Yahoo News Interview: Thilan Walallawita, the Middlesex spinner saved from the Boxing Day tsunami
Thilan Walallawita was five years old and being carried in his father’s arms when his family scrambled to safety on Boxing Day 2004.
Walallawita, now 22, made his first-class debut for Middlesex last week and knows how lucky he is to be alive after being caught up in the devastating tsunami that hit south western Sri Lanka 16 years ago.
His family had decided that day to travel from their home in Colombo to visit a Bhuddist temple near Galle. On the way home they stopped for tea in a beachside cafe. Moments later the wave hit.
Walallawita takes up the story. “A few minutes after arriving my dad went outside to look through the window. He told me he saw a massive wave building up. I had never seen him so scared before. He shouted, 'Everyone get out’. There was a bridge we had to get across but it had been washed away. We had to leave our car on the side of the road. He had to carry me. We had to run. I could see the second and third waves coming behind us. We had to get up to high ground. We literally ran up the hill as fast as we could. The first wave was okay. The second got worse and then the third one was worse again. It steadily got worse and worse.
“I could see my mum dragging my sister along and I could see the water coming. It was terrifying. I was young. I am 100 percent sure I started crying. You could hear people screaming. The waves were very noisy. The water was dirty, churning up all the stuff on the land. We waded through water to reach the higher ground before the second wave could come.
“We called my grandparents who were in Colombo. They did not believe us. They thought we were joking. We told them to switch on the TV. As soon as he saw the news my grandfather came to get us. Somehow he managed to reach us and pick us up despite all the roads being blocked. We waited on a hill for a few hours for them to arrive.”
The following morning his parents returned to a scene of utter devastation, looking for their car. “We found it inside a house. The funny thing is that car is still running in Colombo. But my parents saw some awful things. There were dead bodies all over the place. There were cars everywhere. The coastal train was off the track. It was heartbreaking for them to see.
“We are just thankful my dad looked out the window of the cafe. It was a lucky escape. As I got older the memories washed away a bit but I still carry with me how we ran to safety.”
Walallawita moved to England aged 12. His father played club cricket here and wanted his children to be educated in this country. He joined Potters Bar Cricket Club soon after arriving in England and worked his way into the first team, from there into Middlesex age groups, the second XI and a first-class debut last week against Surrey at the Oval. He dismissed England Test players Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick, taking two for 109 in the match. He kept his place for the second round of the Bob Willis Trophy that started on Saturday with Middlesex playing Hampshire at Radlett. A left-arm spinner, Walallawita models himself on Rangana Herath, the great Sri Lankan left armer.
“My debut was perfect. Playing in a big Test ground was really memorable, especially against Surrey. It has been a very good experience. I was very pleased with the way I bowled. Getting out two Test batters was memorable and I felt really comfortable playing with my team-mates. The weather has been perfect and really dry. We know at this stage of the season we are going to get turning wickets and it was a plus for the spinners,” he said.
The unique circumstances of this season have helped Walallawita. He expects his British passport to arrive soon but at the moment is playing as an overseas player. In normal times Middlesex would sign an established international as an overseas player but Covid wiped out such deals, giving Walallawita an unexpected first-team chance.
“I would say my ideal bowler is Rangana Herath. He has been a role model since I was young. I always wanted to be a bowler like him. I started under-14s cricket and it has been a long journey since then. I’ve played a lot of games for the Middlesex second team. It has been a long hard three years in the second team waiting for my passport but the best thing is that it helped me gather a lot of information from the spinners and batters. That helped me get to this stage and perform well in my first game.
“I’m hoping to secure my spot in the first team now. I want to learn from the guys and become a better player and hopefully as a team win the Bob Willis Trophy. Next year I will be playing as a local player and then I can push on.”
