Sports

St. Servatius’ meet formidable St. Thomas’

Published

10 months ago

2025/04/4

ST SERVATIUS COLLEGE TEAM Front row from left: Priyantha Abeysekera [Junior Coach], L G Chamara [Masterin Charge], K Chamarindu Nethsara [Vice Captain], H K C B Virajith [Principal], [Captain], A I Deerasinghe [Vice Principal], Ruvini Rubasinghe [Prefect of Games], P B Buddhika [Head Coach] Middle row from left:: J K Chamod Mihiranga, S W Samiru Gimhan, G Raveen Kavintha, U M Viran Chamuditha, K H Risiru Kithmuka, H Chalana Indusha, R Sanju Dilshan, I H Heshan Madushanka, R M Praveen Madushanka, Back row from left: P Praneeth Mihiranga, P B Bimal Nethmuka, L S Ramanayake, Ivan Zhodobitsky, Kenul Hansaja, E Jayaru, A Saajad and S Nadushan, N Bandara

Battle of the Blues- Ruhuna

St. Servatius’ will have a daunting task striving for the elusive victory at the annual Battle of the Blues of Ruhuna as their arch rivals St. Thomas’ enter the 2025 edition of the Big Match as one of the top teams in the schools cricket arena.

History is against St. Servatius’. They have not tasted a victory in the annual big match for more than five decades. Nimal Munaweera led outfit won their last big match way back in 1971. St. Servatius’ could not enjoy much success this season. Vishwa Supun led outfit will have to punch above their weight if they to be on par with St. Thomas’.

Thomians under the captaincy of Pesandu Sanjan enjoyed one of their best seasons where they came almost close to earning the Tier ‘A’ promotion. Pesandu Sanjan will look forward to continue the good work to conclude the season on a positive note. His team registered three outright victories (in the tournament matches) including a crushing five wickets victory over Ananda with skipper Sanjan and Manuga Guruge running riot in the second innings (Ananda 47 all out).

ST THOMAS’ COLLEGE TEAM Front row from left: G G Pesandu Sanjan [Captain], M G Yasith Deshvan [Assistant Coach], Dinusha Jayasanka [Head Coach], J Jayawardhana [Deputy Principal – Sports], G P N Perera [Principal], H K Delip Kumara [Prefect of Games], Asanga Welhengoda [Master in Charge], S Y T Lakruwan [Master in Charge], I G Praveen Madushan [Junior Coach], V H Lakshitha Induwara Diksith [Vice Captain] Middle row from left: W Yomiru Saswin, D Dinara Iddamalgoda, M W Punal Pamuditha, W A Kumesh Nawanjana, M A Senura Gihan Abeysekara, P G Ochintha Chamika, K G Manuga Yonal, A Abdul Maajid, K G Thathsara Dewmith, B Vihanga Sankalana, S S Sashindu Methpahan, E A Dinura Pavinji Jayanatha Back row from left: N G A Senith Sulakshana, Abdul Rasheed, O W Sethuja Mandinu, R R Paranavithana, H S Thathsara Vimukthi, W Vindila Chanuth Minsitha

St. Thomas’ will expect Sanjan to play a lead role in the batting line up. He has scored over 1000 runs this season and was the leading batsman of the tournament at one stage.

Ochintha Chamika and Punal Pamuditha open batting for St. Thomas’, while Senura Gihan, Thathsara Dewmith, Abdul Maajid, Kumesh Nawanjana and Sanjan form the top order batting lineup.

Their pace attack include Loshitha Diksith, Ochintha Chamika and left armer Shashindu Methpahan. With spinners dominating at Uyanwatta, the spotlight is expected to fall on left-arm spinner Manuga Guruge who has taken over 50 wickets this season.

For St. Servatius’ skipper Vishwa Supun is the most reliable batsman. He has scored close to 600 runs. Viran Chamuditha (close to 500 runs), Chamarindu Nethsara and Sanju Dilshan are the others to have contributed with the bat.

Spinner Praveen Madusanka is their leading wicket taker, while Samiru Gimhan, Raveen Kavintha and Chamuditha provide additional support. Sanju Dilshan and Risinu Kithmuka will share the new ball.

St. Thomas’ lead the victory tally of the series 32-27. Thomians are the last winners of the big match having won under the captaincy of Tharaka Dushyantha in 2007.

by Reemus Fernando

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The RAPP sheet: Steve Smith, Daryl Mitchell, Umesh Yadav among over 1300 players

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/28

Priyan

Smith headlines a star-studded overseas list available to come in as replacements if needed [Cricbuzz]

RAPP may not exactly be a popular term in the Indian Premier League (IPL) lexicon, but it is a seminal one in the post-auction activity for the franchises. The Registered Available Player Pool or RAPP is a list from which franchises can pick replacement players.

The BCCI recently shared a long list of 1,307 players with the franchises. The list includes players who had enrolled for the auction and did not withdraw from the process – in short, this is the list of players who remained unsold at the December 16 auction in Abu Dhabi.

Steve Smith, Reece Topley, Jamie Smith and Jonny Bairstow are among the names who could be available as replacements for franchises. Even Daryl Mitchell, a perennial tormentor of the Indian team in the internationals, features on the list – No 98 on the sheet, with a base price of Rs 2 crore. He was the Player of the Series in the recent ODI series between India and New Zealand.

The capped Indians include Mayank Agarwal, KS Bharat, Deepak Hooda, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya, Sandeep Warrier and Umesh Yadav – all with a base price of Rs 75 lakh each.

As per BCCI instructions, a franchise cannot sign a player from the RAPP for less than his auction reserve price. Normally, franchises call upon players from the RAPP as net bowlers, and the BCCI has made it clear that a franchise will have no rights over a player should another franchise wish to recruit him.

ALL ABOUT THE RAPP

The RAPP list contains the names of Players who were registered for the Player Auction for the relevant Season subject to the player
(a) not having been taken in the Player Auction and
(b) not having withdrawn from the Player Auction process.

To act as a Replacement Player the player’s name must have been included on the RAPP list for the relevant Season and his League Fee for the full Season – assuming 100% availability – must not be less than the reserve price set by the Player as documented on the RAPP list.

Franchisees who separately contract with players on the RAPP list to act as net bowlers during the Season shall have no prior call on that player if another Franchisee wishes to take that player as a replacement pursuant to this paragraph 6 and must immediately release him if he agrees terms to be a Replacement Player for another Franchisee.

[Cricbuzz]

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U19 World Cup: Pakistan overcome New Zealand by 8 wickets

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/28

Priyan

Abdul Subhan wrecked New Zealand [Cricinfo]

New Zealand continued to remain winless in the Super Six after getting swatted aside by Pakistan in Harare. In a contest that lasted less than 50 overs combined, New Zealand ended up losing by 8 wickets that kept Pakistan’s semifinal hopes alive ahead of their next clash against arch-rivals India.

New Zealand began in a poor manner losing Marco Alpe for just 2. However, the second wicket partnership carried them to 59/1 inside 8 overs to give New Zealand an excellent platform. From thereon, New Zealand lost their last 9 wickets for just 51 runs in quite an extraordinary manner. The well-set Hugo Bogue’s dismissal triggered the collapse as Abdul Subhan and Ali Raza tormented New Zealand. The duo combined to pick seven wickets as the New Zealand innings came to an end as early as in the 29th over.

Chasing just 111, Pakistan were always in command despite losing their opener Hamza Zahoor for just 8. Sameer Minhas starred once again by doing the bulk of the scoring. He hammered a couple of sixes and 10 fours in his unbeaten 76 as the Asian champions took just 17.1 overs to wipe out the target.

Brief scores:
New Zealand Under 19s 110 in 28.3 overs (Hugo Bogue 39; Abdul Subhan 4/11, Ali Raza 3/36) lost to Pakistan Under 19s 112/2 in 17.1 overs (Sameer Minhas 76*; Mason Clarke 1/34) by 8 wickets

[Cricbuzz]

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U19 World Cup: Vihaan Malhotra ton headlines India’s massive win

Published

3 hours ago

2026/01/28

Priyan

Vihaan Malhotra celebrates his hundred against Zimbabwe U19 [Cricbuzz]

A brilliant century from Vihaan Malhotra headlined India’s massive 204-run win over hosts Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in their Super Six fixture of the U19 World Cup. India’s openers, Aaron George and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, raced to 44/0 in the first four overs before the partnership was broken. But Suryavanshi continued to make merry to bring up a quickfire half-century. Zimbabwe then picked up three quick wickets, including that of Sooryavanshi, to reduce India to 130/4 but couldn’t capitalise from that point.

Malhotra joined forces with Abhigyan Kundu to resurrect India with a century stand. While Kundu hit a half-century, Malhotra batted deep into the innings alongside the lower order. Eventually, he finished unbeaten on 109 but it was Khilan Patel’s 12-ball 30 that actually helped India breach 350 to set a daunting target for the Zimbabweans.

While Zimbabwe were never really expected to mount a challenge, losing an opener off just the second ball only compounded matters. Three out of the top four failed to cross double digits as RS Ambrish and Henil Patel made early inroads. Leeroy Chiwaula stood tall with a fighting half-century but apart from him, only two more batters managed to touch double digits. Even skipper Ayush Mhatre had a great time with the ball as he picked three wickets before Udhav Mohan’s double strike put Zimbabwe out of their misery in the 38th over.

Brief scores:
India Under 19s 352/8 in 50 overs (Vihaan Malhotra 109*, Vaibhav Sooriyawanshi 52, Abhigyan Kundu 61; Panashe Mazai 2-86, Tatenda Chimugoro 3/49, Simbarashe Mudzengerere 2-51) beat Zimbabwe Under 19s 148 in 37.4 overs (Leeroy Chiwaula 62; RS Ambrish 2-19. Ayush Mhatre 3-14, Udhav Mohan 3-20) by 204 runs[Cricbuzz]