An off the field innings on par with Sir Donald Bradman and off field achievements came to a dignified close when Shelley Wickremasinghe breathed his last on August 12. He was studded with compassion, generosity, selflessness and had exemplary leadership abilities.
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| Shelley Wickremasinghe, an outstanding cricketer and sportsman served the game for the right reasons |
“Shelley left behind a trail of values and standards that will continue to be a beacon in an era where such precious virtues are being rapidly eroded”. These were the words of S. Skandakumar, former Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and President of Tamil Union.
Shelley Wickremasinghe, an outstanding cricketer and sportsman who served the game for the right reasons. He served the century old club Bloomfield at a time when they were running from pillar to post. A club house perched on four wheels at Campbell Park. At present Bloomfield is a force to be reckoned with due to the unstinted efforts of Shelley, who served as Vice President to the late Mr. Robert Senanayake to climb the slippery ladder.
Robert and Shelley did everything with their own resources at a time when the game was not reckoned internationally. Shelly believed in spiritual and human values, sans caste, race or religion. He translated his words into deeds. At that time Bloomfield led a nomadic life with no fixed abode. With Shelley in the driving seat nothing was impossible. With a dedicated committee who were totally committed Shelley was soft as a petal, hard as oak. He got his act together and always had the courage to tackle setbacks and was always ready to fight back.
He came from Kalutara Vidyalaya and later joined St. Peter’s Bambalapitiya where he played cricket and studied for a professional degree in electronic engineering. He was a member of the champion Peterite team in 1946 led by Dion Walles. That year St. Peter’s won the big match against St. Josephs convincingly defeating the Joes led by the late Neil Weerasinghe. The Peterite team had the likes of Anton and Maurice Perera, Mike Chanmugam and N.N. De Silva etc.
Shelley had no regrets in joining St. Peter’s where he learnt a lot. He served St. Peter’s and helped the school on and off the field. He became the first Buddhist to be president of the St. Peter’s College Old Boys Association. Though a Buddhist he did a lot for Christianity. He believed in Mother Theresa’s words: One cannot do great things in this world without love. His service to humanity was his code word. As a Buddhist he stressed more on human values and helped the less affluent to go places on and off the field. He was like a foster father to cricket prodigy the late Anura Ranasinghe and many others. He always stressed the value to learn and play for their own betterment. He suffered major setbacks to his family. He lost his wife, youngest daughter Rukshani (wife of Lalith Kaluperuma). His only son Shiran, a chip of the old block died under tragic circumstances. Shelley believed that this world is not a permanent abode.
His only daughter Shyama looked after Shelley until his last breath. Shelley was a trustee of the YMBA and Sir Cyril de Soyza was his maternal uncle. His funeral took place yesterday attended by people of all walks. He served Bloomfield cricket as President for 25 years. |
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