Has Dellon shifted to fifth gear?

Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy/Schoolgirl Cricketer of the Year 2018 

The results of week 21 of the Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy/Schoolgirl Cricketer of the Year 2018 come out with Dellon Peiris taking the lead against Sachin Silva by 10,202 votes in the All-Island Schools category. 

The margin will assure Dellon, a left-hand spinner from S. Thomas’ College, his crown of popularity in addition to being an effective bowler and match-winner. But with only five weeks to go before the conclusion of the competition, the sudden acceleration of St. Peter’s College’s Sachin or that of the unsuspecting Vihan Gunasekara of D.S. Senanayake College is inevitable. 

As usual Dellon moves ahead at his normal pace by adding 1,604 combined votes, taking his tally to 27,133. Sachin added 952 combined votes, which took his total to 16,931 votes. 

But the real surprise and danger lies with the sudden rise of Vihan, who recorded the highest gain of combined votes for this year. He added 5,004 votes and took his total to a staggering 9,700 from the mid-4000s in no time. This definitely will put additional pressure on Dellon and Sachin, considering that another one or two large additions from Vihan could hinder their mission. The rest of the lineup remains unchanged. 

Denuwan Perera of Carey College continues to dominate the Emerging Schools category while taking his tally to 14,564 votes with the addition of 954 votes. He maintains his margin against Kenula Gunaratne of St. Aloysius’ College, Ratnapura by 3,757 votes. Kenula added 977 combined votes and took his total count to 10,807. Sonara Karunathunga and Thimira Malshan, both of Ananda Sasthralaya, and Heshan Madushanka of Piliyandala Central follow down the order for yet another week, but Kavindu Shilpage of Siri Piyaratana Padukka makes a sudden entry with 956 new votes through coupons at sixth place. 

Harshitha Samarawickrama of Anula Vidyalaya continues to lead the Girls’ Schools category. She remains secure with the addition of 1,161 combined votes, taking her tally to 9,759. Pabasara Ranabahu of Rathnavali Girls’ School Gampaha added 451 combined votes and reached 7,478 votes in total. Kaveesha Dilhani of Devapathiraja MV, Rathgama and Ruwini Nandasena of St. Joseph’s Girls School are the other two contenders on the list. 

On coupons and 

online votes 

Coupons will be published in the two English dailies the Daily Mirror and the Daily FT, and the two Sinhala dailies Daily Lankadeepa and Ada, and Sinhala weekend newspaper Deshaya, with the deadline set to arrive after 11 more weekends. Readers can vote for their favourite schoolboy or schoolgirl cricketer and take them to the winning post during this period. 

Dialog Axiata’s online system to vote for the Most Popular Cricketer (www.dialog.lk/cricket) will allow voting until 5 April. 

Both coupon votes and online votes will be counted on a weekly basis and the official results will be published in the five newspapers and their websites. 

The deadline for coupons and online votes will be every Thursday afternoon. Online votes received after the weekly cut-off period will be counted for the next week, while for coupons only those numbered for the particular week will be taken into account. This week’s digital voting count was monitored and approved by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers.

All-Island Schools 

Dellon Peiris S. Thomas’ College 27,133 

Sachin Silva St. Peter’s College 16,931 

Vihan Gunasekara D.S. Senanayake College 9,700 

Asel Sigera Ananda College 3,116 

Kavin Peiris Lumbini College 1,269 

Dulaj Bandara Dharmaraja College 1,163 

Kalana Perera S. Thomas’ College 720 

Mahesh Theekshana St. Benedict’s College 656 

Dinidu Wijewardene Nalanda College 520 

Ravindu Fernando Maris Stella College 461 

Kalana Wijesiri Ananda College 137 

Emerging Schools 

Denuwan Perera Carey College 14,564 

Kenula Gunaratne St. Aloysius Ratnapura 10,807 

Sonara Karunathunga Ananda Sasthralaya 5,235 

Thimira Malshan Ananda Sasthralaya 2,729 

Heshan Madushanka Piliyandala Central 2,152 

Kavindu Shilpage Siri Piyarathana Padukka 956 

Saliya Jeewantha Eheliyagoda Central 451 

Pulitha Yasas Sri Sumangala Panadura 255 

Pathum Hasaranga Vidyaloka Galle 217 

Girls’ Schools 

Harshitha Samarawickrama Anula Vidyalaya 9,759 

Pabasara Ranabahu Rathnavali GS, Gampaha 7,478 

Kaveesha Dilhari Devapathiraja, Rathgama 61 

Ruwini Nandasena St. Joseph›s Girls School 27 

Readers prizes go to: 

1. W.C. Pushpasiri, 33/3, Yatimeeya, Kotadeniyawa, 2. Sandali Wimalaweera, 125/14, Debarahenawatte, Yatigalsiluwa, Polgahawela, 3. Dilushi Perera, 41/4B, Railway Avenue, Nugegoda, 4. Dumindu Rashmika, 100/7, Arasinga Mawatha, Arukwatte, Padukka.