Eighty one teams in the fray
The tournament is considered the talent hunt for First XI sides - File pic
The ‘Singer Trophy’ Under-15 Division I Inter Schools’ cricket tournament conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) is scheduled to get underway from last week of May.
The tournament will see the participation of 81 teams which are divided into 11 groups. Two teams St Joseph’s Wattala who emerged division two champions and Kelani Vidyalaya have been promoted to the top division while Zahira Colombo and Susamayawardhana MV Borella have been demoted to the lower division.
The tournament will be conducted in a different format with the matches restricted to one day of six hours with a minimum of 95 overs for the day. A team will be allowed to bat only 65 overs.
Nalanda who emerged champions last year has been included in Group D while St. Sebastian’s Moratuwa who were he runner’s up in Group F.
The first round matches (81 teams) will be played on a league basis with 40 teams advancing to second round which will be divided into eight groups. From the second round onwards the tournament will be played on a knockout basis. The top two teams in the groups will qualify to the pre-quarter-finals.
Registration will start from the May 2 and will be concluded on May 17.
The Groups:
Group ‘A’: Mahanama Colombo, Asoka MV Colombo, Lumbini MV, Basilica College Ragama, Ananda, St. John’s Panadura, Tissa MMV Kalutara, St. Joseph Vaz Wennappuwa.
Group ‘B’: St. Anthony’s Wattala, President’s College Maharagama, St. Benedict’s, Royal Colombo, De La Salle Mutwal, Isipathana College, De Mazenod, St. Xavier’s Maravila.
Group ‘C’: Sri Sumangala Panadura, Ananda Sastralaya Kotte, S. Thomas’, Dharmapala Pannipitiya, Sri Chandrajothi MMV Yakkala, St. Thomas Kotte, Wesley.
Group ‘D’: Royal Panadura, Nalanda, Piliyandala Central, Carey, Prince of Wales, Dharmapala Kottawa, Siri Piyarathana MMV Padukka.
Group ‘E’: Gurukula MV Kelaniya, DSS Colombo, Moratu MV, Bandaranayake MMV Gampaha, Thurstan, St. Joseph’s Wattala, President’s College Kotte.
Group ‘F’: St. John’s Nugegoda, St. Sebastian’s Moratuwa, CWW Kannangara MMV Colombo, St. Peter’s Colombo, Sri Jayawardhanapura MV Kotte, Kelani Vidyalaya and St. Mary’s Chilaw
Group ‘G’: Holy Cross College Kalutara, Kalutara Vidyalaya, St. Joseph’s, Sri Pragnananda MV Raddoluwa, Veluwana Vidyalaya Colombo, S.de. S. Jayasinghe MMV Dehiwala, Maris Stella.
Group ‘H’: Maliyadeva Kurunegala, St. Sylvester’s, Vidyartha, Ibbagamuwa Central, Maliyadeva Model School Kurunegala, Sandalanka Central College, Trinity.
Group ‘J’: St. Thomas Matale, Kingswood, St. Anne’s Kurunegala, St. Anthony’s Kandy, Royal Polonnaruwa, Kegalu Vidyalaya, St. Mary’s Kegalle, Dharmaraja.
Group ‘K’: Rahula Matara, St. Thomas’ Matara, Vidyaloka MV Galle, Sri Devananda MV Ambalangoda, St. Servatius Matara, Debarawewa National School, Mahinda Galle, Devapathiraja MMV Rathgama.
Group ‘L’: Richmond Galle, P.de S. Kularatne MV Ambalangoda, Karandeniya Central, Revatha MMV Balapitiya, St. Aloysius Galle, Amarasooriya College Meepawala, Dharmasoka MV Ambalangoda.   - MSA