Antonian batsmen make merry

S. M. Jiffrey ABDEEN - Kandy Sports Corr.

St. Anthony's College batsmen made merry at the expense of Ananda College bowlers in their inter-school cricket match which ended in a tall scoring draw at Katugastota yesterday.

On the first day the Anandians ran up a sizeable 283 for 8 declared. The Antonians were equal to the task on the second day as they amassed 335 and batted for 106.3 overs.

The interest in the match faded out on first day itself after the Anandians had batted for 90.2 overs which took away any chances of any decision being reached in the match.

A point of interest for the Antonians was two batsmen from the under 15 team notched up half centuries against the steady Ananda College attack. Both players are barely fifteen years.

First it was opener Yoshan Woods who scored a brilliant 74 with 10 fours and faced 131 deliveries. It was a piece of gritty batsmanship for a batsman with hardly any senior cricket experience.

Another 14-years-old Kanishka Ranaraja scored a fine 54 with 9 fours. It was another classy batsmanship. Later the experienced Adil Reyal plundered a quick 55 with 6 fours and a six. Sachithra Perera took 4 for 58 and Ruchira Perera 3 for 58.

Ananda College: 283 for 8 decl. in 90.2 overs (P. Wimaladharma 22, Dinesh Chandimal 55, P. Senaviratne 24, S. Dewage 81, S. Shaman 14, M. Jayaratne 30, M. Perera 33 not out, Sahan Pallihakkara 3 for 56, Kasun Ekanayake 3 for 30) and 24 for 1 in 6 overs (D. Chandimal 18).

St. Anthony's College: 335 all out in 106.3 overs (Yohan Woods 72, Jerome Siegertsz 41, Kasun Ekanayake 30, Kanishka Ranaraja 54, Sachithra Perera 4 for 58, Ruchira Perera 3 for 58).