Sabdharatnajyoti Saravanamuttu

Lieutenant Colonel Sabdharatnajyoti "Thambirajah" Saravanamuttu (1898 – 17 July 1957; also known as S. Sara) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician, military officer, cricketer and sports administrator.

Lt Col Sabdharatnajyoti Saravanamuttu MBE MMC
Member of Colombo Municipal Council
In office 1937–1946
Personal details
Born	1898 Colombo, Ceylon
Died	17 July 1957 Colombo, Ceylon
Alma mater	St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Profession	Lawyer
Ethnicity	Ceylon Tamil
Cricket information
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium-fast
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1912–1918	S. Thomas' College
1919–1920	Ceylonese
1923	Cambridge University
1923	Cambridgeshire
1924	Indian Gymkhana
1926–1938	Ceylon
1933–1934	Galle Cricket Club
1936–1937	Ceylon Cricket Association
1947–1948	MP Engineer's XI
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 6 Runs scored 148 Batting average 16.44 100s/50s 0/2 Top score 63 Balls bowled 120 Wickets 2 Bowling average 38.00 5 wickets in innings 0 10 wickets in match 0 Best bowling 2/26 Catches/stumpings 2/0
Source: CricketArchive

Early life and family

Saravanamuttu was born in 1898 in Colombo, Ceylon.[1] He was the son of Vetharniam Saravanamuttu, a physician from Colombo.[2] His mother's family were from Vaddukoddai in northern Ceylon.[3] His paternal grandfather Vetharniam is reputed to be the founder of Chunnakam, a small town in northern Ceylon.[4] Saravanamuttu had five eminent brothers: Ratnasothy, Nanasothy, Tharmasothy, Paikiasothy and Manicasothy.[2] He was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia where he was captain of the cricket team (1916–18) and scored the fastest century in Ceylon.[3][4][5] He was also head prefect and boxing champion at S. Thomas.[4] He then joined St Catharine's College, Cambridge to study engineering.[3][4] He played cricket at Cambridge between 1921 and 1923 but failed to win a blue for Cambridge University Cricket Club.[4][5]

Career

Saravanamuttu was a member of Colombo Municipal Council from May 1937 to December 1946.[6] Saravanamuttu served in the Ceylon Defense Force during World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.[4] He was in command of one of the two Ceylon Light Infantry battalions deployed along the eastern coast of Ceylon to protect against Japanese invasion.[7] After the war he qualified as a lawyer and practised law.[4]

Saravanamuttu was captain of the Ceylon national cricket team twice and of Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in 1934 and from 1936 to 1941.[5][8] He played in the European-Ceylonese Test series and for Ceylon against Australia, New Zealand and Marylebone Cricket Club.[5] He was president of the Board of Control for Cricket in Ceylon.[4][5]

Saravanamuttu was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.[4][5] He died on 17 July 1957 in Colombo aged 59.[1][5]

References

1. "Sabdharatnajyoti Saravanamuttu". CricketArchive.
2. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 180.
3. "He gave of his best, but died a disillusioned man". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 28 May 2000.
4. Billimoria, Marc (13 August 2004). "The Saravanamuttu Prize at S. Thomas' College". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
5. "Obituaries in 1957". ESPNcricinfo/Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
6. Hulugalle, H. A. J. (September 1965). Centenary Volume of the Colombo Municipal Council (1865 - 1965). Colombo Municipal Council . p. 61.
7. Tissainayagam, Romesh. "Japanese demonstrate cult of suicide bombing in Trincomalee". Tamil Canadian/Northeastern Monthly.
8. "Cricket Captains". Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club.