Gateway College U 17 - a successful tour of Malaysia

CRICKET: Gateway College under 17 cricket team - the defending champions of the Inter-International Schools under 17 cricket championship, embarked on a tour to Malaysia on June 24.

The tour party included 13 squad members and four officials - Senior cricket coach Mr. Botejue, coach Ramesh Weerakoon, master-in-charge S. Koralagama and tour co-ordinator Gamlathge. The highlight of the tour was the togetherness of this 17-member tour party which was a shining example throughout the course of the eight days.

Gateway College played their first match on June 26th after a hectic round of sightseeing the day before the match.

Gateway's first opponents were Victoria Institution - the defending champions of Malaysian Inter-School competition. Gateway College batted first and made 219 for the loss of two wickets in the allotted 35 overs. Captain Malith Silva and Damien Fleming put on an unbeaten 150 run-partnership for the third wicket with Malith 88 not out and Damien Fleming 78 not out.

In reply Victoria Institution were bundled out for 101 runs in 35 overs. Afthab Jaffer and Nadeesh Wickreamage took 3 wickets each to help Gateway win by 118 runs.

The next match was against Malaysia National University. According to all reports, this match had a makeshift team to enable the remaining squad members to have a chance of playing in a match. Gateway was captained by Aadhil Niyas and Gateway batted first and made 214 in their 35 overs for the loss of eight wickets. Nadeesh Wickramage made 54 and Jezkan Nawaz scored 41 for Gateway.

The Malaysian team were shot out for 76 in 25.3 overs. Afthab took 3 for 19 and Nadeesh Wickramage 2 for 8 and Akthar 2 for 12.

It was not all cricket for the Gateway boys and they went to the panoramic Gentling Theme Park for more thrills and spills on the final day of the tour. The team left Kuala Lumpur on July 1 with added experience to serve the school further in cricket.

The Gateway College team: Dinusha Karunathilaka, Nisala Ratnayake, Yasir Haseem, Akthar Afzal, Pulasthi Ranasinghe, Damien Fleming, Afthab Jaffer, Visanth Balasubramaniam, Nadheesh Wickremage. Malith Silva (Captain), Aadhil Niyas (Vice-Captain) and Jezlan Nawaz.