By Peter Della Penna 

When people list the best places to go to watch talented cricketers in America, four states immediately spring to mind: New York, California, Texas and Florida. Three of the four states make the list due to their warm climates, which is a great advantage in allowing year-round cricket. Conversely, cold weather states generally are not conducive for playing much cricket. As a result, Minnesota is not exactly a place that jumps out when running down a list of must-see cricket territories in America.

However, that has all changed in the last three years thanks to the arrival of a phenom from Sri Lanka.

“Nobody can match my son,” says Ranjith Siriwardena, father of Saminda. The 20-year-old opening batsman for both the U-19 and Men’s Central East Region teams has put in some astounding performances since arriving in Minneapolis, Minn., in January of 2007. At the top of the list was a century he scored against South West at the 2008 Western Conference Tournament in Houston, Texas. Siriwardena scored 105 out of Central East’s total of 184 against a bowling attack that featured former West Indies Test fast bowler Franklyn Rose and USA leg-spinning all-rounder Aditya Thyagarajan.

While it is hard to get the son to say anything remarkable about himself, the father is ready to jump up and shout from the rooftops about the exploits of the youngest of his progeny.

Picture (Left): Siriwardena batting (Photo Courtesy: Charles Peterson, Minnesota Cricket Association)

“When he was in Sri Lanka, he was the best cricketer sir,” said Ranjith. “When he was seven years old, he had two world records sir.” According to Ranjith, his son scored 168 not out as a seven-year-old playing for the U-13 Ananda College team in Colombo. The other record going along with that was the 226-run opening partnership he put on with Dhyan Ranatunga, former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna’s son. The school has produced its fair share of elite cricketers, including Ranatunga, Marvan Atapattu and Thilan Samaraweera.

“It’s a nice experience,” said Siriwardena about his time getting to play hard ball cricket at an age when most still haven’t been able to grasp how to handle a bat, let alone hit a ball. “Not a lot of people play leather ball, hard ball cricket at the age of six so it was a big adjustment. I should really thank my first school instructor, my first coach. My first coach was Mr. Lionel Mendis. He was my first coach. He’s one of the best coaches in Sri Lanka. He has produced more than 20 international cricketers for Sri Lanka.”

Arjuna Ranatunga has often spoken of the great influence that Mendis had on his career as has another former captain, Mahela Jayawardene. Mendis acted as Siriwardena’s private coach at the famous Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo, where Siriwardena was born. It was through Mendis that Siriwardena got another special opportunity for some private coaching when he caught the eye of one particular player from a touring team.

“The Indian team, once they came here, 1997,” said Ranjith. “In that time he was seven years old. The Indian captain, the world’s best cricketer today sir, Sachin Tendulkar, former captain of India, he told him he will play for Sri Lanka one day. I have been told by him, whenever I come after this, ‘Please give me a call and make an appointment and I want to see this guy.’”

“I was seven years old, so I mean I didn’t really have that much knowledge of what was going on, but they were really interested in my batting,” said Siriwardena. “So especially then after that, Sachin Tendulkar, he specially came and asked my coach, Mr. Lionel Mendis, if he could take me to their practice nets where they practice. So he took me to their nets and he started bowling and stuff.”

Siriwardena played for six years on the U-13 team at Ananda College before being offered a scholarship to go take his skills to Lyceum International School. He continued there for their age level teams, captaining the U-19 team as a 17-year-old in his final year in Sri Lanka before coming to the US. It’s hard to understand why someone would want to leave a country in which they had such a promising cricketing future, especially in a country in which the sport is a legitimate career option. However, education was deemed a higher priority.

Picture (Right): Siriwardena bowling (Photo Courtesy: Charles Peterson, Minnesota Cricket Association)

“His mother wants to see him as a doctor,” said Ranjith. “I of course am a very good cricket lover. I like to see him as a Test cricketer. If he had been in Sri Lanka sir, he would have opened the innings in Sri Lanka.”

Instead, Siriwardena left for America. At first, he didn’t even want to continue playing, which is understandable. It’s hard to get excited about climbing a village hill for someone used to scaling mountains.

“It was sad in a way because I kinda knew probably my cricket career, I didn’t really know, but I knew cricket was not a big thing in the USA, so I knew I probably needed to give a full stop to my cricket career,” said Siriwardena. “So apparently I didn’t want to bring any of my stuff, pads and all that stuff, even the bats, but my father pushed me to bring everything. So I brought everything here.”

Golam Sayeed, President of the Minnesota Cricket Association, is one person who is definitely glad that Siriwardena didn’t give up on the game.

“I actually make my time to go wherever he’s playing for the league,” said Sayeed. “I try to make myself available to see his batting. This is how good he is.”

Siriwardena asked an advisor one day while attending classes at Normandale Community College in the spring of 2007 if there was any place locally in Minneapolis to play cricket and she directed him to the MCA. He was put in contact with Lions CC, a club primarily made up of players with Sri Lankan heritage. It was also the same club that his brother-in-law Duminda and Duminda’s brother Namdika were playing for. Once Siriwardena signed up, it didn’t take long for word to travel about this wunderkind.

“A few years back I was the Vice President of the Association,” said Sayeed. “Someone notified me there was an Under-19 national player from Sri Lanka who is here in Minnesota. I was really excited to see him and he started playing for one of the clubs in our league. The first day I met him, he was a shy kid, very shy and very I would say modest. He was addressing me sir all the time because that’s how the kids are raised back home. They have a lot of respect for elders or seniors. Since then, I have become a big fan.”

While it’s not entirely fair to classify Lions CC as a one-man team, it’s hard to ignore the massive impact he has had on their fortunes. When Siriwardena arrived in 2007, they were a second division club. According to Sayeed, not only were they promoted after winning the second division that year, Lions CC has been serious contenders for the first division title in each of the last two seasons. In the process, Siriwardena’s fans have expanded in the Minneapolis area, just like his prodigious average.

After scoring 467 runs in his rookie season in 2007 followed by another 465 in 2008, Siriwardena exploded this year to score a total of 1018 runs in the MCA’s 40-over and 20-over competitions. In the 40-over competition, he scored 759 runs in nine innings at an average of 126.50, with five centuries and a high score of 166 not out. The next closest player had 392 runs in 10 innings.

“We have a very short league. Our summer is only about three or four months long so our league is not that long,” said Sayeed. “He has scored over 1000 runs total this year. This is like a milestone for any player in our league. I don’t think we have done this record for many many years and he has done it.”

At first glance, Siriwardena is short and stocky, kind of like Tendulkar. But just like the Indian legend, he is technically superb and nimble on his feet. He is also surprisingly agile in the field and is a handy off-spin bowler when called upon.

Siriwardena was named vice-captain of the Central East Region U-19 team this past May for the U-19 National Tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y., his third year representing the region at both the youth and senior level. Despite his lofty numbers, he was only named a Second-Team All-American. His father, who normally can’t contain his excitement while imitating P.T. Barnum, talks in hushed tones about this.

“Now at the moment sir, he has been selected for the Under-19 national team, not the first team, but the second team,” said Ranjith. “The reason is what they say sir is because he doesn’t possess the green card, so according to the USA laws, either he should possess the green card or be a citizen. He has been not selected for that. He is a good cricketer and he has shown his colors. Because of this green card problem, he is not getting a chance to play for the national team.”

It is a quirk of the system the way Saminda explains it, in a matter of fact way without any feelings of frustration. His older sister, Devindi, who is a U.S. citizen and had been living here for 14 years before he came over, sponsored him and his parents to come from Sri Lanka. According to Saminda however, their parents were able to get a green card almost immediately, but siblings who are sponsored must wait which is why he is currently here on an F-1 student visa. He will have to wait as many as five more years before he can obtain a green card. However, once he has been here for four years, he will qualify to play for the USA as a permanent resident.

In the mean time, he will continue to study during the long winters and play for Lions CC in the summers. Siriwardena is currently a sophomore biomedical science major at Saint Cloud State University.

“I want to be a doctor,” says Siriwardena. “Actually my dream is to be a cardiologist, but it’s a long way.” He also says he enjoys Minnesota a lot and has been made to feel welcome there since arriving just under three years ago.

“It was a big difference, but I got adapted pretty well. Minnesota has treated me very nicely from the beginning itself,” said Siriwardena. “It’s pretty nice out here. People are really friendly and helpful.”

His parents are also nearby to help if he needs it. Siriwardena is grateful to his dad, who along with coach Mendis is his greatest influence in shaping his cricket skills. His dad still makes an effort to come to all his games.

“If I say 100 percent it is correct,” said Ranjith. “Not 99 percent, 100 percent. Not only I go there, I cheer them. They like me. All the Minnesota Cricket Association clubs, they know who is Ranjith. They know who is Saminda’s father. I always I don’t sit, in Sri Lanka also like that. In here also I go round and cheer them and encourage my son if he does some mistake because I know cricket. I tell him, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do this. Poota don’t do this. Wait. Be patient, be patient. Wait for the loose ball. Wait for the right ball.’ He followed me and he has scored five centuries this time. Nobody else in this country they done it. Nobody can make 1000 runs. A lot of people say, ‘Your son is a great cricketer. Why did you bring him in without asking him to stay in Sri Lanka?’ I say no because I like him, I like cricket. He has the born talents also, but we would also like to see our son as a doctor.”

Siriwardena has also gotten tremendous support from the MCA, for which he is very appreciative. Sayeed is more than happy to do what he can for the premier batsman in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

“I also see him as a player that can represent Minnesota to the nation. From our board, the league board, I am chairman of the board, we support him going forward. Anywhere he wants to go, we’ll support him,” said Sayeed. “When Saminda’s name will come up, they will say he is from Minnesota and then I feel proud because we can say that he is one of us.”

Siriwardena is one of two players from the MCA named in the Central East squad competing in Florida next week for the USACA National Championship. The first game for them is on Friday, Nov. 13 against South East. After six winless years, Central East stunned the opposition at the 2009 Western Conference Tournament in Minneapolis by going undefeated to capture the title. Siriwardena hopes they can keep it up in Fort Lauderdale.

“Our team was really solid in each and every department, batting-wise, bowling-wise, fielding-wise,” said Siriwardena. “So we had a very good, balanced team. We really stood together, played as a team, so we really deserved to win the Western Conference championship and we’re really looking forward to the national championship in Florida.”

Win or lose, Siriwardena is expected to draw the attention of everyone in attendance. His father would expect nothing less.

“I am not boasting about my son sir,” said Ranjith, before getting up the gusto to boom even louder. “But cricketers are saying, ‘Oh we have not seen this type of great cricketer.’ He is called Sachin Tendulkar. His nickname is Sachin. Sachin Tendulkar is the world’s best cricketer. When he was seven years, the paper says, ‘Saminda,’” he pauses, letting his son’s name hang in the air as if he’s seeing the headline flashing on a billboard in neon lights. “‘…Another Sachin. Saminda – Another Sachin.’”