It is a memory that is burnished in gold in my cricketing memory. For how else can one describe the silver jubilee of the wining of the 1995/96 Wills World Cup final defeating Australia in the final at Lahore, Pakistan.
It was an action packed day at the 'Daily News' Sports Desk. On that memorable night my editor Manik de Silva realizing the importance of that 'Final' presciently expecting a victory, called me in as the Sports Editor and wanted the action grandly displayed on page one. Rarely do sports events make that grade. But this was a Special!
Keeping me company on that night listening to the radio and watching the action on TV and jotting down the details of the exciting action with Sri Lanka heading for a epoch making win was Dinesh Weerawansa who is now the Editor in Chief of the Sunday Observer.
When skipper Arjuna Ranatunga guided a delivery through slips to the third man boundary to signal a Sri Lankan victory all hell broke loose in Colombo ---and I suspect in other cities too--with drivers tooting their horns relentlessly and the deafening sound of fire crackers. Dinesh sat by my side and dictated the points for the article I had to do as the lead story on page one.
At that time there were no lap tops or computers and I had to hammer the story on a rickety old type writer. Once I finished the story, it was sent to the VDT for setting with Dinesh and I doing the proof reading. We kept to the deadline and I came up with the following headline – SRI LANKA CONQUERS CRICKET’S MOUNT EVEREST.
The next morning Editor Manik de Silva with a broad smile on his face congratulated us for a job well done. That was satisfying.
That page one is now framed and hanging at the Cricket Cafe restaurant down Flower Road and in the history books of Sri Lanka Cricket.
How we and all cricket lovers yearn for those days to be replayed!