Mahesh Rodrigo

Mahesha Rodrigo (30 June 1928 – 7 January 2011)[1] was a Ceylonese sportsman who represented his country in first-class cricket and rugby union.

He was educated at Royal College, Colombo and played for the First XI cricket team and First XV rugby union team where E.V. Pieris was a teammate. Rodrigo sometimes played as Ceylon's wicket-keeper and his 12 first-class appearances consisted of matches against Pakistan, the West Indies, Commonwealth XI and the Marylebone Cricket Club, amongst others.[2] An Old Royalist, he also took the field for Ceylon in a one-day match against Don Bradman's Australians in the 1947/48 season, scoring 26.[3]

Only once in first-class cricket did Rodrigo manage a score of 50 or more and he made the most of his form, making it to 135 before he ran out of partners. It came in a match against the West Indies, who had a bowling attack to the calibre of John Goddard, Gerry Gomez, Prior Jones and John Trim. He had opened the batting and his innings took no less than 400 minutes.[4]

He was also a highly talented rugby scrum-half who played in the Clifford Cup and captained Ceylon internationally.