Sri Lanka ‘A’ , Sri Lanka ‘B’, India ‘A’, India ‘B’ and Pakistan ‘A’ register wins on day one

The 8th edition of the Lawyers Cricket World Cup hosted by Sri Lanka Lawyers Cricket and played at five venues in Colombo was inaugurated on Thursday with the participation of Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry. It is the second instance that Sri Lanka Lawyers Cricket is hosting the event as they hosted the 6th edition in 2017. Teams from Bangladesh (two teams), England, India (two teams), Pakistan (two teams), Sri Lanka (two teams) and a combined Commonwealth team comprising players from Australia , New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries will vie for glory at the 8th edition. The final will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground on 6 January 2024

By P D DE SILVA

Sri Lanka ‘A’, Sri Lanka ‘B’, India ‘A’ India ‘B’ and Pakistan team registered wins on day one of the 8th edition of the Lawyers Cricket World Cup which got underway in Sri Lanka yesterday.

In the first match to end, Sri Lanka ‘B’ crushed Pakistan ‘B’ by 71 runs at the Air Force ground Katunayaike. An almost run a ball 61 which included ten boundaries by Isuru Abeygunawardena and excellent bowling performances from Sampath Perera, Deshan Wimalarathne, Maliththa Thenakoon and Kamal Jayathilake helped Sri Lanka ‘B’ clinch the win.

A four wicket haul by Sushen Dilup Kumar and a half ton by Aditya Kumar Archiya saw India ‘A’ overcome Bangladesh ‘A’ by 59 runs at Thurstan ground.

At LRDC ground in Nawala India ‘B’ powered by quickfire 40 plus scores from Abhishek Aswathi and Ahsanul Siddiui and a four wicket haul by Vijay Kumar defeated Barristers of England and Wales by 118 runs.

In the rain interrupted game at the Army ground in Panagoda, Pakistan ‘A’ defeated the Commonwealth team by four wickets according to the DLS method. Batting first the commonwealth team were restricted to 112 in 28.5 overs and Pakistan ‘A’ were 33/2 when rain disrupted the game after 11.3 overs were bowled. With ten overs being lost Pakistan ‘A’ were set a target of 89 which they achieved with four wickets and 27 balls remaining.

In a game where the full complement of 35 overs were bowled at the FTZ ground in Katunayaike, Sri Lanka ‘A’ powered by half centuries from skipper Ershan Ariaratnam and Pavithra Bolapage and a four wicket haul by Tharindu Peiris defeated Bangladesh ‘B’ by 168 runs. Ershan scored 88 off 66 balls with 13 boundaries and a six while Pavithras 67 came off 72 balls with five boundaries and a six.