resulted in him getting a 25-year ban from all cricket. When the ban was lifted in 1990, he returned for a few games, but then retired.

Death

Ranasinghe died of a heart attack in Colombo, aged 42.

Legacy

Nalanda Junior Old Boys Association (NJOBA) organizes Old Ananda Nalanda Test Cricketers' Limited Over Encounter and it is named after Anura Ranasinghe.

References

*
Cricket stars pay homage to Anura Ranasinghe. An article written by SA'ADI Thawfeeq to Dailynews Paper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranasinghe, Anura 1956 births 1998 deaths Burgher Recreation Club cricketers Sri Lankan cricketers Sri Lanka One Day International cricketers Sri Lanka Test cricketers Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo