Sokians favouritespdfs.island.lk/2010/03/18/p15.pdf · Serasinghe, Roshen Silva, Kaushal Silva (wk)...

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by Revata S. Silva The over–one-month-long Inter-Provincial four-day cricket tournament will commence today. Five provincial teams, Basnahira North, Basnahira South, Kandurata, Ruhuna and Wayamba will participate in this tournament. The SLC Combined XI team, comprising young players, which featured in the two previous Inter- Provincial competitions, are not taking part in this four-day compe- tition. The five-team tournament, with five round-robins, will go on till May 16 when the final is sched- uled to be played at Pallekele, Kandy. IPL As a few players who partici- pated in the two previous Inter- Provincial Tourneys, the 50-over tournament and the T20s, have left the island to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has resulted in some changes taking place in the final combinations of the five provincial teams featuring in this four-dayers, starting today. Previous 50-over and T20 Tourneys Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara led Kandurata to the Inter-Provincial 50-overs Tournament’s title win on Feb. 21 before Jehan Mubarak’s Wayamba on March 7 successfully defended the Provincial Twenty-20 competition title. On both occa- sions, the unfortunate runners-up were Ruhuna, whose captain this year is Upul Tharanga. Teams: Basnahira North: Thilina Kandamby (c), Amal Athulathmudali, Sohan Boralessa, Daminda Darshanpriya, Shanuka Dissanayake, Nuwan Pradeep, Arosh Janoda, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilshan Munaweera, Angelo Perera, Bathiya Perera, Dammika Prasad, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Sachithra Serasinghe, Roshen Silva, Kaushal Silva (wk) and Gayan Wijekoon Basnahira South: Chamara Silva (c), Malinga Bandara, Yohan de Silva, Hasantha Fernando, Janaka Gunaratne, Dinuka Hettiarachchi, Charith Jayampathi, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Suranga Lakmal, Chinthaka Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Ruchira Perera, Amila Prasad, Gihan Rupasinghe, Milinda Siriwardana, Lahiru Thirimanne and Malinda Warnapura Kandurata: Chamara Kapugedera (c), Kanishka Alwitigala, Tyron Gamage, Akalanka Ganegama, Sanjaya Gangodawila, Kanchana Gunawardene, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Suraj Randiv, Jeewan Mendis, Ishan Mutaliph, Nadeera Nawela, Suresh Niroshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Sachith Pathirana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vidanapathirana and Kaushalya Weeraratne Ruhuna: Upul Tharanga (c), Geeth Alwis, Dinesh Chandimal, Harsha Cooray, Ian Daniel, Gihan de Silva, Sujeewa de Silva, Hans Fernando, Lasith Fernando, Umesh Karunaratne, Kosala Kulasekara, Tharanga Lakshitha, Nimesh Perera, Ashan Priyanjan, Tillakaratne Sampath, Sachithra Senanayake and Sajeewa Weerakoon Wayamba: Jehan Mubarak (c), Rumesh Buddika, Sameera de Zoysa (wk), Rangana Herath, Damitha Hunukumbura, Shalika Karunanayake, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Chathura Peiris, Madura Lakmal, Janith Perera, Madawa Perera, Isuru Udana, Mahela Udawatte, Michael Vandort, Chanaka Welegedara, Chanaka Wijesinghe and Geshan Wimaladharma Schedule of the 4- day Tournament: Mar 18–21 Wayamba v Basnahira South at Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala Basnahira North v Kandurata at Moors Grounds, Colombo Mar 25-28 Basnahira South v Kandurata at Pallekele Ruhuna v Basnahira North at Galle Apr 3–6 Wayamba v Ruhuna at De Zoysa Stadium, Moratuwa Basnahira South v Basnahira North at Colts Ground, Colombo Apr 22–25 Basnahira North v Wayamba at De Zoysa Stadium, Moratuwa Ruhuna v Kandurata at Galle May 6–9 Basnahira South v Ruhuna at P. Sara, Colombo Kandurata v Wayamba at Pallekele May 13–16 Final between top two teams at Pallekele. Thursday 18th March, 2010 15 Seated from left: Yasodha Lanka, Tharanga Indika (Coach), Irosh Samarasooriya (Vice Captain), E. M. S. Ekanayake (Principal), Kusal Prabodha (Captain), Damith Prasanna (MiC) and Dhananjaya De Silva. Standing from left: Hasitha Madushan, Pabasara Waduge, Kalana Sasanka, Sandaru Danthanarayana, Chamod Piumal, Supun Dissanayake, Dhanushka Jayawardena, Dileepa Priyadarshana, Suraj Palliyaguru, Charith Priyadarshana and Mahesh Sandaruwan. Seated from left: Tharaka Nimesh, Harsha Munasinghe (Coach), K. Wimalasena (Deputy Principal-Sports), Kaushlya Gajasinghe (Vice Captain), R. M. Werahera (Principal), Denuwan Rajakaruna (Captain), K. M. D.Prasad (Master-in-Charge), Rumesh Buddhika and Nisala Tharaka. Standing from left: Chandu Piripun, Sohan Kariyawasam, Chalana de Silva, Udara Jayasanka, Dilan Buddhika, Sachith Lakmal, Hasitha Sanda Nuwan, Dinidu Sampath, Dimuthu Ruwan, Supun Chanaka, Indeera Gallage, Nirwantha Thikshila and Hashan Kumuditha. Inter-Provincial 4-day cricket begins Thilina Kandamby (Basnahira North) Chamara Silva (Basnahira South) Jehan Mubarak (Wayamba) Upul Tharanga (Ruhuna) C. Kapugedera (Kandurata) by Reemus Fernando Dharmasoka College, captained by fourth year coloursman Chalitha Madushan are the favourites against Devananda College, skippered by fourth year coloursman Ramesh Lakshitha, who will be out to turn tables on their arch-rivals when the two teams meet in the 44th ‘Battle of the Blues’ of Ambalangoda, on March 20 and 21 at the Public Grounds, Ambalangoda. After a fine performance in the Division I Two-day tour- nament, where they topped their Group, recording outright victories against Kingswood, Revata, Holy Cross and St. Aloysius’, Dharmasoka are in winning mode. In friendly encounters they recorded an outright victory over Rahula College and suffered defeats at the hands of Ananda and Sri Sumangala, Panadura. They have a strong bat- ting line which includes skip- per Madushan (over 500 runs for the season), deputy skipper Ashane Kavinda (over 700 runs), Gihan Mihiranga (over 450 runs), Adeesha Thilanchana (over 400 runs), Nilusha Uththamadasa (over 350 runs) and Duminda Kannangara (over 350 runs). For bowling, the Sokians will rely on Ramesh Mendis (60 wickets) and Duminda Kannangara (40 wickets), who have shared over 100 wickets this season. Their good form suggests that they could carry forward their domi- nance in the series into the 44th battle. It is Dharmasoka who leads the victory tally, 8-1. Devananda, who enjoyed fluc- tuating fortunes, playing in the Division II two day tournament will rely on their experienced players for both runs and wickets. Skipper Lakshitha, who has picked up over 50 wickets with his off spin is their leading wicket taker and makes a good spin combination with 14- year-old leg spinner Charith Sudharaka, who has 40 scalps to his credit. They will also count heavily on left arm paceman Randima Vidyarathne and slow ball bowlers Pulina Tharanga and Dilshan de Silva. In batting, Dilshan de Silva is the leading scorer with over 500 runs and skipper Lakshitha, Pulina Tharanga and Sham Suranga who were among the runs this season will rally around him. Playing against Division II teams, Devananda recorded victo- ries against Kegalu Vidyalaya and Rahula College, while featuring in 10 outings. They lost to Royal (Panadura), St. Thomas’ (Matara) and Piliyandala Central Colleges. Going into the match as under- dogs Devananda’s young outfit has a chance of creating history, if they could match the might of their counterparts, as they have not recorded a victory since 1966. Their last and only victory in the series was in 1966, under the cap- taincy of M. U. Amaradasa. Dharmasoka last won under the captaincy of K. M. Tharaka, in the year 2006. 44th ‘Battle of the Blues’ of Ambalangoda Sokians favourites Seated from left: Ashen Kavinda, P. Milton (Coach), K. G. Thilakaratne (Sports Secretary), M. G. O. P. Panditharathne (Principal), M. W. Sunil de Silva (MiC), Chalitha Madhushan (Captain) and Nilusha Uththamadasa. Standing from left: Ramesh Mendis, Nimesh Prashan, Chamath Kavinda, Duminda Chandimal, Yohan Rashmika, Gihan Mihiranga, Adeesha Dulanjala, Sudara Deshan, Thanura Dakshitha, Tharindu Sandaruwan, Buddhi Tharaka, Chathura Umayanga and Pasan Chandrasiri. Seated from left: Pulina Tharanga, Ramesh Lakshitha (Captain), Rathnasiri Batuwangala (MiC), H. M. Sumathipala (Principal), Suraj Sanjeewa (Coach), Sham Suranga and Dilshan de Silva. Standing from left: Ishara Mendis, Yoshan de Silva, Imesh Udayanga, Danushka Chathuranga, Randima Vidyarathne, Charith Sudaraka, Lakshitha Sirimanne, Dilaj de Silva, Inosh Shabeena, Tharindu de Silva and Rishika Theekshana (Absent: Sithara Madusanka) by Reemus Fernando W hen the two powerhouses of cricket in Galle, namely, Richmond and Mahinda meet in the 105th ‘Lover’s Quarrel’ Big Match commencing Friday, the two institutions will showcase how much they have contributed to Sri Lanka’s junior cricket structure. Mahinda, under the captaincy of Denuwan Rajakaruna, and Richmond, under the captaincy of Kusal Prabodha, will have in their ranks at least six players who have gone on to make Sri Lanka Under-19 pools during the past year. Mahinda comprises a balanced outfit that includes two Sri Lanka Under-19 caps, Rajakaruna and Rumesh Buddhika, who were an inte- gral part of Sri Lanka Under-19 in the recently held Youth World Cup in New Zealand. Richmond’s line-up is embellished by Sri Lanka Under-19 cap Yasodha Lanka and all rounders Irosh Samarasooriya and Dananjaya de Silva who came close to winning Sri Lanka Under-19 caps. With half a dozen Sri Lanka Under-19 players gearing up for the annual bat- tle, there is hard- ly any doubt that it will be a close- ly contested affair. Rajakaruna will have the support of an experienced outfit, with former captain Rumesh Buddhika, deputy skipper Kaushalya Gajasinghe, fourth year player Tharaka Nimesh, third year players Sachith Lakmal, Nisala Tharaka, Udara Jayasanka and second year players Nirvantha Thikshila and Chalana de Silva form- ing a balanced outfit together with a few freshers. For Richmond, Kusal Prabodha, Yasodha Lanka, Irosh Samarasooriya, Dananjaya de Silva and Pabasara Waduge are the experienced players who have excelled during the season. In the few matches (9) he played, Yasodha Lanka tops the highest scor- ers list with over 700 runs, which includes four centuries. While Dananjaya de Silva is a close second with 708 runs with three centuries, Samarasooriya, who topped 600 runs, has a double century in it. Samarasooriya (over 40 wickets this season), is their bowling spearhead and will share the new ball with Lanka. Spinner Danajaya will be in charge of the spin department. He has a tally of over 40 wickets this sea- son. For Mahinda, deputy skipper Kaushalya Gajasinghe leads the runs and wickets tallies with over 750 runs and 65 wickets as he captained the team in the absence of regular skip- per Rajakaruna. Paceman Nisala Tharaka is a close second with over 50 wickets and 500 runs. When they combine with Rajakaruna and Rumesh Buddhika, who gathered experience playing in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia for Sri Lanka Under-19, they will make a formidable outfit. Mahinda had a successful season, recording three outright victories in 16 outings. They beat Wesley in a tournament match and recorded vic- tories against St. Servatius’ and St. Thomas’ College, Matara, in friendly encounters. This season, Richmond played 13 matches and recorded three outright victories, all in tournament matches, while suffering two defeats. They beat their Group ‘B’ counterparts Revata, Holy Cross and St. Aloysius’. They suffered defeats at the hands of Trinity and S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. Both teams had to make do with- out their top players for some match- es during the season as they were on national duty. And incidentally, both teams have qualified this year to play the Inter School Under-19 Limited Overs tournament, an achievement only 16 other Division I teams have accomplished. There are contradictory reports with regard to the victory tally in this series. According to Mahinda, they lead the tally 23-21 which is dis- puted by Richmond. According to a source close to Richmond, two day matches had been played only since 1928 and Mahinda had recorded 11 victories against Richmond’s 10 since 1928. He said that the matches played before 1927 had been played as one- day (4 innings) encounters. The source said the series which com- menced in 1905, had been interrupted in 1910, 1911, 1912, 1916, 1926 and 1942 and if counted right, this year’s edi- tion would be the 100th encounter. Dharmasoka College Devananda College

Transcript of Sokians favouritespdfs.island.lk/2010/03/18/p15.pdf · Serasinghe, Roshen Silva, Kaushal Silva (wk)...

Page 1: Sokians favouritespdfs.island.lk/2010/03/18/p15.pdf · Serasinghe, Roshen Silva, Kaushal Silva (wk) and Gayan Wijekoon Basnahira South: Chamara Silva (c), Malinga Bandara, Yohan de

by Revata S. Silva

The over–one-month-longInter-Provincial four-day crickettournament will commence today.

Five provincial teams,Basnahira North, BasnahiraSouth, Kandurata, Ruhuna andWayamba will participate in thistournament.

The SLC Combined XI team,comprising young players, whichfeatured in the two previous Inter-Provincial competitions, are not

taking part in this four-day compe-tition. The five-team tournament,with five round-robins, will go ontill May 16 when the final is sched-uled to be played at Pallekele,Kandy.

IPLAs a few players who partici-

pated in the two previous Inter-Provincial Tourneys, the 50-overtournament and the T20s, have leftthe island to take part in theIndian Premier League (IPL), hasresulted in some changes takingplace in the final combinations ofthe five provincial teams featuringin this four-dayers, starting today.

Previous 50-over and T20Tourneys

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara ledKandurata to the Inter-Provincial50-overs Tournament’s title win onFeb. 21 before Jehan Mubarak’sWayamba on March 7 successfullydefended the Provincial Twenty-20competition title. On both occa-sions, the unfortunate runners-upwere Ruhuna, whose captain thisyear is Upul Tharanga.

Teams:Basnahira North:Thilina Kandamby (c), Amal

Athulathmudali, Sohan Boralessa,Daminda Darshanpriya, ShanukaDissanayake, Nuwan Pradeep,Arosh Janoda, DimuthKarunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara,Dilshan Munaweera, AngeloPerera, Bathiya Perera, DammikaPrasad, MuthumudaligePushpakumara, SachithraSerasinghe, Roshen Silva, KaushalSilva (wk) and Gayan Wijekoon

Basnahira South:Chamara Silva (c), Malinga

Bandara, Yohan de Silva,

Hasantha Fernando, JanakaGunaratne, Dinuka Hettiarachchi,Charith Jayampathi, PrasannaJayawardene (wk), SurangaLakmal, Chinthaka Perera,Dilruwan Perera, Ruchira Perera,Amila Prasad, Gihan Rupasinghe,Milinda Siriwardana, LahiruThirimanne and MalindaWarnapura

Kandurata:Chamara Kapugedera (c),Kanishka Alwitigala, TyronGamage, Akalanka Ganegama,Sanjaya Gangodawila, KanchanaGunawardene, ChinthakaJayasinghe, Suraj Randiv, JeewanMendis, Ishan Mutaliph, Nadeera

Nawela, Suresh Niroshan,Tharanga Paranavitana, SachithPathirana, Seekkuge Prasanna,Bhanuka Rajapaksa, ThilanSamaraweera, ChamindaVidanapathirana and KaushalyaWeeraratne

Ruhuna:Upul Tharanga (c), Geeth

Alwis, Dinesh Chandimal, HarshaCooray, Ian Daniel, Gihan de Silva,Sujeewa de Silva, Hans Fernando,Lasith Fernando, UmeshKarunaratne, Kosala Kulasekara,

Tharanga Lakshitha,Nimesh Perera, AshanPriyanjan, TillakaratneSampath, Sachithra

Senanayake and SajeewaWeerakoon

Wayamba:Jehan Mubarak (c),

Rumesh Buddika,Sameera de Zoysa (wk),Rangana Herath,Damitha Hunukumbura,Shalika Karunanayake,Jeevantha Kulatunga,Kaushal Lokuarachchi,Chathura Peiris,Madura Lakmal, JanithPerera, Madawa Perera,Isuru Udana, MahelaUdawatte, MichaelVandort, ChanakaWelegedara, ChanakaWijesinghe and GeshanWimaladharma

Schedule of the 4-day Tournament:Mar 18–21 Wayamba v

Basnahira South atWelagedara Stadium,Kurunegala

Basnahira North vKandurata at MoorsGrounds, Colombo

Mar 25-28 Basnahira South v

Kandurata at Pallekele Ruhuna v Basnahira

North at Galle Apr 3–6 Wayamba v Ruhuna at De

Zoysa Stadium, Moratuwa Basnahira South v

Basnahira North at Colts Ground,Colombo

Apr 22–25 Basnahira North v Wayamba

at De Zoysa Stadium, Moratuwa Ruhuna v Kandurata at Galle May 6–9 Basnahira South v Ruhuna at

P. Sara, Colombo Kandurata v Wayamba at

Pallekele May 13–16 Final between top two teams at

Pallekele.

Thursday 18th March, 2010 15

Seated from left: Yasodha Lanka, Tharanga Indika (Coach), Irosh Samarasooriya (ViceCaptain), E. M. S. Ekanayake (Principal), Kusal Prabodha (Captain), Damith Prasanna(MiC) and Dhananjaya De Silva. Standing from left: Hasitha Madushan, Pabasara Waduge,Kalana Sasanka, Sandaru Danthanarayana, Chamod Piumal, Supun Dissanayake,Dhanushka Jayawardena, Dileepa Priyadarshana, Suraj Palliyaguru, CharithPriyadarshana and Mahesh Sandaruwan.

Seated from left: Tharaka Nimesh, Harsha Munasinghe (Coach), K. Wimalasena (Deputy Principal-Sports),Kaushlya Gajasinghe (Vice Captain), R. M. Werahera (Principal), Denuwan Rajakaruna (Captain), K. M.D.Prasad (Master-in-Charge), Rumesh Buddhika and Nisala Tharaka. Standing from left: Chandu Piripun,Sohan Kariyawasam, Chalana de Silva, Udara Jayasanka, Dilan Buddhika, Sachith Lakmal, Hasitha SandaNuwan, Dinidu Sampath, Dimuthu Ruwan, Supun Chanaka, Indeera Gallage, Nirwantha Thikshila andHashan Kumuditha.

Inter-Provincial 4-day cricket begins

Thilina Kandamby(Basnahira North)

Chamara Silva(Basnahira South)

Jehan Mubarak(Wayamba)

Upul Tharanga(Ruhuna)

C. Kapugedera(Kandurata)

by Reemus Fernando

Dharmasoka College,captained by fourth yearcoloursman ChalithaMadushan are the favouritesagainst Devananda College,skippered by fourth yearcoloursman RameshLakshitha, who will be out toturn tables on their arch-rivalswhen the two teams meet inthe 44th ‘Battle of the Blues’ ofAmbalangoda, on March 20and 21 at the Public Grounds,Ambalangoda.

After a fine performancein the Division I Two-day tour-nament, where they toppedtheir Group, recording outrightvictories against Kingswood,Revata, Holy Cross and St.Aloysius’, Dharmasoka are inwinning mode. In friendlyencounters they recorded anoutright victory over RahulaCollege and suffered defeatsat the hands of Ananda andSri Sumangala, Panadura.

They have a strong bat-ting line which includes skip-per Madushan (over 500runs for the season), deputyskipper Ashane Kavinda(over 700 runs), GihanMihiranga (over 450 runs),Adeesha Thilanchana (over400 runs), NilushaUththamadasa (over 350runs) and DumindaKannangara (over 350 runs).For bowling, the Sokians willrely on Ramesh Mendis (60wickets) and DumindaKannangara (40 wickets),who have shared over 100 wicketsthis season.

Their good form suggests thatthey could carry forward their domi-nance in the series into the 44thbattle. It is Dharmasoka who leadsthe victory tally, 8-1.

Devananda, who enjoyed fluc-tuating fortunes, playing in theDivision II two day tournament willrely on their experienced playersfor both runs and wickets. SkipperLakshitha, who has picked up over50 wickets with his off spin is theirleading wicket taker and makes agood spin combination with 14-

year-old leg spinner CharithSudharaka, who has 40 scalps tohis credit. They will also countheavily on left arm pacemanRandima Vidyarathne and slow ballbowlers Pulina Tharanga andDilshan de Silva. In batting, Dilshande Silva is the leading scorer withover 500 runs and skipperLakshitha, Pulina Tharanga andSham Suranga who were amongthe runs this season will rallyaround him.

Playing against Division IIteams, Devananda recorded victo-ries against Kegalu Vidyalaya and

Rahula College, while featuring in10 outings. They lost to Royal(Panadura), St. Thomas’ (Matara)and Piliyandala Central Colleges.

Going into the match as under-dogs Devananda’s young outfit hasa chance of creating history, if theycould match the might of theircounterparts, as they have notrecorded a victory since 1966.Their last and only victory in theseries was in 1966, under the cap-taincy of M. U. Amaradasa.

Dharmasoka last won underthe captaincy of K. M. Tharaka, inthe year 2006.

44th ‘Battle of the Blues’ of Ambalangoda

Sokians favourites

Seated from left: Ashen Kavinda, P. Milton (Coach), K. G. Thilakaratne(Sports Secretary), M. G. O. P. Panditharathne (Principal), M. W. Sunil deSilva (MiC), Chalitha Madhushan (Captain) and Nilusha Uththamadasa.Standing from left: Ramesh Mendis, Nimesh Prashan, Chamath Kavinda,Duminda Chandimal, Yohan Rashmika, Gihan Mihiranga, AdeeshaDulanjala, Sudara Deshan, Thanura Dakshitha, Tharindu Sandaruwan,Buddhi Tharaka, Chathura Umayanga and Pasan Chandrasiri.

Seated from left: Pulina Tharanga, Ramesh Lakshitha (Captain),Rathnasiri Batuwangala (MiC), H. M. Sumathipala (Principal), SurajSanjeewa (Coach), Sham Suranga and Dilshan de Silva. Standing fromleft: Ishara Mendis, Yoshan de Silva, Imesh Udayanga, DanushkaChathuranga, Randima Vidyarathne, Charith Sudaraka, LakshithaSirimanne, Dilaj de Silva, Inosh Shabeena, Tharindu de Silva andRishika Theekshana (Absent: Sithara Madusanka)

by Reemus Fernando

When the two powerhouses ofcricket in Galle, namely,Richmond and Mahinda meet

in the 105th ‘Lover’s Quarrel’ BigMatch commencing Friday, the twoinstitutions will showcase how muchthey have contributed to Sri Lanka’sjunior cricket structure.

Mahinda, under the captaincy ofDenuwan Rajakaruna, andRichmond, under the captaincy ofKusal Prabodha, will have in theirranks at least six players who havegone on to make Sri Lanka Under-19pools during the past year.

Mahinda comprises a balancedoutfit that includes two Sri LankaUnder-19 caps, Rajakaruna andRumesh Buddhika, who were an inte-gral part of Sri Lanka Under-19 inthe recently held Youth World Cup in

New Zealand.Richmond’s line-up is embellished

by Sri Lanka Under-19 cap YasodhaLanka and all rounders IroshSamarasooriya and Dananjaya deSilva who came close to winning SriLanka Under-19 caps.

With half a dozen Sri LankaUnder-19 playersgearing up forthe annual bat-tle, there is hard-ly any doubt thatit will be a close-ly contestedaffair.

Rajakaruna will have the supportof an experienced outfit, with formercaptain Rumesh Buddhika, deputyskipper Kaushalya Gajasinghe,fourth year player Tharaka Nimesh,third year players Sachith Lakmal,Nisala Tharaka, Udara Jayasankaand second year players Nirvantha

Thikshila and Chalana de Silva form-ing a balanced outfit together with afew freshers.

For Richmond, Kusal Prabodha,Yasodha Lanka, Irosh Samarasooriya,Dananjaya de Silva and PabasaraWaduge are the experienced playerswho have excelled during the season.

In the few matches (9) he played,Yasodha Lanka tops the highest scor-ers list with over 700 runs, whichincludes four centuries. WhileDananjaya de Silva is a close secondwith 708 runs with three centuries,Samarasooriya, who topped 600 runs,has a double century in it.

Samarasooriya (over 40wickets this season), is theirbowling spearhead and willshare the new ball withLanka. Spinner Danajayawill be in charge of the spindepartment. He has a tallyof over 40 wickets this sea-son.

For Mahinda, deputyskipper KaushalyaGajasinghe leads the runs

and wickets tallies with over 750 runsand 65 wickets as he captained theteam in the absence of regular skip-per Rajakaruna.

Paceman Nisala Tharaka is aclose second with over 50 wickets and500 runs. When they combine withRajakaruna and Rumesh Buddhika,

who gathered experience playing inSouth Africa, New Zealand andAustralia for Sri Lanka Under-19,they will make a formidable outfit.

Mahinda had a successful season,recording three outright victories in16 outings. They beat Wesley in atournament match and recorded vic-tories against St. Servatius’ and St.Thomas’ College, Matara, in friendly

encounters.This season, Richmond played 13

matches and recorded three outrightvictories, all in tournament matches,while suffering two defeats. They beattheir Group ‘B’ counterparts Revata,Holy Cross and St. Aloysius’. Theysuffered defeats at the hands ofTrinity and S. Thomas’ College,Mount Lavinia.

Both teams had to make do with-out their top players for some match-es during the season as they were onnational duty. And incidentally, bothteams have qualified this year to playthe Inter School Under-19 LimitedOvers tournament, an achievementonly 16 other Division I teams haveaccomplished.

There are contradictory reportswith regard to the victory tally inthis series. According to Mahinda,they lead the tally 23-21 which is dis-puted by Richmond. According to asource close to Richmond, two daymatches had been played only since1928 and Mahinda had recorded 11victories against Richmond’s 10 since1928. He said that the matches playedbefore 1927 had been played as one-day (4 innings) encounters. Thesource said the series which com-menced in 1905, had been interruptedin 1910, 1911, 1912, 1916, 1926 and 1942and if counted right, this year’s edi-tion would be the 100th encounter.

Dharmasoka College

Devananda College