Young Sri Lanka beat Young England by 4 wickets

By Ranjan ANANDAPPA

CRICKET: It was in the year 1986, August 11 that a Youth Sri Lankan team on a tour to the UK, labelled as a Young Sri Lankan XI played and won a limited overs match against their counterparts at the hallowed Lord's cricket grounds in London.

Young England made 158 and Young Sri Lanka replied with 162 for 6 wickets.

The win was a fine team effort with the batsmen and the bowlers sticking to their guns, and the fielders giving an impressive display.

In fact it was for the first time that a youth cricket team from any country had played at Lord's. Prior to that no youth teams were entertained at this venue which is called the 'Mecca' of cricket, and most cricketers in any grade considered a great privilege performing at Lord's.

The Sri Lanka national team has not won a Test match at Lord's, but won a final of a triangular cricket series featuring Sri Lanka, England and South Africa in 1998, twelve years later.

Former Test cricketer Asanka Gurusingha, just out of Nalanda College, captained the Young Sri Lankans while D. Ripley from Nottinghamshire led the Young English Cricketers in this one day game.

England Young Cricketers Innings 
R. J. Blakey c Balalle b Madena	 		 14
T. R. Ward c Balalle b Mallawarachchi	 	  0
R. J. Bartlett c Tillekeratne b Hathurusinghe	 23
M. A. Roseberry b Madena	 		 39
R. J. Blakey c Balalle b Madena	 		 14
T. R. Ward c Balalle b Mallawarachchi	  	 0
R. J. Bartlett c Tillekeratne b Hathurusinghe	 23
M. A. Roseberry b Madena	 		 39
M. W. Alleyne c Balalle b Hathurusinghe	  	  5
I. Smith c Weerasinghe b Gurusinghe	  	  7
D. Ripley lbw b Weerasinghe	  		  1
G. D. Harding st. Balalle b Weerasinghe	  	  3
L. Tennant run out	 			 30
A. G. J. Frazer lbw b Madena	  		  8
N. Kendrick not out	  			  1
Extras	 					 27
TOTAL: (In 54.3 overs)				158
FALL OF WICKETS: 5, 25, 59, 77, 92, 95, 101,146, 146, 158.
BOWLING: D. Madena 10.3- 3-16-3, M. Mallawarachchi 11-2-31-1, C. Hathurusinghe 11-3-21-2, 
A. Gunesinghe 11-0-39-1, S. Weerasinghe 9-0-31-2, D. Perera 2-0-7-0.

Sri Lanka Young Cricketers Innings 
R. Soza c Blakey b Smith	  	  8
C. Hathurusinghe run out	 	 38
A. P. Gurusinghe c Roseberry b Harding	 36
Duminda Perera c Roseberry b Kendrick	 28
B. R. Jurangpathy b Kendrick	 	  7
H. P. Tillekeratne not out	 	 19
R. Paulpillai c Ripley b Frazer	 	  0
S. Weerasinghe not out	 		 15
Extras					 11 
TOTAL: (for six wickets in 48.5 overs)	162
DID NOT BAT: M. Balalle, D. Madena and M. Mallawarachchi.
FALL OF WICKETS: 21, 82, 99, 124, 124, 125. 
BOWLING: A. Frazer 11-2-29-1, I. Smith 8-1-39-1, L. Tennant 7.5-2-29-0, 
G. Harding 11-2-26-1, N. Kendrick 11-1-33-2.