Trinity - one of the strongest teams

S M Jiffrey ABDEEN- Kandy Sports Correspondent

Trinity College, Kandy will field one of the strongest combinations in schools cricket circuit this season and if not, could be the strongest of all sides. They could well stake a claim as they have already notched up eight outright wins and are well on their way to emulate the feats of their last year's side which scored a record ten outright wins.

Trinity College under-19 captain Niroshan Dickwella

Trinity College will be led by fourth year opening bat and wicket keeper Niroshan Dickwella who is a junior national player. He scored 867 runs last season and played a key role in Trinity's success last season and was awarded the coveted cricket lion by the school authorities.

In addition to Niroshan Dickwella there are two other Lionsmen in the side in allrounder Akila Jayasundera and deputy skipper Janishka Premasinghe. There is also a big crop of coloursmen in the side and the fight for places is very keen, a failure in the performance could result in being dropped from the side.

Fourth year player Janishka Premasinghe is the vice captain of the side. A top class off spinner who captured 83 wickets last season and could better this performance this year as he has already a haul of 72 wickets up to the time of writing. He has also scored over 400 runs this season.

Allrounder Akila Jayasundera who won his Lion two seasons ago for capturing over a hundred wickets is the main drive of the side. He was adjudged the 'Best Captain and Best Fielder, in the schools contests.

His right arm leg spinners is very destructive and could destroy any batting line up. But he gets very little opportunity to bowl when others are getting the wickets. He has so far captured 45 wickets. His batting has brought him over 600 runs with a top score of 136 against St Joseph's College.

He is also a fielder and would not allow anything to go past him and known for his single handed catches.

Third year player Heshan Wanniarachchi is another member of the Junior National team. He has so far scored over 350 runs despite missing around seven matches due to junior national duty and injuries. A more than useful off spinner capable of breaking stubborn partnerships.

Third year player Alwin Fernando is essentially a left arm fast bowler entrusted with the task of opening the attack but his left arm spinners has proved to be effective and in one match captured a haul of 11 wickets. He has this season captured over 50 wickets with a mixture of pace and spin.

Dinuk Wickremanayake playing in his second year is probably the 'find' of the season and has scored over 700 runs including an epic knock of 150 not out against St Joseph's College which pulled the lions from a dangerous position of 57 for 7 to 382 for 6. He also bowls off spinners.

The other capable batsmen in the side are Rajitha Jayatunga, Ron Chandragupta, Lakshitha Dassanayake, Arjuna Jayasinghe, the aggressive Bhaghya Pallihawadana, which displays that there is plenty of depth in the lions batting.

Trinity College under-19 cricket team. S M Jiffrey Abdeen Kandy Sports Correspondent

The pacies in the side are Madhushan Subandran (38 wickets), Amrith Srimahan (40 wkts) and Alwin Fernando (50 wkts). Off spinner Janishka Premasinghe with 72 wickets is their main spinner. For more spin there is Akila Jayasundera, Alwin Fernando, Heshan Wanniarachchi (off spin), Ron Chandragupta (left arm spin bowl the 'chinaman'), Dinuk Wickremanayake (off spin), Rajitha Jayatunga (off spin), Arjuna Jayasinghe (off spin), Lakshan Jayasinghe - a very promising left arm spinner who has captured over 40 wickets this season. The others vying for places are Avishka Dissanayake, Pubudu Samarasinghe and Dimal Koswatte.

The team is coached by former D S Senanayake College captain Sampath Perera who also coached the Nondescript CC and the Singhalese Sports Club and many national cricketers came under his scrutiny. He was specially selected for the job by none other than former Sri Lanka cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara in his capacity as the President of the Trinity College Cricket Foundation.

Without any doubt he has delivered the goods beyond expectations. A Vishnuwarthan is the Master in Charge of the team.

Trinity College will play their big match against St Anthony's College at the Asgiriya Stadium on March 9th and 10th. They last won the big match in 1986 under Thushara Weerasuriya after a lapse of 55 years. Thus for sixty years between 1952 and 2011, they have won only one big match. They will certainly make a big effort to improve on this at this year's big match.

The Principal of the School Brigadier Udaya Ariyaratne has been a tower of strength for not only for the cricketers but all sports in school and their performance have reached a new high winning many championships especially last year.

Trinity College under-19 captain Niroshan Dickwella

Trinity College under-19 cricket team. S M Jiffrey Abdeen Kandy Sports Correspondent