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{{Short description|Sri Lankan cricketer, actor and playwright (1917–1995)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox cricketer
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Lucien de Zoysa
| name = Lucien de Zoysa
| image = Lucien de Zoysa in 1947.png
| image = Lucien de Zoysa in 1947.png
| caption = Lucien de Zoysa in 1947
| caption = Lucien de Zoysa in 1947
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| fullname = Lucien Edward de Zoysa
| fullname = Lucien Edward de Zoysa
| birth_date = 1917
| birth_date = 1917
| birth_place = [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]]
| birth_place = [[British Ceylon]]
| death_date = 11 June 1995 (aged 78)
| death_date = 11 June 1995 (aged 78)
| death_place = Hendala, [[Wattala]], [[Colombo]], Sri Lanka
| death_place = Hendala, [[Wattala]], [[Colombo]], Sri Lanka
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==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Lucien de Zoysa was one of the 12 children of Sir [[Francis de Zoysa]], a Ceylonese lawyer and statesman.<ref name=EM>{{cite news |last1=Macintyre |first1=Ernest |title=The theatre and the world |url=https://www.timesonline.lk/news/the-theatre-and-the-world/18-1121276 |access-date=17 February 2022 |work=TimesOnline |date=18 June 2020}}</ref> He attended both of Ceylon's two pre-eminent schools: first [[S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia]], and then [[Royal College, Colombo]].<ref>{{cite news| work=The Island | first=Mahinda |last= Wijesinghe |accessdate=24 February 2018| title=Lucien De Zoysa, cricketer, actor, writer and raconteur|url=http://www.island.lk/2001/02/04/sports11.html|date=4 February 2001}}</ref> In March and April 1936 he took part in the first visit to Australia by any cricket team from Asia when he toured with the Royal College team.<ref>{{cite journal|journal= The Yorker| first=Senaka |last=Weeraratna |title=Royal College Cricket XI tour of Australia in 1936 |date=1 December 1998 |url= http://www.mcc.org.au/Yorker/no20/news_4.htm|archive-url= https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20010806140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/21303/20010807-0000/www.mcc.org.au/Yorker/no20/news_4.htm|url-status= dead|archive-date= 6 August 2001|accessdate=24 February 2018}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
Lucien de Zoysa was one of the 12 children of Sir [[Francis de Zoysa]], a Ceylonese lawyer and statesman.<ref name=EM>{{cite news |last1=Macintyre |first1=Ernest |title=The theatre and the world |url=https://www.timesonline.lk/news/the-theatre-and-the-world/18-1121276 |access-date=17 February 2022 |work=TimesOnline |date=18 June 2020}}</ref> He attended both of Ceylon's two pre-eminent schools: first [[S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia]], and then [[Royal College, Colombo]].<ref>{{cite news| work=The Island | first=Mahinda |last= Wijesinghe |accessdate=24 February 2018| title=Lucien de Zoysa, cricketer, actor, writer and raconteur|url=http://www.island.lk/2001/02/04/sports11.html|date=4 February 2001}}</ref> In March and April 1936 he took part in the first visit to Australia by any cricket team from Asia when he toured with the Royal College team.<ref>{{cite journal|journal= The Yorker| first=Senaka |last=Weeraratna |title=Royal College Cricket XI tour of Australia in 1936 |date=1 December 1998 |url= http://www.mcc.org.au/Yorker/no20/news_4.htm|archive-url= https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20010806140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/21303/20010807-0000/www.mcc.org.au/Yorker/no20/news_4.htm|url-status= dead|archive-date= 6 August 2001|accessdate=24 February 2018}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>


==Cricket career==
==Cricket career==
A leg-spin bowler, de Zoysa played club cricket in [[Colombo]] with [[Sinhalese Sports Club]]. He was the leading wicket-taker when the club made a short tour of three non-first-class matches in India in 1945-46.<ref name="PE">{{cite news| work=The Island | first=Premasara |last= Epasinha |accessdate=24 February 2018| title=Lucien De Zoysa: Gentlemanly cricketer|url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=27832|date=15 June 2011}}</ref>
A leg-spin bowler, de Zoysa played club cricket in [[Colombo]] with [[Sinhalese Sports Club]]. He was the leading wicket-taker when the club made a short tour of three non-first-class matches in India in 1945–46.<ref name="PE">{{cite news| work=The Island | first=Premasara |last= Epasinha |accessdate=24 February 2018| title=Lucien de Zoysa: Gentlemanly cricketer|url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=27832|date=15 June 2011}}</ref>


He played his first match for [[Sri Lanka cricket team|Ceylon]] in 1946-47, taking six wickets when the Ceylon Cricket Association team defeated a Southern India team in [[Chennai|Madras]] by an innings.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17958.html| title = Southern India v Ceylon Cricket Association 1946-47| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate =25 February 2018}}</ref> In 1949-50 he was easily the most successful bowler when [[Ceylonese cricket team in Pakistan in 1949–50|Ceylon toured Pakistan]]. Ceylon lost three and drew two of the five matches, but de Zoysa took wickets consistently and finished with 21 wickets at an average of 16.23.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/2/Ceylon_in_Pakistan_1949-50/f_Ceylon_Bowling.html | title = First-class bowling for Ceylon| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate = 25 February 2018}}</ref> In the match against [[Pakistan cricket team|Pakistan]] in [[Karachi]] he took 6 for 72 in the first innings, becoming the first Ceylonese player to take six wickets in an innings in an international match.<ref name="PE"/><ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19209.html| title = Pakistan v Ceylon, Karachi 1949-50| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate =25 February 2018}}</ref> A few days earlier, against the Commander-in-Chief's XI at [[Rawalpindi]], he had taken his best first-class figures of 6 for 65 in the first innings.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19206.html | title = Commander-in-Chief's XI v Ceylon 1949-50| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate =25 February 2018}}</ref>
He played his first match for [[Sri Lanka cricket team|Ceylon]] in 1946–47, taking six wickets when the Ceylon Cricket Association team defeated a Southern India team in [[Chennai|Madras]] by an innings.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17958.html| title = Southern India v Ceylon Cricket Association 1946-47| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate =25 February 2018}}</ref> In 1949-50 he was easily the most successful bowler when [[Ceylonese cricket team in Pakistan in 1949–50|Ceylon toured Pakistan]]. Ceylon lost three and drew two of the five matches, but de Zoysa took wickets consistently and finished with 21 wickets at an average of 16.23.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/2/Ceylon_in_Pakistan_1949-50/f_Ceylon_Bowling.html | title = First-class bowling for Ceylon| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate = 25 February 2018}}</ref> In the match against [[Pakistan cricket team|Pakistan]] in [[Karachi]] he took 6 for 72 in the first innings, becoming the first Ceylonese player to take six wickets in an innings in an international match.<ref name="PE"/><ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19209.html| title = Pakistan v Ceylon, Karachi 1949-50| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate =25 February 2018}}</ref> A few days earlier, against the Commander-in-Chief's XI at [[Rawalpindi]], he had taken his best first-class figures of 6 for 65 in the first innings.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19206.html | title = Commander-in-Chief's XI v Ceylon 1949-50| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate =25 February 2018}}</ref>


In 1950-51 he was one of two Ceylonese cricketers (the other was [[Stanley Jayasinghe]]) invited to play for a combined Indian, Pakistani and Ceylonese side against the touring [[Commonwealth XI cricket team in India and Ceylon in 1950–51|Commonwealth XI]] in [[Mumbai|Bombay]].<ref>S. S. Perera, ''The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket (1832–1996)'', Janashakthi Insurance, Colombo, 1999, p. 243.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1950S/1950-51/CWEALTH-XI_IN_IND/SCORECARDS/IND-PM-XI_CWEALTH-XI_03-06MAR1951.html| title = Prime Minister's XI v Commonwealth XI 1950-51| publisher = Cricinfo | accessdate =25 February 2018}}</ref>
In 1950-51 he was one of two Ceylonese cricketers (the other was [[Stanley Jayasinghe]]) invited to play for a combined Indian, Pakistani and Ceylonese side against the touring [[Commonwealth XI cricket team in India and Ceylon in 1950–51|Commonwealth XI]] in [[Mumbai|Bombay]].<ref>S. S. Perera, ''The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket (1832–1996)'', Janashakthi Insurance, Colombo, 1999, p. 243.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1950S/1950-51/CWEALTH-XI_IN_IND/SCORECARDS/IND-PM-XI_CWEALTH-XI_03-06MAR1951.html| title = Prime Minister's XI v Commonwealth XI 1950-51| publisher = Cricinfo | accessdate =25 February 2018}}</ref>
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==Personal life==
==Personal life==
De Zoysa and his wife, Dr Manorani Saravanamuttu, had two sons. One, [[Richard de Zoysa|Richard]], a journalist and human rights activist, was murdered in 1990. The other son, [[Michael de Zoysa|Michael]], was a Sri Lankan cricket administrator who managed some Sri Lankan touring teams; he died in 2019.
De Zoysa had two sons. He married his first wife, Jean Rock, a prominent tennis player in Ceylon, in 1940,<ref name=TF>{{cite web |title=ROCK, "JEAN" (Etta Jean Myra Rock) |url=https://www.tennisforum.com/threads/biographies-of-female-tennis-players.497314/page-255 |website=Tennis Forum |date=19 December 2012 |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref> and they had [[Michael de Zoysa|Michael]], a Sri Lankan cricket administrator who managed some Sri Lankan touring teams. Michael died in 2019.


Lucien de Zoysa and Jean were divorced.<ref name=TF/> With his second wife, Dr Manorani Saravanamuttu (daughter of [[Manicasothy Saravanamuttu]]), a medical doctor and actress who played opposite him in some of his theatrical productions, de Zoysa had [[Richard de Zoysa|Richard]], a journalist and human rights activist, who was murdered in 1990.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Peris |first1=Chandri |title=A Look Back in Wonder |url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/weekend-online/the_weekend_online/A-LOOK-BACK-IN-WONDER/426-224176 |website=Daily Mirror |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref>
Lucien de Zoysa died suddenly at his home in the northern [[Colombo]] seaside suburb of Hendala, in June 1995.<ref name=EM/>

Lucien de Zoysa died suddenly at his home in the northern [[Colombo]] seaside suburb of Hendala, in June 1995, aged 78. He was survived by his third wife, Evelyn, and their daughter, Lana.<ref name=EM/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wijesinha |first1=R. B. |title=Lucien de Zoysa: Cricketer, actor, playwright ... |url=https://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/?p=69298 |website=DBSJeyaraj.com |access-date=25 October 2023}}</ref>


==Books by Lucien de Zoysa==
==Books by Lucien de Zoysa==
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*{{cricketarchive|id=26227}}
*{{cricketarchive|id=26227}}


{{Authority control|ISNI=0000000026750257|LCCN=n88148143|VIAF=36008671}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:de Zoysa, Lucien}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoysa, Lucien}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
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[[Category:Sri Lankan male stage actors]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan male stage actors]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan novelists]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan novelists]]
[[Category:Writers about India]]
[[Category:Buddhist writers]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]

Latest revision as of 06:27, 13 September 2024

Lucien de Zoysa
Lucien de Zoysa in 1947
Personal information
Full name
Lucien Edward de Zoysa
Born1917
British Ceylon
Died11 June 1995 (aged 78)
Hendala, Wattala, Colombo, Sri Lanka
BowlingRight-arm leg-spin
RelationsSir Francis de Zoysa (father)
Richard de Zoysa (son)
Michael de Zoysa (son)
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 12
Runs scored 55
Batting average 4.58
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 17
Balls bowled 2237
Wickets 38
Bowling average 25.81
5 wickets in innings 2
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 6/65
Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: CricketArchive, 25 February 2018

Lucien Edward de Zoysa (1917 – 1995) was a Ceylonese cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1947 and 1954. He became a stage actor, playwright, author, and cricket commentator on radio.

Early life and education

[edit]

Lucien de Zoysa was one of the 12 children of Sir Francis de Zoysa, a Ceylonese lawyer and statesman.[1] He attended both of Ceylon's two pre-eminent schools: first S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, and then Royal College, Colombo.[2] In March and April 1936 he took part in the first visit to Australia by any cricket team from Asia when he toured with the Royal College team.[3]

Cricket career

[edit]

A leg-spin bowler, de Zoysa played club cricket in Colombo with Sinhalese Sports Club. He was the leading wicket-taker when the club made a short tour of three non-first-class matches in India in 1945–46.[4]

He played his first match for Ceylon in 1946–47, taking six wickets when the Ceylon Cricket Association team defeated a Southern India team in Madras by an innings.[5] In 1949-50 he was easily the most successful bowler when Ceylon toured Pakistan. Ceylon lost three and drew two of the five matches, but de Zoysa took wickets consistently and finished with 21 wickets at an average of 16.23.[6] In the match against Pakistan in Karachi he took 6 for 72 in the first innings, becoming the first Ceylonese player to take six wickets in an innings in an international match.[4][7] A few days earlier, against the Commander-in-Chief's XI at Rawalpindi, he had taken his best first-class figures of 6 for 65 in the first innings.[8]

In 1950-51 he was one of two Ceylonese cricketers (the other was Stanley Jayasinghe) invited to play for a combined Indian, Pakistani and Ceylonese side against the touring Commonwealth XI in Bombay.[9][10]

Later career

[edit]

De Zoysa's main career was in the theatre. He was an actor and director, and wrote several English-language plays and stories based on the history and legends of Ceylon.[11] He also became a cricket commentator on radio, providing English-language descriptions for many years in partnership with his former Ceylon and Sinhalese Sports Club teammate Bertie Wijesinha.[4]

Personal life

[edit]

De Zoysa had two sons. He married his first wife, Jean Rock, a prominent tennis player in Ceylon, in 1940,[12] and they had Michael, a Sri Lankan cricket administrator who managed some Sri Lankan touring teams. Michael died in 2019.

Lucien de Zoysa and Jean were divorced.[12] With his second wife, Dr Manorani Saravanamuttu (daughter of Manicasothy Saravanamuttu), a medical doctor and actress who played opposite him in some of his theatrical productions, de Zoysa had Richard, a journalist and human rights activist, who was murdered in 1990.[13]

Lucien de Zoysa died suddenly at his home in the northern Colombo seaside suburb of Hendala, in June 1995, aged 78. He was survived by his third wife, Evelyn, and their daughter, Lana.[1][14]

Books by Lucien de Zoysa

[edit]
  • Indian Culture in the Days of the Buddha (history, 1955)
  • Fortress in the Sky (play, 1956)
  • Princess of the Lonely Days (play, 1957)
  • Fire and Storm Wind (play, 1958)
  • Put Out the Light (play, 1964)
  • Self-Portrait of a King (novel, 1971)
  • Stories from the Culavamsa and other historical tales (stories, 1988)
  • Stories from the Mahavamsa (stories, 1988)
  • First Love (cricket memoir, 1992)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Macintyre, Ernest (18 June 2020). "The theatre and the world". TimesOnline. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  2. ^ Wijesinghe, Mahinda (4 February 2001). "Lucien de Zoysa, cricketer, actor, writer and raconteur". The Island. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  3. ^ Weeraratna, Senaka (1 December 1998). "Royal College Cricket XI tour of Australia in 1936". The Yorker. Archived from the original on 6 August 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Epasinha, Premasara (15 June 2011). "Lucien de Zoysa: Gentlemanly cricketer". The Island. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Southern India v Ceylon Cricket Association 1946-47". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  6. ^ "First-class bowling for Ceylon". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Pakistan v Ceylon, Karachi 1949-50". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Commander-in-Chief's XI v Ceylon 1949-50". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  9. ^ S. S. Perera, The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket (1832–1996), Janashakthi Insurance, Colombo, 1999, p. 243.
  10. ^ "Prime Minister's XI v Commonwealth XI 1950-51". Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  11. ^ Eugene Benson and L. W. Conolly, eds., Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English, Routledge, London, 2004, p. 410.
  12. ^ a b "ROCK, "JEAN" (Etta Jean Myra Rock)". Tennis Forum. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  13. ^ Peris, Chandri. "A Look Back in Wonder". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  14. ^ Wijesinha, R. B. "Lucien de Zoysa: Cricketer, actor, playwright ..." DBSJeyaraj.com. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
[edit]
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