Manly Presidents XI v Sri Lanka at Manly Oval 1992
Manly Warringah District Cricket Club | July 01, 2024
February 16th, 1992 was the date and Manly Oval was the scene, for the World Cup warm up match between the touring Sri Lankans and an elite Manly President's XI. After many months of negotiations between our Club, the Australian Cricket Board and the Sri Lankan Cricket Board, the all clear was given only three weeks before the scheduled match date. Sri Lankan born businessman, Dilip Kumar from Peninsula Holden instigated initial talks with the Sri Lankan Board and the Club thanks him for his assistance in staging the match. Dilip's company, Peninsula Holden, was also the match day sponsor, with contributions also from The Communications Depot, Air Lanka and A Taste of India.
A special match committee was formed, led by Club President, Gary Flowers, and amazing feats were performed in what minimal time there was left to convene the match, the most prominent being the side Gary had assembled which consisted of nine players with first class experience including three ex-Test players in Chris Broad, David Capel and Greg Dyer. The side was captained by Manly's Phil Marks and included state squad players Geoff Milliken, Brad Macnamara, Greg McLay, Phil Alley, Andrew Jones as well as our own local stars Greg Hill and Shawn Bradstreet,
They were up against a very talented and enthusiastic Sri Lankan side led by Aravinda de Silva, who were keen to make an early impression in their quest for the prestigious World Cup.
Not since Manly played host to the Aboriginal XI -v- Prime Minister's XI game in January 1988, had a sporting fixture of such prominence come to Manly. The local newspapers, The Manly Daily and The Northern Beaches Weekender, gave us tremendous assistance toward the promotion of the match and a bumper crowd was expected.
After a week of rain, match day arrived, and it was a great sense of relief to be greeted with blue skies and plenty of sunshine. By the time Phil Marks tossed the coin with the Sri Lankan captain, Aravinda de Silva, over 3500 people enthusiasts had packed themselves into the Village Green, many of them being vocal Sri Lankans who had come to cheer their idols.
Unfortunately, the President's XI lost the toss and were invited to have first use of a moist wicket which was to provide more movement than an earthquake. Only a gutsy partnership between Greg Dyer and Shawn Bradstreet saved the President's XI from total disaster, eventually reaching 130 at the completion of their allotted 50 overs. The highlight was the brilliant fielding performance of the Sri Lankans who held some remarkable catches.
Aravinda de Silva and Phil Marks
The Sri Lankans, certainly enjoying the better of the conditions, needed only 29 overs to amass the required runs for victory losing only two wickets in the process. Aravinda played a gem of a little innings displaying much of his undoubted class, with poor Shawn Bradstreet being the recipient of his aggression which included a huge six into the tennis courts.
The day was a most enjoyable one for all concerned and the Club was very honoured to have been granted permission by the ACB to host the fixture. Members of the ACB were impressed with the organisation of the day, and the Club is presently seeking their permission to play host to an international cricket match at the picturesque Manly Oval on an annual basis.
Man of the Match: Kapila Wijegunawardene
