Sports
Another uncut gem from Moratuwa
Rex Clementine in Galle
Surrey loves Sanga. The whole of England loves him. How else would he have gone on to become the first non-British President of MCC? The former Sri Lankan skipper having finished his Test career in 2015 moved to the English county circuit and broke record after record emerging as the leading run scorer for several seasons. Not since the days of Ken Barrington, The Oval had witnessed such batting feats. Of course, when you invest on Sanga the batsman, you also get a good mentor for young players.
Despite all his achievements for Surrey, one record kept eluding the great man. Aravinda de Silva in his fabulous County Season in 1995 had scored 255 runs for Kent against Derbyshire. That remained the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan in England. Last year it fell. The man who broke it was a little heard of 22-year-old by the name of Nishan Madushka Fernando.
In England last year, Madushka scored 269 runs against Kent representing Sri Lanka Development Squad and Aravinda’s record that had stood for 27 years was gone. Breaking Aravinda’s feats is not for the fainthearted. You knew there was something special about Madushka at that point.
The nation is blessed with several cricketing talents from Moratuwa. Prince of Wales and St. Sebastian’s had produced most of these talents but the lesser affluent Moratu Vidyalaya had produced some solid players too.
In the old days, there was Lucky Rogers. Then there was Bernard Perera, Sarath Fernando, and Chandana Mahesh. More recently Ajantha Mendis came through and now we have Madushka.
Moratu Vidyalaya is the only school in Sri Lanka to have produced men’s and women’s international cricketers. Inoshi Fernando featured for the women’s team in recent years. All these are products of one of the best school cricket coaches in the country Prasanna Dissanayake.
Madushka has come up in life amidst many hardships. His father was a good softball player and was the sole breadwinner in the family. Many were the challenges in the early days struggling to make ends meet as is the case with most daily wage earners. Covid and then the economic crisis delivered crushing blows to the family but that didn’t stop Madushka from scoring big runs whatever the team he represented.
He was prolific in domestic cricket for Ragama and when picked for Sri Lanka ‘A’ to face England Lions early this year he scored a double hundred and a hundred earning him a place with the senior side for the tour of New Zealand.
As the selectors finally lost patience with Niroshan Dickwella, 54 Tests and no hundreds, they backed Madushka to make his debut in Wellington. It was a tough outing as mostly the case in New Zealand. But Ireland proved to be lighter opponents as he became the 14th Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in Test match cricket and the second youngest since Mahela Jayawardene.
“Madushka is very watchful in the first half-hour. He is quiet, composed man and he is in no rush for runs earlier on which is a good feature of a long-format player. He waits for loose balls. If he gets to a 50, he will try and push for a hundred and if he gets to three figures, you never know where he will stop,” Prasanna his school coach told Sunday Island.
We have seen many young talents breaking into the senior side with a lot of promise but failing on the wayside. But in recent years thankfully we have had some good young players who have good heads on their shoulders like Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis. Fans will be hoping that Madushka makes it big and delivers the big runs in Test match cricket like he has done with all the development teams.
Under 19 Cricket
Sri Lanka Under 19 batsman Sharujan Shanmuganathan hammered an unbeaten double century- his best batting performance in the school circuit- to propel St. Benedict’s to their highest total of the season in the Under 19 traditional cricket encounter at Kotahena on Tuesday.
The Bens’ skipper cracked 17 fours and eight sixes in his unbeaten knock which powered the home team to 410 for seven wickets declared against St. Peter’s. His 202 runs came in 183 balls. He reached his century in 107 balls and consumed 156 balls to pass the 150 mark. The last 50 runs of his double century needed only 27 balls.
The Bens have been struggling the whole season and had to play the relegation league before retaining their place in the top tier of the Under 19 Division I tournament.
On such a backdrop their performance yesterday was a huge turnaround as they earned first innings honours against Petes.
At Darley Road Trinity restricted St. Joseph’s to 164 runs to take first innings honours, while St. Anthony’s Katugastota and Mahanama took first innings lead in their matches ended yesterday.
Match Details
Bens amass 410 runs at Kotahena
Scores
St. Peter’s
378 all out in 81 overs (Oween Salgado 70, Dilana Damsara 54, Jason Fernando 64, Enosh Peterson 65, Thareen Sanketh 34, Lashmika Perera 28, Virul Amarapala 23; Hashen Olagama 2/55, Mewan Dissanayake 5/57) and 22 for 2 in 5.4 overs
St. Benedict’s
20 for 1 overnight 410 for 7 decl. in 83.2 overs (Didula Edirisuriya 32, Janindu Nandasena 115, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 202n.o., Mewan Dissanayake 20, Trishen Silva 27; Lashmika Perera 2/83)
Trinity on first innings at Darley Road
Scores
Trinity
264 all out in 84.3 overs (Dimantha Mahavithana 38, Rajindu Thilakarathne 33, Vathila Udara 51, Oshana Lokuge 39, Mahendra Abeysinghe 43; Yenula Dewthusa 4/66, Demion de Silva 2/52, Nushan Perera 2/53)
St. Joseph’s
5 for 2 overnight 164 all out in 61 overs (Yenula Dewthusa 20, Rishma Amarasinghe 38, Pamod Dalpadado 22, Nushan Perera 28, Senesh Solangarachchi 28; Ranul Gunarathna 3/37, Vathila Udara 2/25, Sweath Anurajeewa 3/71)
St. Anthony’s on first innings
at Katugastota
Scores
St. Anthony’s
207 all out in 79.5 overs (Januka Rathnayake 83, Kevan Fernando 29, Tharusha Dasun 35n.o.; Sadaneth Yahampath 2/32, Sachithra Tanuka 4/28, Nishitha Fernando 2/39) and 21 for 3 in 9.5 overs
Moratu Vidyalaya
53 for 3 overnight 188 all out in 64.2 overs (Isuru Nidharshana 30, Sanjana Senavirathne 67, Sithum Silva 26n.o.; Tharusha Dasun 4/47, Kevan Fernando 3/30)
Mahanama win on first innings
at Thurstan ground
Scores
Mahanama
218 for 7 overnight 291 all out in 95.5 overs (Anuka Wijewardana 37, Sithum Vihanga 32, Dulnith Sigera 80, Eshan Withanage 27, Chamika Heenatigala 23, Gimantha Dissanayake 22; Binupa Thathmira 3/40, Sanvidu Dissanayake 2/33, Thanuga Palihawadana 3/95, Sethru Fernando 2/39) and 33 for 2 in 8 overs (Sethru Fernando 2/22)
Thurstan
207 all out in 51.5 overs (Thanuja Rajapaksha 53, Sethru Fernando 29, Sanvidu Dissanayake 22n.o., Dinal Induwara 21; Anuka Wijewardana 4/54, Chamika Heenatigala 4/58)
by Reemus Fernando
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) appointed Chamara Silva as the head coach of the Sri Lanka U19 National Team.
Silva, a former Sri Lanka international cricketer, is an ICC Level III Qualified Coach with extensive coaching experience in Sri Lanka’s first class cricket.
Before joining SLC, he served as the head coach of Police Sports Club and previously coached Bloomfield Cricket Club and Panadura Sports Club.
As a player, Silva represented Sri Lanka in 75 ODIs, 11 Test matches, and 16 T20Is, amassing 2,269 international runs, including a limited-overs century.
His appointment which became effective on March 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026.
Chamara will be responsible for preparing the Sri Lanka U19 team for the ICC U19 World Cup in 2026.
With less than 50 days to go for the ASBC Asian Under-22 and Youth Boxing Championships in May, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Tharanga Perera expressed his enthusiasm and confidence about Sri Lanka hosting this landmark event, marking the first major boxing championship since the Asian Championships held in Colombo in 1967.
“We have everything in place to ensure Sri Lanka delivers a world-class tournament from May 12 to 23 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium,” Perera, also Chairman of the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Development Committee, affirmed. “The stadium is currently undergoing renovations, but it will be ready on time to welcome the athletes. We anticipate at least 25 of ASBC’s 43 member countries to participate, bringing around 400 to 500 boxers and officials to Sri Lanka.”
Highlighting the significance of the event, Perera remarked, “This is a pivotal moment for Sri Lankan boxing. We’re hoping to field approximately 15 boxers — both men and women — and setting our sights on at least five medals, including two golds. We are planning to have a selection trial for the 48-member pool at Royal MAS Arena on March 29. Our athletes are inspired, especially with Umayanga Mihiran leading the charge after his historic bronze medal win at the Asian Championships in Chiang Mai — Sri Lanka’s first medal in 37 years. This championship isn’t just about the present; it’s a long-term investment in the future of our boxing program.”
Tharanga Perera, Chairman of the
Organising Committee expressed his
enthusiasm and confidence in hosting
a successful championship.
The championship will feature a new, IBA-approved scoring system, complete with a newly imported ring, gloves, and headgear. Perera, 1-star international referee himself, emphasized the importance of training local officials for this system. “International experts will come to train our team, ensuring our operators are up to speed with the latest technology. It’s crucial for our officials to gain this experience to elevate their standards. Sri Lankan 1-star officials will also get an opportunity to perform different technical roles apart from officiating. We’ll also have referees and judges (R & Js) from neutral countries to ensure complete fairness and transparency as well.”
He also mentioned the possibility of ASBC President attending the finals, adding prestige to the event.
Perera acknowledged the extensive support from the government, armed forces, and various ministries. “We’re truly grateful for the blessings and backing from the Sports Ministry and other relevant authorities. A dedicated task force, including Sri Lanka Police, Navy, Air Force, and Army, has been established to ensure smooth operations. Immigration, customs, and all logistics are under control. We’re leaving no stone unturned.”
The event is also expected to give a significant boost to Sri Lanka’s sports tourism. “Hosting a championship of this magnitude showcases Sri Lanka’s ability to handle major international sporting events,” Perera remarked. “If we deliver a successful tournament, it could open doors to more international competitions.
“Hosting a championship of this scale will showcase Sri Lanka’s capabilities on the international stage,” Perera said. “If we pull this off successfully, it could open doors to more major international tournaments. This would mean more exposure for our athletes and officials, giving them invaluable international experience — a stepping stone towards the South Asian Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games.”
“This is more than a boxing tournament — it’s a chance to prove Sri Lanka’s potential as a sports hub and create lasting opportunities for our boxers and officials. We’re committed to making this a memorable, world-class event,” Perera concluded.
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