Cricket game between Sri Lanka Lions Sports Club & Instant Cricketers for the “Non Benders” shield – photos & report are by Jon Karu
The annual cricket game between Sri Lanka Lions Sports Club & Instant Cricketers for the “Non Benders” shield, which was postponed in 2018, was finally played on Sunday 24th February 2019 at Ollie Webb Reserve, Merrylands, NSW.
The game was played under the usual special rules of 35 overs per team of 13 players but only 11 were allowed to field at any one time, maximum of only five (5) overs per bowler and a Maximum of 30 runs per batsmen.
The official Head umpire was Michael Dunn
The two teams that took to the field were…..
For the Sri Lanka Lions: ( disappointingly only 11 turned up !!! )
Prasanna Kariyawasam ( ex- Royal, Colombo ), Ruwan Atukorale ( ex- Issipatana)
Lalith Fernando ( ex-Wesley), Nihal Ramanayake ( ex –S Thomas, Mt Lavinia )
Jit Kumarage ( ex- St Anthonys, Katugastote ), Gamini Jayawardena ( ex-Richmond, Galle )
Janaka Ranawaka ( ex – Mahinda, Galle) , Gamini Samarasinghe ( ex –Mahinda, Galle)
Priya Mudoon ( ex – Ananda , Colombo), Yohan Wijesinghe (ex– St Peters, Colombo)
Siri Kamalasuriya ( ex– Sri Jayawardenapura M. V., Kotte ).
For The Instant Cricketers
Jerome Gasperson ( ex -S.Thomas, Mt.Lavinia), Stanley Jayanthakumar ( ex -S.Thomas, Mt Lavinia),
Raj Karunairatnam ( ex -Royal, Colombo), Janar Weerasingham ( ex-Royal, Colombo),
Shantha Kulasingham ( ex-Wesley), Maximus Anandappa ( ex- De Mazenod College, Kandana)
Mathi Chelliah ( ex-Colombo Hindu), Mani Manimaran ( ex-Hartley, Jaffna), ),
Macky Rajakone ( ex-St. Johns, Jaffna), Ashok Punnudurai (ex-St .Johns, Jaffna),
Mark Ravindran ( ex-Jaffna Central), Milson Sivagadadchham ( ex-Jaffna Central)
Santhan Pathmanandavel (ex- Kamwala Secondary school , Lusaka, Zambia)
The toss was won by The Instant Cricketers and they opted to bowl.
The Sri Lanka lions (skippered by Gamini Jayawardena) after a slow start (thanks to one of the openers, who happened to be an ex Royal skipper J ) ended up scoring 132 all out in their allotted 35 overs .
The main contributors to the score :
Priya Mudoon 33 retired ( inc.2 fours & 7 twos), Gamini Jayawardena 23 ( inc.3 fours & 1 two), Gamini Samarasinghe 16 (inc.1 four & 4 twos), Janaka Ranawak 12 (inc.2 fours),
Pras Kariyawasam 12 ( only 2 twos in that score !!!! ) & Jit Kumarage 11
Wicket takers for “The Instant Cricketers” were:
Jerome Gasperson 3 for 12 off 3 overs, Mark Ravindran 2 for 12 off 5 overs,
Max Anandappa 1 for 13 off 4 overs, Ashok Ponnudurai 1 for 12 off 4 overs &
Janar Weerasingham 1 for 08 off 3 overs.
In reply The Instant cricketers chased down the required runs for the loss of only 5 wickets in 29 overs.
The main contributors to the score
Stanley Jayanthakumar 30 retired ( inc.2 sixes & 2 fours), Jerome Gasperson 26 retired (inc.3 fours),
Ashok Ponnudurai 26 retired ( inc. one four), Mani Manimaran 11 and ….wait for it… 21 “sundries”
Wicket takers for “The Sri Lanka Lions” were :
Priya Mudoon 1 for 05 off 4 overs, Gamini Samarasinghe 1 for 12 off 5 overs,
Lalith Fernando 1 for 19 off 5 overs, Siri Kamalasuriya 1 for 24 off 5 overs &
Ruwan Atukorale 1 for 28 off 4 overs.
The awards were given at the end as follows:
Best Batsman: Priya Mudoon ( Sri Lanka Lions )
Best Bowler: Mark Ravindran ( Instant Cricketers )
Man of the Match: Jerome Gasperson ( Instant Cricketers )
Winning team captain Macky Rajakone, accepted the “Non Benders Shield” on behalf of his team from the Guest of Honour Mrs. Kalindi Mudoon.
In conclusion, the hard work put in by both Prassanna Kariyawasam & Macky Rajakone to ensure this postponed social game to be organised & played in such a “friendly” atmosphere was not lost amongst the players from both sides and they unanimously echoed the sentiment that this fixture should continue in years to come.
Click here or on the photos below to view the full album on eLanka Facebook page
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