by Reemus Fernando

An intriguing battle is on the cards when St. Joseph’s meet unbeaten Royal in the Under-19 Division I Tier ‘A’ Cricket final at NCC ground today. After struggling early in the tournament and earning their knockout stage ticket the hardest way possible, the Joes transformed dramatically producing dominant performances in the quarter-final and the semi-final to be on par with Royal, who had been considered a title contender from the time they concluded the league stage.

Royal beat all opponents, namely, Trinity, Gurukula, DSS, Wesley and De Mazenod during the league stage to emerge Group ‘X’ champions. From skipper Ahan Wickramasinghe, Sadisha Rajapaksha, Isiwara Dissanayake to Kavindu Pathirathna made their batting look solid, while Sonal Amarasekara, Kavindu Pathirathna and Don Poddiwela in the pace attack and Gishan Balasooriya in the spin department shared bowling duties. Royal continued in the same vain during the knockout sage. First they beat Nalanda by six wickets and edged out one of the favourties to the title Mahanama in the semi-final.

In contrast the Joes suffered two defeats during the league stage. They could muster only 125 runs against Mahanama (beaten by 88 runs) and lost a low scoring thriller against St. Sebastian’s (by two runs). The victories against St. Anne’s (by 6 wickets), St. Thomas’, Matara (by six wickets) and St. Benedict’s (by 143 runs) could secure them only the third place in Group ‘Y’ behind Mahanama and St. Sebastian’s. But from then on they have been a totally different outfit beating Richmond and Trinity by huge margins to secure the final spot.

Sheran Fonseka maintaining an average of over 60 runs, Sadeesh Jayawardena, Dunith Wellalage and Shevon Daniel have been the main contributors with the bat. Skipper Wellalage who has taken 13 wickets with his left-arm spin, Shenuka de Alwis and pacies Deshan Seneviratne and Mithira Thenura are the bowlers who have been key to their success so far.

Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association had to opt for a curtailed Under-19 tournament consisting of two Tiers in each Division after the Ministry of Education granted permission to conduct tournaments within a short window. The SLSCA could not conclude their 2019/20 season due to the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic and did not conduct the two-day league tournament. The team performances of this limited overs tournament which will conclude with today’s final will not be considered for promotions or demotions.

Teams:

St. Joseph’s (from):

Dunith Wellalage (Captain), Sadeesh Jayawardana, Sheran Fonseka, Yesith Rupasinghe, Mithira Thenura, Shevon Daniel, Dinal Anuradha, Shenuka de Silva, Deshan Senaviratne, Lahiru Amarasekara, Hirun Matheesha, Ashan de Alwis, Dineth Anthony, Gagan Chamod, Shenuk Serasinghe, Hiran Jayasundara, Sahan Dabare, Yenula Dewthusa, Sasanka Ranaweera, Kenath Sasmina.

Officials:

Dilan Ramanayake (Head Coach), Lahiru Kanishka Wickramasinghe (Asst. Coach), Asiri Caldera (Master in Charge)

Royal (from):

Ahan Wickramasinghe (Captain), Sineth Jayawardena, Sehan Herath, Isiwara Dissanayaka, Sadisha Rajapaksha, Kavindu Pathirathnna, Gishan Balasooriya, Prashan Kalhara, Sonal Amarasekara, Dan Poddiwela, Dasis Manchanayake, Ashen Gamage, Uvindu Weerasekara, Uthum Dissanayake,  Nethin Panapitiya, Damith Kappagoda, Resandu Tillekaratne, Lahiru Gangewatte.

Officials:

Jehan Mubarak (Head Coach), Ajantha Kumara (Asst. Coach), Dharantha Menerigama (Asst. coach), Anura Prasantha (Master in Charge)