Arjuna Ranatunga was the chief guest and said that while driving to the BMICH with his family for the occasion his thoughts went down memory lane twenty five years hence the day he walked up to receive an award as a junior cricketer.
Almost every present day test cricketer has received some sort of award or certificate through these type of ceremonies due to the vital role played by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association in producing top class cricketers continuously.
`` It is in the schools through the untiring efforts and devotion by the respective masters that the foundation for big time cricket is laid. The rudiments of the game is taught in schools. It is difficult to coach a player once they mature,'' said Arjuna Ranatunga, contradicting a statement made by Neville de Alwis, the president of the SLSCA who said that the SLSCA had 'contributed a bit' towards the game and winning the World Cup in his earlier speech.
Ranatunga also reminded the role of parents towards a child's cricketing career.'' A parent's guidance and encouragement is needed for one's success but over-enthusiasm and being fastidious have seen some people who were even more talented than Aravinda or Sanath Jayasuriya ruin their cricketing careers,'' said Ranatunga.
Referring to the World Cup win Ranatunga said that the late Cricket Board President Gamini Dissanayake had told him that the time was right to win a place at least even in the semi finals, as it was also the intention of himself,but we did better by winning the Cup.
Ranatunga concluded by saying that the 'cricket uneducated crowd' want to see, Sanath Jayasuriya hitting every ball for a six, or Aravinda scoring a century in every match and expect him to win every match which is not possible and thanked the sponsors for coming forward to sponsor the tournament.
Neville de Alwis, the President of the SLSCA said that he has been addressing this type of gatherings for the past ten years but felt honoured on this day with the presence of the national cricket captain.
`` Some consider playing cricket as an obstacle for studies but I consider a person who takes part in sports activities do better at studies than the full time crammers. By Playing cricket you could learn much more than in the class room as it is a way of life and teaches the correct values of life,'' said Neville de Alwis.
Two of the major junior school cricket awards went to the Hill Capital (Kandy), with Tyronne de Silva St.Anthony's Katugastota(Under 13) and Chanaka Wijesinghe St.Sylvester's, Kandy (Under 15) winning the most outstanding performers awards.
Outstation schools stole the limelight as D.S.Senanayake MV from Uhumiya in the Kurunegala district(Under 13 division three runner up), Galkanda MV Pelmadulla (Under 15) up and coming school, and Dharmaloka MV Kelaniya ( Winner under 15 division three) fared prominently despite the lack of proper facilities.
Tyronne de Silva won the award for his fine batting performance with an aggregate of 752 with four centuries and Chanaka Wijesinghe's top all-round effort with 1288 runs including seven centuries and 25 wickets entitled him for the prize in the under 15 age group.
Kadir Samidon (Maris Stella, Negombo) and O.Wijesiriwardena (Richmond, Galle) were voted most popular cricketers in the under 13 and under 15 age groups respectively.
St.Sebastian's Moratuwa and St.Anthony's, Katugatota were ajudged joint champions in the under 13 division one tournament.
Ananda College Colombo 'B' won the division two championship (under 13) while D.S.Senanayake 'B' was the runner up. In the Under 13 division three Tissa Vidyalaya Kalutara won the title and D.S. Senanayake MV Uhumiya(Kurunegala) won the runner up berth.
In the under 15 championship Ananda won the division one title beating St.Peter's, Bambalapitiya. In the division two St.Sylvester's Kandy emerged winners when they beat Mahanama, and in the division three Dharmaloka Kelaniya became champions beating Tissa Vidyalaya, Kalutara.