Maliyadeva cricketers to do their best in 125th year

AT THE SCHOOL NETS

Maliyadeva cricketers to do their best in 125th year

Olcott’s dream lives on

Chris Dhambarage

Maliyadeva College Kurunegala with eight top coloursmen and several other senior all-rounders in their ranks are banking on the experienced players to deliver the goods in the current inter-school under-19 cricket season.

As the only team currently playing in the division one tournament from the Kurunegala District, Maliyadeva College, one of the pioneer Buddhist cricket-playing schools in the country, is once again determined to showcase their talent and potential during the current season.

In fact this season will be quite a significant one for Maliyadeva College who are celebrating their 125th anniversary after the institution was founded in 1888 by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott.      

In fact last season they made it a memorable occasion when they went on to beat their traditional rivals St. Anne’s College by an innings and 35 runs in their annual Battle of the Rocks, big match after a lapse of 49 years.     

Maliyadeva College could also be proud to be associated in participating in the first-ever cricket match between two Buddhist Schools in the country when they clashed with Dharmaraja College Kandy way back in 1893.

And since then the school has grown in stature to emerge as one of the leading cricket-playing schools from the outstation having produced some outstanding cricketers in the calibre of Ranjith Madurasinghe, Eric Upashantha, Jeewantha Kulathunga, and Rangana Herath with all of them representing the country at the highest level.

In fact Rangana Herath emerged as the world’s leading Test wicket taker for 2012 while Eric Upashantha had the opportunity of serving Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as a national selector last year.  

   

This time Maliyadeva College will be captained by all-rounder Kusal de Silva who is one of the senior members from the previous season’s big match winning team along with vice captain Chandima Bandara.

Both these players have started the new season on a high note having made some significant contributions during the third term matches as they look forward towards consolidating their position during the remaining fixtures.

Maliyadeva College of course had the bitter experience of losing four matches outright last season against Richmond College Galle, Thurstan College, St. Servatius College Matara and Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda.

But this time they have looked more confident on the field having recorded two first innings victories against Rahula College Matara and Dharmapala MV Pannipitiya while losing just a solitary match against Ananda College away from home.

The significant feature in this year’s team is that the side is studded with three promising Sri Lanka under-19 pool players namely vice captain Chandima Bandara, wicketkeeper batsman Minod Bhanuka and all-rounder Keshan Wijeratne.      

In fact Minod Bhanuka was their leading run getter last season where he accumulated over 900 runs inclusive of two hundreds against Rahula College Matara (154) and Royal College Panadura (137) in addition to scoring four good half-centuries.

He has certainly continued from where he left last season, having already notched up two splendid centuries against Dharmapala MV Pannipitiya (141) and Joseph Vaz College Wennappuwa (133) during the third-term fixtures.

In addition dashing opener Sharinda Dassanayake missed out the opportunity of scoring two centuries this season when he was dismissed for 91 against Kingswood College Kandy and remained unbeaten on 87 in the game against Mahanama College.    

Vice captain and left-arm spinner Chandima Bandara is undoubtedly their main strike bowler having so far captured over fifteen wickets including two four-wicket hauls against Kingswood College Kandy and Dharmapala MV Pannipitiya respectively.

Skipper Kusal de Silva is another key player in their bowling armory having provided some excellent support throughout the third-term matches and had a four-wicket haul against Richmond College Galle.        

Former Sri Lanka under-15 player Damith Silva is another talented player in the Maliyadeva College batting line-up having produced his best effort in the match against Joseph Vaz College Wennappuwa.      

The Maliyadeva College First XI Cricket Pool for 2013/14 season:

Kusal de Silva (Captain), Chandima Bandara (Vice Captain), Sharinda Dassanayake, Minod Bhanuka, Sachintaa Peiris, Prabash Keppetipola, Keshan Wijeratne, Tharindu Punchihewa, Damitha Silva, Damith Perera, Pubudu Irundaka, Arju Tennekoon, Gimantha Bakmeewewa, Bhanuka Chandrasiri, Channa Tillekeratne, Lakshan Somaweera, Namindu Somaratne, Dulaj Ranatunga, Dilshan Kollure, Damith Gunathilake (Coach), Shirantha Bandaranayake (Master-in-Charge), Mahinda Uduweralla (Assistant Master-in-Charge).

Upcoming fixtures:

January 2/3: v Mahinda College Galle at Kurunegala

January 7/8: v Revata MMV at Balapitiya

January 14/15: v S. de S. Jayasinghe MMV Dehiwela at Kurunegala

January 23/24: v Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda at Kurunegala

January 30/31: v St. Sylvester’s College at Peradeniya

February 6/7: v Thurstan College at Kurunegala

February 14/15: v Dharmaraja College at Lake View

February 21/22: v D. S. Senanayake College at Wijerama Mawatha

February 26/27: v Nalanda College at Kurunegala

March 7/8: v St. Anne’s College (Big Match) at Welagedera Stadium

March 9: v St. Anne’s College (one day) at Welagedera Stadium