Mahamaya Girls excel in cricket too

by Upananda JAYASUNDERA -Kandy Sports Special Corr

CRICKET: Mahamaya Girls School, Kandy, a name that has been established over the years as a girls school in Kandy famous for its sports activities such as netball, athletics, hockey, swimming, badminton and basketball, is still very active in these fields and the school authorities have added cricket too, to this list.

It has given the young and energetic girls a wonderful opportunity to widen their capabilities.

Mahamaya has won the Central Province Girls Schools Championship in cricket (softball), where they beat Pushpadana Balika, Kandy; Nugawela Balika, Kandy and finally St. Andrew's Balika, Gampola.

They have a leather ball team, as well as a soft ball cricket team.

Mahamaya is the only girls school that participated at the 2006 Women's Cricket Tournament conducted by then Women's Cricket Association of Sri Lanka and emerged 3rd after Anuradhapura and Kegalle District teams.

In the mid 90s' they participated in the Kandy Mayor's Softball Cricket Tournament organised by the Kandy Municipality and emerged champions under the captaincy of J. Hettiarachchi.

From softball Mahamaya got into bigger things and in the year 2000 they got into leather ball cricket as well.

At present, the hardball cricket team is captained by Kushlani Alawatura and the softball team is captained by Niluka Mortimor.

For any sports to thrive specially at school level, the sport must have the backing of the school authorities - the sports loving Principal Indrani Vithanachchi together with the Deputy Principals, Asoka Dissanayake, Vishaka Herath and Uthpala Seneviratne, Prefect of Games, Dhammika Mahawattage and Teacher-in-Charge, Chandrika Gangoda.