By Sandipan Banerjee in Colombo

The first thing people notice about Tony Greig is his name. The second is the names of his brothers.

Steve Waugh. Don Bradman. Larry Gomes.

Then there is his mother, Karuppiah Latha Mangeshkar, while the younger generation of the family includes his cousins, the sons of his father’s younger brother, who were named Brian Lara, Brett Lee and Fleming. It is not yet clear whether “Fleming” refers to Stephen Fleming, the former New Zealand captain, or Damien Fleming, the former Australian fast bowler.

It is the kind of family tree that sounds made up until you hear the story behind it. And all these are the official names of these individuals.

Tony is the youngest in the family and, at 19, the only serious cricketer among them. A fast bowler from Nuwara Eliya, he now plays club cricket for Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in Colombo, trying to build a career in the sport from a background that is about as far removed from cricketing glamour as it gets.

His family has faced significant financial difficulties, and Tony grew up in a modest household in the hill country of Sri Lanka. Cricket was always present in his family, though not in the form of expensive academies or a carefully planned pathway to professional cricket.

Instead, his father, Joseph Leo Dominic, found his own way of bringing the game into the family.

He named his children after some of the biggest names in cricket.

By the time Tony, the youngest, was born in 2007, India had just won the inaugural edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa. MS Dhoni, the captain of that young Indian side, had caught his father’s imagination.

He wanted to call his youngest son Dhoni Greig.

But the name took an unexpected turn.

Within the family’s Tamil context, “Dhoni” eventually became “Tony” in the spelling and pronunciation they settled on. And Tony Greig was born, unknowingly carrying a name that would sound remarkably close to Tony Greig, the former England captain who later became one of the most recognisable voices in cricket commentary.

For Tony, however, there was nothing unusual about any of it. Growing up he never knew the significance of his own or his brothers’ names. For him, Don Bradman, Steve Waugh, Larry Gomes were simply his brothers.

The significance of those names only dawned on him much later.

As Tony began playing proper leather-ball cricket around Kandy, people started noticing. They would hear his name, ask about his family and then react when they heard the names of his siblings.

“Who is Don Bradman?”

“Why is your brother called Steve Waugh?”

“How did your family end up with all these cricketing names?”

Tony began looking up the names himself. Gradually, the people behind them became familiar to this young boy. Bradman, widely regarded as the greatest batsman in cricket history. Waugh, one of Australia’s most successful Test captains. Gomes, a distinguished West Indian legend. Lara and Lee, two of the defining players of their generations.

The names that had once meant nothing more than family suddenly carried the weight of cricket history.

However, there is an amusing twist to it all.

Tony is the one who actually followed the sport seriously. While his brothers and cousins carry the names of some of cricket’s greats, the youngest member of the family is the one trying to make his own mark with a cricket ball in his hand.

Tony has already begun making his way through Sri Lanka’s competitive club-cricket system. Playing for Tamil Union, he has produced some encouraging performances and has shown that he possesses raw pace, although control remains an area he continues to work on.

It is still early days for the youngster. At 19, there is plenty of cricket ahead of him, and there is no guarantee that he will reach the international level.

But his story could take an intriguing turn if he ever makes it to the highest level.

If Tony Greig gets the chance to walk out for Sri Lanka, imagine the scene in the stands. The youngest member of the family making his international debut, watched by a family whose names could fill the pages of a cricket history book.

Steve Waugh. Don Bradman. Larry Gomes. Brian Lara. Brett Lee.

They would all be there to watch him.

And that would be quite some story for the journalists and broadcasters covering the occasion.

All photos courtesy: Arulmoly Kanagasabapathy

For more news & updates, follow The Crichub on Instagram, X and YouTube