Sports
Ponkuwan’s unbeaten century powers Lyceum to semis
Under 17 Division II Cricket
by Reemus Fernando
Karunyan Ponkuwan scored an unbeaten century to help Lyceum International, Nugegoda join Christ King, Ja-ela, Royal College, Panadura and Royal College (B), Colombo in the semi-finals of the Under 17 Division II Cricket tournament continued on Thursday.
In the match played at Wickramashila Ground Giriulla, St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna made 206 for nine wickets in their allotted 50 overs. In reply Lyceum reached the target for the loss of three wickets with 11 overs to spare. Ponkuwan scored 16 fours and a six in his (109 balls) knock as he anchored the batting line up to seal the semi-final berth.
In another quarter-final played in Colombo Royal College, Panadura earned the semi-final spot by beating ‘B’ team of St. Joseph’s Darley Road. They restricted the Joes to 168 runs in reply to their 189 runs through the efforts of Sethika Dilmith and Kaveesha Perera who shared five wickets between them. Royal College (B), Colombo booked their semi-final ticket when they contained St. Peter’s ‘B’ team to 229 runs to record 33 runs victory.
Samindu Maduranga and Sharith Sudeena were the heroes of Christ King Ja-Ela as they fought back after being bowled out for 213 runs in the 40th over to record an 18 runs victory over Wayamba Royal, Kurunegala.
Match Results
Lyceum beat St. Patrick’s at Giriulla
Scores:
St. Patrick’s
206 for 9 in 50 overs (P. Mathusan 47, J. Mehavarshigan 41, D. Abilash 40, K. Sarushan 22; Abilash Sasidarma 5/20, Sethika Balasooriya 3/57)
Lyceum (Nugegoda)
208 for 3 in 39 overs (Karunyan Ponkuwan 100n.o., Aritha Vinnal 29n.o.)
Christ King beat Wayamba Royal at Darley Road
Scores:
Christ King
(Ja-Ela) 213 all out in 40 overs (Sarith Sudeena 47, Samidu Maduranga 25, Avishka Nirmal 46, Pramod Chamika29; Kavindu Shehan 3/23, Kavishan Karunarathne 3/46, Kavindu Dulanjana 3/45)
Wayamba Royal (Kurunegala)
195 all out in 45.5 overs (Kavindu Dulanjana 39, Matheesha Pankaja 24, Dinusha Tennakoon 30 ; Samidu Maduranga 4/30, Sarith Sudeena 3/33)
Royal (Panadura) beat St. Joseph’s (B) at Reid Avenue
Scores:
Royal (Panadura)
189 all out in 48.4 overs (Sehandu Ranmira 65, Sadew Wijerathna 38, Kushan Dewaka 30, Nirvana Abeysekara 4/27, Demian de Silva 2/20, Kyle Makalanda 2/21)
St. Joseph’s ‘B’
168 for 9 in 50 overs (Leson Liou 23, Kanishka Dissanayeka 20, Chamath Perera 41, Kyle Makalanda 27n.o.; Sethika Dilmith 3/29, Kaveesha Perera 2/40)
Royal (Colombo) ‘B’ beat St. Peter’s ‘B’ at Moratuwa
Scores:
Royal (Colombo) ‘B’
252 for 9 in 50 overs (Dimuth Karunarathne 57, Immadh Meezan 45, Khalid Rahimdeen 40, Dilith Wijethunga 30n.o.; Tharin Senvidu 2/49, Senesh Wijerathna 2/52)
St. Peter’s ‘B’
229 all out in 48.3 overs (Savi Fernando 32,Dineth de Silva 56, Dimalsha Jayawardana 24, Enosh Karunanayake 32, Movin Amarasinghe 25; Eranga Weerakkody 2/21, Khalid Rahimdeen 2/31, Menaka Heiyanthuduwa 2/41, Mahith Rajapaksha 3/44)
The Rose Bowl, which has been awarded to the winner of ODI series between the women’s teams of Australia and New Zealand since 1985, has now been expanded to include T20Is as well.
New Zealand’s three match T20I tour of Australia, which begins on Sunday at the North Sydney Oval, will be the first T20I edition of the Rose Bowl. The teams will get to face off again for the trophy in March 2027 when they meet again for three ODIs, also in Australia.
For Rose Bowl series that include matches in both white-ball formats, the trophy will go to the team with the most wins overall. In case of a drawn series, the current holder will retain the trophy.
“The Rose Bowl is a prestigious trophy that holds a lot of meaning to current and past players, and it’s a series we’ve always taken a lot of pride in competing in,”Catherine Campbell, NZC’s chief cricket operations officer and a former New Zealand player, said. “With so much T20I cricket now being played, this is a brilliant opportunity to keep the Rose Bowl relevant and to build on the history between us and our Australian rivals.”
New Zealand captain Melie Kerr was excited by the broadening of opportunities to compete for the Rose Bowl.
“We’re all aware of what the Rose Bowl represents and the importance it holds in the White Ferns whakapapa [genealogy],” said Kerr. “Great players and teams have fought for it over the years and we’d love the opportunity to claim our own piece of that history.”
Australia have held the Rose Bowl continuously since wresting it back from New Zealand in 2000. Since that 3-0 win, Australia have won 18 times with one series – in 2008-09 – shared 2-2. Overall, Australia have won 26 of the 31 ODI series played for the Rose Bowl, with New Zealand winning three times and three series drawn.
North Sydney will host all three T20Is of the upcoming Rose Bowl series, on October 18, 20 and 22.
[Cricinfo]
The inaugural Sastralian Premier League (SPL), a T10 cricket tournament aimed at strengthening the cricketing fortunes of Ananda Shasthralaya National School, Matugama, will get underway next month, bringing together eight teams.
Organised by the Old Sastralians Cricket Association in collaboration with the school, the tournament is designed to provide a platform for emerging talent while generating much needed financial support for the school’s cricket development programme.
Each franchise will be required to assemble a squad of 16 players, excluding the captain, with the competition featuring a unique set of regulations aimed at encouraging participation across different age groups.
Cricketers from other schools in the Matugama area will also have an opportunity to showcase their skills under the ‘Guest Players’ category. Each team can recruit up to six guest players, with four required to feature in the playing XI.
In a move designed to nurture the next generation, every team must include two current school cricketers in its squad, with at least one guaranteed a place in the playing XI.
The tournament will also accommodate experienced campaigners, with teams permitted to select five players over the age of 20 and three over 40. The provision to use an ‘Impact Player’ is another feature of the competition.
The eight teams have been divided into two groups. Group A comprises JSD Challengers, Jagath Express, Liveka Power Lions and Rexhill Warriors, while JPI Royals, Five Star Heroes, Marine Titans and Finnk Falcons make up Group B.
A total of 16 matches will be played across November 7, 8 and 15, with November 16 set aside as a reserve day.
Beyond the action on the field, organisers hope the tournament will provide a financial boost to school cricket while forging stronger ties between past and present cricketers.
Squad for the first three ODIs: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer [VC], KL Rahul [WK], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna*, Kuldeep Yadav
Squad for fourth and fifth ODIs: Shreyas Iyer [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan [WK, VC], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav
[Cricbuzz]
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