Zahira’s PCA Cricket Encounter tomorrow

• Champions trophies to be dedicated to stalwarts – Gulam Razik and MMK Namiz

Past 1st XI Cricketers’ Association (PCA) of Zahira College is all set to launch their Fifth Annual Cricket Encounter in style which is scheduled to be played on Saturday at the college grounds. The uniquely designed event has attracted more than 150 past cricketers to share their dressing room with their former team mates enabling them to bring back the best memories.

The organising committee has decided to dedicate the two championship trophies in memory of two stalwarts of Zahira Cricket – late Gulam Razik and M.M.K. Namiz. They have both reached the pinnacle of their cricketing lives as schoolboys where they were exceptional achievers. 

Mifraz Namiz: A Zahirian to the core, a sportsman par excellence and a fine human

Mifraz Namiz was an athlete of the highest calibre, who excelled in many sports and brought honour to Zahira. A classy batsman who could easily rival his better known contemporaries Atapattu, Dharmasena and many others. 

A super century against the star studded Nalanda at Campbell Place in 1989 prompted the Observer to scream ‘Gallant Zahirians Steal the Limelight’, while reporting on that week’s schools tournament. Later on in the season during a knockout cricket match he scored a power packed century to help Zahira to beat Thurstan College to reach Quarter Finals. 

Unfortunately Zahira withdrew from the tournament due to the Ramadan fast. The players opted to play while fasting. However when the request was refused Mifraz and the team respected the management decision albeit with heavy hearts. He always felt it was a tournament that Zahira could have won.

He lost his upper jaw teeth due to an uneven bounce problem on the matting wicket facing the Ananda bowlers. Marvan Atapattu rushed in to help, picked his teeth and gave it back to him. When Ananda was batting they had to face a barrage from the Zahirian pacies. They injured a couple of Anandians including Atapattu. 

Fearing further injuries the Ananda team requested Zahira to call-off play as their big match against Nalanda was around the corner. Mifraz gallantly and magnanimously acceded to the request. In appreciation the Zahira team was greatly honoured by Ananda in their big match as special guests. To my knowledge that was the only occasion where Ananda honoured a rival cricket team in this prestigious annual encounter.

Namiz was an all-rounder at many games and was at the top of every game he chose to play. He was an excellent cricketer and footballer (he captained the college in both games), rugby and hockey player and a champion athlete too. These were his sporting achievements. In addition he was also the College Senior Prefect.

These are only some of his on-field exploits. They do however reflect the larger accomplishments of Mifraz during his lifetime. Zahira is justifiably proud of him.

Mifraz Namiz was also very fond to get the juniors to take part in sports. When schools were closed in the late 80’s due to the incessant curfews, he got the boys in the neighbourhood to play cricket and kept them busy in an enjoyable manner. He never stopped helping the youngsters. A dedicated and gutty person, he helped in training them even on the day before he was admitted to hospital

He dedicated a large part of his life to uplift Zahira’s education and sports through the BOG, OBA, PPT, G90 and a host of other groups and committees. Overall he was a very wonderful human being and Zahirian with exemplary qualities, dearly loved by his family and friends.

Ghulam Razick: The perfectionist

Ghulam Razick who died of cancer after a brief illness on 26 October at the age of 76 was perhaps the last cricketer to represent Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) from Zahira College, Maradana. Following his retirement from the game after representing Moors SC for 25 years from 1962 no cricketer from Zahira has ever made it to the national team so far.

It is very seldom that cricketers of the calibre of Razick are found. He dominated the local and impacted on international cricket scene in the sixties as an all-rounder. He was a prolific hard hitting right-hander with a good technique to adapt to any kind of situation, a right-arm fast-medium bowler who bowled a good out swingers and brilliant slip fielder.

Educated at Zahira College Colombo, Razick learnt his entire cricket at school. “When I was in Grade 4 we played cricket during the intervals. We carried our books in a Ford suitcase which we used as a wicket. At that time the Zahira coach was Mr. Bahar. He used to walk around and observe us play,” said Razick in an interview.

Razick started playing for Moors from 1962 and captained them on seven occasions. In 1974 under the captaincy of M.S. Shaharwadie, Razick recalled how he bowled a marathon spell of 42 overs from the tennis court end in a Sara trophy match against Nomads at the Moors grounds.  “Moors were dismissed for 135 and Dr Gamini Ambepitiya and I took the new ball and bowled unchanged for 54 overs, before Ambepitiya was changed after 27 overs. I continued to bowl unchanged even taking the second new ball (which was then available after 65 overs) until Nomads passed our total and won the match on first innings.”

Razick was selected to play for Ceylon in the unofficial test against MCC that followed where he bowled first change after T.B. Kehelgamuwa and Daya Sahabandu.

At one time Razick was the best slip fielder in the country. “On more than one occasion he has taken five catches in an innings and in one Sara trophy match for Moors Razick held 13 catches when he was captaining the team. It may have been an unofficial world record. Razick who believed in perfecting anything he undertook revealed that he used to take 100 catches on the slip machine every day to become a good slip fielder.”

Razick was the Chairman of Selectors of women’s cricket for two years. He also served on the Cricket Board tournament committee and was a committee member and honorary life member of Moors SC.