The British School in Colombo will look to retain the Hasan Sohail Memorial Trophy when they take on traditional rivals Colombo International School (CIS) in their annual limited overs cricket encounter on Sunday at the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation Grounds in Nawala.

The British School in Colombo are the current holders of the Hasan Sohail Memorial Trophy after they edged out CIS by one run in a thrilling match played last year at the same venue.

On that occasion the British School in Colombo piled up 183 for three in 25 overs after they were invited to bat first and then restricted their opponents to 182 for four in 25 overs.

This rivalry between the British School in Colombo and CIS began in 2023 with a Twenty20 match, where CIS claimed victory at the same venue. However, the 2024 encounter was washed out due to bad weather.

Colombo International School Cricket Squad

Lesith Semika will lead the CIS team while Thisath Ganegoda will captain the British School in Colombo.

Mahinda College fought back strongly to reach 90 for two wickets at stumps in reply to Richmond College’s 315 on day two of the Lovers’ Quarrel Big Match at the Galle International Stadium on Friday.

‎In a similar pattern to their arch rivals’ start, Mahinda suffered an early setback, losing two quick wickets in the opening phase of their innings. However, the third-wicket pair of Randula Mabarana and Dineth Pehesara restored stability with a composed stand, ensuring the team closed the day without further damage.

‎Earlier in the day, spinner Manitha Rajapakshe delivered a standout performance, claiming a five-wicket haul to bring an end to Richmond’s marathon first innings, which extended from day one into the post-lunch session on the second day.

‎Richmond had recovered impressively from early trouble after slipping to 11 for two on the opening morning. A patient and resilient 173-run partnership for the third wicket between Ravinu Randinu and Ameesha Rasanjana laid the foundation for their competitive total. The duo batted through the bulk of day one and looked set for bigger scores before both were dismissed in the 80s by Sadew Nethmina and Kaveesha Githmal.

‎Further contributions from Nethusha Nimsara, Nethuja Basitha and Punal Hansajith helped Richmond consolidate, particularly as they faced a sustained and threatening spell from Rajapakshe, who bowled tirelessly to keep Mahinda in the contest.‎With Mahinda still trailing but having wickets in hand, the match remains finely poised heading into the third day.

Sophie Devine made Eden Park her own little playground as she brought up her 22nd T20I half-century and carried New Zealand  to a 2-1 series lead over South Africa  with two games to go. She had also picked up a couple of wickets earlier in the day and backed up her words when she said South Africa’s 149 for 7 was a little bit under par.

New Zealand have never chased more than 150 at home. The small boundaries in Auckland were a friend in that regard, particularly with Annerie Dercksen  and Ayanda Hlubi occasionally straying down leg. South Africa tightened up though and the wickets of Amelia Kerr and Brooke Halliday in the 10th over left the chase in a tense situation. New Zealand needed 82 off 60 with six wickets in hand. Devine was 13 off 10.

A pull shot off Chloe Tryon to start the 11th over signalled the shift in momentum. The square boundaries are bigger than the straight ones at Eden Park and yet Devine kept finding them. She collected 46 runs at a strike rate of 219 on the leg side. At the time the fifth-wicket partnership had hit 50, Maddy Green had made only 12 off 15. It was all Devine from the other end and it was all Devine till the end. Her superpowers now include winning the game without touching the ball. Dercksen missed the cut strip as she tried to hide it away from the batter’s reach.

Those five no-balls bringing an end to proceedings highlighted how wayward South Africa’s attack was compared to New Zealand’s. Jess Kerr’s early swing dominated the powerplay. Devine and Suzie Bates taking pace off kept control through the middle and barring another Kayla Reyneke onslaught, it was one-way traffic.

South Africa had to wait 23 balls for the first boundary off the bat on Friday. Dercksen made it worth the wait with a neat little flick off her legs that travelled all the way for six over deep midwicket. Dercksen arrived with the score on 9 for 2 in the third over and put the pressure back on New Zealand. While she was at the crease, she was responsible for more then half the boundaries (4 out of 7) her team scored. Thanks to that, Laura Wolvaardt could drop anchor and go at her preferred pace, though 37 off 39 wasn’t a good look for the captain, who later admitted they were well short of a competitive total.