Royal and S.Thomas' joint champions
by Ranjan Anandappa
Royal College and S.Thomas' College were declared joint champions at
the recently concluded limited overs cricket encounter between the two
schools for the Mustangs Trophy as a miscalculation in the
Duckworth/Lewis System on the day of the match ascertained the Thomians
as winners.
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S.Thomas' College Warden Professor Indra de Soysa handing
over the Mustangs Trophy to Imal Liyanage (Royal skipper)
and Sachin Peiris (S.Thomas' skipper) |
The match was suspended due to bad light and on recommencement a
great deal of uncertainty was created regarding the calculations of the
actual winning target for Royal under the Duckworth/Lewis method. The
miscalculation no way lies with the two schools but with an independent
official from Sri Lanka Cricket who was responsible with the final
analysis.
The Mustangs Trophy was jointly presented by the Warden of S.Thomas'
Professor Indra de Soysa to the two captains Imal Liyanage (Royal) and
Sachin Peiris (S.Thomas') held at the SSC Upper pavilion amidst members
of the two teams.
S.Thomas' College Warden Professor Indra de Soysa said that “Given
these facts, officials associated with Thomian cricket together with the
players feel that the Royal team has not deserved the loss handed to
them because of a faulty technicality. Our opponents played hard and
displayed a level of cricket that does not warrant a final decision
based on a technical mistake. Neither would it be honourable for Thomian
cricketers to carry a win on their shoulders that is now sullied by the
bad fortune of worthy opponents. Cricket, after all, is one of the only
sports where an umpires' decision is not final if a player knows that an
umpire, is only human, makes a mistake. Thus in the spirit of
sportsmanship that marks this noble game, we at S.Thomas' have decided
to share the trophy with Royal and declare the game a joint win.”
The Principal of Royal College Upali Gunasekera said that “this
year's Mustangs Trophy cricket encounter was a historic one. Not only
because, it was played as a match in a series between two schools that
have historic and friendly ties, but also because it left behind many
lessons for the community at large. After a brief interruption after
rain and bad light, the match resumed mid way into the Royal innings
amidst a lot of uncertainty as the revised target set for Royal based on
the DL system.
Although it was evidently erroneous and doubtful, Royal batsmen took
to the crease and concluded the match,despite the mere impossible target
of getting 128 runs in 6 overs. As it has now transpired there has been
a grave mistake in the calculation.
Had the accurate target was set, with 6 wickets in hand, it would
have given Royal a fair chance of victory. We must take serious note of
the situation that rose and ensure such events will not recur in the
future. We salute and thank the Warden of S.Thomas' and the entire
Thomian fraternity for this sporting gesture.“
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