Sri Lanka: Royal-Ananda share under-17 cricket trophy

By Pelham Juriansz
5 November 1998



Royal College, Colombo and Ananda College, Maradana, emerged under-17 Division 1 joint champions for 1998 and the awards were presented at the colourful awards night held at the Kularatne Hall, at Ananda College, Maradana.

The chief guest on the occasion was the well renowned promoter of sports in Sri Lanka, Mr. Hemaka Amarasuriya, Chairman, Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd, and Mrs. Anoma Amarasuriya.

The Under-17 division two champions were Ananda Sastralaya-Kotte and the runner-up trophy was bagged by Revata M.M.V. Balapitiya. The Division 3 joint champions were Basilica College, Ragama and Ibbagamuwa M.M.V.

The number of teams that entered the under-17 competition was 168 and 295 matches were played in the first round whereas 104 matches were played in the final round resulting in a total of 399 matches in total. The number of players who participated were 3360.

The under-17 is indeed the cradle for 1st eleven cricket and clubs and finally the Sri Lankan national team.

The distinguished chief guest and other V.I.P's lit the traditional oil lamp at approximately 4.20 p.m. The tournament was sponsored by Singer (Sri Lnaka Ltd) who have done yeoman service in the promotion of sports in this country.

Mr. H.L.B. Gomes, Principal of Royal College, and President of the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association speaking at the occasion warmly welcomed the chief guest and other officials of the SLSCA. He paid a glowing tribute to all those who sacrificed much for the betterment of cricket in the country. He said that among the present lot of youngsters we might find future World Champions in our midst. ``This is indeed a historical occasion'' he said. We might find amongst us future Aravindas, Jayasuriyas, Arjunas and Mahanamas to name a few.

Under-17 cricket has emerged out of the wilderness and now this tournament has become a major springboard for the first eleven teams.

The awards presentation was spiced with some excellent music by SEAC and Saman de Silva who kept the cricketers and the honourable guests' feet a tapping.

The skipper of the Royal College team Ruchira Jayasuriya (who also plays for the first eleven) was all smiles when receiving his award from Mrs. Anoma Amarasuriya.

The evening ended with the presentation of the trophies to the winners of the 3 divisions.


Source: The Daily News
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