Vidyartha should enjoy a season of mixed fortunes
By. S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen – Kandy Sports
Correspondend
Vidyartha College, Kandy should enjoy a season of mixed fortunes as
some of their top performers of last season are not available and those
available fared fairly.
Vidyartha College Cricket pool Seated (from left): Isuru
Weerasinghe, Kasun Nawaratne, Ravindu Dissanayake (Vice
Captain), Sanjay Silva (Coach) Muditha Elpitiya (Capitan),
Chanaka Ratnayake. Standing: (from left) Malaka
Wickremaratne, Dasun Nawaratne, Krishantha Jayasuriya,
Upulitha Rajapakse, Pathum Colombage, Heshan Dissanayake,
Avishka Ranaweera, Chinthana Lokuliyanage, Prince Maduranga,
Lakmal Fernando, Ruwan Ranaweera, Sahan Dangwatte, S.D.
Pathirana and Roshan Nanayakkara. Picture by S.M. Jiffrey
Abdeen – Kandy Sports Correspondent |
They have around six third year players but they did not get many
opportunities to prove their mettle as others were getting the runs and
wickets but they are out of school now.
This is the dilemma the Vidyarthians will be facing this season but
they have done reasonably well to defeat St. Anne's College, Kurunegala
and Sri Devananda College, Ambalangoda, outright this season.
They are led by fourth year coloursman Muditha Elpitiya essentially a
batsman who scored over 400 runs last season and is an useful off
spinner who could break stubborn partnerships.
Ravindu Dissanayake is the vice captain – a steady right hand batsman
playing in his third year.
He is one of the openers of the side and scored 625 runs last season.
He could also bowl off spinners if the necessity arises.
There is a pair of twins in Kasun and Dasun Nawaratne who will be
playing in their second year.
Both performed well at junior level during the past two years. Kasun
who is a left hand bat fared a little better than his twin brother
scoring 275 runs and will be keeping wickets for the first time this
year.
Dasun is a right hand bat and this identifies the twins and he is
also a right arm off spinner. Thus the twins will be going in two
different directions in the field.
Muditha Elpitiya
(Captain) |
Ravindu Dissanayake (Vice
Muditha Elpitiya (Captain) Captain) |
The others who could perform well are third year all-rounder Isuru
Weerasinghe a good right hand bat and a medium pacer who took 60 wickets
last season and will open the attack with Chinthana Lokuliyana. Kanishka
Herath too could open the attack with his medium pacers if the necessity
arises.
The others who will be making up the team are: Chanaka Ratnayake
(left arm spinner and left hand bat), Nipuna Ranaweera a very aggressive
bat who scored 350 runs and bowls medium pacers and will be playing in
his third year.
Shahan Amerasinghe (left hand and right arm medium pacer), Pathum
Colombage (right hand bat and off spinner), Avishka Ranaweera (right
hand bat and off spinner), Malaka Wickremaratne (right hand bat and
medium pacer).
The others in the pool are: Heshan Dissanayake, Ruwan Ranaweera,
Roshan Nanayakkara, Prince Maduranga, Asantha Fernando, Upulitha
Rajapakse, Sahan Dangwatte, Krishantha Jayasuriya and Lahiru Jayasuriya.
Jayantha Kalugamage is the Master in Charge and a very good motivator
and at the same time a very stern disciplinarian who brooks no nonsense
whoever may the individual.
The team is coached by this year by an old boy of the school Sanjay
Silva who coached Dharmaraja College junior team last year.
He was in the junior national spin squad in 1999 and 2000. A very
keen student of the game. Under his guidance Vidyartha should do well
this season. |