Ranil Abeynaike

Ranil Gemunu Abeynaike (12 February 1955 – 21 February 2012) was a Sri Lankan cricketer. Abeynaike was a right-handed batsman who bowled slow left-arm orthodox. Born at Mount Lavinia, he was educated at S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia, in the Dominion of Ceylon (today Sri Lanka). He was the son of Orville Abeynaike.

International career

Abeynaike made his first-class debut for the Mercantile Cricket Association against the Pakistan Under-25s. His first first-class match for Sri Lanka came against Tamil Nadu in the 1974/75 Gopalan Trophy. A further first-class appearance followed in 1976, when he was a part of the Sri Lanka Board President's XI team which played the touring Pakistanis. A year later he appeared for Sri Lanka in a first-class match against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club, who he also made his List A debut against.

English County Cricket In 1978, Abeynaike joined English county Bedfordshire, making his debut against Cambridgeshire in that seasons Minor Counties Championship. Following the 1978 season, he returned to Sri Lanka where he made two List A appearances for the Sri Lanka Board President's XI against the touring West Indians.

Over the coming seasons he continued to play in England for Bedfordshire, playing Minor counties cricket from 1978 to 1982 (with the exception of 1980), making 38 Minor Counties Championship appearances, as well as a single List A appearance in the 1982 NatWest Trophy against Somerset. In List A cricket, he scored 136 runs at an average of 136.00 (this inflated average was down to three not outs in his four innings), with a high score of 46 not out. With the ball, he took 2 wickets at an average of 57.50, with best figures of 2/21.