Chathuranga well rewarded for his dedication

Chris DHAMBARAGE

He joined St. Joseph's College with the prime intention of enhancing his career as an up and coming athlete. But few years later he ended up becoming one of the most outstanding all rounders in the school cricket scene.

Nineteen year old Chaturanga Kumara is the latest sensation to emerge from this year's inter school cricket season where he made a huge impact for his school St. Joseph's College.

The right hand middle order batsman and the right arm fast bowler has been rewarded for his excellence with an overseas scholarship to represent South Gate Cricket Club in England as their overseas amateur player in the Middlesex League for the 2011 season.

This is a tremendous boost for young Chaturanga Kumara who is set to follow in the footsteps of his former schoolmate Angelo Mathews who in fact was the previous recipient of this overseas scholarship.

Even then Chaturanga Kumara has his own style of doing things on the field both as a batsman and as a fast bowler having produced some match winning performances for his school, club and country.

As a budding cricketer he showed promise of turning into a top class player while initially attending a junior cricket academy at the SSC at the age of seven years under the guidance of Lalith Wijewardena.

He then represented Sri Jayawardenapura MV Kotte in the Under 12 tournament under the supervision of veteran coach B. S. Perera.

He soon burst into the scene as an explosive opening batsman captaining the school and scoring over 400 runs from just four outings at an excellent average of 120 and also captured 20 wickets as an opening bowler.

Chaturanga Kumara made a tremendous impact during his maiden outing for Sri Jayawardenapura MV Kotte while hammering a trail blazing 199 runs against Asoka MV Colombo.

The dashing right hander then followed up with a magnificent 153 runs against Wesley College, 80 against Prince of Wales College Moratuwa and 60 against Royal College Panadura.

Chaturanga Kumara was not only a promising cricketer but he was also a talented athlete where he came second in the 100 metres, 200 metres and long jump events at the popular Sir John Tarbat meet.

As a result he was able to move towards Darley Road where he initially had the intention of becoming the fastest athlete in the schools scene. But his fortune changed dramatically thereafter and showed equal brilliance on the cricketing field.

That prompted him to make up his mind and dedicate his time more on the cricket scene which was certainly a wise move considering his position right now. He of course had to bat in the middle order at St. Joseph's College and that decision too has paid off well in the recent past.

His style of batting is such that he could destroy any bowling attack under any condition and has proved it on more than a couple of occasions. His best effort in the junior cricket scene for St. Joseph's College came in the match against Mahanama College where he hit a splendid 120 and followed up with a six wicket haul.

Chaturanga Kumara also played a major role in helping St. Joseph's College to win the Big Match against their traditional rivals St. Peter's College during the 2007/08 season while claiming a five wicket haul.

That also marked his Big Match debut and altogether he has represented St. Joseph's College in four Big Matches and has collected a tally of 15 wickets in addition to his useful contributions with the bat.

Chaturanga Kumara's scholarship has been coordinated successfully by Asitha Jayaweera Chairman SLC U.K Committee under the SLC's development initiatives to facilitate Schoolboy cricketers to play in the English minor league.

Located at the stunning Walker Ground in North London, the club has existed for over 150 years and today is proud to remain one of the best venues for club cricket in the South of England. The South Gate Cricket Club has offered a fantastic opportunity for competitive cricket in the Middlesex League.

The club has undertaken to provide board and lodgings for the cricketer and will ensure his wellbeing during his stay in the UK. They will do everything within their power to ensure he will return to Sri Lanka a better cricketer and hope his time in London will assist his overall personal development.

All past recipients of the cricket scholarship have benefited enormously from their experience playing a season of cricket in England. In fact Farveez Maharoof, Dhammika Prasad, Upul Tharanga and Angelo Mathews have all represented Sri Lanka with the national side and the 'A' team.