• Says Abeysinghe is a future Hashan in the making 

Dharmaraja College head coach and old boy Senaka Dissanayake says that it will take a long time for another set of batters to eclipse the record created by his two batting powerhouses Lakvin Abeysinghe and Tharindu Warnakulage.

The two batting stars etched their names into the record books during the concluded 118th ‘Battle of the Maroons’ big match against Kingswood at Pallekele Stadium last week.

They entered an elite club of batters with magnificent unbeaten double hundreds in school cricket history besides setting up a slew of new records in the process.

Left-handed Abeysinghe and right-hander Warnakulage both cracked identical unbeaten innings of 203, in Dharmaraja’s mammoth first innings of 452 for 2 declared.

They thus became the first pair of batters to notch up double centuries in the same innings, in the history of school cricket in this country.

The proud school coach airing his views to The Daily Morning Sports, stated that it will take many moons more, for another set of batters to supplant the unique record created by his wonderful batting duo.

“As traditional inter-school big matches have now been transformed into three-day fixtures, there could be a possibility for a batter to post a double ton someday,” he said.

“But, for a pair of batters to create that sort of a record in the same innings, will take some doing and that is why I reckon, that this particular record established by Lakvin and Tharindu, will stand the test of time.”

The two Rajans batters in the process of their record-breaking stints at the big match, also bettered the record held by their head coach, who had made 201 against Kingswood way back in 1983.

Dissanayake said that as the two batters had neared the elusive double tons during the match, he had encouraged the duo to strive hard to overtake his record, without having any trepidation, of their pursuit being thwarted by a declaration.

“I had clearly given a message to the team to break my old record,” he explained the process which had been implemented from the change room, to enable Abeysinghe and Warnakulage to create cricketing history. 

“I even told them that under no circumstance, will I declare the innings to deprive them of their moment in the sun. I think that strategy worked well and they both took heart from it and went after my record with all guns blazing, is the only way I can describe this unprecedented feat.” 

Dissanayake, who counts over two decades of experience as a school coach, said he always had the impression that of the two, Lakvin Abeysinghe was one day bound to best his individual record.

However, Dissanayake the former Rajans opener had originally envisioned that it would instead be team captain Pulindu Perera who would be the first to do so.

“I knew having coached Lakvin from a tender age, that he was more than capable of going past my record, before he finished his school career. But, to be honest, I was surprised with the achievement of Tharindu as he was not all that consistent through the season, as he also had to cope with a few injuries as well. Anyhow looking back, I am unbelievably proud of what these two players have achieved for their alma mater and they truly deserve the adulation of the country’s cricketing public.”

The Dharamaraja head coach said from what he has seen of his two master batters, Abeysinghe is more than likely to go far in his career, as he is quite obsessed with the game.

He noted that Abeysingha’s unwavering commitment and solid dedication to his craft, were traits that could transform him into a future star.

“I feel of the two, Lakvin is destined to scale the heights in the future, because he lives the game 24/7,” Dissanayake, opined when asked to outline what future will hold for them on the back of their batting masterclass, over the past week.

“I also think the staying power of Lakvin is immense and for this reason, I think he could be another Hashan Thillakaratne for Sri Lanka, from the looks of things. He also could be compared to legendary southpaw and ex- national captain Kumar Sangakkara and this guy if nurtured properly will go places in the coming years.”

He noted that Tharindu Warnakulage was more concerned of balancing his cricket with studies and predicted that the fresher could even captain the Rajans within the next couple of years.