The 'Gem Miner' For Fast Bowling Talent
Champaka Ramanayake, the fast bowling legend who was better known for his eye for talent that fast tracked many Fast bowlers we know today, turns 60 years today.
When it came to unearthing Fast Bowling talent around the pearl, Champaka Ramayake was a 'Gem Miner.' His talent scouting skills were exceptional when it came to nurturing the next generation of cricketers whom we came to know once they made it to the international arena.
Born on this day in 1965, he studied at Richmond College, Galle where he learnt the basics of Cricket as well and went on to play for Sri Lanka for a brief period of time. He didn't have express pace but was lethal enough to take wickets, which he did so with a lot of discipline and control.
By the end of his career, he had 44 Test wickets and 68 in ODIs, with a solitary 5fer in Test Cricket against Australia and till 1995, retiring at the age of just 31.
The Hunt for Talent
The story didn't end just because he hung his boots. He then went on to become a Fast Bowling coach and this was where he would conduct various Fast bowling talent hunts and even pay a visit to other Fast bowling academies.
In one of his talent searches, there was one 16 year old boy with an unusual action bowled who so fast that he barely saw what was bowled. He then went up to the boy and said, "Son, you are coming to play for the Galle Cricket Club."
As a coach, he was very influential in the upbringing of a lot of young fast bowlers. Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara were among those few.
His brightest student was none other than Lasitha Malinga whom he asked to join Galle CC as a 16 year old boy. The rest is history and as seen in the picture above, he also had a coaching stint for Bangladesh (unfortunately, most pictures featuring all his students cannot be embedded here due to copyrights, and we respect that!)
A Guiding Light
Considering how successful his hunt for young fast bowlers who don't come out from the school system and with the spin friendly conditions this country has to offer, often sidelined after a few first overs and some never playing for school except in unlucky places like the beach, this is what he will be mostly remembered for than his playing career.
Here's to wishing the fast bowling legend and talent hunter Champaka sir on his 60th birthday today!
(Special thanks to veteran journalist Dhammika Ratnaweera for hit story on the discovery of Malinga and immediate recruitment to Galle Cricket Club)