The Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club which was founded largely due to the efforts of Mr. G.N.C. Ponnambalam has been one of the leading cricket clubs in Sri Lanka since its establishment in 1899.
The clubs ground which goes by the renowned name of the P. Sara Oval was Colombo’s solitary international venue for years and it has played host to the likes of the infamous Sir Donald Bradman. Although current international matches are played at different venues the club and the ground still retains its elegant and charming feel.
The club which is built on the laurels of producing talented cricketers has always been home to some of the finest players who have represented our nation. Two of the best players were Mahedevan Sathasivam (played between the 1940s and 1960s) who was named by Gary Sobers as the greatest batsman ever on earth and the renowned spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan. The present team also features the likes of several national players namely T.M Dilshan, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga, Kithruwan Vithanage, Ramith Rambukwella and Chanaka Welegedara.
Roy Dias returns as coach
Roy Dias who coached the club three years ago made his return to the Tamil Union and Cricket and Athletic club and took over duties as the coach on the 6th of December 2013.
Speaking to ThePapare.com he explained that he returned to the club due to the requests made by the players as well as the requests made by the chairman of cricket Mr. Dinal Phillips and his close friend Mr. Rusi Captain. He also went onto state ‘We have a very young side and my main aim for the season is to give all the players an opportunity to play which will result in them gaining experience so that the club will grow from strength to strength in the years to come’.
‘I hope to develop my teams loyalty towards the club as I believe this is the most important part of the experience of playing for Tamil Union as the club provides so many opportunities for young men to grow not only as cricketers but as individuals as a whole’ he further added.
Strong batting line up
The main strength of the team lies in their batting line up that is full of talented players who have been amongst the runs in recent years.
The consistent Ashen Silva is most likely to open the batting for the side along with Pabasara Waduge. Ashen Silva has scored a total 1883 runs in first class games at an average of 47.07 and he will definitely look to play a key role in the team. T.M Dilshan who is currently playing the Big Bash series in Australia will also play a massive part in the teams batting line up when available.
The middle order is made of National players such as the captain of the side, Jeevan Mendis who has scored over 4000 first class runs. He is supported by a duo of talented young Royalists namely Kithruwan Vithanage and Ramith Rambukwella. Kithruwan has also scored over 2000 runs and Ramith who is an excellent all rounder will look to make an equally good contribution with the bat and ball.
Bowling line up
The team has a very strong bowling line which comprises the likes of Suranga Lakmal, Ranagana Herath, Shaminda Eranga and Chanaka Welegedara. However the main issue that the coach and the team have is that none of the above mentioned players are available at the start of the season. Lakmal, Herath and Eranga are away on international duty and Welegedara is injured.
In their absence the captain Jeevan Mendis who is considered to be one of the best Sri Lankan all rounders will lead the attack with his nifty leg breaks. Madushanka Ekanayake, Nisala Tharaka, Chamikara Edirisinghe and Matheesha Perera will round up the teams bowling attack.
Squad
Jeevan Mendis (captain)
T.M. Dilshan
Suranga Lakmal
Rangana Herath
Shaminda Eranga
Kithruwan Vithanage
Ramith Rambukwella
T.M.N. Sampath
Chanaka Welegedara
Pabasara Waduge
Ashen Silva
Umesh Buddhika
Denuwan Rajakaruna
Pulina Tharanga
Madushanka Ekanayake
Thineth Manishanka
Nisala Tharaka
Manoj Sarathchandra
Matheesha Perera
Rashmika Perera
Chamikara Edirisinghe
Manager- Mahesh Bopage
ThePapare takes this opportunity to wish the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club the best of luck ahead of the season.
