| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name |
Vijaya Prasanna Malalasekera
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1945-08-08)8 August 1945 Colombo, Western Province, Ceylon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 February 2022(2022-02-05) (aged 76) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966–1968 | Cambridge University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 26 January 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vijaya Prasanna Malalasekera (8 August 1945 – 5 February 2022) was a Sri Lankan first-class cricketer and cricket administrator, in addition to being a barrister and a businessman.[1]
Malalasekera was born in Colombo on 8 August 1945. His father was Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera, an academic and a diplomat.[2] He was educated at Royal College in Colombo, where he played for the college cricket team. From there he travelled to England to study law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.[3] While studying at Cambridge, he played first-class cricket for Cambridge University Cricket Club from 1966 to 1968, making 27 appearances.[4]Heopened the battinginThe University Match of 1967 alongside fellow Sri Lankan Mano Ponniah, with the pair becoming the first Asians to open the batting for Cambridge in the Varsity match.[3] In his 27 first-class appearances, he scored 699 runs at an average of 14.26.[5] He made two half centuries, with a highest score of 80 on his first-class debut against EssexatFenner's in 1966.[6] His was the highest score in the Cambridge first innings.[7] His 1968 season was curtailed in June, due to a shoulder injury.[8]
After graduating from Cambridge, he was called to the bar to practice as a barrister from the Inner Temple.[9] Upon his return to Sri Lanka he became an advocate and began his private practice. He joined the Ceylon Tobacco Company as a senior management trainee in 1973, remaining with the company until his retirement in 2005.[9] Following internal turmoil in the Board of Control for Cricket, Malalasekera was appointed in March 2001 to head the four-man interim cricket board by Tourism and Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella.[10] Post-retirement, he held a number of chairmanships at various companies, including Carson Cumberbatch.[9]
Malalasekera died on 5 February 2022, at the age of 76,[11] following a brief illness.[8]
