The under 19 schools cricket season of 2015/16 is almost at an end with only a handful of matches left to be played. In spite of everything which unfolded throughout the last 6-7 months, the rise of St. Aloysius’ College cricket team has become the talk of the town.
St. Aloysius’ College played exceptional cricket throughout the season to end up as under 19 schools’ league pre-quarter finalists, limited-overs quarter-finalists and T20 finalists.
The Green and Gold College is situated on Mount Calvary, neighbouring St. Mary’s Cathedral and Sacred Heart Convent. The school was initiated in 1895 by Jesuit fathers and was named after the Jesuit Saint, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga who was regarded as the Saint of Youth by the Jesuits because of the heroic acts that he had performed when he was a young Jesuit helping Plague victims in Rome, Italy in 1587.
St. Aloysius’ provides education to nearly 4000 students and it is regarded as one of the leading boys’ schools in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. They take a lot of pride in producing one of the world’s most renowned scientists, Late Prof. Cyril Ponnamperuma and a world-renown cricketing figure in Percy Abeysekara. Some of the Sri Lanka national cricketers produced by St. Aloysius’ College are left-arm spinners, Chathuranga De Silva and Sajeewa Weerakoon.
Even though they have been playing cricket since the school’s inception, St. Aloysius’ College does not get the recognition of a top-tier cricket-playing school as they have been languishing at the bottom of the points table for quite a number of years.
“Cricket was always there at St. Aloysius’ College even though we have not reached higher places, but this time, the boys believed in themselves to make a big impression and I’m extremely glad that they did. “ St. Aloysius’ College Principal Ranjith Thilakarathne said exclusively to ThePapare.com.
This year, St. Aloysius’ College, led by off-spinning all-rounder Gihan Niroshan, had a disastrous start to their season when they were thumped by Trinity College, Kandy by an innings and 26 runs in September 2015 but after seven months, they took their sweet revenge. They got back on track in the latter part of 2015 when they comprehensively defeated Bandaranayake College, Gampaha by 8 wickets and Dharmaraja College, Kandy by an innings and 25 runs. They ended as the third-ranked team from group A collecting 100.4 points from 8 matches but their two-day campaign was cut short by Royal College in the pre-quarters.
The Aloysians started to show their true potential in the shorter-formats of the game with their first giant-killing performance against Richmond College as they decimated their star-studded home-town rivals by 4 wickets in the limited-overs tournament pre-quarter final just a few weeks after they were comprehensively beaten by 10 wickets in the two-day tournament in February. Their 50-over campaign was short-lived when they were outclassed by Nalanda College in a 111-run thrashing at Moratuwa.
When the T20 tournament began, they were extremely confident in upsetting a few of the top schools from the suburbs. On March 31st, the strong Isipathanian team took the Southern Expressway to take on St. Aloysius’ College in their T20 pre-quarter finals at the Mahinda College grounds. The lads from Havelock Town would have been hoping for a cakewalk but the hosts had other ideas as they successfully chased down a target of 104. Skipper Gihan Niroshan played the anchor role with the bat scoring a match-winning 37 while off-spinner Ravindu Sanjana and vice-captain/fast-bowler Sajith Sankalpa took 4 wickets apiece.
The Thomians are renowned for their limited-overs prowess and the 2014 T20 champions from Mount Lavinia led by Sachitha Jayathilake and Rashmika Opatha bundled out the Aloysian batting line up for a mere 105 in their quarter-final game at the Thurstan College grounds on the 2nd of April. The Aloysian bowlers unleashed their stranglehold on their opponents as left-arm spinner Hareen Buddhila and the off-spin duo of Ravindu Sanjana and Gihan Niroshan completely decimated the Thomians, limiting them to only 92 runs.
A few days later on April 5th, on a hot and sunny Tuesday afternoon, St. Aloysius’ College showcased their true talents as they shocked Trinity College in the semi-finals rather convincingly by 7 wickets. Vice-captain Sajith Sankalpa was phenomenal with his spell of 4 for 13 off 4 overs. He bowled both in the powerplay and in the death enabling them to bowl out the Trinitians for 107. In the chase, it was their opener Prabodha Madusanka Guruge who made a sensible 44 and scripted the victory.
The SLSCA (Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association) decided to shift the all-important T20 final to the Galle International Stadium in order to give the Aloysian players a much needed boost to play in front of their family and friends. Before the game, the wicket-keeper batsman of the team and current Southern Province skipper Navindu Nirmal shared his views on playing the final at home, “We are over the moon to play our first-ever final at our home town. This is unofficially our ‘Big Match’ and it’s like a dream come true.”
Their main strength lay in their bowling but this time around, they faltered against the much-superior St. Peter’s outfit to end as runners-up. The Peterites posted a staggering 162 on a slow surface and the Aloysians managed to score only 126 for 8. Left-arm seamer Prabodha Guruge was the pick of the bowlers taking 3 scalps while Navindu Nirmal and skipper Gihan Niroshan contributed with the bat and the latter deservedly hammered a towering six off the final ball of the match to end their fairy tale season. “We had a memorable season and I’m really proud of my team mates. It was an honour to lead this team. We always kept our discipline on and off the field and I think that’s the reason for our success” Niroshan said.
“The boys needed a lot of mental strength in order to confidently face much tougher opponents. They never got scared of the names because as a team we made sure that we only concentrate on our game and always stick to the game plans. Even though we lack proper practice sessions on turf wickets or gym facilities, the boys worked really hard pre-season and throughout the season to come this far.” St. Aloysius’ College head coach Malaka De Silva being an old boy himself expressed his views on the challenges they faced during the whole season.
Full Squad – Gihan Niroshan (Captain), Sajith Sankalpa (Vice Captain), Navindu Nirmal, Ashen Bandara, Ravindu Sanjana, Lakmal Prabashwara, Hareen Buddila, Prabodha Guruge Madhusanka, Niluksha Dulmina, Yassas Pramodya, Ashen Kavinda, Amila Ekanayake, Imalka Sakun, Anuja Shehan, Kavika Dilshan, Malaka De Silva (Coach), Jagath Semasinghe (POG/MIC)
“I personally thank the principal, teachers, parents, coaches, the hard-working members of the OBA, Old boys from UK and all around the world for the help rendered to this team. I believe this would be the transformation, St. Aloysius’ College cricket needed. I also believe that the team work and self-confidence were the main reasons for our success. “The master-in-charge of this team, Jagath Premachandra said.
This set of boys won the hearts of many cricketing pundits in Sri Lanka after this stellar season. As their head coach believes, some of them may go on to represent Sri Lanka one day and continue to keep the Aloysian flag flying high. Hopefully, this performance will inspire many outstation teams to be competitive and reach great heights in the coming years.
