Trinity College Kandy, Thurstan College Colombo, Isipathana College Colombo and S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia won their respective groups in the first round of ‘Singer Trophy’ Under 19 division 1 inter schools cricket tournament 2015/16.
Before the tournament started in September, all the 36 teams in the top tier were divided into 4 groups. According to the new structure, every group included 9 teams and each team played 8 compulsory matches.
The defending league champions, Trinity College Kandy captained by Raveen Sayer was the most outstanding school in the whole island as they topped their group ‘A’ with a staggering 149.50 points in 8 matches with 6 outright wins. Second placed, Ananda College had only 102.99 points under their name.
Last year’s league runner-up, Thurstan College Colombo led by Charana Nanayakkara collected 128.09 points from group ‘B’ recording 4 outright wins from 8 games. Royal College gave a stiff competition with 116.31 points to end as number two in group ‘B’.
Isipathana College Colombo led by charismatic batsman, Salinda Ushan won group ‘C’ convincingly by collecting 144.04 points with 3 outright wins while strong Richmond College minus their national stars won 4 outright games but only aggregated 127.40 points.
Dark horses to the title, S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia skippered by all-rounder Sachitha Jayathilaka was declared the champions of group ‘D’ due to their mammoth 134.56 points, which came from 3 outright wins and 5 first-innings victories while their closest rival, St. Peter’s College managed only 109.75 points.
All the group stage matches came to an end on 10th February or before and according to the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) rules, The top four schools from each group advanced to the Pre-Quarter Finals stage and will be playing their two-day knockout encounters from 14th February. The semi-finals and the final will be three-day matches. All pre-quarter finals must be played on or before 20th February while the quarter-finals must be conducted on or before 28th February. The winners’ will be declared according to an outright win or a first-innings win.
Group A
1.Trinity College Kandy
2. Ananda College Colombo
3. St. Aloysius College Galle
4. De Mazenod Kandana
Group B
1. Thurstan College Colombo
2. Royal College Colombo,
3. St. Joseph’s College Colombo
4. Zahira College Colombo
Group C
1. Isipathana College Colombo
2. Richmond College Galle
3. Gurukula College Kelaniya
4. St. Servatius College Matara
Group D
1. S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia
2. St. Peter’s College Bambalapitiya
3. St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa
4. Nalanda College Colombo
Pre-Quarter Finals Schedule
Trinity College vs Zahira College at Asgiriya – 14th and 15th February
St.Peter’s College vs Gurukula College at Bambalapitiya – 19th and 20th February
Royal College vs St. Aloysius College at Reid Avenue – 15th and 16th February
Isipathana College vs Nalanda College at BRC – 17th and 18th February
Thurstan College vs St.Servatius College at Thurstan Grounds – 16th and 17th February
Ananda College vs St.Sebastian’s College at Ananda grounds – To be confirmed
Richmond College vs St. Joseph’s College at Galle – To be confirmed
S.Thomas’ College vs De Mazenod College at Mount Lavinia – 15th and 16th February
