Colts CC and Bloomfield clash in vital match today

Chris DHAMBARAGE

Two of the top contenders for the Tier A title Colts CC and Bloomfield will clash in a high profile SLC Premier League encounter commencing at Havelock Park today.

This game has a great amount of significance because both teams are faced with a must win situation if they are to keep their hopes alive in the tournament. Colts CC have made a tremendous impact during the latter stages of the league and have three outright victories to their credit.

Bloomfield too have recovered well following a pretty ordinary start to their campaign and are now looking very much confident of putting up another solid performance. The lads from Reid Avenue are coming out after a well earned rest and will be determined to maintain their excellent form. However Colts CC will certainly have the edge after their tremendous performance last week where they amassed over 400 runs to beat Ragama CC on the first innings. All rounder Jeevantha Kulathunga will be hoping for a repeat performance after his epic double hundred last week.

Colts CC will be looking for an improved performance from their bowlers and restrict the strong Bloomfield batting line up for a low score. They of course suffered a shock two wicket defeat at the hands of Ragama CC in their Premier limited over match on Wednesday.

However Colts CC will be hoping that this setback will not effect the players in the longer version of the game as they reach a crucial period of the tournament where they are left with just three more games.

CCC v Ragama CC

Ragama CC will face a tough task when they take on CCC in another important SLC Premier League Tier A tournament match at Maitland Crescent commencing today.

Ragama CC are still among the top three in the points table and are very much in contention for the title. Last week of course they went down to Colts CC on the first innings in a high scoring game at Havelock Park.

But the manner in which they lost that game was quite remarkable where they made a fantastic effort in chasing a massive 448 runs before falling short by 48 runs at the end. This kind of performance will certainly inspire the entire team as they look for another successful outing which would bring them further closer towards the title.

Ragama CC has some more work to be done and they need to be really focused on the game during their last three outings of the tournament. This will be a match which would certainly test their character and the capabilities of playing under pressure.

Ragama CC will be banking on their top run getter Indika de Saram to produce another splendid performance having made his presence felt in the previous few outings. They will also take the field with their morale high having defeated Colts CC by two wickets in their Premier limited over match on Wednesday.

CCC although are out of the running for the title will be hoping to improve their position in the points table with a good all round performance. Last week they have a good run to the defending champions SSC before going down fighting on the first innings.

SSC v Moors SC

The defending champions SSC will be looking to collect full points when they take on Moors SC in their SLC Premier League Tier A tournament match which begins at Maitland Place today.

SSC are faced with a tough situation where they need to win their last two games outright if they are to retain the title for the second successive year. They have played one match more than their three closest rivals Colts CC, Ragama CC and Bloomfield which means that they need to put up their best effort to win the league.

This may be a difficult task for SSC considering the fact that Moors SC have played some decent cricket throughout the tournament although the Braybrooke Place team is currently placed among the last five in the points table.

However SSC have proved on several occasions that they are capable of rising to the occasion and will be making a desperate attempt to snatch an outright victory. The manner n which they have performed during their last few outings have been quite remarkable after a shaky start to their campaign.

SSC will also take the field brimming with confidence having defeated CCC convincingly by seven wickets in their Premier limited over match on Wednesday. Their batting will revolve around skipper Tharanga Paranavithana, Thilan Samaraweera and Kaushal Silva.

Tamil Union v Chilaw Marians SC

Two equally good teams Tamil Union and Chilaw Marians SC will clash in another SLC Premier League Tier A tournament match starting at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium today.

Both teams have done their best to make an impact throughout the season and will be determined to finish off things on a high note. Tamil Union of course lost their grip mid way in the tournament after been in contention for the title at one stage.

They are still placed among the top five in the league and they have another chance to improve on it with at least a first innings victory. But to achieve that they need to play some smart cricket because Chilaw Marians SC are currently enjoying a good season having brought down NCC in their previous outing.

This was certainly one of their highlights in the current season and have earned a reputation of been the most dangerous side in the competition.

They have the potential to bring down any side on their day with several talented players like Janaka Gunaratne, Gayan Wijekoon, Duminda Perera, Milinda Siriwardena, Roy Silva and Chinthaka Perera in their line up.

Tamil Union of course will be quite confident after their success against Moors SC last week. But this time they will be up against an unpredictable team and need to really lift their game to emerge victorious.

Army SC v NCC

NCC will be hoping to redeem some of their lost prestige when they take on Sri Lanka Army SC in their SLC Premier League Tier A tournament match at Panagoda commencing today.

NCC are going through a lean season and they are still searching for their first outright victory of the tournament. Last week too their hopes were dashed to a great extent when they suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Chilaw Marians SC.

The good news for NCC will be the return of paceman Lasith Malinga who has recovered fully to spearhead their bowling attack even during the latter stages of the tournament.

Malinga in fact played a vital role in their 34 run victory against Chilaw Marians SC in the Premier limited over match on Wednesday.

The fixtures: Moors SC v SSC at Maitland Place, Tamil Union v Chilaw Marians SC at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, CCC v Ragama CC at Maitland Crescent, Colts CC v Bloomfield at Havelock Park, Army SC v NCC at Panagoda.