SLC Premier Cricket Review:

SSC back in contention for Premier League Title

Chris Dhambarage

The defending champions SSC are back in contention for the SLC Premier League Tier A title. Last week they bounced back into recognition with a tremendous performance while recording an innings victory over Baduraliya CC on their home grounds at Maitland Place.

Their second outright victory in the tournament have also helped them to snatch a close one point lead over their nearest rivals Bloomfield and a further two point lead over Ragama CC with just three week›s of matches to be completed.

The manner in which SSC completed their task was really outstanding as they completely outplayed their opponents with more than a day to spare. They were well aware that this was the great chance for them to collect the maximum points and got their act together from the very beginning.

The formidable SSC batting line up began to fire all cylinders from the start as they rattled up over four hundred runs within the first day of play. This was a superb effort considering the fact that they had to maintain a run rate of more than four runs per over throughout the innings. But SSC came into this game with a lot of determination and they have succeeded in achieving their goal which has also given them hopes of retaining the title for the second successive year.

SSC rallied around through a splendid knock of 184 runs from Thilina Kandamby as they reached a massive 436 for 9 in the first innings. The SSC bowlers then performed their role to the perception while dismissing the opposition twice during three sessions of play.

Colts CC v Army SC

Colts CC also did well to exploit their opponents Sri Lanka Army SC to the maximum while collecting full points in their SLC Premier League Tier A tournament match worked off at Havelock Park last week.

This was a victory they achieved mainly through their bowlers while dismissing the opposition for under two hundred runs in both innings. The Colts CC batting did not click well and managed to compile a modest 226 runs in their first innings.

However their bowlers stuck to their task and really made amends with a fantastic performance on the field. Dynamic all rounder Sajeewa Weerakoon led from the front with a matchbag of eight wickets.

The medium paceman has been quite consistent throughout the season and it was just another occasion for him to impress with the ball. He picked up four wickets during each innings with the back up support coming from Nuwan Kulasekera and Dilruwan Perera.

The Colts CC batting failed to take advantage from the situation and lost early wickets before they were rescued by two promising players Rajeeva Weerasinghe and Thisara Perera with both compiling fighting half centuries.

CCC v Tamil Union

CCC came out with their best performance for the season as they edged out Tamil Union outright by three wickets in their SLC Premier League Tier A tournament match worked off at Maitland Crescent last week.

CCC will be more than satisfied with this performance as they recorded their first outright victory in their seventh outing. They have been searching for this win during the last few weeks and finally they have achieved their goal which would certainly boost their confidence ahead of the remaining three games of the tournament.

CCC of course went through some anxious moments during the final session where they were left with a challenging victory target of 153 runs. They could have put their shutters down and batted more safely because they had already collected first innings points.

However they decided to accept the challenge and went about their task with Sri Lanka cap Jehan Mubarak leading the run chase. Mubarak set the pace with an unbeaten half century and CCC managed to reach their target with a couple of deliveries to spare.

CCC ­s batting looked quite impressive in the first innings too as they did well to overcome their opponent›s formidable total of 309 with the help of three fine half centuries from opener D. K. Ranaweera, Charith Sylvester and all rounder Nuwan Perera.

Bloomfield v NCC

Meanwhile Bloomfield continued with their excellent form as they defeated NCC on the first innings in their key SLC Premier League Tier A tournament match worked off at Maitland Place last week.

Even then Bloomfield will be somewhat disappointed because they were unable to push for an outright victory after having started the game as clear favourites. They did the initial hard work by dismissing the opposition for 257 runs in the first innings.

However they were up against some stubborn batting in the second innings with NCC occupying the crease almost the entire third days play in scoring 244. Lasith Fernando and Upul Tharanga gave NCC a solid start and ensured that they would not collapse for the second time in the match.

In fact dashing opener Tharanga had a satisfying outing as he completed a fine century in the first innings. But Bloomfield overtook NCC›s total quite convincingly with the help of a superb century from Yohan de Silva. The middle order batsman played the key role in the absence of Tillekeratne Dilshan while occupying the crease almost the entire second day.

Moors SC v Chilaw Marians SC

Chilaw Marians SC put up a magnificent performance to beat Moors SC on the first innings in their SLC Premier League Tier A tournament match worked off at Braybrooke Place last week.

This was a victory which they achieved with a lot of hard work and commitment as the game turned out to be a high scoring contest. Even their huge first innings total of 389 runs was challenged by the Moors SC batting line up as the conditions looked more favourable for the batsmen.

In fact Moors SC after a superb effort fell short by just 45 runs from their target which gives a clear indication of the excellent batting conditions with nearly one thousand runs been scored during the three days.

Chilaw Marians SC certainly owe their success to Dinuk Hettiarachchi who bowled a splendid line and length to claim a five wicket haul under extremely difficult conditions. He received good support from Gayan Wijekoon and Roy Silva.

Moors SC of course were in the game at one stage following half centuries from Damitha Hunukumbura, Nizam Mazahir and Anil Rideegammanagedera. However Chilaw Marians SC were able to turn the game in their favour with a fine individual brilliance from Dinuk Hettiarachchi.