School cricket gets top billing with OBSERVER-MOBITEL awards
by A.C. de Silva
OBSERVER-MOBITEL AWARDS: Talk of cricket, especially inter-school
cricket and competitions, the OBSERVER-MOBITEL Schoolboy Cricketer of
the Year Contest comes to everyone’s mind as it has been going on for
the last 33 years and it is one show that all lovers of cricket eagerly
wait for.
Besides the panel of cricket umpires who will pick the Schoolboy
Cricketer of the Year and other sectional awards, there is also a lot of
interest shown by cricketers in the North and with Jaffna and the
surrounding areas returning to normal life after the eradication of
terrorism, cricket has come back to the normal curriculum of daily life
there and schools matches are being played at many venues.
So, cricket once again has taken its stance and the schoolboys have
once again shown that they are capable of providing entertainment for
all lovers of the game, provided that they are provided a platform to
display their capabilities.
The OBSERVER and MOBITEL besides picking the best performers at the
end of the season, right now the two organisations are serving up plenty
of food for thought to the cricketers and their supporters with the two
competitions — Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer All Island and Most
Popular Schoolboy Cricketer Outstation with the keen followers of
cricket also kept in mind with awards for the voters in the two
competitions.
These two competitions started about a month back and from the
response by the OBSERVER, DAILY NEWS, THINAKARAN and DINAMINA readers,
the response has been very encouraging and it points to be a good
competition with of votes coming in for the schoolboys who have been
performing well with both bat and ball.
Former cricketers who have come off with fine performances say that a
competition of this nature serves as an incentive for the schoolboys to
perform better as the matches will be closely followed by the umpires
who will be the judges in the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Contest
and other sectional winners, both in the All-Island Contest and
Outstation Contest. Observer and Mobitel have teamed up well to take the
competition to all parts of the country, including to war-torn Jaffna,
who have had some entertaining cricketers in the past. Besides the
normal trophies at stake, a trophy that has aroused plenty of interest
for the schoolboys should be the one offered on the suggestion of
one-time Sri Lanka skipper Ranjan Madugalle - the Trophy for the Best
Behind Team. This suggestion was well received by the sponsors MOBITEL -
Suren Amerasekera - the CEO. Mr. Amerasekera has said that this trophy
is to inculcate a habit in the schoolboys to play the game in the right
spirit.
Observer-Mobitel Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2010
[All-Island Coupon No .4]
1. S. Edirisuriya (Royal) 7,130
2. Sachithra Perera (Ananda) 7,101
3. Chathura Peiris (St.Peter’s College) 7,079
4. Nipun Karunanayake (Nalanda) 6,891
5. Rasika Gamage (Dharmapala College) 4,220
6. H. Wickremasuriya (SACK) 3,176
7. Waruna Fernando (SBC) 3,099
8. Deshan Dians (St. Sebs.) 2,762
9. Udara Munasinghe (Thurstan College) 2,120
10. A. Riyal (SACK) 1,957
Observer-Mobitel Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2010 [
Outstation Coupon No.4]
1. S.H.I. Kumara
(Devapathiraja V.) 5,701
2. N. Rajaguru (Nugawela Central) 5,247
3. M. Samarasekera (Maris Stella College) 4,907
4. K. Wickremarachchi (Gamini MMV, Bentota) 3,105
5. H. Abeyratne (Ibbagamuwa Central) 3,017
6. T. Dilranga (Bandaranayake C., Gampaha) 2,125
7. G. Sankalpa (Gurukula C., Kelaniya) 2,109
8. A. Thilakaratne (Sri Rahula C.,Katugastota) 1,972
9. A. Perera (Royal Panadura) 1,836
10. M. Ranasinghe (St.John’s Nugegoda) 1,074 |
