View source for Roy Dias

{{short description|Sri Lankan cricketer}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name               = Roy Dias
| image              = 
| caption            =
| fullname           = Roy Luke Dias
| nickname           = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1952|10|18|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Colombo]], [[Dominion of Ceylon]]
| country            = Sri Lanka
| batting            = Right-handed
| bowling            = Right-arm [[off break]]
| role               = Batsman
| coachclub1 = [[Sri Lanka national cricket team|Sri Lanka]]
| coachyear1= 1998–1999
| coachclub2 = [[Nepal national cricket team|Nepal]]
| coachyear2= 2001–2010
| coachclub3 = [[Oman national cricket team|Oman]]
| coachyear3= 2011
| coachclub4 = [[Malaysia national cricket team|Malaysia]]
| coachyear4= 2012–2013
| international      = true
| internationalspan  = 1979–1987
| testdebutdate      = 17 February
| testdebutyear      = 1982
| testdebutagainst   = England
| testcap            = 4
| lasttestdate       = 16 April
| lasttestyear       = 1987
| lasttestagainst    = New Zealand
| odidebutdate       = 9 June 
| odidebutyear       = 1979
| odidebutagainst    = New Zealand
| odicap             = 15
| lastodidate        = 30 October
| lastodiyear        = 1987
| lastodiagainst     = England
| odishirt           =
| club1              = [[Colombo Cricket Club]]
| year1              = {{nowrap|1974/75–1991/92}}
| columns            = 4
| column1            = [[Test cricket|Test]]
| matches1           = 20
| runs1              = 1,285
| bat avg1           = 36.71
| 100s/50s1          = 3/8
| top score1         = 109
| deliveries1        = 24
| wickets1           = 0
| bowl avg1          = –
| fivefor1           = –
| tenfor1            = –
| best bowling1      = –
| catches/stumpings1 = 6/0
| column2            = [[One Day International|ODI]]
| matches2           = 58
| runs2              = 1,573
| bat avg2           = 31.46
| 100s/50s2          = 2/11
| top score2         = 121
| deliveries2        = 56
| wickets2           = 3
| bowl avg2          = 23.33
| fivefor2           = 0
| tenfor2            = 0
| best bowling2      = 3/25
| catches/stumpings2 = 16/0
| column3            = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
| matches3           = 93 	 	 	 	
| runs3              = 4,296
| bat avg3           = 32.05
| 100s/50s3          = 5/24
| top score3         = 144
| deliveries3        = 180 	
| wickets3           = 1
| bowl avg3          = 118.00
| fivefor3           = 0
| tenfor3            = 0
| best bowling3      = 1/9
| catches/stumpings3 = 39/0
| column4            = [[List A cricket|LA]]
| matches4           = 89 	 	
| runs4              = 2,363
| bat avg4           = 31.50
| 100s/50s4          = 3/14
| top score4         = 121
| deliveries4        = 56
| wickets4           = 3
| bowl avg4          = 23.33
| fivefor4           = 0
| tenfor4            = 0
| best bowling4      = 3/25
| catches/stumpings4 = 24/0
| date               = 20 February
| year               = 2019
| source             = http://www.espncricinfo.com/srilanka/content/player/48470.html Cricinfo 
}}

'''Roy Luke Dias''' (born 18 October 1952) is a former Sri Lankan [[cricketer]] who played Test matches and [[One Day International]]s for the national side.

An elegant and stylish{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} right-handed batsman he played 20 [[Test cricket|Test matches]] and became the first Sri Lankan to hit 1,000 Test runs.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283173.html| title = Records {{!}} Test matches {{!}} Batting records {{!}} Fastest to 1000 runs {{!}} ESPNcricinfo.com}}</ref> He played representative cricket for Sri Lanka from 1979 to 1987.

==International career==
With his 214 runs in the [[1979 ICC Trophy]] he was an integral part of Sri Lanka's tournament victory, as he played four matches with a [[batting average (cricket)|batting average]] of 71.33, scoring 214 runs. The victory meant Sri Lanka qualified for the [[1979 cricket World Cup]], and, surprisingly, Sri Lanka won one match in that tournament as well. Dias made a patient 50 as Sri Lanka made their way to 238 for 5, before bowling [[Indian cricket team|India]] out for a meagre 191.

Sri Lanka was promoted to Test status three years later, and Dias was picked for the first Test. He had a difficult start, being dismissed for a duck by [[Bob Willis]] as Sri Lanka fell to 11 for 2, but battled better in the second innings against [[English cricket team|England]]'s spinners [[Derek Underwood]] and [[John Emburey]]. He made 77, but when he departed and the third wicket fell, Sri Lanka fell apart from 140 for 3 to 175 all out, and England chased 171 to win with relative ease.

Indeed, Sri Lanka's first Test matches were promising, but in the end it often ran away from them at crucial moments. An example of this would be Dias' third Test, which was the second Test of three in [[Pakistani cricket team|Pakistan]]. Batting first, [[Sidath Wettimuny]] and Dias added 217 for the second wicket, then a Sri Lankan record [[partnership (cricket)|partnership]] for any wicket. That enabled Sri Lanka to be on top, leading by 184 on first innings, but they could not bowl out Pakistan and had to settle for a draw. Sri Lanka went on to lose the series 0–2, despite Dias recording a career best 109 in the Third Test.

Dias continued to make big scores, enjoying a personally good tour of [[Indian cricket team|India]] in September 1982, where he made his only two [[One Day International|ODI]] centuries, with scores of 39, 102 and 121 in the three-match series. However, India won the series 3–0 after relatively convincing victories. Sri Lanka also played a Test match, and Dias made two fifties as he and [[Duleep Mendis]] cooperated to draw the match.

At the [[1983 Cricket World Cup]], [[Sri Lankan cricket team|Sri Lanka]] only won one match, and Dias contributed with his only fifty of the series. Pairing up with 80 for the third wicket with [[Brendon Kuruppu]], Dias anchored the chase to 182, ending with 64 not out as Sri Lanka won by three wickets.

Sri Lanka continually improved, at least in [[Test cricket]], but Dias' career went the other way. He made few big scores in Tests, but he made quite a few fifties in losing causes in ODIs. Then, in September 1985, [[Indian cricket team|India]] came to tour – a tour which was Sri Lanka's biggest success to date. In the first Test, Dias made 4 and 0, yet Sri Lanka dominated thanks to centuries from [[Ranjan Madugalle]] and [[Arjuna Ranatunga]] – India, however, survived out the five days and the match ended in a draw. However, in the second Test, Dias came in with the score 109 for 2 and made a stroke-filled 95 to lift Sri Lanka to 385. Then, India were bowled out for 244, and trailing by 141, but Dias scored a quick unbeaten 60 as Sri Lanka declared on 206 for 3, setting India 348 in a day. Despite 78 from [[Kapil Dev]], India were bowled out by 198, and Sri Lanka recorded their first Test victory. Dias then recorded his third and last Test century in the third Test, as Dias survived for five hours with [[Duleep Mendis]] to save a draw and a series victory.

After this, Dias' career took a turn for the worse. He only passed 50 in Tests once again – in a drawn Test with [[Indian cricket team|India]] were 1096 runs were scored for the fall of only 17 wickets – and poor form saw him being dropped from the ODI side after the first match in the [[1987 cricket World Cup]], where he scored 1. He returned for the last match of the [[1987 cricket World Cup]], the team having played and lost four matches without him, and while his teammates failed to pass 40 he recorded 80 in his last international innings. However, the target of 219 was all too small, and Sri Lanka ended up without a single victory in that World Cup.

==Coaching career==
In May 1998, Dias succeeded [[Bruce Yardley]] as head coach of Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sri-lanka-dias-new-coach-yardley-in-charge-of-spinners-10-may-1998-76232|title=Sri Lanka: Dias new coach, Yardley in charge of spinners (10 May 1998)|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|date=10 May 1998|accessdate=31 January 2023}}</ref> His tenure saw Sri Lanka record its first away Test victory over England [[Sri Lankan cricket team in England in 1998|in 1998]] and a loss to [[Pakistan national cricket team|Pakistan]] in the final of the [[1998–99 Asian Test Championship]]. He was sacked after the team's poor performance at the [[1999 Cricket World Cup]].<ref name=dn>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailynews.lk/2016/07/06/sports/86665|title=Dias shaping the future of under 19 cricketers|newspaper=Daily News|date=6 July 2016|accessdate=31 January 2023}}</ref>

Dias was appointed head coach of [[Nepal national cricket team|Nepal]] in September 2001.<ref name=ht>{{cite news|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/roy-dias-accepts-nine-month-extension|title=Roy Dias accepts nine-month extension|date=29 March 2010|accessdate=31 January 2023|newspaper=The Himalayan Times}}</ref> He was appointed to an initial two-year contract,<ref name=binoy>{{cite news|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/nepal-s-guiding-light-339164|title=Nepal's guiding light|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|accessdate=31 January 2022|first=George|last=Binoy|date=21 February 2008}}</ref> but ultimately remained as coach until 2010.<ref name=ht/> His tenure saw Nepal finish runner-up at the [[2004 ACC Trophy]]. He also oversaw [[Nepal national under-19 cricket team|the national under-19 team]] qualify for four editions of the [[Under-19 Cricket World Cup]], recording multiple victories over ICC full members and finishing as plate champions in 2006.<ref name=binoy/>

In 2011, Dias was appointed coach of [[Oman national cricket team|Oman]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/oman-news-former-sri-lanka-batsman-roy-dias-to-coach-oman-527799|title=Roy Dias to coach Oman|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|date=16 August 2011|accessdate=31 January 2023}}</ref> He coached the team at the [[2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cricket.com.np/2011/12/10/dias-side-beats-nepal/|title=Dias' side beats Nepal|date=10 December 2011|accessdate=31 January 2023|publisher=Cricket Nepal}}</ref> In 2012 he joined [[Cricket Malaysia]] as director of coaching and head coach of [[Malaysia national cricket team|Malaysia]] on a two-year contract.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2013/09/17/cricket-malaysia|title=The Cricket Revolution|first=T.|last=Avineshwaran|newspaper=The Star|date=17 September 2013|accessdate=31 January 2023}}</ref>

Dias was appointed coach of the [[Sri Lanka national under-19 cricket team]] in 2016.<ref name=dn/> He was removed after the [[2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://dailynews.lk/2018/01/31/sports/141480/roy-dias-be-replaced-under-19-coach | title=Roy Dias to be replaced as under 19 coach }}</ref>

== International centuries ==
Dias scored five international centuries, three in Test matches and two in ODIs.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Test centuries
!No.
!Runs
!Opponent
!Venue
!Date
!Result
!Ref
|-
|1
|109
|{{cr|PAK}}
|[[Gaddafi Stadium]], Lahore
|22 March 1982
|Sri Lanka lost
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 3rd Test 1981/82 - Score Report |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/sri-lanka-tour-of-pakistan-1981-82-61629/pakistan-vs-sri-lanka-3rd-test-63313/full-scorecard|access-date=2021-03-19|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|2
|108
|{{cr|NZL}}
|[[Sinhalese Sports Club Ground]], Colombo
|16 March 1984 
|Drawn
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 2nd Test 1983/84 - Score Report |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/new-zealand-tour-of-sri-lanka-1983-84-62118/sri-lanka-vs-new-zealand-2nd-test-63373/full-scorecard|access-date=2021-03-19|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|3
|106
|{{cr|ENG}}
|[[Asgiriya Stadium]], Kandy
|14 September 1985
|Drawn
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Full Scorecard of India vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test 1985 - Score Report |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/india-tour-of-sri-lanka-1985-62339/sri-lanka-vs-india-3rd-test-63411/full-scorecard|access-date=2021-03-19|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref>
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ODI centuries
!No.
!Runs
!Opponent
!Venue
!Date
!Result
!Ref
|-
|1
|102
|{{cr|IND}}
|[[Arun Jaitley Stadium]], Delhi
|15 September 1982
|Sri Lanka lost
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs India 2nd ODI 1982/83 - Score Report |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/sri-lanka-tour-of-india-1982-83-61636/india-vs-sri-lanka-2nd-odi-64192/full-scorecard|access-date=2021-03-22|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|2
|121
|{{cr|IND}}
|[[M. Chinnaswamy Stadium]], Bangalore
|26 September 1982
|Sri Lanka lost
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs India 3rd ODI 1982/83 - Score Report |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/sri-lanka-tour-of-india-1982-83-61636/india-vs-sri-lanka-3rd-odi-64194/full-scorecard|access-date=2021-03-22|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Navboxes
|title= Sri Lanka squads
|bg= blue
|fg= #FFCC00
|bordercolor=#FFCC00
|list1=
{{Sri Lanka Squad 1979 Cricket World Cup}}
{{Sri Lanka Squad 1983 Cricket World Cup}}
{{Sri Lanka Squad 1986 Asia Cup}}
{{Sri Lanka Squad 1987 Cricket World Cup}}
{{Sri Lanka Squad 1999 Cricket World Cup}}
{{Sri Lanka national cricket team coaches}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Roy}}
[[Category:Sri Lankan cricketers]]
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of St. Peter's College, Colombo]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Chetties]]
[[Category:Sri Lanka Test cricketers]]
[[Category:Sri Lanka One Day International cricketers]]
[[Category:Cricketers at the 1979 Cricket World Cup]]
[[Category:Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup]]
[[Category:Cricketers at the 1987 Cricket World Cup]]
[[Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup]]
[[Category:Colombo Cricket Club cricketers]]
[[Category:Coaches of the Sri Lanka national cricket team]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan cricket coaches]]
[[Category:Coaches of the Nepal national cricket team]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan expatriates in Nepal]]
[[Category:Coaches of the Oman national cricket team]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan expatriates in Oman]]
[[Category:Coaches of the Malaysia national cricket team]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan expatriates in Malaysia]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Colombo]]