Jayantissa epitomized tribalism at its best

Sharm DE ALWIS

Jayantissa Ratwatte combined his versatility in sports with academics to be made Trinity's Senior Prefect and to be awarded the Ryde Gold Medal for the Best All-round Boy and the third winner, after M.U. Odayar and Nimal Maralanda, of the A.H.R. Joseph Challenge Cup for All-round excellence in Sports.

Jayantissa Ratwatte

Although he played rugger for a longer period, cricket surely must have been his first love even before Manel. He was awarded the cricket Lion in 1959, before his captaincy in 1960. Others who were awarded the coveted Lion along with Jayan were Seneca de Chickera, Malsiri Kurukulasuriya and Nimal Maralanda, breaking a drought after 1953 when Ananda Bandaranayake won his Lion and four years would elapse before the next to be crowned - Lucky Karunatileke and Sunil Perera.

His only century was in the Big Match of 1960 but he had cameos in '58 of 66 n.o. against Ananda; 69 n.o.against Wesley; 58 against Royal in '59 with 1960 being his purple patch when he got 80 n.o. against Prince of Wales, 81 and 70 vs Kingswood and 51 against Royal and over the three years several knocks that fell shy of the half century.

Jayan's first year in the Trinity rugger team was in 1959 under the captaincy of Denzil Kobbekaduwa in which year Royal won the Bradby. Trinity won back the shield in the following year under the captaincy of Eric Roles. Jayan had the privilege of scoring Trinity's only try, having run 50 metres and then converting it himself to make Trinity the victors by 5 points to 3 in the 1st Leg.

He was also associated with athletics, having won the 100 metres sprint event at the Central Province Schools Group Sports Meet and was awarded his Athletic Colours in 1959.

He remembers three incidents which helped to mould his character: when his father died and he and his younger brother were yet little it was the school which waived the tuition fees; when the rugger team wanted nourishment and he approached the Principal, C.J. Oorlorf to be told that there were so many other sports teams and that the College couldn't very well meet these requests. He then approached his Boarding Master Bill Sinnathamby who was also the Manager of the College Farm which was considered the Model Farm of the Country.

Although 'Sinna' had the heart to send a cow to graze in Asgiriya and be milked by the boys, he could possibly not go against the Principal's dictates but gave Jayan his own cup of Milo; the thirst was when he was asked to be Senior Prefect above L.C.R. de Silva whose turn it would have been. He protested and sought advice from the Vice-Principal, Hilary Abeyaratne who said it was an honour bestowed upon him and that he should gladly accept that offer. When he went to LCR he was told to accept it and that LCR would give him every assistance in the discharge of his duties.

Jayan had a long-term love affair with rugger but it has been said that ducks take to water like Trinitians take to rugger. At the point of leaving school, he was bottled up by his uncle Percy Madugalle who got him enrolled with the CR&FC for which Club he played for two and a half months with Ken Balendra also in the team.

He had a five month stint of 'creeping' on an estate in Matale under Whittals Estate and Agencies Limited and played for Kandy Sports. He then transferred to Nuwara Eliya and after playing for Dimbulla he was lured back to work and play in the Kandy District. He played six years for Kandy Sports, captaining in 1966. Then it was one season with Uva and back to Dimbulla when he was on the Board of Janatha Estates Development in Nuwara Eliya. he was 42 years old when he last played for Dimbulla as coach cum player. About this time he played cricket for JEDB in the Nationalised 'B' Division and scored two centuries in one season.

Jayan played for Up-Country in the Capper Cup Games of 1967 and '69, pairing off with Denzil Kobbekaduwa on both occasions. In 1969 he played for up-Country under the captaincy of Ken Murray against the visiting Bosuns. He represented All Ceylon in 1967. In 1968 he played for Up-Country in the All India Tournament held in Ceylon.

He was then made Chairman of the JEDB 1 and was invited by Ken Balendra in 1991 to join John Keells Holdings Limited to set up a Plantation Management Company. He worked as Managing Director of the Plantation Companies until 2002 and continued, thereafter, as full time Consultant dealing with the Group's Real Estate and Property Development until he retired at the age of sixty five in 2005.

He served on the Board of John Keells Holdings from 1997 to 2000 when Ken Balendra was the Chairman. Ken Balendra played for Royal as hooker in 1957, '58, '59 and '60 the last two years when Jayan played as stand-off and then inner-three for Trinity.

Rugger fields breed love and marriage. Jayan married his cousin Manel, Kenneth Ratwatte's daughter and Jayan's cousin and friend Lt. General Denzil Kobbekaduwa married Manel's sister Lali a few years later. When you consider that Denzil's mother was a Ratwatte this in-house marriages have to be tribalism at its best.