One of the most-awaited cricket seasons in Sri Lanka, the mercantile limited-overs cricket season will kick-start on the 27th of August for the 2016/17 year.
The ‘B’ division tournament which raises the curtain on Saturday will see 10 teams battling it out in two groups. After the completion of the group stage matches, the knockout matches will commence on the 18th of September with the final scheduled to be played on the 1st of October.
Visit the Mercantile Cricket Hub
In Group A, Kanrich Finance, Singer Sri Lanka, John Keells ‘B’, Commercial Bank and Mobitel will be contending while Seylan Bank who were playing in the ‘A’ division for the last couple of years have decided to compete in the ‘B’ division and will lead Group B which comprises the current six-a-side champions LB Finance, Pan Asia Banking Corporation, MAS Silueta and Hayleys.
National players in the likes of Kusal Mendis (LB Finance), Nuwan Kulasekara (Seylan Bank) and Tharanga Paranavitharana (Seylan Bank) will be looking to make their mark in the ‘B’ division this year.
The high-profile ‘A’ division tournament, which will see many national players taking part, will get underway on the 10th of September. Last year, MAS Active led by Jehan Mubarak secured both league and knockout titles. Lasith Malinga was the top performer for MAS Active last year taking 16 wickets in 5 matches but unfortunately he is doubtful this year due to his career-threatening knee injury.
Two new teams, last year’s ‘B’ division finalists, Textured Jersey (Champions) and Dimo (Runner-up) will be making their debut appearance in the top league this year as they will be competing against hot favourites, MAS Active, MAS Unichela, Sampath Bank, Commercial Credit, Hatton National Bank and John Keells to make up the 8 teams.
The ‘A’ division league tournament will see 8 teams playing each other on a round-robin basis and the team with the most points will be crowned league champions. The ‘A’ division knockout tournament will then start on the 8th of October with the final scheduled to be played on the 23rd of October while the T20 competition will run from the 26th to the 30th of October.
