Stanley de Silva


Deva Lokesh Stanley de Silva, was a Sri Lankan ODI cricketer. A member of Sri Lanka's tour of England and Ireland in 1979, he played two ODIs in the 1979 Cricket World Cup.

Early career

Stanley de Silva was educated at Mahinda College, Galle, where he started his cricket career. He worked as an official of the Ceylon Tobacco Company.

International career

A medium-fast right-arm swing bowler of real promise, he made his ODI debut against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. De Silva played an important part in Sri Lanka's first ever ODI win, which was recorded over India at the 1979 Prudential World Cup match that played at Old Trafford. In that game he captured the wickets of Anshuman Gaekwad and Kapil Dev for 36 runs, after bowling 12 overs.

Death

Stanley de Silva died on April 12, 1980 at the early age of 23 in a motorcycle accident at Balapitiya, Sri Lanka. His early death was a blow to Sri Lanka's aspirations to be granted full Test status at the beginning of the 1980s.