There were eight outright wins recorded in the Under 19 inter-school cricket encounters which were completed during the weekend with Zahira Colombo and Gurukula MV Kelaniya recording two wins a piece.
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| Imraz in action. Pic by Ranjith Perera |
Zahira came out victorious over President’s Kotte and Lumbini MV while Gurukula MV recorded wins over Maris Stella and St. Aloysius Galle. In the process Zahira and Gurukula MV coasted to their sixth and seventh outright wins for the season respectively.
The other teams to come out on top were Wesley, Prince of Wales, Nalanda, St. John’s Nugegoda, St. Joseph’s and Bandaranayake MV Gampaha over Royal, Joseph Vaz, Kalutara MV, Wayamba Royal, Revatha MMV and Kegalu MV.
The win for Wesley which incidentally was their first outright win for the season was a worthy one as they won against Royal after a lapse of 43 years. The Royalists looked a dismantled side and they are not performing to their potential though possessing a fair number of experience players. Wesley clearly dominated the proceedings on both the days and on day two Royal had a good chance of saving the match but the lackluster batting cost them the game.
Just before the tea break the Royalist batting the second time lost their last four wicket for just 15 odd runs leaving the Wesleyites a simple target of 18 runs from one session of play left. It was a busy week for Zahira as they played three matches within a space of just over a week. The two outright wins they achieved were effortless where they beat President’s by a whopping 355 runs before registering a first inning win over Mahinda and then crushing Lumbini MV by an innings and 46 runs.
Gurukula MV playing in the top division for the first time is going great guns. They too recorded two outright wins within a week. They first overcame the much fancied Maris Stella outfit from Negombo and then outclassed St. Aloysius Galle by a massive 196 runs. It has been a shaky season for Prince of Wales as their performances have been inconsistent. They started the season on a high note but faltered as the season progressed.
They could have gained the much needed confidence after the outright against Joseph Vaz Wennappuwa with whom they won by an innings but again fell back in their next match against Isipathana where they put up a poor performance though not been beaten outright. Nalanda is another team that has not been able to make any impression with the talent that they possess. The side underwent some anxious moments against weaker sides. They saw the winning post at last when they recorded a ten wicket win over Kalutara MV which was their first outright for the season.
St. Joseph’s was too good for the hapless Revatha MMV team from Balapitiya whom they crushed by an innings and 129 runs for their third win.
Ananda had the better of the high riding Trinity side against where they registered a first inning win.
St. Peter’s along with Mahanama and St. Sebastian’s too recorded first inning wins over Thurstan, Dharmapala and De Mazenod respectively.
Three cricketers had the honour of reaching the magical 1000 runs for the season namely Kusal Mendis of Prince of Wales, Imraz Rafi of Zahira and St. Peter’s skipper Shehan Fernando. Kusal and Imraz achieved the feat last Sunday while Shehan reached it in the match against Mahanama which was concluded on Friday. In fact it was the second time that Imraz has scored over 1000 runs in a season. Shehan’s feat came from 15 matches and 23 innings which consisted of two tons and seven half tons.
St. John’s right arm spinner Thaneesha Weerakoon had the best bowling figures with the 15 year old having the best bowling returns of 8 for 14 and 5 for 34 against Wayamba Royal which saw him ending with a match bag of 13 for 48. |
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