The gritty boys of S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia are making a return to this year’s first XI cricket tournament with a vengeance. With a young yet experienced team the Thomians kicked off their season in grand style a fortnight ago paving indicators to a promising season. In both outings held at their own backyard the Thomians were spearheaded by spinner Rishen Mathangaweera.
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Sachin Peiris (Captain) (Pix by Amila Prabodha) |
Mathangaweera already has bagged nearly 25 wickets in two matches while S. Thomas’ recorded their first win last week against Mahinda Galle. The start reasonably seems to be very positive for the boys of the school by the sea as they aim higher than last season. Last season with a much younger outfit the Thomians recorded three wins in 20 matches and they proved to be hard nuts at their annual big match against Royal by not conceding a win.
Experienced campaigner and wicketkeeper/batsman Sachin Peiris leads the Thomians, who are equipped with seven seniors, this year. Peiris was a youngster playing for the under-15 side when he stroked a crafty half century in the big match couple of years ago. Since then he has been a leading fighter for the Thomians. Last year he was one of the two batsmen from team to score over 800 runs. This year though, S. Thomas’ is a well balanced side as skipper Peiris explains about his team.
“We have got seven batsmen, a few all-rounders and a reasonably strong bowling attack combined with pace and spin. Our main strength will be the spinners – which includes two offies and a strong leggie. Leg-spinner Madushan Ravichandrakumar will be our chief destroyer, he has been productive during the past years and the team expects a lot from him. Overall our team can be rated as a balanced outfit,” Peiris said.
S. Thomas’ are set to play a total of 20 matches this year including the big match against traditional rivals, Royal. Out of the total 12 games will be on their home turf. With Ranil Peiris taking over the coaching department after their second match, the Thomians expect to end up their campaign this year in a high note.
“We don’t have star players at S. Thomas’. Here all are stars and all are team players. So at the end of the day it will be genuine team effort. All three departments of ours – batting, bowling and fielding – are equally balanced. The start has been very positive and our hope as a team is to see S. Thomas’ finish up among the top five school teams end of the year,” buoyant Peiris added.
S. Thomas’ cricket
squad:
Sachin Peiris (Capt), Ramith Gunaratne, Umesh Fernando, Madushan Ravichandrakumar, Asiri Wickremanayake, Javed Bongso, Rishen Mathangaweera, Shiven Perera, Bhathiya Jayasuriya, Sanesh de Mel, Dhanush Peiris, Lakshan Weerakoon, Thilaksha Sumanasiri, Navod Henakankanamge, Rizwan Rahaman, Usman Ishak, Nipuna Gamage, Devin Jayasinghe, Helakamal Nanayakkara, Sahan Wijesinghe, Ranil Peiris (Coach), Shiraz Shamsudeen (Asst. Coach), Lakmal de Soyza (M-I-C).
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| S. Thomas’ team |
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