Darley News – THE BULLETIN OF THE OLD JOSEPHIANS’ ASSOCIATION OF NSW
Joes triumphant in cricket quadrangular
After a lapse of four years, The Saints Cricket Quadrangular was staged in NSW. St. Joseph’s, St. Benedict’s, St. Peter’s and St. Anthony’s Colleges battled it out to become the champions on February 11 at Doonside in Western Sydney. The competition was hosted by the Benedictines but a joint organising committee focussed on setting up a T10 format. The Joes managed to beat the Bens and Antonians convincingly but lost to the Peterites in the first round. The Joes’ aggressive play gave them a superior run rate which put them in the finals where they met the Petes again. This was a repeat of the nail biting JoePete match experienced in Sydney few months ago at the same venue. Joes batted first but managed only 77 runs for 9 wickets in their 10 overs.
The Petes’ bowling always had variety with solid spin bowling by Shanika taking three quick wickets in his first over. Joes defending a low total restricted the Petes with good bowling and solid fielding and the Petes had to score 7 runs in 6 balls. They managed to score only 4 runs in Pramuka Perera’s last over. The Joes proved anything was possible. Tasked to defend a small target, they ended up winning the match to become The Saints Quadrangular Champions for the first time in Sydney. Josephian Sohan Rodrigo’s attacking batting in all three games earned him Best Batsman’s award while team mate Suresh Mirando’s left arm economical medium pace got crucial wickets and Best Bowler’s award.
Denver Hettiarachchi from Petes was adjudged the Best Fielder. Man of the Tournament was Shan Narem from St Anthony’s College, Kandy, for his outstanding bowling and batting display. The event pulled in a very large crowd – the biggest in the history of The Saints Quadrangular. DJ music and great Sri Lankan food complemented the occasion. – Reporting by Shehan Fernando
