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| Sunday, 6 February 2005 |
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Kotte Thomian skipper Andy Solomons holds much promise by Sriyan Obeyesekere For a cricketer who 'cut his teeth' in the game as a 10-year-old young Andy Solomons has certainly come good for his 'alma mater' at the height of his teens. Today, he wears the college cap captaining St. Thomas', Kotte First XI. He has tuned up for the 'big match' against traditional rivals Sri Jayawardenepura Maha Vidyalaya known down the years as the 'Battle of Kotte' in breath-taking fashion with double century - 263 this season in an eight-wicket win over Lalith Athulathmudali Vidyalaya, Ratmalana! Magical milestones are distant dreams for young colts, and achieving the feat in a total of 398 was indeed sweet stuff for the Kotte Thomian skipper. "This season has been Andy's best. He has got it right both with the bat and ball," said Desmond of son Andy who is a right hand No. 4 batsman and right-arm first change medium pacie. He has represented the under-11, u-13 which he captained, u-14 and u-16 before making it to the first eleven. As a captain he has led the Kotte Thomians to three victories in seven outings, maintaining an unbeaten record so far, the other three matches have ended in draws. Perhaps, the high point of the season for Andy was their match against S. Thomas', Mt. Lavinia in which the Kotte Thomians earned an honourable draw. In fact it was Andy who rose to the occasion. He took 2 wickets for 82 runs in a total of 286 for 6 declared by the Mt. Lavinia Thomians. But, above all, it was Andy's bat that kept his side in the game with timely knock of 44 playing away at Mt. Lavinia. Besides the double ton, he has three half-centuries to his credit with a score of 80 against neighbours Ananda Sastralaya, 56 against Dudley Senanayake Vidyalaya, 51 against Piliyandala Central and scores of 31 against Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya and 38 against St. John's, Nugegoda. He missed out in the match against Susamayawardena Vidyalaya due to injury and St. Thomas' won this game. The four victories were against Ananda Sastralaya, Dudley Senanayake Vidyalaya and Lalith Athulathmudali Vidyalaya - all by eight wickets. His feat with the ball have equalled as those with the bat. Thirty-one wickets in seven matches including a best of 6 for 43 against Dharmapala, and a match bag of 8 for 124 against Lalith Athulathmudali Vidyalaya. |
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