NCC-Bloomfield clash for plum of Major Club 3-day cricket

• Two clubs not won league title for more than decade hungry for success
• 4-day final commences at R. Premadasa Cricket Stadium today

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Two clubs that have not won the plum of inter-club cricket – the SLC Major Club 3-day tournament for more than a decade NCC and Bloomfield will clash for the title over four days at the R. Premadasa Cricket Stadium commencing today.

NCC last won the title in 2013-14 under the Captaincy of Upul Tharanga, the present chairman of cricket selectors and Bloomfield in 2010-11 under the leadership of Chinthaka Jayasinghe. Thus, winning the title on this occasion will mean a lot to the two clubs.

“Every club plays to win this tournament, it’s the major as a club, the ultimate task,” said NCC’s Head Coach Ian Daniel. “The club has invested a lot in players, the coaches and the staff. The committee gives a lot of time and effort for us. The boys will be looking to bring this glory to the club. As a coach it will be good for my career as well. It’s not only the coach alone, one has to give credit to the players to deliver.”

Psychologically NCC have an upper hand in this contest having beaten Bloomfield early this season to win the Major Club T20 final.

“We became the T20 champions with this team and we played the same opponent Bloomfield in the final,” said Daniel. “The team is gelling well and they want to win this tournament badly. They are playing with their hearts. Inside the rope they gave 100 percent, they have that hunger. We’ve had some ups and downs but we have come back very strongly. We won three outright and five on first innings and did not lose a single game. We are planning to carry this momentum into the final.”

NCC’s strength has been their batting with no less than six batsmen scoring 11 hundreds in the tournament with skipper Sahan Arachchige and Kamil Mishara topping the list each with three.

“Our bowling has been a collective effort with not one single person standing out,” said Daniel. “Our highest wicket-taker is Ashian Daniel with 22 wickets, Chamika Karunaratne has 18 and Asel Sigera 16. Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara and Chamika Gunasekara have all contributed. A youngster who has surprised everyone is 21-year-old left-arm fast bowler from Mahanama College, Sampath Nishshanka who’s taken 12 wickets including a five-wicket haul.”

Daniel, a former Sri Lanka ‘A’ team cricketer turned coach is confident his team can deliver. He is a Level 2 Coach from UK and Australia where he had spent 16 years as player cum coach before returning to Sri Lanka during COVID-19 to take charge of Air Force SC for two years before moving to NCC for the current season.“They have been playing a really good brand of cricket right throughout the tournament. I have confidence that if we play our A game on that day we will achieve what we need to achieve.”

Tharanga Dhammika, head coach of Bloomfield is on a different plane compared to Daniel. He brings upon tons of experience as a coach with lots of success wherever he goes. Dhammika has taken charge of Bloomfield after winning a number of club titles for CCC including three leagues in a row in the seven years he was with them.

A strange coincidence is that Bloomfield has reached a Major Club league final after 15 years and the last time they did so was in 2010-11 and won the title Dhammika was their coach. What he has proved is that whatever club he undertakes to coach, he can produce winning results.

“We have just one current national player Jeffrey Vandersay while Lahiru Madushanka is no longer in national contention. Vandersay played only two matches because he was in the Test squad for the series against Australia. We don’t have big names in the side but I have built this side up in one year and personally I am happy with the success I’ve had.”

Bloomfield won four matches outright, won two on first innings and lost two on first innings this season. Giving reasons for his success as a coach, Tharanga said, “Its hard work. I take the risk and the responsibility and a year plan for the players. I don’t like to fail with any team. We didn’t perform well in the Under23 tournament but it is with those players I have built this team up. It is not easy to be a successful coach, coaching is an art.”

His advice to his players is to continue playing the way they have been doing so far and not to be afraid of failure.

“I don’t think about the end result. The team that makes the least mistakes on the day will only win. If we play positive and to our strengths without thinking of the end result, we can achieve a lot even though there may be a few failures.”

Teams

NCC : Sahan Arachchige (Captain), Niroshan Dickwella, Lahiru Udara, Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kavin Bandara, Ashian Daniel, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara, Sampath Nishshanka, Chamika Gunaseskara, Asel Sigera, Chamika Karunaratne, Sachindu Colombage. 

BLOOMFIELD: Nipun Karunanayake (Captain), Ron Chandraguptha, Asitha Wanninayake, Hasitha Boyagoda, Kasun Abeyrathne, Ravindu Fernando, Lahiru Madushanka, Jeffrey Vandersay, Isitha Wijesundara, Sahan Nanayakkara, Tarinda Nirmal, Chamath Dilsara, Kavisha Piyumal, Dulaj Samujitha, Hasitha Amarasinghe, Lahiru Abeysinghe, Mineth Premachadara.