Anuruddha Polonnowita – oldest living cricket captain of Ananda College
At the age of 86, Anuruddha Polonnowita, is the oldest living cricket captain of Ananda College,Colombo. I visited him at his residence in Rosemead Place, Colombo 7, by prior appointment. He welcomed me very warmly and had enjoyed with 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 late William Polonnowita, well known gentleman attached to Colombo Municipal Council and his mother was Emalie. Polons’ is the fourth of five siblings, resident of Temple Road, Maradana.
Polons attended Ananda College, and played cricket from age of 10 and secured a place in the Under-14 team and commenced serious cricket. It is quite evidence that he was a born gifted cricketer having cricket in his blood. He captained college Under-14, Under-16 and First XI teams as an all-rounder. He was an effective left-arm orthodox leg-spinner, dependable right-hand batsman and a brilliant fielder at slips.
Polons played a key role in the Ananda XI team from 1954 onwards capturing vital wickets as well as runs. His past performances as an all-rounder were recognised by his coach P.W. Perera, also an old Anandian cricket captain and the 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 also was selected to lead the Combined Schools team. That particular year he was adjudged as 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 Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) and also he was offered an appointment by the Colombo Municipal Council as a Sports Officer, and climbed the ladder of success the hard way. His cricket achievements of solid work, dedication a sense of selflessness, sacrifice and relentless commitment in training, enriched Polons’ life. He retired from Colombo Municipal Council after nearly 40 years as a Director of Sports.
Polons bowled brilliantly on placid wickets and served with unexpected accuracy whenever he led the bowling attack. The great cricketer had the patience, perseverance, hunger and desire to take wickets. Polons, a great cricketer and one of the greatest, a legend that present day cricketers and the cricketing fraternity should 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 1966, he was invited and later appointed to coach Ananda XI team by G.W. Rajapakse, then Head of Ananda College. During his tenure of 37 years as coach, Ananda College won several tournaments conducted by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, the Coca Cola Tournament seven times consecutively, which is a unique record, no other school has yet achieved, The Old Anandian Sports Club has won Division II, III and Under-23 tournaments conducted by the then Board of Control for Cricket In Sri Lanka. All cricketers were groomed and coached by Polons.
Polons is man of great honestly and in integrity. He always had the game of heart and made a big contribution to the development of Ananda College cricket. Twenty four cricketers played for Sri Lanka and a further 25 more played at National Under-19 and Sri Lanka ‘A’ levels. After gaininh Test status Ananda has produced the highest number of cricketers to the national team. No other school can come near to bettering that figure. Also the college has produced five Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year winners during Polons’ clever coaching period.
Over the years, Polons served the cause of cricket as a man who wore many hats. Among them are Sri Lanka All-round Cricketer from 1960 to 1969, Chief Curator for Sri Lanka Cricket from 2000 to 2013, Chairman of Umpires’ Committee, Chairman of Tournament Committee, Member of Cricket Selection Committee, Vice President, National Coach and Manager of Sri Lanka Test and Sri Lanka ‘A’ teams and Chairman of Coaching Committee.
The yeomen service rendered by Polons is remarkable and unmatched to any other individual. Polons married in 1968 to Chitranjinee Fernando and were 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 the alma mater and Sri Lanka cricket and wish you the best in your life.