Moratu Vidyalaya field an average team

Dilwin Mendis Moratuwa Sports Corr

The record holders for most outright victories for a cricket season with thirteen. Moratu Vidyalaya is fielding an average team. So far they have played six matches and out of them they have beaten St Thomas, Kotte, Devananda and Asoka vidyalaya and gained first innings wins over St Mary’s Kegalle, Gurukula and lost to Panadura Royal on first innings.

Sri Lanka Schools under 19 poolist and Star all-rounder and third year coloursman Sanka Ramesh is the captain of the side. He is one of the best all-rounders in schools today and he turns out for Sinhalese Sports Club in the under 23 cricket tournament.

He bowls right arm leg spin and bats right hand. So far he has taken 41 wickets in five matches with three ten wicket hauls 12 for 92 against St Thomas, Kotte 11 for 62 versus Gurukula and 10 for 79 against St Mary’s Kegalle and have scored 155 runs with 46 runs being the highest score.

Last year he scored 1187 runs and grabbed 103 wickets in fifteen matches and became the third schoolboy cricketer to achieve this rare feat. Undoubtedly he is the best all-rounder. So far produced by Moratu Vidyalaya in their seventy five year old cricket history.

His deputy will be a fourth year coloursman and wicket keeper of the side Janitha Samarajeeva. He bats right hand and have so far scored 195 runs with the highest score of 53 against Devananda and taken 23 wickets and three stumpings.

Saminda Maduranga is the reserve wicket keeper and opening batsman and scored 68 runs against Asoka Vidyalaya and his partner Sanesh Champika scored 79 against St Thomas, Kotte and both of them are freshers.

Ishan Peiris fourth year coloursman is the most successful batsman for the season and so far he has scored five fifties with 78 runs as the top score against Gurukula and a fine fielder in any position.

Zafran Preena is a second year player and he bowls off spin and Harsha Devinda too a right arm off spinner. Both of them are fair batsmen. Iresh Chamara who is a second year player opens the attack and a left arm medium pace bowler with 21 wickets he shares the new ball with Dushan Sulakshana who was the last year under 15 skipper. Madava Madushanka who bowls right arm medium pace is a third year player and occasionally share the new ball with Chamara.

Mrs Ruchini Tharanga who is a Physical Training Instructress is the Prefect of Games and Teacher in Charge of cricket and she is very busy with all sports activities of the school as Vidyalaya is a mixed school.

Their Coach Prasanna Dissanayake who captained Vidyalaya in 85/86, 86/87 and commenced his coaching stint with his Alma-mater in 1997.

During this one and a half decade he has produced several cricketers who represented in all the levels of Sri Lanka Cricket. Their one and only test and one day international cricketer Ajantha Mendis is a product of Dissanayake. He told the Daily News sports that “the Principal Lakshman de Silva is extending his fullest cooperation and support to develop cricket at school and he thanked the members of the Old Moratu Vidyalian’s Sports Club, parents and the welwishers for their help and assistance”.