S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia, who were crowned ‘Best All Island Team’ at the Dialog 4G Schoolboy Cricketer awards this year, have put on an impressive show at the Chappell Brothers’ Challenge trophy during their tour of Australia, beating St. Peter’s College, Adelaide in a rain-interrupted final.
The final which was played in the T20 format, was reduced to 10 overs a side due to bad weather. The Thomians thumped 131/5 in their allotted overs as Shalin De Mel top scored with 51. Dulith Gunaratne supported him well with 31 runs as the openers for the School by the Sea got off to a flying start. They then tore apart the top order of St Peter’s, reducing the hosts to 21/5 with Dulith Gunaratne unleashing his destructive form with the ball as well. Gunaratne captured 3 for 12 with his off spin while left arm seamer Tehan Schafter made the initial breakthrough and finished with 2/09. St. Peter’s College were only able to score 75/7 in the allotted 10 overs to giving STC a comfortable 56-run win.
Kalana Perera, the Sri Lanka under 19 discard who made headlines recently for his record breaking 16 wicket haul in schools cricket, claimed the ‘Best Bowler of the Tournament’ award. Despite having a quiet final, he was instrumental to the Thomians’ success throughout the tournament with both bat and ball.
STC registered their first win of the tournament against Prince Alfred’s College, Adelaide by 3 wickets. Prince Alfred’s was dismissed for 179 with left arm spinner Shannon Fernando and left arm seamer Tehan Schafter capturing 4 and 2 wickets respectively. Kalana topped scored with 43 as the Thomians reached the target in 39 overs.
The second match was played against Anglican Church Grammar School, Brisbane where STC completed a thumping 238 run win. The Thomians made 362 runs for the loss of 5 wickets as skipper Sithara Hapuhinna scored a swashbuckling 56-ball 110, while Kalana Perera was unbeaten on 69. Mohomad Ishak and Dulith Gunaratne missed out on their half centuries with 47 and 45 respectively, while Gavin Bothueju was not out on 38. Kalana went onto to take a 5-fer for just 8 runs and Shannon Fernando finished up with 3/11, bundling out the opposition for just 124 runs.
The Thomians made it 3 in a row when they defeated Scotch College, Melbourne by 6 wickets just before the finals. Scotch College scored 176 for the loss of 6 wickets in the T20 format game. Dulith Gunaratne captured 3 wickets for just 13 runs while Kalana Perera supported with a tight 2 for 19. The Thomians accelerated in the batting department, reaching the target in just 15.2 overs for the loss of 4 with captain Hapuhinna, who once again shone with the bat, and opener Shalin De Mel scoring half-centuries.
This tour has proven to be very fruitful as it has given a lot of experience and exposure to the team. The touring squad comprised of the players of the 2017/2018 season as the team prepares for the season up ahead and the much-awaited Royal-Thomian in 2019.
