Sarath Ransiri Wimalaratne (born 14 June 1942) is a former cricketer who played for Ceylon in the 1960s. He is now a physician in Sydney.

Sarath Wimalaratne
Personal information
Full name
Sarath Ransiri Wimalaratne
Born (1942-06-14) 14 June 1942 (age 82)
Nawalapitiya, Ceylon
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium pace
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 10
Runs scored 220
Batting average 14.66
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 41*
Balls bowled 1366
Wickets 26
Bowling average 28.84
5 wickets in innings 2
10 wickets in match 1
Best bowling 5/32
Catches/stumpings 9/–
Source: CricketArchive, 24 February 2017

Cricket career

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Wimalaratne attended Ananda College, where he captained the cricket team in 1962 and toured India with a Ceylon schools team. He then went to the University of Ceylon, where he studied medicine.[1]

He made his first-class debut in the Gopalan Trophy match in 1965–66, and was selected to tour Pakistan in 1966–67 with the Ceylon team. He played in all five first-class matches on the tour, including the three unofficial Tests against Pakistan.[1] Although primarily an opening bowler, he achieved more with the bat on the tour. In the first match against Pakistan, batting at number 11, he top-scored with 41 not out in the first innings,[2] while in the second match he opened the batting, scoring 28 and 27 and putting on 44 and 67 for the opening partnerships with Fitzroy Crozier, another bowler.[3]

In the Gopalan Trophy match in 1967–68, Wimalaratne captained the Ceylon team and took 5 for 32 and 5 for 36 in the victory over Madras.[4] He became disenchanted with cricket when he was not included in the team to make the planned tour of England in 1968; the tour was cancelled amid widespread dissatisfaction.[1]

Later life

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Wimalaratne graduated in medicine from the University of Ceylon in 1971.[5] He went to live in New Zealand in 1972, doing his internship in Dunedin, then moved to Australia in 1975.[1] He lives in Sydney and practises as a GP in the suburb of North Strathfield.[5]

He and his first wife Eva, a doctor from Poland, had a son and a daughter. After their divorce he married his brother's widow Nelun, and they had a daughter. They also divorced, and he now lives with his partner Anne, who was born in the Philippines.[1]

In September 2018, Wimalaratne was one of 49 former Sri Lankan cricketers felicitated by Sri Lanka Cricket, to honour them for their services before Sri Lanka became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Thawfeeq, Sa'adi (23 January 2011). "Wimalaratne the cricketing doc". The Nation. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Pakistan v Ceylon, Lahore 1966-67". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Pakistan v Ceylon, Dacca 1966-67". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Ceylon Board President's Under-27s XI v Madras 1967-68". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Dr Sarath Wimalaratne (GP)". HealthPages. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket to felicitate 49 past cricketers". Sri Lanka Cricket. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  7. ^ "SLC launched the program to felicitate ex-cricketers". Sri Lanka Cricket. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
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