Thomians a tough force to be reckoned with

AT THE SCHOOL NETS

Thomians a tough force to be reckoned with

Chris Dhambarage

S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia with seven top coloursmen and a number of senior payers in their ranks are confident that they could enjoy another highly successful tournament in the ongoing inter school Under-19 cricket season.

But more importantly the Thomians will be looking to draw inspiration from their Under-17 team which has been riding on a crest of wave in the recent past through some outstanding performances.

They first annexed the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) organized Division One tournament after a lapse of fourteen years and then followed up by emerging champions at the Second Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Tournament held in Chandigarh last week.

        

In fact their current First XI team is studded with as many as six players from the champion Under-17 team and they are expected to play a dominant role this season with their individual brilliance.

Ravindu Thilakaratne, Sachithra Jayatilleke, Tharindu Ratnayake, Dulanja Silva, Chenuth Wickremasnghe and Lahiru Opatha are the players who have really forced themselves into the First XI team after their successful campaign in the Under 17 tournament. 

Last season of course S. Thomas’ College kept away from participating in the SLSCA organized Under 19 tournament but this time they have returned into competitive cricket under the guidance of new coach Dinesh Kumarasinghe who has turned things around almost immediately.

Already they have signaled a warning to the rest of their opponents while completely dominating the opening two fixtures in the third term against Thurstan College and St. Anthony’s College Katugastota respectively after the scheduled traditional matches against Mahinda and Richmond were postponed due to bad weather.

The feature of their performances so far this season has been their splendid batting where they have been able to put up some big scores in less number of overs and they proved it by scoring over 350 runs in two sessions in the match against Thurtasn College while performing away from home.  

    

The Thomian batsmen were in tremendous form in the match against St. Anthony’s College as well as they piled up a formidable 299 runs in the first innings and also had the satisfaction of enforcing the follow on by dismissing the opposition for 198 runs.    

Vice captain Thilaksha Sumanasiri is undoubtedly their most consistent run getter this season having struck a career best 146 runs in the match against Thurstan College which earned him a place in the Sri Lanka Under 19 squad in preparation for next years youth World Cup.

In fact skipper Madushan Ravichandrakumar, all rounder Tharindu Ratnayake and Sachithra Jayatilleke are also members of the Under 19 World Cup squad having made some significant contributions in the recent past.    

Ravichandrakumar made his presence felt in the opening match against Thurstan College where he hammered a sparkling 96 in the first innings and also captured a four wicket haul against St. Anthony’s College at Katugastota.   

All rounder Tharindu Ratnayake of course has turned out to be a unique cricketer who has the potential to bowl right arm off spinners and left arm leg spinners with equal brilliance having proved himself on several occasions.

In fact he was one of their main weapons during their successful campaign in the Under 17 Division One tournament where he scored a match winning half century in the semifinal and also snapped up wickets at some vital stages of the tournament.         

The S. Thomas’ College Under-19 cricket squad for 2013/14 season:

Madhushan Ravichandrakumar (captain), Thilaksha Sumanasiri (vice captain), Sanesh De Mel, Helakamal Nanayakkara , Sahan Wijesinghe, Dhanush Peiris, Ravindu Thilakaratne, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dulanja Silva, Lahiru Opatha, Ushen Fernando, Imesh Jayawardena, Chenutha Wickramasinghe, Sachithra Jayatilleke, Romesh Nallapperuma, Dinesh Kumarasinghe (Head Coach), Dilshan Mendis (Assistant coach), Chandrasiri Fonseka (Trainer), N. S. Wijeratne (Master in Charge) 

Upcoming fixtures:

October 16/17: v Dharmapala MV at Mount Lavinia

December 13/14: v St. John’s at Jaffna

January 3/4: v St. Benedict’s at Mount Lavinia

January 10/11: v Ananda at Mount Lavinia

January 17/18: v Wesley at Campbell Park

January 24/25: v St. Joseph’s at Mount Lavinia

January 31/February 1: v St. Peter’s at Mount Lavinia

February 12/13: v Trinity at Asgiriya

February 21/22: v Nalanda at Mount Lavinia

February 28/March 1: v St. Sebastian’s at Mount Lavinia

March 13/14/15: v Royal (Big Match) at SSC ground

March 22: v Royal (one day) at SSC ground