Textured Jersey Inter Departments battle ‘TJ Premier League 2016’

The TJ Sports grounds in Seethawaka once again turned into a spirited battle field, when 12 inter department teams locked horns for the ‘TJPL Cup 2016’ (Textured Jersey Premier League).  

The annual one-day cricketing event, is one of the most looked forward to in TJ’s sports calendar, showcasing the talent, creativity and sportive nature of the staff who give of their best to turn the matches into a fun filled tournament, which is competitive yet friendly. 

The 5th TJ Premier League was made into a full scale ‘cricket carnival’ with some amazing creations and ensembles displayed by the departments.  The 12 competing teams were from Quality, Dyeing, Finishing, Merchandising, Knitting, Planning, HR/Procurement/Commercial, Printing, Warehouse, Engineering, Synthetic and IT/Finance.  

The grounds were swarming with Romans, Unicorns, Panthers, Hawks, Rhinos, Anacondas, Pythons, Alligators, Cheetahs Dragons, Eagles, Vultures and even some Sharks on land, all vying for a number of accolades to be won during the day.  The TJPL Cup 2016, consisted of 12 matches in the first round, the Super 8 round, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and the Finals which were played by Knitting and Dyeing departments. In a close match the Knitting Department won the ‘TJPL 2016 Cup’ while Dyeing became the runners up.

Nuwan Alahakoon from Dyeing won the trophy for ‘Best Batsman’ whilst Thuwan Yazzer from Knitting won the ‘Best Bowler’ title.  The Man of the Series trophy went to R. A. Rasika Dilruk from Knitting who gave an all-round brilliant performance throughout the series.  The winning teams and individual winners received medals and cash prices apart from the trophies.  

As in previous years the creative talents of the respective departments did not go unrewarded.  The ‘Knitting’ team’s pink and yellow Unicorns were crowned the ‘Best Cheering Squad’ with the Dyeing Department’s ‘Romans’ and the Printing Team’s ‘Panthers’ came 2nd and 3rd place respectively.  

The selections were made based on their creativity, design skills and how they worked together as a team in putting the intricate costumes together.  Cost effectiveness of the design was also given points in the selection criteria.   The colourful costumes and antics of the cheering squads added to the fun and carnival atmosphere created on the field.  

The Best Decorated Tent was another award the inter-departmental teams vied for.  Apart from creativity, the judges looked at the clever use of waste and scrap collected from TJ and Quenby, environmental friendliness, the low cost factor and team work in presenting this award.  The winners of the day were the Quality Department who earned 1st place for their ‘Rhino’s Park,’ Finishing who were placed 2nd for their ‘Eagle House’ and Knitting who won 3rd place for their beautifully lit ‘Unicorn House.’

A highlight of the day was the exhibition match played between the “Management Team” and “JCC” to end the series, with the Management Team emerging the winner.   The day ended with 10 gift vouchers given away to 10 staffers who correctly answered questions on TJ and TJPL; cash awards to 20 staff cricketers for fielding catches out of the boundary and 10 special recognition awards given to individuals for their commitment and passion over last five years in making TJPL the grand success it has become.  

Textured Jersey who are the reigning champions of Mercantile ‘B’ Division Cricket, has several national level cricketers on their team. Dammika Prasad, Lakshan Sandakan, Jeffery Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Milinda Siriwardana are TJ staffers who are making waves on the international cricket circuit.