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Sampath takes Trinity cricket to great heights

Cricket coach Sampath Perera has taken Trinity College cricket to unknown heights, breaking records after and establishing new marks hitherto unknown in school cricket not only in the Kandy district perhaps in the entire island.

His coaching record reached dizzy heights when the Trinity College cricket team registered 11 outright wins in 2012 and also grabbed all the trophies which was on offer in school cricket.

They were dubbed as the triple champions winning the league title, the limited overs title and the Twenty20 championship which made them sweep the board and proving beyond doubt they are the best in any form of cricket whether it is the shorter form or the longer version.

But what made them 'tick' and without doubt it was the coaching skills of Sampath who instilled into the cricketers the fighting spirit especially when the chips are down.

He chiselled the rough edges of the cricketers and identified their talents which is so important for a coach to get the best out of his charges.

He instills leadership into the boys and once the game start he keeps aloof from them and could be spotted atop the gantry on the Mahaiyawa end of the Asgiriya stadium watching the match and taking video shots. He does not believe in setting the field partly hidden in the dressing room away from the eyes of others or sending messages through drink waiters. This is the way Sampath Perera handles a match, not interfering with the course of play.

Sampath Perera by his track record has proved beyond doubt that he is the best in the trade today and his proven skills speaks for itself. He is an old boy of D S Senanayake College and he captained his school in 1993. He coached his alma mater from 1999 to 2008 before coming over to Trinity College.

He went over to Australia and qualified as a cricket coach. Prior to that he first qualified the Level one in Sri Lanka and did his Level two and three in Australia. He also had a stint of club cricket in Australia with Burwood Cricket Club and did well for them. But his call to return to Sri Lanka was so great that he returned to the island though he could have remained in Australia and found more lucrative form of employment.

At Trinity College in his first year itself he produced the expected results in registering seven outright wins in a season which surpassed the record of six wins in the 1920s. In 2009 too the Trinitians recorded seven outright wins and in 2010 they recorded a similar number of wins. The year 2011/12 was their best when they won 11 matches including the Big Match against St Anthony's College which broke a 26 year old 'hoodoo'.

In club cricket Sampath Perera coached SSC under 23 cricket team which finished runner up in the league in 2003. In 2004, SSC entered the semi finals of the same tournament. In the year 2005 he coached NCC which entered the semi finals in the under 23 tournament. They did better the following year by finishing runners up. In the year 2008 NCC finished champions in the under 23 Premier.

He was the head coach of SSC from 2002 to 2004 and occupied the same position at NCC from 2005 to 2008. When he was holding this position playing for these clubs were former Sri Lanka skipper Marvan Attapattu, Nuwan Kulasekera, Mahela Jayawardena, Suraj Randiv, Sachithra Senanayake, Tharanga Paranavitharne and Jeevan Mendis. At NCC there was Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Chandana, Farveez Maharoof, Upul Tharanga and Lasith Malinga.

As a player he scored 1,000 runs in a season for D S Senanayake College in 1994 which included three centuries and eight fifties. His appearance at club cricket was for BRC from 1992 to 1994 and for Bloomfield C and AC from 1994 to 1999 before taking wings to Melbourne, Australia to qualify as a cricket coach at Cricket Australia.

Apart from Trinity College's excellent performance during the last four years, he has also produced some outstanding cricketers like Akila Jayasundera, Janishka Premasinghe, Heshan Wanniarachchi, Niroshan Dickwella, Alwin Fernando and many others who could serve the national team in the future.

Sampath Perera has proved beyond doubt his ability as a cricket coach and Trinity College is indeed lucky to have him in that capacity.

He pays more attention on fitness and after completion of a match indulges in rugby and other games to keep the boys fit. He himself is an epitome of fitness. He still plays club cricket in the local tournaments and has done well though nearing his forties.

With Sampath Perera to guide them, cricket at Trinity College will reach greater heights in the future.

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