Heavy voting in final week, results soon

OBSERVER-MOBITEL CONTEST....: Due to the unprecedented voting at the final stage of the Sunday Observer/Mobitel Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer Of The Year contest the results of the Most Popular Contest in all three categories will be known in next week’s Sunday Observer.

There has been heavy polling particularly for the two players from Royal College, Colombo, Randev Pathirana and Harith Samarasinghe in the ‘Platinum’ Segment for division 1 schools.

In the other two segments too, ‘Gold’ for division 11 schools and ‘Silver’ for division 111 schools also coupons have been flowing in.

With the ending of the counting the stage is set for the selection of The Schoolboy Cricketer Of The Year 2014 on merit next week, taking into consideration the performances of the players during the 2013/2014 school cricket season.

This main contest is the most looked forward occasion for the school cricketers who will be richly rewarded for their efforts.

The winners of the contest besides gaining the much needed fame will also find themselves on a healthy path in securing suitable employment opportunities for the future.

So far in the 35-year-old history of the contest the highest number of votes have been secured by Ramith Rambukwella (248,702) in the 2011 contest. In that year three more contestants, namely Sachitra Perera of Ananda College (199,235), Bhanuka Rajapakse from Royal, Colombo (197,474) and Thomian Neomal Wickremasekera (112,007) topped the 100,000 polling mark.