2013/14 Under 19 division 1 cricket season has been competitive as always and we look into the Wesley College team which narrates the competitiveness in schools cricket currently.
History
Wesley’s cricket history dates back to 1893 when Wesley College started to play cricket with Royal College and Wesley – Royal battle is the second oldest inter school cricket match in Sri Lanka. Wesley College produced many great players before Sri Lanka got Test Status such as Mahadevan Sathasivam whom great Gary Sobers called “ The Greatest Batsman on Earth “.
Sathasivam holds an unique record of probably the only player to captain three countries. (Sri Lanka/Ceylon, Singapore & Malaysia).
C.E Perera was another great Cricketer molded by Wesley College. He was known to be the Sri Lanka’s best in early 1900’s. More recently Wesley College gave birth to a promising all-rounder in Farveez Maharoof who captained Wesley & Sri Lanka U19 teams in 2003 who went on to represent Sri Lanka where he played 22 test matches and 104 ODI’s.
Wesley College last won the Under 19 schools title in 1985 under the leadership of M.Ganesh.
The Cricket at Wesley has been a little inconsistent lately and yet they have been a dominant side which can beat any team on their day. Old Wesleyites Sports Club annually organizes the Under 19 Schools 6-a-side tournament which has been very popular around the island.
Re-Cap of 2012/13 Season
Wesley College under the leadership of all rounder Sachin Jayawardene had a very successful season last year where they became the runners up of the Under 19 Schools Twenty20 tournament where they eventually lost the final against St. Sebastian College. Last Year’s batting heroes were Migara Wickramasinghe and Aschel Kariyawasama. Both right handers made over 500 runs while skipper Sachin Jayawardene took close to 50 scalps.
They had a decent two day tournament where they won 1 outright match and lost only 1 game outright while other games ended as drawn matches to finish on the 4th place of the Group ‘A’ of Under 19 Schools Division 1 tournament.
Current 2013/14 Season
This season, Wesley College will be led by Tharindu Karunarathne. Right handed middle order batsman who is one of the few coloursmen in the current team. This time around they have a great combination of youth and experience together with their own style of play. Wesley College has played 12 matches so far and they are yet to win an outright victory. They have won 5 games on 1st innings points but they were beaten on outright in their high profile game against Ananda College in November.
They have been a consistent outfit in the 1st innings with their performances but their performances have dropped down in the 2nd innings and it will be a key area they will have to work on in the near future if they are to be one of the strongest contenders to win the Under 19 Division 1 schools title.
Key Players
Without any major star players in their ranks, Wesley batting will revolve around their dependable captain Tharindu Karunarathne. The six feet tall right hander has scored over 350 runs so far this season and he will look to play the anchor role for his team. They also have the services of last year’s skipper Sachin Jayawardene playing his 6th year for his alma mater. Right handed left arm leg spinner made his 1st XI debut in 2009 and since then has been a prominent figure in the Wesley College line up. Sachin adds all round balance to the team and he will look to end his school cricket career on a high note where he has high hopes of taking over 70 wickets and scoring over 600 runs.
Jonathan Caderamanpulle is another exciting future prospect for Wesley College and Sri Lanka. Fast bowling all rounder who is tipped to be the next year’s captain will certainly play a major role in the success of Wesley College Cricket. Jonathan has scored over 400 runs and has taken close to 25 wickets this season. Opening batsman Reshana Senevirathne will be the man to watch out for as he can be a lethal batsman who can rip apart any fast bowling attack. Reshana have scored around 300 runs so far and will be partnered up with Amayuru Kaluarachchi at the top of the order. Amayuru is another dangerous opening batsman capable of scoring long innings for his team.
Andrew Parays will take up the new ball with Jonathan and his accurate line and length together with his swing can trouble any settled batsman and will test the batsman’s technique of playing good seam bowling.
Right arm off spin bowler Savin Jayasena will be the perfect partner for Sachin and Savin can be an effective spinner in good surfaces for spin bowlers. Savin Jayasena has taken over 25 wickets this season and he will be the secret weapon for Wesley College going into the final and business end of the season.
Final Words
Wesley College lying on the bottom half of the Under 19 division 1 points table will have to be consistent in the coming matches if they are to qualify for the Limited Over tournaments.
Speaking to ThePapare.com, Wesley College Captain Tharindu Karunarathne shared his thoughts of their target for the season “ We had a bad start for the season but we have recovered well to play good cricket recently. We want to play consistent, positive cricket and win as many games outright. We have major plans on the limited over tournament and we want to bring glory to our college by winning at least one trophy this season. “
Full Squad
Tharindu Karunarathne – Right Hand Batsman – Left Arm Fast Medium
Jonathan Caderamanpulle – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Fast Medium
Sachin Jayawardene – Right Hand Batsman – Left Arm Leg Spin
Reshana Senevirathne – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Amayuru Kaluarachchi – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Savin Jayasena – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Andrew Parays – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Fast Medium
Imesh Jayarathne – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Fast Medium
Zenith Wickramanayake – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Shannon Jebaseelan – Right Hand Batsman – Wicket Keeper
Helitha Bambarenda – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Kavindu Bandarathilake – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Jason De Silva – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Leg Spin
Shamin De Silva – Right Hand Batsman – Wicket Keeper
Yousef Sheriff – Right Hand Batsman – Left Arm Leg Spin
Somasundaram Aruneshwaram – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Leg Spin
Coaching Staff
Milroy Muthuwelu – Coach
Karuppiah Nadarjah – Assistant Coach
Nimal De Silva – Master In Charge
