Empire Cricket Booklet

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W. G. SCHULZE

the toss and asked Colts to bat first. J.C. McHeyzer and A. T. Pollocks opened the batting, but neither lasted long. Run scoring was difficult because of good fielding and tight bowling by De Villiers and Otto. In Otto's second over, Pollocks became the first of his seven victims in the first innings when he was caught by Du Toit at third man. Ludovicijoined McHeyzer and drove De Villiers to mid-off for 4, the first boundary of the innings. Ludovici pushed the second ball to leg but Otto fielded smartly off his own bowling, hit the stumps with a direct throw and McHeyzer was given run out by Tennant, the Boer umpire. C. E. Perera, a tall and lean batsman who 'batted with the grace and foot work of a Jack Hobbs or a Victor Trumper', 81 joined Ludovici and they hit some lusty blows. After hitting De Villiers for two 2s and a boundary in three consecutive balls, Ludovici was the next to perish when he was caught at point by Coetzer off De Villiers for 19. L. Thomasz, who joined Perera, opened his account with a leg-side boundary off De Villiers before Perera drove Otto for 4 in the next over. Perera lofted De Villiers for 6 into the Ladies'Pavilion to bring up theColts' half-century. With the score on 56, Alexus Smuts replaced De Villiers at the top end. In the next over Thomasz was caught and bowled by Otto, who had to reach down to take a low catch. The Colts were in trouble at 57 for 4. Right-hand batsman Bada Kelaart8 2 joined Perera, but was quickly back in the hut after being caught by Hilder at long stop off Otto (56 for 5). That brought the Colts' s skipper, Dr Allan Raffel to the crease, but he too succumbed to Otto with a ball that turned sharply from leg and bowled him (64 for 6). W. deFranszjoinedPerera, but was soon taken by wicketkeeper Sennett off Coetzer for 2 (77 for 7). E. A. Joseph did not last long; an off break of Otto claimed his wicket (82 for 8). Kelaart was then yorked by Otto for a single (92 for 9). Perera, fighting a lone battle, hit the Boer bowlers all over the field, including sixes off Coetzer and Otto. He was the Colts's most dangerous batsman and is regarded as the greatestCeylonese batsman between 1897 and 1907. Known as Amaradasa he played for Buddhist College and later the Colts. 83 Perera and Forsyth's last wicket stand of 54 was the best stand of the innings, before Forsyth became Otto's seventh

heard someone at the window at my back say in a strange whisper 'there they are!' It was quite dark when we arrived at Mt Lavinia, so we just had supper and came back to our quarters to bed. We were in the old barracks. A large lofty stone building built so close to the sea, that the waves wet the foundations. 79 So we slept all night with the roar of the sea on our ears, and the sea breeze rushing in at the door, left open on account of the oppressive heat which we already begun to feel. Early next morning we all went down to the big bath place hidden away among the palm trees and had a dip, then back again to breakfast. At 8 o'clock we were in the train on our way to Colombo. At each station the car got fuller, business men on their way to the city getting on all the way. At Colpetty station we were again met by the Colts, each got into a rickshaw and off we went to the ground. At 10 o'clock the game began. Originally, the idea was to play the match on the more central ground of the Colombo Sports Club, but the Colts, who organised the event, and the Sports Club could not agree on this. The Nondescripts Club at Victoria Park was apparently more accommodating and made their ground available. The committee of the ColtsClub, in turn, 'sanctioned the expenditure of 600 rupees in the provision of suitable accommodation for all classes of spectators who might be attracted to the (game)'. A festival atmosphere prevailed. There were four large stands and a specially constructed pavilion to accommodate His Excellency the Governor. 80 It was carpeted and artistically decorated with foliage from the nursery gardens of P. D. Siebel. A special marquee was erected for the players, while the owner of the Globe Hotel ran a public bar and, according to the Ceylon Independent, 'dispensed refreshments, both liquid and narcotic of excellent quality!' A section of the ground was set aside for spectators who could not afford to pay the entrance fee. The Ceylon Independent reported that the weather on the first day, Friday 5 July 1901 was 'of the variety which can by no possible stretch of the imagination be included in the category of charming'. It started off hot and steamy, with a blistering sun belting down on players and spectators alike.P. H. de Villiers won