Full strength St. Joseph’s meet formidable Trinity in title clash  

Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ Cricket final

by Reemus Fernando  

A full-strength St. Joseph’s team inclusive of four Sri Lanka Under 19 players will meet formidable Trinity in the title clash of the Inter School Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ tournament today and tomorrow at ACE Capital ground, Kirimandala Mawatha.

Shevon Daniel who was not available for the entire two-day tournament due to his Sri Lanka Under 19 and Sri Lanka ‘A’ commitments will play his first two-day match under  the captaincy of Sadeesh Jayawardana today.

Daniel is joined by his fellow Sri Lanka youth caps Hirun Matheesha and Hiran Jayasundara who were unavailable during the last few weeks due to Sri Lanka Under 19 duties in UAE. With skipper Jayawardana, the Joes have four Sri Lanka Under 19 players.  On paper, they are the favourites as they attempt to win their third consecutive title.

They were the champions of the last two editions which were played prior to the tournaments were stopped due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Though the two-day tournament was not played during the hiatus there were truncated limited overs tournaments and the Joes trained by Dylan Ramanayake savoured the title.

Trinity captained by Rahal Amarasinghe will have their Sri Lanka Under 19 player Theeraka Ranatunga joining the team for the crucial final. They will be attempting back-to-back titles after emerging as the limited-overs tournament champions early this season.  The limited overs tournament preceded the two-day tournament and the final was played in November where Trinity emerged champions against Richmond.  They will be eager to defy the Joes to bag the coveted Tier ‘A two-day tournament title.

Both teams conceded just solitary first innings defeats during the first round of the tournament where they had to play just five matches.  Playing in Group ‘X’ Trinity emerged as group champions, while the Joes were the runners-up to St. Sebastian’s in Group ‘Y’.

During the knockout tournament, Trinity were in a different zone as they recorded outright victories in the quarter-final and the semi-final.  They knocked out Royal (by six wickets) and Maliyadeva (by seven wickets) to book their final berth.

St. Joseph’s on the other hand relied on a different strategy. They occupied the crease for long hours to secure their passage to the final. They were satisfied with point victories. In the semi-final, they edged out St. Benedict’s by restricting them to 90 for six wickets in reply to their 439 for seven wickets declared. In the quarter-final, they beat Wesley on first innings after batting for more than 100 overs to post 232 runs in the first innings.

Naren Muralidaran (67 and 102), Sadeesh Jayawardena (117 and 44) and Avintha de Alwis (101) in the batting department and Yenula Dewthusa (5 wickets) and Gagan Chamod in the bowling department were the key players for St. Joseph’s during the knockout phase.

Trinity had Tharana Wimaladarma (match bag of 8 wickets), Jayavi Liyanagama, Dinuka Tennakoo and Kaveen Gamage with the ball and Lakvin Abeysinghe and Dinusha Peiris with the bat sharing much of the responsibilities during the knockout stage.

 Teams  

St. Joseph’s (from):  Sadeesh Jayawardana (Captain), Lahiru Amarasekara (Vice Captain), Shevon Daniel, Hirun Matheesha, Sahan Dabare, Abishek Jayaweera, Hiran Jayasundara, Muditha Lakshan, Dinuk Serasinghe, Kaven Pathirana, Yenula Dewthusa, Rishma Amarasinghe, Maanasa Madubashana, Dunick Perera, Gagan Chamod, Naren Muralidaran, Avintha de Alwis, Sasanka Ranaweera, Senod Soysa, Ashan Vilukshan

Officials:

Asiri Caldera (Master in Charge), Dylan Ramanayake (Head Coach), Dinal Dhambarage (Asst. Coach), Torin Pitigala (Asst. Coach). 

Trinity (from): Rahal Amarasinghe (Captain), Vibhavith Ehelepola (Vice Captain), Theeraka Ranathunga, Supun Waduge, Manula Kularatne, Tharana Wimaladharma, Kusal Wijethunga, Dinusha Pieris, Dinuka Tennakoon, Jayavi Liyanagama, Janith Warnakula, Malith Rathnayake, Lakvin Abeysinghe, Vathila Udara, Yewan Hulangamuwa, Viduka Dhammage,

Officials:

Bryan Senaratne (Master in Charge), Naveen Ekanayake (Head Coach), Lakshitha Alahakoon (Asst. Coach).