Rex Clementine ... article on 23rd October 2018 entitled ”Sri Lanka’s oldest living cricketer – Chandra Schaffter” … with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi
Q: Who, in your opinion, is the Greatest Sri Lankan Batsman?
“I tend to agree with statements made by Frank Worrell and Gary Sobers. In their assessment Mahadevan Sathasivam was the best batsman that they had ever seen. Particularly in the case of Worrell, he played against Sathasivam when he scored 96 on a very bad wicket against top bowlers, who did extremely well on poor conditions.
In those days you played on wickets that were not covered. We had no helmets or guards – no chest guards or thigh pads or elbow guards, and in spite of all that Satha scored that brilliant 96 when everybody else around him failed. That is what made these people realise that M. Satha was a cut above the rest. If you look at Sathasivam’s skill, his ability to play against virtually any type of bowling, I certainly have not seen anybody else who’s able to do that.”
“Certainly Aravinda de Silva is a very great batsman and so are Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, but all of them played under totally different conditions, and the real test would be to see them batting in the same difficult conditions that Sathasivam batted and against similar high quality bowling.”
“It’s also quite true that Sathasivam used to party till 3:00-4:00 in the morning and then go to the Tamil Union to rest for a while, take a bath, go out at 10 o’clock in the morning and score a hundred.”
My Proudest Moments in Cricket
Q: Let me come to the period where you managed the national cricket team. You had a couple of stints – but particularly the stint that you had in 1999 during a very tough time of Sri Lankan cricket where the national cricket team had failed to go beyond the first round of the World Cup. There were quite a few changes and you were appointed as the Manager and in your very first assignment Sri Lanka were able to beat the world champions Australia in a tri-nation final and then went on to record Sri Lanka’s first ever test win against Australia. What did you do right to get these things fixed well?
“I would say those two were probably my proudest moments in the game of cricket. The team was shattered after their performance in England at the World Cup and as you say many changes were made. Arjuna Ranatunga was dropped as Captain, Aravind de Silva (vice captain) and some other senior players were also dropped. The selectors were all changed. The cricket committee was dissolved and an interim committee was brought in and it was they who really asked me to come in and take over the team.
I don’t know whether I did anything really special. I always feel it is my duty as a manager to look after the welfare of the team at the same time to make sure that they are properly disciplined. I made it pretty clear to them what I expect of them and I never had any problem with them. We played as a team, we worked as a team and we had the desired results.”
Q: A fabulous committee was formed to run cricket. Managing Director of HNB, Rienzie Wijetilleke, was brought in as the chairman of the Cricket Board and then you had others like Skandakumar, Kushil Gunasekera, Sidath Wettimuny and Michael Tissera. Some fine gentleman. What was it like working with these people?
“Absolutely no problem at all, because they were all gentlemen!
Q: Another high point during your tenure was the Lord’s match in 2002 where Sri Lanka made 555 for eight declared and then bundled England out for 275. But Sri Lanka did not insert the follow-on and the match ended in a tame draw. Sri Lanka missed the opportunity to create history by winning its first ever Test match at Lord’s.
“Well that’s a matter for conjecture. We thought about it and then decided to do what we did because we felt that that would be the best way forward. Maybe in hindsight we should have done it differently, but we did what we thought was the best decision at the time.”
Q: The Colombo Oval is a special place for all Sri Lankan cricket fans. Sri Lanka’s first ever Test match was played at the Oval. Our first ever test win too, came at the Oval. It’s also one of only two grounds in Asia where Sir Donald Bradman has played and you were a past president of the Tamil Union (Home of Colombo Oval). How proud are you about these achievements?
“We are certainly very proud about the contribution we made to Sri Lanka cricket because until the mid-80s there was no other test ground. There was no stadium and even we in order to stage the inaugural test had to put up additional buildings.
We had to improve our facilities considerably. All that we did for Sri Lanka cricket. Until then there was really no other ground to stage any representative international matches. Subsequently of course the SSC was improved and matches were shared with them. Then the Premadasa Stadium was constructed and matches went to them.
Sadly at the moment the Board and the Minister seem to have forgotten that the Tamil Union was the cradle of Sri Lanka’s international cricket and the Tamil Union seems to have been sidelined for reasons best known to the powers that be. One can only hope that the situation will be remedied.”
Q: Sir Donald Bradman was also highly impressed by the scoreboard at the Oval. What exactly did he have to say about the scoreboard?
“The scoreboard at the Oval was comprehensive. It‘s the same scoreboard you see today and it was copied from Australia. The English scoreboards were not like that.”
Q: You were a selector in 1968 and you had certain disagreements. I’m talking about the abandoned tour to England. Could you talk us through as to what was happening and what made you to resign from the post?
“The newspapers at that time had given enough publicity about it. I don’t believe that selectors should select themselves. That’s not cricket and when it first happened I was so taken aback. I was in shock and I didn’t know what to do, but I said that if it happened again I would leave the selection committee. Shortly after was the day we were selecting the team for the English tour. And the first thing the selectors did was to sack the incumbent captain Michael Tissera who had done so well until then and they appointed H.I.K. Fernando, who was one of the selectors, as captain.
Hence I voiced my disapproval and walked away. They (the other three selectors) of course continued to select the team. It later transpired that according to the rules of the Board, the selection is not valid unless there are four selectors. As a result the selection was invalid and they had to appoint another selector.
Then they had another selection meeting. While that was happening there were rumblings within the team. Players on the sidelines, who had been left out, were also very unhappy. They had been left out by people whom they had helped to put into power. It became quite an unpleasant situation with some players also going to court. So the Minister finally decided to cancel the tour.
We were supposed to play several first-class matches on a long tour. Gamini Goonesena was in England at that time. Both Mano Ponniah and Vijaya Malalasekera, who were doing very well in England at that time, were also included in the team.
But so much of ill-will and bad blood had been created within the team itself that it seemed as if though the tour was really not going to be a success.”
Q: Had that tour taken place do you think that Sri Lanka would have gained Test status much before 1981?
“Probably, much before 1981, but certainly not immediately. But they would have shown the world how good we were and what we were capable of.”
Q: The Colombo Oval has got one of the finest wickets in the world. It’s got everything for everyone – fast bowlers, spinners and the batsman. However, nowadays we tend to see the spinners coming into the equation in the first session of a Test match before lunch. How do you see this trend developing leading into the future?
“In the old days the groundsmen prepared the wicket and nobody else had a say on how the wicket was prepared. Speaking for the Tamil Union, Mr. K.C Rasaih was the ground secretary. He prepared the wicket and he wouldn’t tolerate anyone telling him what to do.
But today things have changed, because the home side stipulates the type of a wicket they want, Someone from the board tells the groundsman and they prepare the wicket in that way.
So, when you know in that situation if they (the home team) are strong with spinners they will make a pitch that will suit the spinners and when they’re strong with fast bowlers, as they do in Australia in Perth, you will have very fast wickets. Therefore, the situation has changed now and we prepare wickets to suit conditions just for the home side.”
Q: There was a period where the Colombo Oval was completely neglected from hosting our Test matches. How tough was that periodband what did you have to do to get back those international games?
“Well it was tough for us because we depend on Test matches to survive. We are there only for cricket. We hardly play any other format of international cricket and it was very tough. But by gentle negotiation with the authorities we finally managed to get Test matches. It should never have been necessary because if anybody in the Cricket Board knew the history of cricket in Sri Lanka they will know what they owe to the Tamil Union and to the Oval.
Unfortunately cricket history is conveniently forgotten and so things like this happen… but occasionally you get a Cricket Board which is a little more considerate than others and as a result we got some matches back.
There’s a lot of development work that’s been going on. Plenty of money has been spent and all that money is to make available a good ground for Sri Lanka cricket.”
Q: You also named some of the stands after some of the greats of the club?
“Yes! After Mr. Sathi Coomarasamy (above), Tryphon Mirando, Dr. Ranjan Chanmugam and M. Sathasivam of course.”
Q: What are your memories of the Gopalan trophy?
“The Gopalan trophy was invaluable to us in the 50s and the 60s because it was the only real international experience that our players had. International teams hardly visited Sri Lanka.
England occasionally played here when they were going on their way to Australia and Australians vice-versa. Nobody else was coming here and it was only the Gopalan trophy that we had, which gave us some exposure and helped to produce some good players.”
Colombo Oval –“We recall with sadness the events of 1983 and their impact on your stadium because I know that the ‘OVAL’ to Sri Lanka Cricket was in many ways what Lord‘s is to us today. I have no doubt that you will receive the fullest support in your efforts to restore the stadium to its former glory” – Tim Lamb, CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board (source: ‘The Colombo Oval and I’ – by S. Skandakumar)
Q: Chepauk Stadium at Madras has been an historic ground for Sri Lankans over the years. Duleep Mendis got a twin hundred there. The Sri Lankans have always been warmly welcomed there. Is there a sense of regret that the Sri Lankans do not play at Chepauk anymore?
“It is the Sri Lankan cricket board which does not think it is important enough now to send a team there – That’s all! It is in some ways a mark of ingratitude in my view because it was the Madras Cricket Association that helped us a great deal to keep our cricket afloat.
Now that we have got international status we think we are too good for them and so we don’t play them at all.”
[*M. J. Gopalan Trophy was a yearly first-class cricket competition played between Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Tamil Nadu. It was named after the famous Indian cricketer M. J. Gopalan. Ceylon won the first match which was held during the1952 – 53 season. The match became a regular fixture in the calendar until Sri Lanka received Test status in the year 1981 and the competition was stopped].
Q: Tamil union has been an amazing place for some of the Sri Lankan outstation cricketers. Even Suranga Lakmal who captained the test series against South Africa is a product of Tamil Union. Could you talk us through about helping these underprivileged cricketers from places like down South and Kandy. How did the Tamil Union club manage to do it and how proud are you about it?
“We are certainly happy and proud that we were able to do that for our up-and-coming cricketers. We have a hostel at the club where these cricketers used to stay. They were well fed and looked after and they were able to virtually play full-time cricket. It helped them to progress quite a bit in their career. If those coming from the outstation were not provided these facilities they would have not been able to do any of the things that they eventually achieved.”
“Murali came to us at Tamil Union virtually as a schoolboy…from there he was selected to go on this tour to England in 1991. He was very young at that time and his father and his uncle brought him to my hotel room in Colombo and virtually handed him over to me and said you’ll have to look after him because he’s just a school boy. And that’s how Murali’s cricketing career started. He played in County games but he didn’t play the Test match on that tour.”
“I think it’s his strong determination! He doesn’t give in.”
Q: Another product of Tamil Union was Chandika Hathurusingha. He wasn’t even in the first eleven of his school team, but by being at the club he was chosen to represent a Sri Lanka under 19. Now he is probably one of the top international coaches!
“ He was from one of the schools, in the Wanathamulla area. It was Mr. Dep who brought him to me and said this is a very poor boy, can you help him. He also brought one or two other boys and asked me to do what we can and we took them in. Hathurusingha then went to Ananda College. I am not sure if he made the team there but was selected for the Sri Lankan under 19 team. He came with me on the tour of 1991 to England and did reasonably well. He performed creditably in Test cricket. but really it is as a coach that he has been exceptionally successful in Bangladesh and I get the feeling he’s doing the same in Sri Lanka.”
Q: What’s your thoughts on T-20 cricket? Do you watch a lot of T-20?
“That’s a controversial thing. I don’t watch it, I don’t like it, I don’t think it’s cricket!”
Q: But does it help the game … it brings sponsorships and stuff like that?
“Well it helps the T-20 game but it doesn’t help Test cricket! It generates a lot of money but I think there is the downside to it. It produces match fixing and a lot of other negative things which don’t get spoken of…. however, I don’t think that type of cricket is Cricket, because if you want to play Test cricket you can’t be nurtured on T-20 cricket.”
Q: Is it one reason as to why we do not see these days a lot of Test matches lasting the distance of five days?
“Possibly! There is a tendency now to score much faster than they did before. In those days scores around 250 was a good score on the first day of a Test. Whereas nowadays, there’s so much more than that, and it is probably that diet of T-20 which spurs the batsmen to score faster.”
1991- Sri Lanka Cricket Team
Back row, from 2nd left: Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kapila Wijegunawardene, Champaka Ramanayake, Ranjith Madurasinghe, Hashan Tillakaratne, Chandika Hathurusingha, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Muttiah Muralitharan;
Front row, left to right: Chandra Schaffter (manager), Saliya Ahangama, Roshan Mahanama, Rumesh Ratnayake, Aravinda de Silva (captain), Asanka Gurusinha, Don Anurasiri, Brendon Kuruppu and Mumtaz Yusuf (coach)…….. Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images
Q: It’s always good to get the opinions of the old-timers about these new innovations in cricket. One of the things that has been discussed in cricket circles is about making Test cricket into four days. Already South Africa tried that out playing a game against Zimbabwe. Should that that be the future for Test cricket?
“Whether you want to play four-day Test cricket or six-day test is a matter for discussion, but I don’t think there’s any compelling reason to reduce it to four days.
If you look at it statistically, a large number of Test matches have gone into five days and you had draws also after five days. You can also play test cricket in two days if you have a limited number of overs!
However, for me, Test cricket should remain as a five-day game.”
Q: There’s a lack of interest among spectators for test cricket these days. So one of the things they are trying is to play day/night Test matches with the pink ball. What are your thoughts on day/night tests and pink ball?
“That’s a different thing! Day/night test cricket probably is a good thing for the game, it’ll help working people to go and watch the match, probably that is the idea.”
Q: Can Tamil Union host the first-ever day/night Test match in Sri Lanka?
“We don’t have lights … probably if there is a guarantee of matches it’s possible. But when we run the gauntlet of some board official not liking the looks of the Tamil Union and not giving us any matches then we would have wasted our money.”
Q: The national team has struggled quite a bit in the last two and a half years or so. How do you see the status of the team and is there any way that they can come out of the current predicament?
“I have rather controversial views on that. I believe that there’s nothing wrong with our cricketers. But what is wrong is our administration and the Sports Ministry. I think there’s far too much interference in what players do.
Nowadays most of these players come from very poor backgrounds. They do not know what is right and what is wrong. They need counselling support and mentors. These young cricketers are at the mercy of unscrupulous officials who want them to do what they say. This is why our cricket is badly affected. I think we’ve got as good cricketers today as we had 10-15 years ago. That is my view. I’ve seen some of them – they’re brilliant, but we are trying hard to destroy them.”
Q: You’ve seen lot of cricket over the years. Is having 23 first-class cricket teams the way forward?
“I think it’s a joke! See, all these are done for the wrong reasons and naturally our cricket suffers. That’s why I say, nothing is wrong with our cricket but what is wrong is our administration.
When I started playing we had only eight clubs running cricket in Sri Lanka and they played in the first division and all the other clubs played in the second division. Then in order to buy votes and appease their supporters they increased the number in the premier tournament. Sometimes they have 16 teams and sometimes they’ll have 12 teams. They keep chopping and changing, which demonstrates the dishonesty of purpose.”
Q: Some people believe that the interprovincial tournament is the solution and some others tend to think that by having the inter-provincial tournament you’ll be diluting the inter-club tournament. What’s your view on that?
“I certainly think that the way forward for Sri Lanka cricket is the Provincial cricket. We are one of the few countries in the world which is controlled by clubs. England is controlled by counties, while Australia, South Africa and India are by states. I don’t know about Pakistan so I can’t say anything. West Indies is by their islands and New Zealand is by their provinces. Therefore, I think that is the way forward.
There is no problem at all about playing provincial tournaments and the clubs could play their tournaments within the provinces which they belong to. Of course you have to make some adjustments – in the sense Colombo could be treated as one separate unit while Gampaha and Kandy are treated as separate units. Some of the rest can combine, for instance, Central province and Uva can combine and become one Union. It won’t be necessarily provinces but it’d be more than one province in a Union.
If they do that then the clubs situated within those units can play in a tournament run by that unit and nothing is going to happen to them. This is the bogey which is being put forward without any substance.
Q: Also to a different topic. Mr. Schaffter in 1994 you started your own business Janashakthi Insurance has become a leading company in the country. Now your company support a lot of cricket. What’s your advice for young entrepreneurs?
“Well giving advice to entrepreneurs is a difficult thing. You have to have faith in yourself and have the confidence, that if you want to achieve something you can get to it as long as you set your mind to it.”
Rex Clementine: It always nice talking to you Mr. Schaffter and I thank you for joining us. We wish you all the very best thank you.
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