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Sargo Jayawickreme

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Sargo Jayawickreme
Personal information
Full name
Sagaradaththa Sudirikku Jayawickreme
Born(1911-01-10)10 January 1911
Galle, Ceylon
Died15 February 1983(1983-02-15) (aged 72)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium-pace
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 28
Runs scored 1254
Batting average 25.59
100s/50s 2/6
Top score 138
Balls bowled 2561
Wickets 27
Bowling average 40.22
5 wickets in innings 1
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 5/58
Catches/stumpings 16/–
Source: Cricinfo, 20 September 2017

Sagaradaththa Sudirikku "Sargo" Jayawickreme MBE, also spelled Jayawickrema (10 January 1911 – 15 February 1983) was a cricketer who represented Ceylon in first-class cricket from 1932 to 1950, captaining the team in the 1940s.

Life and career

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A middle-order batsman and medium-pace bowler, Sargo Jayawickreme attended Royal College, Colombo, and played in the Royal–Thomian cricket match four times, captaining Royal College to victory in his final year, 1930.[1] After leaving school he worked in the Rubber Control Department and joined Sinhalese Sports Club.[2]

He was one of the youngest of the Ceylon team that toured India in 1932-33, and was the leading batsman on the tour, with 421 runs at an average of 46.77; he also took 15 wickets at 25.53.[3][4] He began the tour by taking 5 for 58 and 2 for 30 on his first-class debut in the opening match against Sind.[5] He scored 130 in the second of the two matches against India, when he rescued the innings from 86 for 5 to 305 all out.[6] Reporting on the tour in The Cricketer, the Indian journalist I. M. Mansukhani thought Jayawickreme the most impressive of the Ceylonese batsmen, with “a wide and delightful range of strokes”.[7]

Jayawickreme captained Ceylon on its next two tours: to India in 1940-41 and to Pakistan in 1949-50. In the first of the two matches against India in 1940-41 he scored 138 in just over three hours after Ceylon had been 24 for 3.[8]

He was also invited to play several first-class matches in India, including matches for The Rest in the Bombay Pentangular in 1937-38 and 1944–45.[9]

In all cricket he scored 56 centuries.[2] He was awarded the MBE for services to cricket. He and his wife had two daughters.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Miscellaneous Matches played by Sargo Jayawickreme". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Epasinghe, Premasara (26 May 2012). "Sargo Jayawickrema - one of the greatest of batsmen of Ceylon". Daily News. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  3. ^ "First-class batting and fielding for Ceylon". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. ^ "First-class bowling for Ceylon". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Sind v Ceylon 1932-33". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  6. ^ "India v Ceylon, Delhi 1932-33". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. ^ I. M. Mansukhani, "Ceylon Tour in India", The Cricketer, Spring Annual, 1933, p. 74.
  8. ^ "Indian XI v Ceylon, Calcutta 1940-41". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  9. ^ "First-class matches played by Sargo Jayawickreme". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
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