Ryle de Soysa

Gahmini Ryle Johannes de Soysa (21 June 1917 – 13 January 2002) was a Sri Lankan first-class cricketer.

Ryle de Soysa
Personal information
Full name
Gahmini Ryle Johannes de Soysa
Born21 June 1917
Colombo, Western Province,
British Ceylon
Died13 January 2002(2002-01-13) (aged 84)
Colombo, Western Province,
Sri Lanka
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingLeg break googly
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
19381939Oxford University
1944/45Ceylon
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 8
Runs scored 314
Batting average 20.93
100s/50s –/2
Top score 67
Balls bowled 32
Wickets 2
Bowling average 7.50
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling 2/15
Catches/stumpings –/–
Source: Cricinfo, 29 May 2020

The son of Wilfred and Evelyn de Soysa, he was born at Colombo in June 1917. He was educated in Colombo at Royal College, captaining the school in a five match tour of Australia, which was the first time a school team from Ceylon had toured abroad. He later studied in England at Oriel College at the University of Oxford.[1] While studying at Oxford, he played first-class cricket for Oxford University, making his debut against Yorkshire at Oxford in 1938. He made three further appearances in 1938 for Oxford, before making a final appearance in 1939 against the combined Minor Counties cricket team.[2] While at Oxford, he toured Jamaica with a combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities team, making two first-class appearances against Jamaica.[2] For Oxford University, de Soysa scored 241 runs at an average of 26.77 and with a high score of 67.[3] The influence of Frank Woolley on his batting was noted, particularly his late cuts and driving.[1]

After graduating from Oxford, he returned to Ceylon where he coached the Royal College XI.[1] de Soysa made a final first-class appearance for All-Ceylon against India at Colombo.[2] For many years he worked for the family tea, rubber and coconut exporting business.[4] He became president of the Singhalese Sports Club in 1997, then a team with first-class status, but had to step down the following year due to ill health.[1] de Soysa died at Colombo in January 2002. His elder brother was Harold de Soysa, the first Ceylonese Anglican Bishop of Colombo.

References

  1. "Wisden - Obituaries in 2002". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. "First-Class Matches played by Ryle de Soysa". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. "First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Ryle de Soysa". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. Foreign Commerce Weekly. Vol. 32–33. U.S. Department of Commerce. 1948. p. 13.
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