Binura takes 50th wicket

Priyan de Silva - Matara Sports Correspondent

Left arm fast bowler Binura Fernando of D S Senanayaka College Colombo is the first fast bowler to pass the fifty wicket mark in the schools under 19 division one tournament this season.

Binuara’s bowling figures this season

2/15 Vs St Josephs’ College
1/15 Vs Trinity College
3/20 Vs Ananda College
4/24 Vs St Sebastians’ College
4/30 and 1/15 Vs Thurstan College
6/30 and 3/20 Vs Lumbini College
2/20 and 1/20 Vs Isipathana College
5/63 Vs St Anthony’s College
8/24 and 3/30 Vs Nalanda College
2/30 and 1/42 Vs St Peters College
5/87 Vs St Sylvesters’ College

Binura had achieved this feat some time ago if the 6/24 and 1/6 he took against Royal College Colombo was taken in to consideration.

There is a controversy regarding this as Royal have opted out of the Schools under 19 cricket tournament conducted by the Sri Lanka School’s Cricket Association.

The 6 foot 5 inch tall Binura can generate speeds of around 135 kmph and has an armory of different deliveries. He was among the three best players named by Aravinda de Silva at the Coca-Cola Cricket

pathway camp held in Matara. He is a right hand batsman.

Binura captained the D S Senanayka under 13 team that played in the division three tournament in 2006. He captured 20 wickets in the four games they played at this tournament with a match bag of 12 wickets (5/9 and 7/12) against Piliyandala Central College. In 2007 he played ten division one matches and captured 35 wickets with a match bag of 8 wickets against Lumbini College.

Leading the D S Senanayaka under 13

team to the division one tournament in 2008 he captured 25 wickets and scored 285 runs with a century against Vidyartha College Kandy in the ten games they played.

He was a member of the under 15 division one team in 2009 and captained the team in 2010.

As captain he scored 320 runs with a best of 111 against Holy Cross College Kalutara and a total of 25 wickets.

He was selected to represent the Sri Lanka Schools under 15 team in 2010. He represented the Western Province South team who emerged champions in 2010.

Binura was a member of the under seventeen division one team in 2011 and captained the team last year. He was the only player from D S Senanayaka College to play for the Western Province under 17 team in 2012.

He represented the first XI for the 2010/11 season and was rewarded with 31 wickets in the eleven games he played. He took 42 wickets in fourteen games in the 2011/12 season and is the youngest player to score a century in the big match against Mahanama College. Binura as a member of the Western Province under19 team this year, scored 65 runs against the Southern province and captured 5 wickets for 20 runs in the game against Uva province.