Sri Lanka Premier Championship Review (25 February 1999)

25 February 1999

Sri Lanka Premier Championship Review

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Sebastianites became the third team to take over the leadership of the Premier championships for the season when Panadura SC, who went to the top the previous weekend suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Tamil Union.

Moors SC held on to the top spot for the first six weeks before three successive defeats saw them concede it to Panadura.

Sebastianites' victory over CCC was all thrassy surface. Much of that total and their peformances for the season, they owe to the batdismissed for 91 against Matara SC and has a career best 194 against Singha SC early this season.

CCC were done in by the tall right-arm medium-pacer Dinusha Fernando, who jeeva Silva made 75 of them.

Moors SC were really unlucky to have the weather stopping them from recording an outright victory. The win was at their doorstep, with Matara SC having being reduced to 98 for 9 (chasing 290 for victory) by the lhis fourth century of the season which took his aggregate to 718 at an average of 65.27. NCC moved to fourth spot behind Paards gaining full batting points by topping the 400-run mark. Then former left-arm pacer Sajeeva de Silva showed what good a short stint at the MRF Pace Academy has done to him, by recording an e table with an emphatic eight-wicket win. Much of their turn of fortunes has been to the return of all-rounder Upul Chandana from Australia. Chandana inspired the team to lift itself by scoring a halfher vital cog in the Tamil Union wheel made 54.

Bloomfield bounced back following their loss to Tamil Union, by beating Kurunegala YCC outright. In a low scoring game where Bateesha de Silvae of his best season's with the ball took his tally past the 50-wicket mark . For Kurunegala, fast medium bowler Rajith Amunugama took five in the Bloomfield first innings.

Fast-medium bowler Ishara Amawickets set up Colts' outright defeat of Antonians. Sajith Fernando and Bathiya Perera gave t1 and 63 respectively. Buddika Ekanayake and Aruna Hettiaratchi's made half-centuries in the first innings, but they couldn't reproduce the same form a second time round when Antonians were routed for the lowest total of the season - 81.

Duminda Perera's batting double (43 and 51 n.o.) and Sanjaya Rajapakseela Wewelwala top scored with a well compiled fifty and Suraj Sanjeeva took four wickets for Singha.

Galle CC gave SSC a fright when hey lost by a mere six runs on the first innings. Chasing a mo the Galle total. Pasan Wanasinghe, the former Antonian batsman struck twin fifties. For SSC, former Sri Lanka Suresh Perera took four wickets.

The following are the Premier Championship standings at the completion of the eighth weekend of matches on February 21:

Points 12 8 .0005 0.1

Sebastianites 8 2 4 0 1 1 14.640 10.5 81.140 Moors SC 8 3 2 0 3 0 14.795 12.1 78.895 Panadura SC 8 2 3 1 1 1 17.030 11.2 76.230 NCC 8 2 3 1 1 1 15.525 12.5 76.025 Bloomfield 8 2 3 1 1 1 13.155 12.4 73.555 SSC 8 0 5 1 2 0 15.590 12.6 68.190 Tamil Union 8 3 1 0 3 1 13.000 11.1 68.100 Singha SC 8 0 5 0 2 1 13.045 8.7 61.745 CCC 8 0 4 1 2 1 12.455 13.1 57.555 Colts 8 2 1 0 4 1 12.045 12.6 56.645 Kurunegala YCC 8 1 3 2 1 1 10.825 9.5 56.325 Galle CC 8 1 2 1 3 1 11.825 10.7 50.525 BRC 8 1 0 5 2 0 12.185 11.8 35.985 Antonian SC 8 1 0 3 3 1 13.225 9.2 34.425 Police SC 7 0 1 2 3 1 10.230 6.2 24.430 Matara SC 7 0 0 2 4 1 8.280 8.7 16.980

(Subject to confirmation)

Note: The match between Police SC and Matara SC scheduled from Jan. 22-24 was not played.

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL INNINGS: 203 (n.o.) - Hemantha Wickremaratne, SSC v Tamil Union at Maitland Place on Jan. 10.

FASTEST CENTURY: 66 balls - Saman Jayantha, Singha SC v Panadura SC at Panadura on Jan. 31.

BEST INNINGS ANALYSIS: 8/47 - Priyankara Wickremasinghe, Bloomfield v Moors SC at Reid Avenue on Jan. 30.

BEST MATCH ANALYSIS: 11/90 - Ruwan Kalpage, NCC v BRC at Colts grounds, Havelock Park on Feb. 14.

HIGHEST INNINGS TOTAL: 485/4 decl. - Sebastianites v Antonian SC at De Soysa Stadium on Feb. 6.

LOWEST INNINGS TOTAL: 81 - Antonian SC v Colts at Havelock Park on Feb. 21.

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