DON BRADMAN AND HIS MEN IN CEYLON AND A FAMILY HEIRLOOM

The Sunday Island of 20th December featured part one of the article captioned “Sir Donald Bradman and His Men in Ceylon” written by my late Uncle Neville Jayaweera (NJ). It was initially published as a guest essay in the book, Essaying Cricket – Sri Lanka and Beyond, authored by Michael Roberts in 2006.

NJ has written as to how his father (my grandfather) Robert Jayaweera, had taken my father Stanley and NJ to the Colombo Port to see the arrival of the Australian team of 1938. They were on their way to England. A brand-new bat from Diana and Co. had also been purchased to get Sir Don Bradman’s autograph. This task was entrusted to my father who was aged 11, and the story is told as to how he had gone to every Australian in a blazer and asked, “Please sir, may I have your autograph.” My father being so young, had not been able to identify Bradman facially. This is how the bat was autographed by the entire team as opposed to just Bradman!

My grandfather had intended the bat to be a “Family Heirloom”, and it was given to my father, who according to NJ, had squandered the inheritance!

I am sure most readers must be keen to know as to what happened to the famous bat! I remember my grandfather giving the bat to my late brother Rajeewa in 1968. The bat was not in good condition after 30 years of storage in not ideal conditions. It was discoloured, and most of the signatures were not visible. The bat handle was loose, and the rubber grip had perished.

I remember using the bat for some “shadow batting” pretending to be Sir Garfield Sobers in my bedroom! I was then only nine. Our family proceeded overseas in 1970, and the house was given on rent along with the contents to a family friend. My parents returned in 1978 whilst my brother and I returned a few years after that. It was only then that we came to realize that the bat was no longer there. That was how the famous bat was lost.

As a die-hard cricket fan, I now regret that neither Rajeewa nor I treasured the bat as we should have given its historical significance and even the monetary value. It might be because both of us grew up hero-worshipping the great Sir Garfield Sobers although even in 1968, we knew that a player whose batting average was 99.96 had to be a demigod.

Sanjeewa Jayaweera