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Jayasuriya blitz keeps Bloomfield on top

A fortnight's break in the Premier championships to accommodate the Cricket Board's triangular one-day series involving English county champions Leicestershire, gave sufficient time for Sri Lanka's dashing opener Sanath Jayasuriya to totally recover from his broken forearm and make a blazing return to competitive cricket.

The left-handed opener hit a crackerjack innings of 90 off 112 balls inclusive of nine fours and two sixes for Bloomfield in the first innings and, followed it up with another superlative effort scoring 109 off 84 balls with six sixes and 10 fours. The unfortunate team that was at the receiving end of Jayasuriya's bludgeoning bat was Sebastianites who conceded first innings points in a drawn game.

Jayasuriya's return to the fray would have been a sigh of relief to the crestfallen national team who are currently going through their most despondent period since winning the World Cup. Never too far away from the scene of action, Jayasuriya also turned his arm over to pick up two cheap Sebastianites wickets for a cost of four runs with spin.

Bloomfield's victory saw them retain top position for another weekend and put them 14 points clear of their nearest rivals Colts, who by beating Singha SC outright have become the new challengers.

Jayasuriya's brilliant display overshadowed everything else including the half-centuries from team mates Pubudu Dasanayake and Bateesha de Silva, and the sporting gesture displayed by the opponents.

Bloomfield captain Roshan Mahanama was given a reprieve at 26 when Sebastianite captain Sanjeeva Silva recalled him as he made his way to the pavilion after being given out by the umpire for a bat/pad catch. Mahanama had for some moments paused over the decision before starting his walk back. The ball in fact had been caught of the pad by the short leg fielder, and it was a rare sight in today's competitive world to see such sportsmaship being displayed.

The match also had its share of controversy when veteran Sebastianite off-spinner Abdul Jabbar was no-balled for throwing by Asoka de Silva, a former Sri Lanka Test cricketer. The humourous part of the incident was when 34-year-old Jabbar inquired from the umpire why his suspected action wasn't being filmed. Jabbar went onto take six wickets in the match after changing ends to avoid further confrontation with de Silva. Leg-spinner Nimesh Perera and medium-pacer D. Seneviratne with four wickets apiece were the other bowlers to impress for Sebastianites. Half-centuries by T.M. Dilshan and skipper Silva proved insufficient for Sebastianites to match Bloomfield's total of 358 and they found themselves 118 runs adrift on the first innings. Bloomfield used the remaining time to chalk up useful batting bonus points.

The manner in which Colts and CCC registered victories once again highlighted the crying need for a stronger Premier championship with lesser number of clubs. Despite the bad weather, both matches were technically completed inside two days. What good does it do to the players who are involved in this type of matches? When there is hardly any opposition it removes the competitive edge which one expects from a match classified as first-class.

CCC needed to score only 303 to beat Antonian SC by an innings, and Colts, despite conceding a first innings lead of 35 runs to Singha SC, won the match by nine wickets with relative ease. Antonians were destroyed by the left-arm leg-spin of former Sri Lanka under 19 youth World Cup cricketer Nishitha Rupasinghe, who returned season's best figures of 11 for 59 (5/37 & 6/22). Antonians were put out for totals of 110 and 95. CCC's total featured half-centuries from Anushka Polonowita and Hemantha Boteju. Colts' hero was fast-medium bowler Erik Upashantha, who crashed through the Singha SC batting in the second innings to take a career best 8 for 67, and set up the victory. Upashantha has shown gradual improvement in the national team which has led to him being picked for the World Cup in England next month. Singha who made 247 in the first innings could score only 145 a second time. On both occasions their batting was held together by the captain Saman Jayantha, who top scored with 129 and 52. Colts' first innings fell foul to Chamara Soysa, who took five wickets, but they recovered well in the second innings to successfully chase the target of 181, banking largely on the century opening partnership provided by Duleep Samaraweera and Chaminda Mendis, both of whom completed fifties.

Galle CC struggling to stave off relegation stunned front-runners NCC by grabbing first innings points. The strong NCC batting was humbled for 142 in the first innings by leg-spinner Gamini Perera's five wicket burst. Forced to follow-on, the NCC batting showed what they are capable of by running up a massive 438 for 4. Sri Lanka opener Russel Arnold contributed a well struck unbeaten double century and was helped to a great extent by another left hander Naveed Nawaz, who shared in a double century (226) second wicket partnership with him. Nawaz, unfortunately missed out on his ton by four runs. Promising wicket-keeper/batsman Prasanna Jayawardene also contributed to NCC's cause with a stylish 73.

Galle CC's total of 298 revolved around largely on Pasan Wanasinghe's knock of 128 not out. Former Sri Lanka fast bowler Champaka Ramanayake, who is coaching the club made a half-century down the order to further frustrate the NCC bowlers.

The most thrilling contest of the weekend took place at Panadura, where the hosts edged out Moor SC on the first innings by a mere three runs. Panadura taking first strike were dismissed for 159 by left-armer Rangana Herath, who took four wickets. Moors were reduced to 146 for 9 by the end of the second day and were eventually dismissed for 156 with Chamath Perera taking four wickets. Panadura used up the remaining time to gain batting points by chalking up 252 for 9.

BRC also had a fight on their hands before obtaining first innings points at Kurunegala. A 74-run eighth wicket stand between Wendell Labrooy (70) and Chamikara Mudalige (52) saw them total a respectable 261 after the rest of the batting had fallen to spinners Ajith Samarakoon (5/75) and Ajith Ekanayake. Kurunegala YCC collapsed to 131 for 7 by the end of the second day, but made a late rally through Hiran Liyanage (62) and N. Munasinghe (38) to come within 30 runs of the BRC total. In the BRC second innings of 152 for 2, Nilantha Bopage and Indika Batuwitaratchi struck contrasting half-centuries and shared a 149-run second wicket partnership. Defending champions SSC will have to await the tournament committee's decision to know whether their abandoned game against Matara SC at Matara can be replayed. SSC made 81 for one on a rain-restricted first day, and after a total washout on the second day, carried their first innings total to 215 for 6 (Shantha Kalavitigoda 88) before declaring on the final day. Matara SC faced only 55 balls and made 22 for one, when the umpires decided to abandon the match as the uncovered pitch became increasingly dangerous for play with the batsmen getting hit all over.

Due to election duty, Police SC were granted a postponement in their match against Tamil Union last weekend. This is the third match to be postponed for the season. With the championship being hotly contested with as many as nine teams in the fray to take the title, it is only right by the tournament committee to allow the postponed matches be completed before the season proper ends. Otherwise, the clubs with postponed matches, will have an unfair advantage over the clubs vying for the title. The season is scheduled to end on April 25.

Premier Championship Standings

The following are the Premier championship standings at the completion of the twelfth weekend of matches on April 5:

                                                     Bonus
                P     WOR  W1st LOR  L1st  ND    Btng    Bwl    Pts
                                                                 
Points          12    8                    .005  0.1
                                                                 
Bloomfield      12    4    5    1    1     1     22.670  19.1   129.770
Colts           12    5    2    0    4     1     19.605  20.1   115.705
Moors SC        12    4    3    0    5     0     21.080  19.6   112.680
NCC             12    3    4    1    3     1     24.670  19.3   111.970
CCC             12    2    6    1    2     1     20.135  19.8   111.935
Tamil Union     11    5    2    0    3     1     18.015  17.1   111.115
Sebastianites   12    2    5    1    3     1     23.020  15.8   102.820
Panadura SC     12    2    4    1    4     1     26.250  15.2   97.450
SSC             11    0    7    1    2     1     19.805  16.5   92.305
BRC             12    2    3    5    2     0     19.875  17.6   85.475
Galle CC        12    1    4    1    5     1     18.980  16.9   79.880
Singha SC       12    0    5    3    3     1     21.205  14.1   75.305
Kurunegala YCC  12    1    3    3    4     1     16.420  14.6   67.020
Antonian SC     11    1    0    5    4     1     18.015  13.8   43.815
Police SC       10    0    1    3    5     1     14.900  10.6   33.500
Matara SC       11    0    0    5    4     2     12.040  12.4   24.440

(Subject to confirmation)

Note: The following matches have not been played: Police SC v Matara SC (Jan. 22-24), SSC v Antonian SC (Mar. 12-14) and Tamil Union v Police SC (Apr. 3-5).

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL INNINGS: 217 (n.o.) - Mahela Jayawardene, SSC v Colts at Maitland Place on Feb. 13.

FASTEST CENTURY: 66 balls - Saman Jayantha, Singha SC v Panadura SC at Panadura on Jan. 31.

BEST INNINGS ANALYSIS: 8/47 - Priyankara Wickremasinghe, Bloomfield v Moors SC at Reid Avenue on Jan. 30.

BEST MATCH ANALYSIS: 11/59 - Nishitha Rupasinghe, CCC v Antonian SC at Maitland Crescent on April 4.

HIGHEST INNINGS TOTAL: 485/4 decl. - Sebastianites v Antonian SC at De Soysa Stadium on Feb. 6.

LOWEST INNINGS TOTAL: 65 - Kurunegala YCC v Tamil Union at St. Joseph's College grounds, Darley Road on Mar. 14.