Key group matches at Moors and NCC tomorrow

Colts’ Ravindu Rasantha holds the highest individual score (224*) and the highest partnership 395 (with Avishka Perera) in the tournament

Major Club Emerging 3-day tournament 

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

With only the group leaders qualifying for the semi-finals and final of the Major Club Emerging 3-day tournament, Moors SC from Group A and Colts from Group D are strongly placed on top of the

Moors SC spinner Theesan Vithusan the leading wicket-taker with 26 wickets

standings to go through to the knockout rounds.

Both clubs hold onto a 17-plus point lead over their nearest rivals at the completion of the first three weekends of the tournament and in the remaining few weeks will look to extend it and increase the gap that separates them from the rest of the field.

Moors SC (51.46 points) and Colts (55.5) have won three out of three and along with Group C leaders Tamil Union (32.43) who have won two out of two are the only three clubs to have won all their matches and collected full points.  

This coming weekend’s Group A match between Moors SC and second placed CCC (34.43) at Moors grounds will be a crucial encounter especially for CCC who fell behind in the race to head the group when they surprisingly lost to Lankan CC on their home turf being shot out for a paltry 55 in the second innings. For CCC to bridge the 17-point gap they will have to defeat Moors SC and gain full points, which on current form is a big ask. 

Moors SC are riding pretty high on the face of wins over Navy SC (by 235 runs), Lankan CC (by 5 wickets) and Sebastianites (by 10 wickets). They have not done much by way of batting but have a strong bowling combination that has been responsible for dismissing sides out twice. 

In 20-year-old slow left-arm orthodox spinner from Jaffna Central College Theesan Vithusan they have a match winner. Vithusan has been in outstanding form with the ball, to be the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with three five-fours and a match bag of over 10 wickets in his tally of 26 wickets (avg. 13.26).

Colts on the other hand has produced powerful batting displays to snuffle their opponents running up totals of 445-2d (v Kalutara TC), 313 (v Galle CC) and 505-6d (v Kandy Customs CC) – the highest in the competition. 

Former Thomian and Sri Lanka U19 World Cup top order batsman 20-year-old Ravindu Rasantha has been Colts’ main run scorer with a double century and a century to boot in the 379 runs (avg. 189.50) he has accumulated. His knock of 224* against Kalutara TC is the highest individual score and his second wicket partnership 395 with Avishka Perera is easily the largest in the tournament. 

Not far behind is 20-year-old former Nalanda College opener Avishka Perera with 299 runs (avg. 99.66) with a century and 90. Colts have been top heavy in their batting due to the exploits of these two players which has allowed their two left-arm seamers Dilshan Madushanka (14 wickets) and Harshana Wickramasinghe (16 wickets) to run through the opposition with ease.

Tamil Union’s back to back wins over Police SC and Panadura SC has been largely due to their spinners Dilum Sudeera Thilakaratne (left-arm spin) and Ravindu Fernando (off-spin) who has combined to take 30 wickets out of 39 that has fallen to the bowlers. Their batting has so far not clicked with only one batsman crossing the fifty-run mark.

The top spot for Group B is being hotly contested by NCC (43.8) and Negombo CC (34.24) with Chilaw Marians CC (28.16) and Kurunegala YCC (23.07) also in the fray.

The coming weekend will see a top of the group clash between current leaders NCC and Negombo CC at the NCC grounds which may decide the group winner although there are three more weekends of matches to be played. 

Negombo CC is better placed than their opponents because they have played one match less and the two games they have competed so far have ended in outright wins where they have grabbed maximum points. In the case of NCC they have won one match and been held to draws in two others gaining first innings points.  

Johanne de Zilva, the former Josephian all-rounder has been the star of NCC with 347 runs and seven wickets with his right-arm medium-pacers backed by the left-arm spin of Yugeesha Dishan (18 wickets) and the off-breaks of Kavinda Ishwara (15 wickets). Negombo CC’s has been an all-round effort with spinners Nishan Peiris (12 wickets) and Pasindu Ushettige (11 wickets) grabbing the limelight.