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Saturday Nov 16, 2024
Tuesday, 1 September 2015 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
In May 2015, there were 14 campus cricket teams who took to the pitch for a chance to represent Sri Lanka at the 2015 Red Bull Campus Cricket (RBCC) World Finals in India. The preliminary rounds saw only 8 teams advance to the next round and now, after four months of intense preparation and training, RBCC returns for the Quarter Final match-ups between ACBT, BMS, ICBT, IIHE, KDU, NSBM, RIC and SLIIT at the Thurstan College Grounds on 1 and 2 September.
In its 4th successful year, RBCC fuels the passions of young Sri Lankan cricketers and is bigger than ever before. RBCC is an annual knockout tournament that brings the best of campus cricket from 170 universities across 
Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the UAE, with each team representing the best university cricket teams who have been crowned the National Champions in their respective countries.
Brendon Kuruppu, RBCC Tournament Director and Brand Ambassador Lahiru Thirimanna, Vice-Captain of the Sri Lanka Cricket Team, launched the Sri Lankan tournament with a unique “bowl-out” draw prior to the preliminary rounds that were held, between 7 and 9 May. Despite delays by rain, the local campus teams put on a number of all-round performances that were a testament to the next generation of Sri Lanka’s cricketers. Each of the Quarter Final teams will fight for a spot in the Semi-Finals to be held on September 9th and finally, the National Finals scheduled for 15 September. The winner of the National Finals will then go on to represent Sri Lanka at the RBCC World Finals in India in October.
Based on their performance from last year’s tournament, ICBT and RIC were awarded byes that enabled automatic qualification to the Quarter Finals. Malshan Mendis, Captain of Team ICBT, the defending champions of the local RBCC title said “We may have had an extended break, but we’ve been training hard and watching the other teams play. There’s some fierce competition out there and we’re pumped to get back in the middle for a good game of cricket.”
The general public and campus students are invited to cheer on their teams at the Thurstan College Grounds on 1 and 2 September from 9 a.m. onwards. To catch up on scores, log on to Batsman.com, the Official Statistics Partner for RBCC 2015. Fans can also vote for their favorite player in the People’s Choice Trophy, which will be awarded to the player with the most votes on Batsman.com at the end of the tournament.
For more details on Red Bull Campus Cricket, visit www.redbullcampuscricket.com or follow the action on Facebook or the local Instagram account at @redbull_sl.
