Sri Lankan cricket players

There is an error--serious error--in your AFP report (July 17, 1995) from London regarding Aravinda de Silva's remarkable century for Kent in the Benson and Hedges Cup final against Lancashire at Lords cricket ground.

Aravinda de Silva is not the first Sri Lankan to play English county cricket, as stated in your report. Clive Inman and Stanley Jayasinghe played for a number of years for either Middlesex or Leicestershire in the 1960s. I am sure there must have been others who played during the 1970s and 1980s, but I cannot be certain about it, because unfortunately I had left England in 1973 and had been completely out of touch with the English county cricket scene, until I came to Indonesia and started reading the sports pages of The Jakarta Post.

Also, there were others who distinguished themselves playing first class cricket during that time, like Mano Purniah and Gamini G., who played for Cambridge University. Maybe some other English or Sri Lankan (or national from any other cricket playing country) expatriate can shed some light on the other Sri Lankan players who distinguished themselves in English county cricket.

S. KANAKARATNAM

Jakarta