Voting for Most Popular Contests start today:

Cricket administrators commend Sunday Observer - Mobitel contests

by Leslie FERNANDO

D. Somachandra de Silva - Sri Lanka cricket will give all encouragement for the show.	Arjuna Ranatunga - having this contest encourages the cricketers to do better.	Dilshan de Silva - Secretary ACUSSL, Chairman Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association, Selection Committee and member junior Selection Committee SLC.

The Observer SLT Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Contest opened the door for up-and-coming cricketers to further their interest in the game. The contest is a forerunner for cricketers to gain recognition at the highest level. Ranjan Madugalle a top Sri Lanka cricketer who blossomed out from Royal College made his presence felt in inter-school cricket and was picked as the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year in 1978 and 1979. Madugalle needs no introduction in cricket, be it in Sri Lanka or in the outside world these days. He is a past Sri Lanka captain and what’s most important is the fact that he was the youngest in the international panel of match referees who was in charge of 1999 World Cup final. He is now the Chief Match Referee of ICC.The fact that these contests cater to the very best is reflected in the results.

Voting for the Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year-All Island and Outstation contests will begin from today. The readers of the Sunday Observer, Daily News, Silumina, Dinamina and Thinakaran will have an added advantage of sending two votes for their favourite schoolboy cricketer as there will be two coupons each for the All-Island and Outstation Contests. One voting coupon each will be published in the Daily News, Dinamina and Thinakaran from tomorrow.SLT Mobitel will be the third sponsor in the history of the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Contest series after Warner-Hudnut and Bata. Former Sri Lanka Test captain and present ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle won the Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the year `crown’ when Warner-Hudnut sponsored the inaugural event in 1978.

SLT Mobitel is presence as the sponsor would further strengthen the original show which has recognised schoolboy talent over the years. SLT Mobitel no doubt will provide that `SMART’ connection to the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Contest conducted by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. The Contest will have the usual backing of the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) and the Sri Lanka Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association.Voting for Most Popular Contests start today

Arjuna Ranatunga -The Sri Lanka cricket captain who won the World Cup for the country in 1996, was the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year in 1980 and 1982, he said. It’s good to see the Sunday Observer continuing the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year for the 31st year from 1978 to encourage the promising and up-and-coming schoolboy cricketers. I was particularly happy to see that the Northern Province will join up with the others in the competitions at the contest. I am happy at the improvement of outstation cricket as the game has spread far and wide in the country.This contest encourages the cricketers to do better. Many Sri Lankan cricketing giants of the past and the present are those who have either won the prestigious and coveted Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award or one of the many sectional awards presented at the contest.

D. Somachandra de Silva the Chairman Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket, presently on duty in England for the World Cup Twenty20, was a happy man to see the Schoolboy Cricketer of the year show going from strength to strength. At the 30th Contest, Sri Lanka Cricket appointed former Sri Lanka Test leg-spinner D. S. de Silva as its representative. The SLC chief said it would be the dream of any schoolboy cricketer to be crowned the Observer, Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year. He added that SLC would support the Sunday Observer and the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) in their endeavour to promote school cricket, giving due recognition and appreciation for tomorrow’s cricketing heroes.

Dilshan de Silva: Secretary, Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers Sri Lanka and the Chairman Selection Committee of Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association, is no stranger to the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Contest. He has been involved in the selection panel of the Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Contest for a couple of years.Dilshan who is also a member of the Junior Cricket Selection Committee of SLC, said that this contest has produced several Sri Lanka players. In fact some players have captained the Sri Lanka team.