Doctor Churchil Hector Gunasekara was the first Ceylonese origin player to represent a county team. He made his debut in 1919 , 02nd of June against Lancashire. C.H.’s match figures was 62/2 (19/1 -1st | 43/1 – 2nd). His victims were James Tyldesley (9) & former Test batsman Johnny Tyldesley (Both are not related but Johnny’s brother Earnest, also a test cricketer played in this match) He also scored 18 in the first innings and 2 in the 2nd. Match was drawn.

Match Scorecard

Former test spinner Dinuk Hettiarachchi nearing to the 1000th wicket in First-Class cricket. Dinuk is a one test wonder for Sri Lanka and his career spans over 25 years. Dinuk is currently on 998 and needs just two wickets to reach this amazing milestone.

Spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan (1374) & Rangana Herath (1080) are the only other Sri Lankans to claim 1000 wickets in First-Class Cricket.

But, Who was the first Sri Lankan or Ceylonese player to take 1000 wickets when considering all other forms of cricket ? That’s Thomas Kelaart (Tommy), greatest spinner/medium fast bowler ever to play during the early stage of Ceylon Cricket. He represented Colts Cricket Club in between 1890 – 1920. Never played a First-Class but was a legendary icon in Club Cricket.

I think @aruna_jaya67 ayya helped us to send this historical stat into BBC commentary 😃

Tommy Kelaart's 1000 wickets for Colts CC & other represented teams. He is the first Ceylonese bowler to claim 1000 scalps. He never played FC thoughhttps://t.co/skvo7i52mz#CricStatsSL

— Aqeeb (@Aqibmzm) May 22, 2019