Lasith Croosepulle; Letting his bat do the talking

Lasith Crosspulle may well be a name you hear more of in the near future. The youngster has already made waves in the local age group cricket scene of late, scoring truck-loads of runs, impressing one and all.

Lasith started his journey in cricket pretty early on as his father enrolled him in a cricket academy at Maris Stella College, Negombo, the school where his father and brother learned the game. As a shy nine year old, he describes his 1^st day at the academy as “difficult”, but no matter how difficult he found it on the 1^st day, Lasith credits the academy as being the place that planted the seed of ambition in his heart.

For as long as he can remember, Lasith has loved the game of cricket. It’s pretty understandable, considering that both his Father and his older brother follow the sport diligently and made sure that he was exposed to the game from a young age.

After captaining the Maris Stella Under 13 team in 2012, he moved to De Mazenod College Kandana in a bid to further his cricketing ambitions in 2013. His performances only got better as the years progressed and he was able to represent the First XI team at the age of 15. The runs continued to flow and soon he was a regular in the side contributing not only with the bat but with his loopy off-spinners too.

Although he has represented teams in the provincial circuit in the junior level, he got his 1^st major chance to showcase his talent in the recently concluded SLC Super 19 Provincial Tournament in which he was drafted into the Eastern Province team, an opportunity he described as a “privilege”. The team, coached by former Sri Lanka representative Niroshan Bandarathilake had many unfamiliar names in its ranks and Lasith was able to make his presence felt.

Prior to the tournament, Lasith was determined to score lots of runs and he did just that, grabbing the opportunity handed to him. Relishing his chance to challenge Sri Lanka’s very best youth players, Lasith belted 336 runs in just 6 innings at an average of 84 and finished the tournament as 3^rd highest run-getter. His 336 runs included 2 centuries (against North Central Province and Western Province South) and one half century (against Central Province). Batting at number 4, he was the mainstay in a batting line-up that included many players from the East, who had very little experience playing in Colombo.

Lasith described the situation as slightly difficult because of the language barrier between the boys, but credited the coaching staff and the players for making the most of the situation.

“There were a lot of Tamil guys in the Eastern Province team, it was a little difficult in the middle but we worked it out. Our coach was Niroshan Bandarathilake, he helped us out a lot in the middle. We played well in the 4 games and tried our best to come to the finals. There weren’t many ‘big name’ players in the team, only 5 players from Colombo, but we did as well as we could”

Batting is not the only aspect of Lasith’s game either. He wasn’t able to get much of a bowl in the recent Under 19 Provincial tournament but he is rumoured to bowl some useful off-spin and wants to perform more of an all-round role on the whole.

This ambition is echoed by his practice schedule.

“I have a net at home. Every day I bat for about an hour and then bowl for half an hour more, my father is the one who supports me the most”

Apart from this he also practices in his school grounds under a whole host of coaches and consultants including Sri Lanka fast bowler Dhammika Prasad who acts as a consultant to the team.

“The school really gives me a lot of support. Dhammika Prasad aiya is a consultant. He is there at almost every match and helps us out a lot too”

With such a hectic schedule at such a young age, some would wonder if Lasith’s cricketing prowess is detrimental to his education. But fortunately, that is not the case, although he admits “I don’t really get to go to school very regularly”.

He came prepared with a list of names of those who have helped and continue to help him balance his cricket and studies, perhaps determined not to leave out anyone who has supported his progress.

“Mr. Roshan, Mr. Moditha, Mr. Harsha and Mr. Dishan from Maris Stella, Mr. Amal, Mr. Keerthi, Mr. Sanjeewa, Mr. Felix, Mr. Trevin, Dhammika aiya, Master-in-charge Frank Sir from De Mazenod and all the coaches I had have helped me a lot.”

While playing and practicing takes up most of his time, he does spare some time to watch his favourites – AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli – for educational purposes of course!  Although he does not try to bat like the two super stars, Lasith expressed that he does like watching them and learning from the way they play.

During the past season, Lasith also got his 1^st taste of Club cricket when he played 4 games for Leos Cricket Club, Negombo. It is during one of these games in the Sara League Tournament that he registered one of his most memorable tons. Asked to open the batting in a game against Kandy YCC, the then 16 year old youngster smashed a 118 ball 116 in a losing cause. A great achievement for a player of his age but according to him, this was not his greatest achievement.

“My biggest achievement is definitely getting two centuries at this year’s provincial tournament”. When asked about how he felt after scoring two centuries, the understated young man didn’t have much to say – “I felt happy” was all I got. But this says more about the fact that Lasith quite genuinely enjoys playing the game, he just loves batting. “I really enjoy facing fast bowlers and playing the pull shot, I mean I enjoy facing spinners too but I like the ball coming on to the bat more.”

The young right-hander has already caught the attention of a very big club in Colombo and is eager to continue his career with them after completing his schooling.

“I’d like to play for Bloomfield when I leave school, they have already called me to play for them in the Under 23 tournament this year.”

But that career is still a few years off as Lasith still has 2 more years in the Schools’ arena and his goals for those 2 years are quite straightforward. “My main goal is to hit the 1,000 run mark in a season and also get selected to go on tour with the Sri Lanka Under 19s”

Curious about what he has time for apart from cricket, I asked him what his hobbies are, all I got was a big smile. There is only one hobby, only one ambition: Cricket.