Wesley College has had a relatively reasonable season thus far and will aspire to end up in the top four in order to secure passage through to the one day tournament.
The Campbell Park side was promoted to the top level from division 2 last season, following being crowned champions alongside St. Mary’s College and has been drawn in Group B. Royal College, Prince of Wales and Ananda College are the other teams in what looks to be a rather manageable group.
A bit of history
Wesley College, named after John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church saw its beginnings in Dam Street Pettah and was founded by Rev. Daniel Henry Pereira on the 2nd of March 1874.
The school has produced some incredible cricketers in the past and continue to do so. Mahadevan Sathasivam was the first Wesley-ite to play for Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon. Brendon Kuruppu and Farveez Maharoof are two other players who have represented Sri Lanka while Jeffrey Vandersay was the most recent product from Wesley to play at the highest level.
Key Players
4th year player, Shamod Athulathmudali will be the leader of the promoted Wesley outfit. He has scored 230 runs in 7 matches so far this season. He managed a best of 61 against St. Anthony’s College but will be hoping to score more runs for his team if the Wesley-ites are to achieve their goal.
Another 4th year player, Jason De Silva will be the vice-captain this season. He has scored 270+ runs so far in 7 matches this season with a best of 70 against Mahinda College. De Silva will be seeking to add to his run tally and impress as the season goes along.
Paceman Shenal Dangalle will be the spearhead in the bowling line up. He has managed 20 wickets in 6 matches thus far. Dangalle was influential against St. Benedict’s College and was rewarded with an eight wicket haul in the game.
Second year all-rounder Movin Subasinghe has been impressive with both bat and ball throughout this season. The off spinner has bagged 12 wickets in 7 matches scoring 300+ runs in the process.
Photo Album: Wesley College Cricket Team Preview 2016/17
Coaching Staff
U.S.C Perera will be the head coach of the Wesley outfit this season while the able Sithum Fernando will be his assistant coach. Wasantha Kasthuriarachchi will be the Master in Charge of Cricket.
Final Say
Having had first innings wins over St. Joseph’s College and St. Anthony’s College, Wesley College look on course to achieve their target of a top four finish in their group.
