A. C. M. Lafir

Abdul Cader Mohamed Lafir (27 October 1935 – 18 May 2022) was an opening batsman who played for Ceylon from 1953 to 1970 before Test status was awarded in 1981.

Lafir's school cricket batting average was 108.06, breaking the record of 92.6 set in 1918 by Jack Anderson; scoring five centuries and amassing 1,000 runs in a season.

[9] In 1961 the first consignment of Norm O'Neill cricket bats "Hydromatic Driver" was manufactured in Australia and imported by Dr. Subash Chawla's Sports firm Chands Ltd. At a special function to launch these new bats, an award to the first batsman to score 500 runs was made to A. C. M. Lafir by the Australian Trade Commissioner in Sri Lanka Desmond McSweeney.

Lafir was the first batsman to win the Macan Markar Trophy awarded for the highest score of 256 not out, playing for Nomads vs University in 1966.

[9] In 1957, Lafir joined the Police Department as a sub-inspector and later served at Esso and worked in the Middle East for a couple of years.

He scored 121 runs, which included 14 fours and 5 sixes, enabling Levers to regain the Lister Challenge Trophy from BCC in the 'Battle of the Soaps'.

In 1975 Lafir opened his Cricket Coaching School at the Nomads grounds for boys between the ages of 12 and 15 years where he trained Roshan Mahanama, Asanka Gurusinha, Nigel Fernando and many others who reached Sri Lanka levels.