Cricket at Joseph Vaz College Wennappuwa has been struggling for survival for the past couple of seasons. To the surprise of many, the Joseph Vaz cricket team has been forced to limit their season to only tournament matches as the school is not in a position to provide the basic facilities for the game. Joseph Vaz has been in the Division I segment for many years but unfortunately they still lack a ground of their own. Despite the odds cricketers of Joseph Vaz has managed to sustain their credibility in the top division.
Joseph Vaz has been performing at a considerably satisfactory rate during the past couple of seasons though it has been a tough drive through obstacles. The cricketers have done their utmost best to preserve their dominance and image of the school while competing against top contenders in schools cricket.
“All credit should go to the boys, our supporters especially the parents and the Past Cricketers’ Association (PCA) and the school authorities for helping Joseph Vaz cricket during the bad times. We have had many difficulties in many ways but those around us have helped us remain in the fray, not letting us down,” Randhir Dinesh, the master-in-charge of Joseph Vaz cricket for eight years said. The side is coached by Mohamed Furkhan, who took over the team less than a year ago. In all aspects the Joseph Vaz cricket team could be considered as an average outfit with many talented cricketers in it. They have just three seniors, Kasun Vidura, Hasitha Mahesh and Yomal Timothy in the side. Apart from Mahesh the rest are members in the first XI squad are from the Under-17 age category. With this juvenile combination, the Joseph Vaz cricket team have only played eight matches annually from last season. Lack of funds and basic necessities have compelled Joseph Vaz to skip number of their tradition games for the past two seasons. However in their eight tournament games played last season, Joseph Vaz managed to draw all their games while with a game to go they have lost only one out of eight this season. According to Dinesh their only hope as the previous year is to qualify for the limited overs tournament from the two-dayers.
“We are not in a solid position to aim high as the school has a limited budget for cricket during a season. If we too get the opportunity of playing 12 games or more we can set ourselves targets. But unfortunately our resources are limited. In those eight tournament matches we play, we target at least a win or two but still we are not in a state to determine our true potential as we are far behind the other eight teams in the group in terms of facilities,” he added.
This year’s Joseph Vaz cricket team is led by Kasun Vidura, a promising all-rounder while Primash Aubrish, another all-rounder, is the vice captain. The side is full of promising stars who are expected to take Joseph Vaz cricket to the anticipating level. The team has a fairly strong batting line up starting from skipper Vidura and Rukshan Shehan as openers. Senior player Hasitha Mahesh is the one-down batsman. Next in line are Nipun Deemantha, Aubrish, Shanith Sewwinda, Yomal Timothy, Ransi Deepankara, Ravindu Dilshan, Matheesha Vibodha and Tharindu Fernando. They have a balanced bowling attack; three seamers and four spinners. Among the pacemen are Aubrish, Shyavinda Rajapriya and Sewwinda, all right-armers. Deepankara, an off-spinner and left-arm spinners Tharindu Fernando, Ravindu Dilshan and Vibodha make the spin department. The team will only lose the services of Hasitha Mahesh after this season and Joseph Vaz are longing to get back to their usual frame by that time.
“Let’s hope that our setbacks are just short-term. The boys are keen to play a full season, so that they will also get to perform as other schoolboy cricketers in the country.
We are keen to give them those opportunities while hoping to get back to our usual form, as a strong first XI team,” Dinesh went on to say. |
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