Mano Ponniah

Mano Ponniah attended S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, before studying engineering at the University of Ceylon. He was a member of the University team that won the P. Saravanamuttu Trophy in 1963.[1]

He played for Ceylon as an opening batsman while still a student, making his first-class debut in the Gopalan Trophy match against Madras in 1963-64, when in 76.1 overs in the second innings he made 60 not out, Ceylon's highest score of the match, to help Ceylon to victory by six wickets.[2] He toured India with Ceylon in 1964-65, playing in seven of the eight first-class matches and scoring 325 runs at an average of 25.00.[3] He played in all three matches against India.

In 1966, Ponniah went to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, to continue his studies. He played cricket for Cambridge University from 1967 to 1969. His best season was 1967, when in 13 matches he scored 800 runs at an average of 36.36.[4] His highest score in 1967 was 98 not out against Middlesex, when he opened the innings and added 194 for the second wicket with Roger Knight.[5]

He was selected to tour England with the Ceylon team in 1968, but the tour was cancelled just before it was due to begin.[6] In 1968, Cambridge won no matches, and "despite a rather limited range of strokes"[7] Ponniah scored their only century. In the match against Lancashire, he made 101 not out in the first innings and 67 in the second, while his team-mates made only 93 and 63 respectively.[8] In his last match, against Oxford University in 1969, he made 27 and 50 not out, sharing an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 123 in 92 minutes with Knight.[9]

Ponniah worked in England until 1990, when he returned to Sri Lanka and founded the Colombo architectural firm Mano Ponniah & Associates. The firm has won several awards, including one for an ocean resort in the Maldives.[10]

He and his wife Radhika, whom he married in 1971, have two sons.

• Mano Ponniah at ESPNcricinfo
• Luck played a big part in Ponniah's career
• Mano Ponniah & Associates