Himaru sparks bright to win Under 15 Youth League Best Bowler award 

by Reemus Fernando   

Holy Cross College, Kalutara spinner Himaru Deshan emerged the best bowler of the tournament as his team Colombo South Under 15s beat Colombo North in the final of the Sri Lanka Cricket conducted Under 15 Youth League tournament at MCA ground on Wednesday.

After missing the Best Bowler title by a small margin at the last edition, Deshan made sure that he would be the bowler to watch in the final as he topped the list of highest wicket takers of the tournament by the time the league matches were concluded.

He had 14 wickets against his name before the final and produced controlled spells to restrict Colombo North to 170 runs in the decisive encounter. His ten overs in the final which included three maidens cost just 27 runs. He was responsible for removing open batsman Kavith de Silva in the final.

The left-arm-spinner commenced the tournament with a bang taking five wickets against Galle U15s. He gave away just 22 runs in his seven overs which included three maidens. When Colombo South met Colombo North in the league match, he took two wickets. In that match he shared the new ball and gave away just 14 runs in his nine overs.

In the match against Dambulla, Deshan grabbed three wickets for 14 runs in ten overs as the opponents were dismissed for a mere 65 runs. Kandy too were dismissed for a similar number of runs with Deshan taking four wickets for 11 runs in 5.3 overs (three maidens).

A frontline bowler in the Holy Cross First XI team, Deshan has reaped the benefit of playing Under 19 cricket. He has been identified by his school as a future captain of the first XI and has captained the school’s Under 13 and Under 15 teams.