Sri Lanka: Schools champs on tour (15 Jun 1998)

15 June 1998

Schools champs on tour

by Richard Dwight

Leaving on an Airlanka flight on Sunday morning June 21 on a fortnight's cricket tour of Malaysia will be the Peterite cricket team which ended up being the Coca-Cola League Champions, in the concluded schools cricket season.

The tour is therefore, an appreciative gesture of the college in recognition of its cricketer's splendid showing and disciplined approach to the game.

The team ably led by versatile all-rounder Malinda Warnapura, won seven of the sixteen matches played, had the better of the eight drawn games and last one.

Comparatively, the side was sans any flamboyant stars, and each player with average skill and talent, was admirably coached by Roger Wijesuriya and encouraged by skipper Warnapura, to give of their best and success was theirs.

Spinners, Chrysantha Peiris, Dilshan Rupasinghe claimed 50 wickets each, with Nirmal de Silva taking 40 and the fourth spinner Asitha de Silva also being among the wickets. The batting centred around wicket-keeper batsman Jerome Fernando, who is the vice-captain and next year's skipper, Ishara and Angelo Fonseka and Mahesh Perera.

However the entire team pivoted around the astute captaincy of Warnapura, who led by example scoring 950 runs and taking 65 wickets, with his medium pace cutters.

This gutsy all-rounder, had the distinction of hitting 159 in the big match against St. Joseph's under his leadership and, following it up with 122 against the same school in the one-dayer.

With his amiable qualities and sense of team spirit, he showed promise as a leader, when he in 1994 led the under 15 side to be all-island champions.

Baffling it is therefore to find, that Warnapura who was selected for the Indian tour which did not come off, being left out of the South African tour last January in preference to a less fancied player.

What's even worse, is that he has not come into the reckoning, for the 'B' pool to meet the South African 'A' team in July.

Those responsible, must do what is fair an just by promising potential future players, without demoralising and crushing them.

Warnapura is determined to do well in this four match tour of Malaysia and continue to do so on his return, for he feels that you cannot put a good man down.

Accompanying the squad of 17 cricketers are Manager Hiran Perera, Junior Coach L. H. Sunil, Vice Rector Travis Gabriel and Sports Co-ordinator Fr. Camillus Fernando.

The cricketers comprises Malinda Warnapura (Capt.), Jerome Fernando (vice Capt.), Ishara Fonseka, Dilshan Rupasinghe, C. Peiris, N. de Silva, Mahesh Perera, Asitha de Silva, Ranga Dias, Dhanushka Hettihewa, Aman Samsudeen, Sean Gunesekera, Angelo Fonseka, Surang Pinto, Birendra Patkunarajah, Gavin Lodewyke and Shemal Fernando.

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