Kithruwan and Malinda take close leads

Kithruwan Vithanage of Royal College, Colombo is set to become the first to top the 50,000-vote mark after the latest round of counting in the the 32nd Observer - Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year contest.

All-rounder Vithanage, who was the vice captain of the Sri Lanka team for the last ICC Under-19 Youth World Cup, takes a close lead in the most popular segment of the All-Island contest. He has received unprecedented response from all quarters to extend his lead and takes a close lead over Chathura Peiris of St. Peter’s College.

Only a mere 31 votes separates the top two as Vithanage has polled 47,428 votes to Peiris’ 46,997. Following closely in the third and fourth places are S. Edirisuriya (Royal) and Nipun Karunanayake (Nalanda) respectively. But the difference between the first and the fourth are less than 700 votes as the Most Popular contest is reaching its peak.

Meanwhile in the Outstation Contest, Maris Stella College captain Malinda Samarasekera has received over 30,000 votes to extend his lead.

This contest has been a household name since 1979. The Observer - Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year contest is conducted by the Sunday Observer in association with the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA), Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers, Sri Lanka (ACUSL).

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, Sri Lanka’s national mobile telephone network will sponsor the mega schools cricket awards ceremony for the third successive year. Incidentally, SLT Mobitel is also the proud sponsor of the Sri Lanka national cricket team.