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Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
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As was evident in the past few weeks, a duel is gradually building up as the seventh week of the Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2019 contest comes to an end.
Sukhitha Manoj of St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa is still in the lead in the All-Island Schools segment, but he is surely to be countered in no time by Navod Paranavithana of Mahinda College. Navod debuted just a few weeks ago in the middle of the list but has shown great potential in crafting a healthy rivalry for the crown.
Navod is now positioned in the second slot, with 757 votes, after adding the most for the week from this segment - 277. Leader Manoj stills sits comfortable with a tally of 1,774 votes after adding 230 votes. The difference is 1,017 but it could be trimmed down in the weeks to come.
Lakshitha Rasanjana of Nalanda College had slid down a place to third position. The pair from St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala, K.A.L.C. Warnakulasuriya and Naushan Rafeel, have shown good progress compared to the other 20 competitors on the list.
Vishal Rukshan of St. Peter’s College, Gampaha continues to lead the Emerging Schools category with an overwhelming tally of 1,854. He added 302 votes during the past week. But Thanusha Sandaruwan of St. John’s College, Nugegoda and Lithija Kalhara of Ananda Maithree NS Balangoda have sounded an alarm by surpassing the 1,000-vote mark. In addition, Ashan Jayasinghe of Siri Piyarathana Central, Padukka debuts at No. 4 with an overwhelming count of 723 votes, the highest among all three segments for this week.
Sathya Sadeepani of Devapathiraja College Rathgama took her tally to 122 while continuing to lead the Girls’ Schools category, which was introduced to the ever popular competition in the country last season. She pushed down Sithmi Nirasha of Anula Vidyalaya Nugegoda to the second spot a few weeks ago.
The nature of the race to the top could definitely hit a peak as the weeks progress, with 19 more weekends to go before it comes to an interesting end. Coupons will be published in the Sunday Times, the two English dailies the Daily Mirror and Daily FT and the two Sinhala dailies Daily Lankadeepa and Ada and Sinhala weekend newspaper Deshaya. From this year coupons will also come out in the Tamil Mirror.
In addition, Dialog Axiata’s online voting system through their official online portal to vote for the Most Popular Cricketer (www.dialog.lk/cricket) will come alive from next week. Players from all categories, including those already in the fray through coupons, should register themselves through the following link - www.dialog.lk/cricket/register. The method to follow in the digital registration process has been made simple for schoolboys and schoolgirls. Already a good number of players have registered and their names will be published in the weeks to come after necessary verification.
Players who have represented their respective school in First XI cricket and who possess a tally of 400 or more runs or 25 wickets or more in the last season will automatically be eligible for the Dialog 4G-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2018 competition. Schools have been categorised under three categories - the All-Island, Emerging and Girls schools segments - according to the segmentation process of the Sri Lanka School Cricket Association.
All-Island Schools
Emerging Schools
Girls’ Schools
Readers prizes go to: 1. Prasanna Perera, 131, Ampitiya Road, Kandy, 2. H.D.P. Kithsiri, 384/E, Jaya Mawatha, Polpithimukalana, Kandana, 3. Tharushi Dhananjana, 122/B, Maputugala, Poruwadanda, 4. Madushani Fernando, 62, Pushparama Road, Wadduwa.
