Matale Thomians – force to be reckoned with

S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen – Kandy Sports Correspondent

St. Thomas College, Matale is the first school to play school cricket from Matale District with the school taking to the game over sixty years ago.

They took to this game at a time hockey was most popular in the schools after it was introduced by George Mant, M.S. Jainudeen, P. Thangaveloo and others. Thomians were also the first to play hockey in the schools circuit producing many outstanding stickers. Matale was known as the cradle of hockey and St. Thomas College was the mattress inside the cradle. Thus the Thomians are a big name in sports in the Matale district.

Though cricket was played by a school in Matale only around sixty years but the expatriat planters attached to the plantations in and around Matale and the Government Servants attached to the Kachcheri and the government played this game in a big way at Matale. Older residents of Matale said that in the good old days they had the Esplanade which was slightly sloping down towards the main road and it was easy to get runs on this side which often ends in a boundary. But this Esplanade has been develoed and re-named as the Bernard Aluwihare Stadium which serves the purpose of cricket, soccer, hockey and athletics. The Thomians in the past had a small ground within the school premises. It had the unusual scoring rule. A hit along the ground is two runs and over it is four runs and if the ball is lifted out of the grounds it is six runs. But all this had been changed with the expansion of the grounds and the normal rules of scoring exists.

Leading the Matale Thomians is allrounder and third year coloursman Ishara Kumarasiri – a steady left hand bat who scored 500 runs last season and captured 48 wickets. He will open the attack with his medium with his right arm medium pacers.

Ishara Kumarasiri (Captain

Shalitha Thillakasiri (Vice Captain)

Opening bat and second year player Shashika Thillakasiri is the vice captain of the side. Last season he scored 545 runs and is the stumper of the side and had 40 victim from behind the stumps.

Prabashwara Rajapakse playing in his second year is the other opening batsman who scored 400 runs and could also bowl left arm spinners.

Dilshan Heendeniya has the makings of a top left arm spinner having captured 30 wickets last season.

Second year player and allrounder Pandula Udupihilla is showing good promise as he had displayed consistence with the bat this season and his leg spinners brought him 19 wickets last season. He captained Matale District under 15 team in the inter district tournament.

Last of the players from the last years team is Devinda Kumarasinghe who scored 280 runs and also captured 15 wickets with his off spinners.

Opening the attack from the other end will be Nushan Senaviratne and last year he played in a few matches.

The others who will make the team are allrounder Sachinthra Jayaweera, Ashan Jayamal Yapa, Supun Arvinda, Dilan Silva, Avishka Alahakoon, Dulan Abeysekera, Chathura Dilshan, Duleen Jayamanne, Bimal Fernando, Chathuranga Jayaratne, Y. Nipuna and Janith Basnayake.

Last year the Thomians had an outstanding team and the bulk of the scoring was done by Lahiru Madusanka and Shehan Wijetunga who also bore the burnt of the bowling. Last season they played 16 matches and won 9 of them outright.

The team is coached by old boy Indika Wijesekera with Charaka Udupihilla as the Master-In-Charge.

First cricketer from St. Thomas College to play for the national team is fast bowler Chanaka Welagedera. Last year Lahiru Madushanka played for junior national team and performed well with both bat and ball.