Celebrating Josephian cricket achievements

Monday, 13 October 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, has always been at the pinnacle of excellence, be it in studies or sports. The college, through its many gallant sportsmen over the years, has demonstrated that in order to succeed in both domains (i.e. academics and sports), it is essential to inculcate qualities of virtuousness, mental strength, parsistence and the determination to overcome challenges.

Cricket, being amongst the most popular sports at St. Joseph’s, has always churned out young outstanding Josephians who have not only been blessed with exceptional skills but have also been great ambassadors of their school and for the game as a whole. Among them are two national captains – Malcolm Spittel and the present captain Angelo Mathews. Angelo Mathews, St. Joseph’s cricket captain of 2006, is the first-ever Josephian to captain Sri Lanka in all formats of the game. He has let his performance do the talking during the last two years, and has shown that he is indeed a tough character who has always “led from the front”. He is also Sri Lanka’s youngest cricket captain and currently holds the second best test cricket batting average of 86.93 (as a captain) next to the legendary Sir Don Bradman. This year, the Rector and academic staff together with The Committee of Management of the Sports Council has decided to felicitate and honour Angelo Mathews and his fellow Josephian teammates Thisara Perera and Dimuth Karunarathne along with bowling coach Chaminda Vaas for their exceptional and historic performance in England this year, where the Sri Lankan team emerged winners in all formats of the game, namely test, one day and T-20. They will also recognise young Sadeera Samarawickrama for his brilliance during the Under-19 cricketing season, for representing the country with distinction at the Under-19 World Cup in Dubai, and for being adjudged ‘Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year- 2014’. The felicitation ceremony will be held on 15 October at The Grand Ballroom, Waters Edge, Battaramulla from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The function will be patronised by present and past national players and their spouses, parents, well-wishers, past Josephian cricketers and distinguished old boys, and chairmen and CEOs of private sector organisations. For reservations please contact Angelo Ranasinghe 0772440389/Susilough 0777705526.