Mahamaya girls determined to excel in cricket

by Upananda Jayasundera- Kandy Sports Special Cor.

Mahamaya Girls College, Kandy established in 1932, is a school that has flourished well in both education and sports in no uncertain manner. Talking of sports, the Mahamaya girls are doing well in swimming.

Now the girls at Mahamaya are determined to hit the the top in the game of cricket like as they have done in swimming in the last 16 years. Cricket, Hockey, Netball, Table Tennis, Chess and Basketball are the other sports the school has a eye on for the girls.

Mahamaya girls school is one school in the Kandy district that plays both Softball and Hardball Cricket. The game of cricket became popular at the school in 1985 when Nita Pilapitiya was the Principal and at that time there were two teams, one captained by Thushara Tennekoon and the other by Manjula Kalpage. Thushara is the sister of former Dharmaraja College cricket captain and N.C.C. Cricketer Thilina Tennekoon.

Manjula is the sister of former Sri Lanka Test player Ruwan Kalpage. From then onwards cricket became very popular at Mahamaya. Captaining Mahamaya is Yasamali Hettiarachchi and Shalika Gannoruwa.

Under the captaincy Yasamali Hettiarachchi Mahamaya Girls College won the Kandy Mayor's Cup Softball Cricket Tournament beating Swarnamali Balika in the mid ninetees. Then under Shalika Gannoruwa Mahamaya came third in hardball cricket in 2008 where the Anuradhapura team became runners-up. Shalika Gannoruwa is the daughter of Ajith Gannoruwa - former cricketer of Dharmaraja College and Central Province in the late sixties.

For any sport to thrive at school level it must have the backing of the school authorities and Mahamaya has in Indra Withanachchi, a principal who is very keen on sports and with the Deputy Principals Visaka Herath, Uthpala Seneviratne, Himali Senadheera and the Prefect of Games Dhammika Mahawattage all encouraging the cricketers and the girls have responded well.

The school authorities and the girls are very keen in cricket and not practice is arranged for hardball cricket and Wewasiri grounds is used for softball cricket. Coaching in fielding is arranged by old girls and they have monthly coaching programmes under the district cricket coaches.

The captain of cricket at Mahamaya is Dedunu Bhagya and under her captaincy the team qualified for the tapo tape Ball Cricket Tournament conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket.

Mahamaya have two cricket teams -under 15 and over 15 and the school authorities are hoping to play friendly cricket matches with other schools in hardball and tapeball.