The Captain Who Fought The Smallpox Outbreak
Born today in 1894, Dr. C.H. Gunasekara is a hallowed name in Royal College Cricket like his other family members, and the first Ceylonese to play County Cricket in England.
When you think of the name Churchill, you will immediately recall the British Prime Minister during WWII. But there was another Churchill once in England, who led the fight against an enemy that cannot be seen by the naked eye, and the Ceylon Cricket team after playing County Cricket!
Dr. Churchill Hector Gunasekara (C.H.) was born on this day in 1894 and was educated at Royal College, along with his brothers. He captained the College Cricket team in 1912 and moved to England for his higher studies at Cambridge University to pursue medicine. Despite playing Cricket for the University, he missed the Cambridge Blue due to WWI.
First Ceylonese to play County Cricket
The County Cricket Championship, as we know, is the first domestic First Class Cricket and dates back to 1890. After WWI was over, he made his First Class debut for Middlesex in 1919 and thus became the first Ceylonese to play County Cricket.
Dr. CH was renowned for his fielding and was an all-rounder. His best innings of 88* came against Surrey at Kennington Oval and notably came while was batting well low down the order at No. 9. His best bowling performance was against Lancashire, where he finished with 5/15. Though not taking part in the 1921 season, he played one final season in 1922 before returning to Ceylon after completing his degree.
The Decision he had to make as Captain
He played for Ceylon cricket from 1927 to 1935, captaining 9 out of 12 times. However, when he finally got the opportunity to captain Ceylon's first overseas tour in 1932 against India, duty called.
It must be noted that Dr. CH was also the Chief Medical Officer of Health in the Colombo Municipality, and he had to return due to the Smallpox Outbreak. Therefore, Edward Kelaart got the honour of being the first captain of Ceylon for an overseas tour, and Dr. CH in his capacity beyond the Cricket team, had to lead the fight in this dangerous epidemic.
In addition to his multi-talent in Cricket while being a CMO, he also played Lawn Tennis for Ceylon and was a National Singles and Doubles Champion as well. Notably, his son Channa Gunasekara (also CH) and many nephews, all sons of his brothers, also played First Class Cricket after Royal College (you can see the full list in the Lawn Tennis link to his Middlesex Cricket profile).
A pioneer of the Gunasekara dynasty for Royal College and Ceylon Cricket, he passed away in 1969 and is remembered as a legend in his Alma Mater, apart from his service to Ceylon Cricket, and the Colombo Municipality CMO.