The SLC Major League 3-day Tournament is the pinnacle of first-class cricket in Sri Lanka, the tournament every cricketer dreams of playing in. It holds the highest status in the country’s domestic cricket scene, and competing in it is considered the ultimate achievement.
However, this season, the tournament has taken a surprising turn. Sri Lanka’s premier clubs, historically dominant in the league, have struggled to find their rhythm, with several other teams putting them on the backfoot throughout the season.
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This season got off to an exciting start with major upsets in the opening week itself. Kurunegala YCC a club that was in the verge of getting demoted beat the mighty Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) outright. With that demoralizing defeat that SSC faced in the opening week they couldn’t find their feat in the tournament until it was too little too late for them to give a comeback to this tournament.
With half of their team being called up for national duty, SSC couldn’t field their strongest outfit on a regular basis. That being said, SSC faced three first-innings losses and a couple of outright defeats in the process. With the tournament coming to an end, SSC has confirmed their relegation at the end of this season.
How many teams get relegated each season?
Currently, eighteen teams are competing in the tournament. To enhance the competitiveness and overall quality of cricket, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board decided to demote four teams at the end of each season. This decision, aimed at raising the standard of play, was introduced at the start of the 2022/23 season. The teams to be relegated will be the bottom two teams from each group.
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With SSC having played all of their games and have confirmed their demotion to the Tier ‘B’ (Tier B is the second-highest level in the Sri Lankan domestic cricket hierarchy), it’ll be an interesting watch in the final week of the tournament.
Currently the standings look as below,
GROUP “A”
| POS | TEAM | MATCHES PLAYED | POINTS |
| 1 | BLOOMFIELD C & AC | 7 | 82.26 |
| 2 | COLTS CC | 7 | 81.285 |
| 3 | POLICE SC | 8 | 76.39 |
| 4 | ACE CAPITAL CC | 7 | 75.88 |
| 5 | PANADURA SC | 7 | 75.88 |
| 6 | CHILAW MARIANS CC | 7 | 67.595 |
| 7 | NEGOMBO CC | 7 | 48.4 |
| 8 | BADURELIYA SC | 7 | 47.43 |
| 9 | RAGAMA CC | 7 | 33.585 |
GROUP “B”
| POS | TEAM | MATCHES PLAYED | POINTS |
| 1 | NONDESCRIPTS CC | 7 | 102.41 |
| 2 | MOORS SC | 7 | 83.33 |
| 3 | COLOMBO CC | 7 | 79.355 |
| 4 | TAMIL UNION C&AC | 7 | 59.875 |
| 5 | KURUNEGALA YCC | 7 | 52.9 |
| 6 | NUGEGODA S&WC | 7 | 52.195 |
| 7 | BURGHER RECREATION CLUB | 7 | 46.785 |
| 8 | SINGHALESE SC | 8 | 41.72 |
| 9 | KANDY CUSTOMS CC | 7 | 25.595 |
With how things have gone about it looks like the other teams who are in contention for relegation are Kandy Customs CC, Badureliya SC and Negombo CC.
Who are the teams that faced relegation/demotion in the previous seasons?
- SLC Major League 3-day Tournament 2022/23
- Sri Lanka Navy SC
- Saracens
- Lankans CC
- Kalutara Town Club.
- SLC Major League 3-day Tournament 2023/24.
- Sebastianites C&AC
- Air Force SC
- Galle CC
- Sri Lanka Army SC
How can SSC get promoted and When will the promotions happen?
With a ruthless approach practiced by the Sri Lankan cricket board they decided not to promote teams to the top division only to demote teams to the below divisions. But as things have planned the promotions will be enforced from the next season onwards (2025/26).
For SSC to return to the top division, they will need to win Tier B, a highly competitive tournament, to reclaim their lost glory.
