brand logo

St. Joseph’s skipper’s recollections after 50 years: That famous ‘Rajive’s Big Match’ of 1972

24 Mar 2022

By Rohan Fernando (Fido) 38th Joe-Pete Big Match 17 and 18 March 1972 at P. Sara Oval, Colombo: Brief scores: St. Peters’ 1st innings 112 all out (Rohan de S. Wijeratne 4/34) St. Joseph’s 1st innings 235/7 declared (Rohan Fernando 73, Gary Melder 50, Rohan Martin 36) St. Peter’s 2nd innings 36 all out (Rajive Benedict 8/6) Result: St. Joseph’s win by an innings and 87 runs Battle of the Saints Big Match summary: Matches = 87 (1933-2021) St. Joseph’s = 12 wins St. Peter’s = 10 wins The 38th Battle of the Saints – between St. Joseph’s College, Colombo and St. Peter’s College, Colombo – was played on 17 and 18 March 1972 (50 years ago) at the Colombo Oval or P. Saravanamuttu (Sara) International Stadium. I was the Captain of the St. Joseph’s team whilst the great Roy Dias led the Peterite team. Both sides were evenly balanced although it was reported that St. Joseph’s had the edge as we had won more games during the season. 17 March dawned amid Big Match jitters My team was naturally confident although the Big Match was always treated with respect as the Peterites were never to be underestimated. Our team had no stars as our affable coach Fairlie Dalpathado would say, except perhaps Gary Melder, whilst the stylish Roy Dias was at his peak for St. Peter’s and much was expected of him. The team was confident, yet Big Match jitters seemed to bother the boys. 17 March dawned and St. Joseph’s won the toss and put St. Peter’s in to bat. And they were bowled out for 112 runs in their first innings. Rajive Benedict took two wickets whilst Rohan de S. Wijeratne had the best figures of 4/34. Paceman Chandana Fonseka took three wickets. Joes’ reply and newspaper headlines St. Joseph’s got off to a good start but later slowed down to be 127/1 at close on day one. There were mixed feelings after the first day’s play, including some criticism towards me for a slow inning. One newspaper headline read: “St. Joseph’s well away but a decision unlikely.” Another headline said: “An early declaration is vital”, whilst yet another said: “Josephians in commanding position”. However, none of us dreamed of what was to take place on that historic second day. The historic second day St. Joseph’s continued the innings from the first day and declared at 235/7 at “the milk interval” on day two, 18 March 1972. Gary Melder scored a quickfire 50 runs, whilst Rohan Martin made 36 and I scored 73 runs. St. Peter’s went into bat soon after “the milk interval”, and what took place after that could only be described as a miracle. Rajive Benedict once again opened the attack and was simply unplayable. He ripped through the Peterite batting, recording the remarkable figures of eight wickets for six runs and the Peterites were bowled out for a paltry 36 runs! Roy Dias out cheaply This was the lowest-ever total in the history of the Joe-Pete cricket series. Roy Dias was “fortunately” out cheaply, caught behind by Rohan Martin off the bowling of Paceman Chandana Fonseka. How I thanked my lucky stars that Rajive and I were on the same side. The match was over before the tea break, much to the annoyance of some of the Josephian supporters who had to cut short their revelry. The support staff Hence, it is nostalgic to re-live that memorable victory exactly after 50 years. The architect of that great victory was the left-arm paceman Rajive Benedict, who not only had the remarkable figures of 8/6 in the Peterite second innings but also ended up with a match-bag of 10 for 24. I recall with affection my teammates, Coach, and the Master-in-charge of that memorable year. Coach Dalpathado was a father figure and a shrewd tactician ably supported by Master-in-charge Angelo Rayer. He could read the game better than most of the coaches at that time. He is now 80 years young! My 1972 teammates I also fondly recall my teammates who have moved on to heavenly shores – Vice Captain Gary Melder, off-spinner Ranjan De Silva, our scorer Sunimal De S. Wijeratne, and our great Coach Fairlie Dalpathado. Many of my teammates are overseas, namely Rajive Benedict, Keith Jansen, and Cecil Sebastian are in Canada whilst all-rounder Sirimath Dep is in Australia and Chandana Fonseka in Dubai. My opening partner and wicket-keeper Rohan Martin, hard hitter Ajith Johnpillai, all-rounder Rohan de S. Wijeratne, middle-order bat Turlough De S. Wijeratne, opening bat and wicket-keeper Tony Goonewardene, off-spinner Lalith Jayasinghe, and the brilliant fielder Nihal Wijewickrema are in Sri Lanka, and so is our cheerleader Rohan Wijesooriya, who was an integral part of the team then. A blessing from the Almighty! The Peterite team too had some fine players – Roy Dias of course, Lalith Obeysekera, Bernard Wijetunge, Edgar Tavaryan, and Mohan Abeysekera are to name a few. Many of them have remained close friends to this day. Our St. Joseph’s College 1972 record victory stood for 36 years until the school had another Big Match victory in 2008. Leading this exceptional team, where the team spirit was so high, was an honour and privilege as well as a high point in my life. I consider this nothing less than a blessing from the Almighty God!  


More News..