Sri Lanka - Mercantile Cricket Finals (13 Jul 1996)

13 July 1996

Mercantile cricket finals

By Sa`adi Thawfeeq

Today`s Mercantile `A` division fifty-over cricket final between Hatton National Bank and Union Assurance at the SSC grounds, will be of special significance to Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga.

The match will mark his final appearance for the insurance company whom he had served for the past 14 years. Having joined them as a teenager when they went by the name of Mercantile Credit in 1982, (they later became ACW Insurance and presently Union Assurance), Ranatunga will be leaving the company to start one of his own very shortly, with his former boss at Union Assurance, Padma Gunasekera (who was general manager, marketing).

He is certain to make his final appearance quite a memorable one. It would be a fitting final if he could play the lead role in guiding his team to clinch the Singer trophy for which ten teams have fought for over seven weekends.

Also playing his final game for Union Assurance will be Sri Lanka off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan, who is expected to join Ranatunga in his new venture.

Both players have already stamped their class in the tournament by bagging the two best individual awards on offer for batting and bowling in the league round of the competition.

Ranatunga with the highest aggregate in the tournament (495 runs, avg. 165.00) takes the Best Batsman`s prize while Muralitharan with the highest number of wickets (24 at avg. of 11.00) will get the Best Bowler`s award.

Apart from this being a farewell match for these two splendid cricketers, today`s final will also be a grudge game for Union Assurance who were convincingly beaten in the league phase by Hatton National Bank.

Fielding virtually a Sri Lankan eleven with nine national `caps` in the side, Union Assurance led by Arjuna`s younger brother Sanjeeva Ranatunga are heavily tipped to win the final.

However, as the saying goes, in overs-limit cricket, it is the team that plays best on the day who will eventually emerge the winner.

This is what happened when the two sides first met in the current tournament at the Bloomfield grounds two months ago. The bank, sans the big names that their opponents carry (perhaps with the exception of Kumara Dharmasena and Pramodya Wickremasinghe) pulled off a handsome six-wicket win.

The chances of them repeating that success cannot be ruled out, for with the return of Wickremasinghe and Wendell Labrooy from the MRF Pace Foundation in Madras early this week, the bank is at full strength. Both fast bowlers underwent training under former Australian fast bowling `great` Dennis Lillee. Labrooy is due to go back for further training after the final.

Under the leadership of Varuna Waragoda, Hatton National Bank have played as a well-knit unit to remain the only unbeaten side in the tournament having taken everything before them except the weather. Their only blemish from attaining a 100 percent record was against ANZ Grindlays Bank where not a ball was bowled due to rain.

The bank`s trump card is Sri Lanka all-rounder Kumara Dharmasena who has the knack of turning the fortunes of a match with either bat or ball or by his fielding. He has been dismissed only once in eight innings which gives him a remarkable batting average of 182 in the tournament. With his medium-paced off-cutters he has captured 21 wickets (avg. 10.80) which is only second only to his Sri Lankan colleague Muralitharan.

Hatton National Bank`s other consistent performer has been batsman Chaminda Handunettige, whose scores of a century and three fifties in seven innings (for a total of 379) reveals the form he is currently in.

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Ranjit Fernando will be the adjudicator at today`s final which will commence at 9.30 a.m.

Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya will be the chief guest.

THE TEAMS: UNION ASSURANCE (from): Sanjeeva Ranatunga (captain), Thusira de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Nishantha Ranatunga, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Dulip Samaraweera, Sanjaya Attanayake, Eric Upashantha, Manjula Munasinghe, Upul Chandana, Muthiah Muralitharan, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Dinuka Hettiarachchi, Manoj Prasanga.

HATTON NATIONAL BANK (from): Varuna Waragoda (captain), Russel Arnold, Chaminda Handunettige, Sanjeeva Silva, Saman Jayantha, Kumara Dharmasena, Gamini Wickremasinghe, Chandana Mahesh, Wendell Labrooy, Pramodya Wickremasisnghe, Manoj Perera, Nilanth Bopage, Avishka Gunewardena, Duminda Wickremasinghe.

UMPIRES: Peter Manuel and Ignatius Anandappa.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)