Stay off Baba’s Grass
Brad Murphy | May 07, 2023
If you have visited South Brisbane District Cricket Club anytime over the past twenty - four years there is a good chance that you would have come across stalwart coach and septuagenarian Baba Sourjah patrolling his beloved Fehlberg Park precinct. Whether it be feeding the bowling machine or running fielding drills in his coaching roles or keeping folk off of his hallowed grassed area in front of the clubhouse, Baba has stood the test of time and is one of Brisbane club cricket’s true characters.
Back in 1973 the diminutive former club rugby fullback left his native Sri Lanka to begin a new life in Brisbane and ended up living in the southside suburb of Fairfield. Workwise he quickly established himself as a purchasing officer at Wormald International in Yeronga. Baba was keen to play cricket given he had played for Colombo Cricket Club back home and as Wormald’s headquarters was right next to Fehlberg Park at Yeronga he rocked up for training one afternoon after work. Miffed but undeterred when he could not get a game at Souths he simply formed a work cricket team and Wormald Cricket Club then played in the Warehouse Cricket Association competition.
A year after he arrived in Australia he was just in time for a catastrophic Brisbane disaster – the 1974 flood - and on their big day, Baba and his wife Dawn tied the knot on the very wettest day of that event. They didn’t let that stop them and are still going strong!
After playing for Wormald he then joined the Q.I.T club which was in a higher grade of the Warehouse competition.
As time passed he became a restaurateur and ran Baba’s Curry Place in Fortitude Valley for around eight years as well as working in the hotel industry as a maitre d. With these positions came the ability to oversee and instruct his employees and workers and a strong work ethic based on discipline was in his blood, something he would use in his coaching years to follow.
During this time a son was born to Baba and Dawn. Ramim grew and became keen on cricket and Baba took him down to Fehlberg where he was the junior team coach. At the time Ian Merritt was the Souths Club Coach and he noticed Baba running his young charges through the drills and so engaged in conversation asking if Baba might be keen to assist with senior training sessions.
This was in 1997. Baba's eyes lit up with such a suggestion and he leapt at the chance to work with senior cricketers. After a fairly short period for various reasons, Merritt was unable to continue in his coaching role and all of a sudden Baba Sourjah was the Head Coach of the Magpies. What to do? Call on his work experience and get to work!
Baba’s eyes went from lit up to wide open as he worked out how to deal with large numbers of club cricketers, some of whom were, or would go on to become First-Class cricketers. Discipline became his mantra – “tuck your shirt in”, “ put your cap on the right way around “, “ get off my grassed area “, were all phrases that met with mixed reactions from Souths people through to opposition folk as the years have rolled by. He can be a polarising character but he marches on. He will be the first to buy you a beer after a day’s play and is mighty good company for a laugh with a wealth of knowledge on the sport.
Souths won their most recent First Grade flag under Baba’s coaching in 2001 so a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then but he has been a constant each year since those days and he is now assisting new Club Coach Kepler Wessels.
During the past couple of decades in our Aussie off-seasonsns Baba has done coaching stints in the Maldives ( 2002 ), Bhutan ( 2003-2007 ) where he has worked with their national teams and also in the Malaysian Premier League with Penang State a few years back.
Souths annually have a Baba’s Curry night which is yet another of the duties he carries out for his beloved club and it is no surprise that he is now a Life Member of this old and proud Brisbane club. Amongst all of this, I should also mention that he made his grade debut at the age of 65 bowling his right arm slow mediums for a few rounds, putting the young guys to shame!
