- Celebrating Anuruddha Polonowita, the oldest living cricket Captain of Ananda
At the age of 86, Anuruddha Polonowita is the oldest living cricket Captain of Ananda College, Colombo. He was associated with the team from 1954 to 1958.
I visited him at his residence on Rosmead Place, Colombo 7 by prior appointment. He welcomed me very warmly and we enjoyed a cup of tea together.
He is affectionately called ‘Polons’ in the cricket world by his friends and fans, locally and internationally.
Polons’ father was the late William Polonowita, a well-known gentleman attached to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), and his mother was Emalie.
Polons, who is the fourth of five siblings, was a resident of Temple Road, Maradana. He attended Ananda College, where he played cricket from the age of 10, and secured a place in the Under 14 team, where he commenced serious cricket.
It is quite evident that he was a born and gifted cricketer, having cricket in his blood. He captained his school’s Under 14, Under 16, and First XI teams as an all-rounder. He was also an effective left-arm orthodox leg spinner, a dependable right-hand batsman, and a brilliant fielder at slips.
Polons played a key role in the Ananda First XI Team from 1954 onwards, capturing vital wickets as well as scoring runs.
His past performance as an all-rounder was recognised by his Coach P.W. Perera, also a former Captain of Ananda, and Prefect of Games G.W. Rajapakse, who without hesitation selected Polons as Captain of the Ananda team in 1957.
Polons not only captained the Ananda College Cricket Team in 1957, but was also selected to lead the Combined Schools Team. That particular year he was adjudged the Best Schoolboy Bowler, capturing more than 70 wickets in nine inter-school matches.
Subsequently, after leaving school in 1958, he was selected to play for the prestigious Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) and was also offered an appointment by the Colombo Municipal Council as a Sports Officer, where he climbed the ladder of success the hard way. He retired from the municipal council after nearly 40 years as a Director of Sports.
Polons’ solid work in his cricket achievements enriched his life, as did his dedication, sense of selflessness, sacrifice, and relentless commitment in training.
He bowled brilliantly on placid wickets and served with unexpected accuracy whenever he led the bowling attack. He had the patience, perseverance, hunger, and desire to take wickets.
Polons was a great cricketer and one of the greatest, a legend that present-day cricketers and the cricketing fraternity would do well to know about.
After playing for SSC for a few seasons, he helped to form the Nomads Sports Club in the 1960s and took it shortly afterwards to the premiership in the P. Saravanamuttu Trophy.
In the 1960s, he was invited and later appointed to coach the Ananda First XI Team by Rajapakse, then Principal of Ananda College.
During his 37-year stint as Coach at Ananda, they won several tournaments conducted by the Board of Cricket Control in Sri Lanka (BCCSL). The Coca-Cola tournament was won seven times consecutively by Ananda – a unique record, which no other school has yet achieved.
The Old Anandians’ Sports Club Team won Division II, III, and Under 23 tournaments conducted by the then BCCSL. All cricketers were groomed and coached by Polons.
Polons is a man of great honesty and integrity. He always had the game at heart and made a big contribution to the development of cricket at Ananda College.
Twenty-four cricketers played for Sri Lanka and a further 25 played at Under 19 and A Team levels. After the country gained International Cricket Council (ICC) Test status, Ananda has contributed the highest number of cricketers to the national team. No other school can come near to bettering that figure.
The college has also produced five Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year contest winners during Polons’ period of clever coaching.
Over the years, Polons served the cause of cricket as a man who wore many hats. From 1960 to 1969, he was an all-rounder national cricketer. From 2000 to 2013, he was Chief Curator for Sri Lanka Cricket; Chairman of the Umpires’ Committee; Chairman of the Tournament Committee; member of the Cricket Selection Committee; Vice President, National Coach, and Manager of the Sri Lanka Test and A Teams; and Chairman of the Coaching Committee.
The yeomen service rendered by Polons is remarkable and unmatched by any other individual.
Polons was married in 1968 to Chitranjinee Fernando and is blessed with two daughters and a son. The happily married sporting couple are now grandparents to six children.
Thank you, Polons, for all that you have done for your alma mater and Sri Lanka Cricket. I wish you all the best in life.