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Tuesday Dec 24, 2024
Monday, 6 November 2017 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The online portal of the Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy/Schoolgirl Cricketer of the Year 2018 competitions - www.dialog.lk/cricket - is now open to the public to vote for their favourite schoolboy or schoolgirl cricketer.
As that development takes place, last week’s prediction was realised when S. Thomas’ College all-rounder Dellon Peiris dethroned Sachin Silva of St. Peter’s College to take the top spot in the All-Island Schools segment.
Dellon, one of the top performers at the ongoing Singer Schools Under-19 Division I Cricket Tournament, obtained 402 votes during the previous week, enabling him to reach the top with a tally of 615, registering a lead of 326 votes over Sachin.
Sachin received 18 votes for the week, totalling 289 votes, which was woefully insufficient to keep him at the top. Kavin Peiris of Lumbini College remains in third position, while Dharmaraja College’s Dulaj Bandara remains fourth. Kalana Perera, the second Thomian on the list, is in fifth position with 75 votes. By this week the list of competitors stretched to 16.
In the Emerging Schools segment, Sonara Karunathunga of Ananda Sasthralaya Kotte toppled Pulitha Yasas of Sri Sumangala College Panadura. Pulitha remained in the lead for four weeks running, but had to release his stranglehold following a fight-back from Sonara, who received 64 votes during the week, to total 155. Pulitha could add only seven to his total, enabling him to reach 116 now. The deficit between the two is 39 votes.
The newly-introduced Girls’ Schools category kicked off last week with Kaveesha Dilhari of Devapathiraja College Rathgama coming into the stream. She remains the sole contestant of the competition.
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. 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 account.
All-Island Schools
Emerging Schools
Girls’ School
Readers Prizes:
1.Gayanthika Nanaya-kkara, 395, Madawala Road, Katugastota
2. H.G. Kularatna, ‹Ratna Stores›, Palawela Road, Elapatha, Ratnapura
3. K.A.J.R. Fernando, 40, Farm Road, Mattakkuliya
4. Vishmika Abeysekara, 47/5, Konawattha, Bemmulla
