37th Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2016
View(s):The 37th Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2016 will officially kick off today. The Sunday Times will carry the first printed coupon, followed by other publications of Wijeya Newspapers which our readers could use to make their favourite schoolboy cricketer — The Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2016.
Charith Asalanka
Accordingly our weeklies the Sunday Times, Deshaya and our dailies the Daily Mirror and Lankadeepa will carry printed coupons from January 31. Coupons will appear during 16 weekends and the confirmed deadline or the publication date of the final coupon, will be notified to our readers in the coming weeks. Until such time readers could vote in favour of their favourite schoolboy cricketers through coupons appearing in the sports section of the Sunday Times, DailyMirror, Daily Lankadeepa and Deshaya.
As customarily done every year, the competition will be conducted under three categories – All Island, Emerging and International schools. Readers and followers of this competition will have ample time, 16 weeks to be exact, to take their favourite schoolboy cricketer from respective categories to the fore. As usual the top three finishers from each category will be rewarded at the gala ceremony which is expected to be held in July 2016, where Bata and the Sunday Times will announce the most prolific cricketers who perform during the ongoing first XI school cricket season under different categories.
Last season Sachin Dalpethado of St. Peter’s College, Nipun Malinga of Vidyaloka College Galle and Sahan Tennakoon of Lyceum International Panadura, were the three lucky schoolboy cricketers to win Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer awards under three categories the All-Island, Emerging and International schools respectively. At the same time the readers who help these young cricketers reach this helm will also be rewarded by weekly basis. Bata will be generous in giving out gift vouchers to four lucky winners among the voters, encouraging our readers to be more attached to the contest as well as the future cricketing talents of Sri Lanka.
Besides the Most Popular competition, all focus will be on who will become the 37th Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2016, which is the main feature of the entire process. Award winners will solely be selected on their performances and what matters end of the day will be the amount of energy they dish out as batsmen, bowlers, fielders and allrounders. Last year Richmond College and Sri Lanka Under-19 skipper Charith Asalanka was crowned as the Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy All-Island Cricketer of the Year 2015 in addition to winning the Best Allrounder award and emerging runner-up in the Best Bowler category. Among other award winners were fast bowler Dilanka Sandaken of Ananda College who became the Best Bowler, Lumbini College’s Jammika Dharana and Avishka Fernando of St. Sebastian’s College, who were adjudged the Best Fielder and Best Batsman respectively. Avishka Fernando was named runner-up to Asalanka as Asitha Fernando of St. Sebastian’s College Katuneriya became the Emerging Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2015.
All schools competing in the ongoing Inter-School Division I tournament will be categorised under the All-Island Schools while the remaining schools, which are competing under the Division II and III categories, will come under Emerging Schools. International Schools will come under a different category.
The judges of the selection panel of the 37th Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2016, who belong to different components of the local cricketing structure, will be observing the talents of the youngsters during the ongoing school cricket season. The ongoing ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which is taking place in Bangladesh, where the best among schoolboy cricketers of the island, represent Sri Lanka, will be followed closely by them. This will be to pick the deserving talents at the final selection which will be held in the month of May and duly honour them at the night of all nights dedicated to the schoolboy cricketers of Sri Lanka. To be among the best young cricketers should perform to their potential, making your school cricket team proud while those deserving individuals will be duly honoured for their contributions in school cricket by Bata and the Sunday Times.
The first coupon, which appears from today, will be accepted until 12 noon on February 11. The first result of the 37th Bata-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2016 will be published on the February 14, issue of the Sunday Times.