Nalanda field a talented side
Thushan Jayasuriya
Nalanda College which is one of the leading cricket playing schools
in the country will field a well balanced side this year.Led by third
year player Lahiru Jayakody , the lads from Campbell Place should be a
force to be reckoned with this year.
Nalanda College under 19 First XI Squad. Squatting (from left) :
Malinga Amarasinghe, Ranga Soysa, Ruchitha Perera, Raveen
Dassanayake, Rashmika Wijayanga, Isuru Samarasinghe, Anuththara
Madhawa. Standing (from left): Avishka de
Silva , Pramud Hettiwatte, Kushal Dias, Lahiru Jayakody
(Captain), Woshantha Silva, Senura Amarasinghe, Malinga de
Silva, Lahiru Wijeratne. Not in the picture Nikila
Weerasinghe(Vice Captain). Pictures by Bhagrawa Kithsiri |
Nalanda, is a school with a proud cricketing history. They have
already produced three Sri Lanka test captains Bandula Warnapura who had
the honour of leading Sri Lanka in the inaugural test against England in
February 1982. Roshan Mahanama (1994) and the present captain Mahela
Jayawardene.In addition it has produced several cricketers who have
represented Sri Lanka with distinction Stanley Jayasinghe(who played
county cricket for Leicestershire), Carl Obeysekara , Jayantha
Seneviratne, Yohan Gunasekara, Sunil Jayasinghe, Anura Ranasinghe ,
Lalith Kaluperuma , Sanath Kaluperuma, Asanka Gurusinghe, Chamara
Dunusinghe, Gamini Wickramasinghe, Roshan Gunaratne, Dilshan Munaweera,
Kumara Dharmasena ( who had the honour of being adjudged the best umpire
of the year of the ICC Elite Panel at the award ceremony in September
2011.
Last year, they had a fairly good season winning two matches outright
against Thurstan and Kalutara Vidyalaya while registering nine first
innings wins.
This year thied year player Lahiru Jayakody has been entrusted with
the captaincy of the team.A fine right batsman, he scored over 900 runs
last year including a century against Mahinda College, Galle (100).He
had a superb knock of 95 runs against traditional rivals Ananda College.
In the 83rd Battle of the Maroons, and was adjudged as the man of the
match.Then in the limited over match against Ananda, he was picked as
the best batsman for his knock of 82 runs.
Nalanda Skipper Lahiru Jayakody |
Nikila Weerasinghe, an excellent all rounder who missed several
matches last year due to injury will be the deputy skipper.He scored 250
runs last year with several good innings.And also captured 26 wickets
with his right arm leg spin. The other batsmen who could make useful
contributions to the side are Woshan Silva , Pramud Hettiwatte, Malinga
Amarasinghe and Ruchitha Perera.
Woshan scored a total of 635 runs last year with a top score of 132
runs against S.Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia while Pramud Hettiwatte
had a tally of 330 runs last year with a best performance of 45 runs
against Wesley.
The experienced Kushal Dias who is a third year coloursman will share
the new ball with Malinga Amarasinghe.Dias captured 50 wickets last year
with a match bag of ten wickets against Thurstan College.
The spin attack comprises of Nikila Weerasinghe (right arm leg spin),
Woshantha Silva(right arm off spin) Malinga de Silva ( left arm leg
spin) .Nikila had a fine season with a haul of 26 wickets. Woshantha ,
who is better known for his batting took 11 wickets last year. Pramud
Hettiwatte also bowls left arm leg spin. The Nalandians are being
coached by Tharanga Dhammika who captained the school in 1996 who takes
a keen interest in making Nalanda a force to be reckoned with in the
school cricket scene. He is getting all the assistance and encouragement
from Master-In-Charge J.A.D.Chandana Hemasiri and Principal Ranjith
Jayasundera.
The Nalanda College First XI pool
Lahiru Jayakody (Captain), Nikila Weerasinghe(Vice Captain), Malinga
Amarasinghe, Ranga Soysa, Ruchitha Perera, Raveen Dassanayake, Rashmika
Wijayanga, Isuru Samarasinghe, Anuththara Madhawa,Avishka de Silva,
Pramud Hettiwatte, Kushal Dias, Woshantha Silva, Senura Amarasinghe,
Malinga de Silva, Lahiru Wijeratne.
Coach :
Tharanga Dhammika
Master-In-Charge
: J.A.D.Chandana Hemasiri |