Ambalangoda to host Olcott Memorial Cricket tourney

By Ranjan ANANDAPPA

The town of Ambalangoda will get the opportunity to see their past Test and National and present school cricketers in action when the Dharmasoka Past Cricketers Association will conduct their second and 10th in the series, Col. Henry Steele Olcott Memorial limited overs cricket tournament for Buddhist schools on 5th, 6th and 7th of December at the Ambalangoda Esplanade.

Eight leading Buddhist cricket playing schools namely Ananda, Nalanda, Dharmaraja, Dharmapala, Mahinda, Maliyadeva, Rahula and host Dharmasoka will meet each other in this popular tourney which is held annually.

The tournament will get under way with the schools six-a-side tournament on the 5th of December and subsequent matches played between the past cricketers (12 overs per side) of the eight schools on 6th and 7th. In a press briefing held at the Bloomfield C and AC pavilion with regard to the event, the President of the Dharmasoka Past Cricketers Association H. Premasiri said that the tournament will be held for the second time in Ambalangoda in its history of a decade and it will be unique for the cricket-loving Ambalangoda public to witness their past and present cricketers in action in a tourney of this nature. Premasiri said that the competition was a conception of old Nalandian Jayantha Seneviratne and T.K.Palitha of Dharmapala whom had played with distinction for their respective schools. The tournament is mainly organised to bring the old and present day boys together and create awareness of the founder of the eight schools Col. Olcott.

D. M. Dharmatileka, the President of the Olcott Foundation said that strengthening ties between the leading Buddhist schools and to be on par with the other major cricket playing schools is one of the important aspects in this tournament. Ananda and Nalanda have produced the bulk of the star cricketers in the country and it is important to try and maintain the same within these eight schools.