Darrel Lieversz – a double international of yesteryear
View(s):The writer was watching a first XI cricket encounter between Royal College, Colombo, and St. Peter’s College at Reid Avenue in February 1962. The visitors were on strike when home side skipper and paceman Darrell Walter Lloyd Lieversz – better known as simply Darrel Lieversz – was bowling at the Peterite skipper. With his first delivery Lieversz scattered his stumps. In the second innings, the first delivery was too good for the opposing skipper it beat him all ends up, but the very next ball, Lieversz made amends and the death rattle of the stumps was enough for the batsman to take the long walk back. Three balls no runs. Lieversz finished with match-figures of 13/24 enabling hosts Royal for a comfortable win.
Darrell Lieversz (born 7 June, 1943) is a double International having represented Ceylon in Cricket (1964 and 1965) and Athletics in sprints including 400 metres during the 4th Asian Games held in Jakarta (1962). His father Douglas Lieversz also played cricket for Ceylon in the 1930s Both the father and son attended Royal College, Colombo, and each captained the first XI cricket teams in 1926 and 1962 respectively.
Here is another instance when father and son each represented the country. Another occasion was when Dr. C.H. Gunasekera and son Channa Gunasekera played for the country. Dr. C.H. achieved a unique feat. Playing for Middlesex – under ‘Plum’ Warner’s captaincy – the doctor was in the side, known to be a brilliant fielder in the covers, when they won the county championship in 1921. This is still the only occasion when a Ceylonese/Sri Lankan played in an English county side which team became champions: a unique feat indeed and at a time when money was not a key factor. In fact, the writer had the fortune to see the gold medal – with his name inscribed – thanks to his son and daughter-in-law who are naturally treasuring this medal.
Darrell excelled as a fast bowler and toured India with the Ceylon Schools team in 1962. Having left school he joined the Colombo Colts Cricket Club and in his first season he made his presence felt by capturing a record 72 wickets at an average of 9.78.
Lieversz first represented Sri Lanka in the annual Gopalan Trophy match versus Madras in the 1963-64 season, and along with another debutant paceman, Bloomfield’s Norton Fredrick, captured 13 wickets between them. Lieversz took 6 for 29 in the second innings, dismissing Madras for 150 and leaving the Ceylon team with an easy target for victory. Then again, this performance was not a flash in the pan, when a strong Pakistani A team under the leadership of wicket-keeper Imtiaz Ahmed came to Ceylon. He was once again, Ceylon’s leading bowler, taking 5 for 40 and 4 for 28, all of top-order batsmen, when Ceylon beat them in August 1964.
However the cream on the cake was what Ceylon achieved in India in the 1954-65 season. In the first two games Ceylon, led by Michael Tissera was roundly beaten. For the third match in the series, at Ahmedabad, India made six changes, probably in order to blood some youngsters. The first day’s play was washed out, and play did not begin until late on the second day. The pitch remained damp throughout the match. On the third day, India was dismissed for 189, Stanley Jayasinghe with his medium-paced right-arm off – cutters, capturing 6 for 38 and paceman Norton Fredrick picking 4 for 85. During the game a ball struck Ceylon’s opening batsman, Thomian Trevlyn Edwards, fielding in the slips, over the eye, breaking his spectacles and necessitating several stitches in the wound. So Ceylon batted in both innings with only ten men.
At stumps on the third day, Ceylon was 144 for seven. Sensing that dew would make the pitch difficult for batting on the final morning, Tissera declared at the overnight score, with 45 runs in arrears, thus enabling Fredrick, Jayasinghe and left-arm spinner Anuruddha Polonowita each capturing three wickets in dismissing India for a mere 66 in 26.4 overs. Ceylon reached their target of 112 in 55.2 overs, with skipper Tissera hitting the winning runs. Of course these games were not Test matches. Sri Lanka achieved Full Member status of the ICC only in 1981.
Sadly, Lieversz could not continue playing premier level cricket consistently since he took up a career in planting in the up-country. A similar fate befell, Thomian opening batsman Ronald Reid who, after joining Aitken Spence and Co. Ltd., was sent to Trincomalee as an employee and Sri Lanka became another victim though his brother Buddy – now resident in Australia – became a double international in cricket and table tennis. Buddy still continues playing veterans level in table tennis and has achieved many titles over the years. The entire Reid family, comprising Claude, Ronnie, Buddy, Barney and ‘Tiny’ (J.H.), all played for S. Thomas’ while Buddy went on to captain Ceylon in cricket and table tennis. Darrel is currently living in Melbourne with his family.