National Elle final tomorrow

Yasaratne GAMAGE

The final of the CSN National Elle Championships will be held tomorrow from 6am at the Sugathadasa Stadium under the patronage of the President Mahinda Rajapakse as the chief guest.

Thotalanda Aruna SC will battle it out with Rangammulla Eksath SC in the final which will be held under floodlights for the first time in Sri Lanka Elle history.

This was revealed at a press briefing chaired by the president of the Sri Lanka Elle Federation K A Harischandra Silva, at Grand Oriental Hotel, Colombo recently.

This year, 79 Elle teams participated in the national championship CSN Elle trophy on a knock out basis at several venues.

The Eksath SC entered the final by defeating Iddagodella Ranahansa SC by an innings and 4 runs in the first semi final played at Navaloka Kelanitilaka Grounds, Kelaniya recently. Eksath who batted first scored seven runs while Ranahansa who scored only a run in their first innings, got three runs in the follow up.

Aruna SC got through to the finals when they defeated Muhudukatuwa Fathima SC by three runs at the same venue. Aruna SC secured four runs in their fist innings while Fatima SC scored five runs in reply. Aruna SC scored 10 runs while Fathima SC for the second innings were all out for seven runs giving their opponent a three run victory.

The winners of the final will receive cash awards and mountain bikes apart from the champions trophy. The runners up and second runner up will also receive cash prizes.

The best player in the tournament will receive a motor cycle while the highest scorer and the best fielder of the tournament will be awarded with valuable prizes.

The best player, highest scorer and the best fielder in the final will also be awarded prizes.

The organizers have also scheduled another game of Elle on the same day, City vs Village, a match between two teams made up of best players from the teams from city and the village.

The City-Village battle started in 1962 at the Torrington ground where Reji Rodrigo captained the Village team while the city team was led by Piyasena Perera. More than 35 games of this category have been played, considered as the game of elle stars.

The CSN together with the Elle Federation has planned many events in the future to uplift the game, which require little equipment.

A novel Elle tournament, CSN Elle 40- a series of 40 ball match and Elle Nationals for the women's category as well are some new concepts will be adopted in the future opening doors to islandwide participation. The draw for the CSN Elle 40 tournament will be held on the same day during the finals.

Since the players from state and private firms are excluded in Elle Nationals, the federation both state and private sectors to take part in the inter firm D A Rajapaksa Memorial Elle Trophy is held annually.

It was first started in 2008 in Anuradhapura. In the second year, Badulla became the venue while in 2010, it was held in Trincomalee. Last year the inter firm D A Rajapksae memorial trophy was held in Oddusudan.

The fifth will be held in D A Rajapaksa grounds, Beliatta in the last week of September with the participation of teams from government, semi- government, corporation's, as well as public sector organizations . The Hambantota District Schools Elle Championship will also be held in parallel to the event. More information can be obtained from Chamara D Serasinghe, the organizing secretary, Sri Lanka Elle Federation.