With the turn of the New Year once again the Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the year show is on the road again with some changes from the 2010-11 season, this time with added value.
The term outstation schools have been taken off the list and on the card are the Emerging Schools who will have more opportunities according their performances.

From this season, the two categories will be called the All Island Category and the Emerging category. In this manner all schools will be in under one wing where they could elevate themselves to the top category with their consistent performances through a given period. The third category – the International segment which is still in the development process remains the same, but the organisers are looking at avenues of opening up this category also, so that they too can come out with cricketers that could be fed into the main national grid at the end of the day.

Though the competition will be launched from January 1, 2011, the matches played during each respective school during the third term will also be taken into consideration.

In the new format the Schools that come under the All Island banner will be – Ananda College, Maradana, Nalanda College Punchi Borella, Royal College Colombo 7, S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia, St. Joseph’s College Maradana, St. Peter’s College Bambalapitiya, Wesley College Borella, D.S. Senanayake College Borella, Isipatana College Havelock Town, Thurstan College Colombo 7, St. Benedict’s College Kotahena, Zahira College Colombo, St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa, Prince of Wales College Moratuwa, Trinity College Kandy, Dharmarajah College Kandy, St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota, Mahinda College Galle, Richmond College Galle, St. Aloysius College Galle, Dharmasoka College Galle, Dharmapala College Galle, Carey College Punchi Borella, Lumbini College Havelock Town, and Maris Stella College Negombo.

The rest of the Schools will be placed in the Emerging Category. At the end of each year the groupings of schools will be re-scrutinized by an independent panel nominated by the Organising Committee.
However it must be mentioned the Organising Committee will do their utmost to receive all relevant information and letters requesting their season’s performances would be sent to all schools. But, if any school does not send in the relevant details by the given cut off date they would not be considered for any recognition.

Even the Most Popular Contests will come out from this season with some changes. To add more value to the existing Trophy on offer the organisers have decide to introduce some new regulations so that it would be only the most suitable candidates would be voted in by their fans from the respective categories.

From this year those who are voted in for the two Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year categories will have to be a third year player with 400 runs or 25 wickets during the previous season to be eligible.

If the organisers do learn that any voted in cricketer has not reached the criteria his name would be taken off the list without any notification. The categories for voting will be: 1.Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer- All Island 2. Most Popular Emerging Schoolboy Cricketer and 3. Most Popular Promising Schoolboy Cricketer- International Schools.

The first coupon for the Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketers of each category will be published in the Sunday Times, Daily Mirror, Lankadeepa and Tharunaya newspapers and the first coupon will appear in the Sunday Times of January 2 2011. The last coupon will appear on 1st May 2011.
The organisers have decided to hold the gala awards ceremony on August 5 2011.