Devapathiraja girls lift U-19 cricket title for fifth straight year
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The winning team celebrating in style - Pic by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
Inspiring leadership of Devapathiraja Girls School’s skipper, national cap, Kaveesha Dilhari helped them clinch the fifth successive championship in the Singer Sri Lanka Schools Division I Under-19 Cricket Tournament at the Sapper Cricket ground in Mattegoda on Tuesday.
A combined team effort by the Rathgama girls helped them grab victory, which was drifting away towards, the opponent Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya, Gampaha.
Devapathiraja Balika School from Rathgama started playing cricket in 2011 and within nine years they won the island’s premier girls cricket tournament, for five continuous years, since 2015.
Their inspiration to play the game in a bigger way came from the Sri Lanka Women’s cricket team that was playing in the ICC Women’s World Cup in Galle. Initially they played a friendly softball match in Galle in 2011.
With signs of improvements the school authorities encouraged them to play with the tape ball in 2012 and became champions in their maiden effort at district level.
Devapathiraja skipper Kaveesha Dilhari scored 49 and returned to bowl effectively
Taking up to leather ball cricket a year later, the lasses from the southern town of Rathgama, in the Under-17 category won the championship. They went from strength to strength and competing in the All-Island Singer Under-19 Division I Tournament. They emerged champions in five successive years from 2015 to 2020, entering the finals on six occasions. In 2014 they ended runners-up.
This year Devapathiraja produced three national players in skipper Kaveesha Dilhari, Umesha Thimeshani and Sachini Nisansala. From the time they entered the big league Devapathiraja girls came under the wings of Sandaruwan de Silva and Ranjan Lasantha, who guided them to be a bunch of hard playing cricketers who dominated Sri Lanka’s girls cricket arena.
Coach de Silva speaking to the Education Times said “the girls show signs of improvement year after year and I am confident that in two years, the school will be able to produce six to seven players to the national team. I catch them early in the eight to nine range and groom and nurture them to be future Devapathiraja cricketers.”
He paid a highest tribute to the school authorities for conducting special classes for players who miss lessons in representing the school at cricket. He went on to say the secret behind their success was that the girls practice along with boys and go through their rigorous physical exercises. - LR
- Devapathiraja Balika Vidyalaya 136 for 6 (25) (Shikari Ranahansi 52*, Kaveesha Dilhari 49, Vidushika Perera 2/16, Rashmi Sewwandi 2/38)
- Rathnavali BV, Gampaha 122 all out (24.3) (Amandi Gunaratne 41, Sanduni Nisansala 26, Sachini Nisansala 3/18, Telishiya Chaturangi 2/21)