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Monday Sep 23, 2024
Monday, 16 October 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
After the second week’s results of the Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2018 contest were revealed, Kavin Peiris of Lumbini College emerged as the leader of the All-Island Schools category.
Kavin snatched the lead overnight from Sachin Silva of St. Peter’s College with a tally of 75 votes, solely received within the concluded week.
Sachin drops down to second place despite moving his tally up to 69, as Dulaj Bandara of Dharmaraja College moved down to third position with a tally of 46. Kalana Perera of S. Thomas’ College sits at fourth position followed by Sachin Ravindu of St. Joseph’s College. In the Emerging Schools category, where players of Division II and III cricket-playing schools jostle for the top spot, Pulitha Yasas Sri Sarathchandra of Sri Sumangala College Panadura held the lead. He is followed by Sonara Karunarathunga of Ananda Sasthralaya Kotte.
The newly-introduced Girls’ Schools category is yet to kick off. The nature of the race to the top could definitely hit a peak as the weeks progress, with 25 more weekends to go before the competition comes to an interesting end.
Players who have represented their respective school in First XI cricket and who possess a tally of 400 or more runs or 25 or more wickets in the previous season will be automatically eligible for the Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2018 competition.
Schools have been categorised in three categories - All-Island, Emerging and Girls Schools - according to the segmentation process of the Sri Lanka School Cricket Association.
All schools competing in the ongoing Inter-School Division I tournament will be categorised under the All-Island Schools category while the remaining schools, competing under the Division II and III categories, will come under the Emerging Schools bracket. The 32 girls’ schools will come under the Girls’ Schools category. This method will be in effect for the selections as well as for choosing the Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer.
Coupons will be published in the Sunday Times and will be available throughout the week in the two English dailies, the Daily Mirror and Daily FT, and the two Sinhala dailies, Daily Lankadeepa and Ada, and Sinhala weekend newspaper Deshaya. Coupons will be available for 26 weeks with the deadline set for 5 April 2018. Readers can vote for their favourite schoolboy or schoolgirl cricketer and take them to the winning post during this period. In addition, votes for the Most Popular Cricketer can be cast through Dialog Axiata’s online voting system (www.dialog.lk/cricket/register).
The digital voting mechanism will follow the procedure as last season where all players must register online. Players who wish to enter the fray will have to confirm their participation by registering online at www.dialog.lk/cricket/register until 30 November. Even schoolboy cricketers whose names are entered into the competition by readers must register before that deadline. To validate their registration, players should also be registered under the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) with a valid registration number. Players without a valid registration from SLSCA will not be included in any category of the Most Popular competition. The decision of the Sports Editor of the Sunday Times will be final. Players who register online during October will have their eligibility officially scrutinised and entered into the online voting mechanism from 1 November, while the customary voting through coupons will still be on. From 1 November the online portal will be open for voting while online registration will be still accepted until 30 November.
During November, the names of registered players will be released every Wednesday while the cutoff date will be the previous Friday of each week. Online voting will be open from 1 November to 5 April 2018.
Both coupon votes and online votes will be counted on a weekly basis and the official results will be published every week.
The deadline for coupons will be noon every Thursday while the weekly cutoff for online votes will be noon every Wednesday. Online votes received after the weekly cutoff time will be counted for the next week, while only those coupons numbered for the particular week will be taken into count.
All-Island Schools
Emerging Schools
Readers prizes go to: 1. Shanthi Rajaratnam, 12-1/2, Castle Court, Castle Lane, Bambalapitiya, 2. Rozanne Amath, 40/41, Katuwawela Road, Maharagama, 3. Duleetha Priyankara, 121, Thalawathugoda Road, Pitakotte, 4. F. Nanayakkara, 395, Madawala Road, Katugastota.
