Churchill Gunasekara
Encyclopedia
Dr Churchill Hector Gunasekara (July 27, 1894 - May 16, 1969) was a Ceylonese first-class cricket
er. He was the first person from his country to play for an English county, representing Middlesex
from 1919 to 1922.
Gunasekara was educated at Royal College in Colombo where he was captain of the cricket team and achieved colours in both athletics and football. He moved to England in order to study medicine at Cambridge University and excelled again at sports, only missing out on a Blue due to the outbreak of the War.
In 1919 he made his first-class debut for Middlesex and went on to have a good all-round Championship season, with 36 wickets at 27.72 and 351 runs at 21.93. Despite batting at nine, he top scored for Middlesex in the first innings of their match against Surrey
at Kennington Oval with 88 not out. His best performance with the ball came against Lancashire
where he dismissed their last five batsmen to finish with 5/15.
The following summer he was part of Middlesex's successful campaign for the 1920 County Championship. He didn't play at all in 1921 but returned in 1922 for one final season.
Having completed his degree, Gunasekara returned to Ceylon and became captain of his country's cricket team. He played 10 first-class matches in total for various Ceylonese representative sides and also captained one in a none first-class fixture against Don Bradman's Australia.
Gunasekara's son Channa and four of his nephews, including C. I. Gunesekera
also played first-class cricket for Ceylon.
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
er. He was the first person from his country to play for an English county, representing Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
from 1919 to 1922.
Gunasekara was educated at Royal College in Colombo where he was captain of the cricket team and achieved colours in both athletics and football. He moved to England in order to study medicine at Cambridge University and excelled again at sports, only missing out on a Blue due to the outbreak of the War.
In 1919 he made his first-class debut for Middlesex and went on to have a good all-round Championship season, with 36 wickets at 27.72 and 351 runs at 21.93. Despite batting at nine, he top scored for Middlesex in the first innings of their match against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
at Kennington Oval with 88 not out. His best performance with the ball came against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
where he dismissed their last five batsmen to finish with 5/15.
The following summer he was part of Middlesex's successful campaign for the 1920 County Championship. He didn't play at all in 1921 but returned in 1922 for one final season.
Having completed his degree, Gunasekara returned to Ceylon and became captain of his country's cricket team. He played 10 first-class matches in total for various Ceylonese representative sides and also captained one in a none first-class fixture against Don Bradman's Australia.
Gunasekara's son Channa and four of his nephews, including C. I. Gunesekera
C. I. Gunesekera
Conroy Ievers Gunasekara was a Sri Lankan first-class cricketer prior to his country being granted Test status.Gunasekara was educated at Royal College Colombo where he played in the Royal-Thomian encounter, starting from 1938...
also played first-class cricket for Ceylon.