News

Seventeen and still going strong

The Schools Cricket Sixes has become a permanent fixture in the calendar and marks the beginning of the schools' cricket season. It is immensely popular with several schools lining up to participate

Sa'adi Thawfeeq
19-Oct-2009
The Schools Cricket Sixes has become a permanent fixture in the calendar and marks the beginning of the schools' cricket season  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Schools Cricket Sixes has become a permanent fixture in the calendar and marks the beginning of the schools' cricket season  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The alarming drop in attendances at cricket matches, both domestic and international, has forced tournament organisers in Sri Lanka to devise new ways of attracting spectators. The 17th Invitation Schools Cricket Sixes, organized by the Old Wesleyites Sports Club and sponsored by Munchee Glucofit, was a success in that regard.
The introduction of an arts exhibition where students of Wesley College - immediate, seniors, junior and primary - displayed their painting skills attracted 500 participants on the final two days. "The success of this competition, which was a side attraction, took us by surprise," said Jeremy Brohier, the Old Wesleyites organising committee co-chairman. "While the children were involved in painting, the parents were attracted towards the matches. And once the arts competition was over, the children wanted to stay back and watch the cricket action. The event was a 150% success and went a long way towards attracting more spectators to the venue."
Another feature of the tournament was the match between the two girl's schools, which, according to Brohier, was better supported than the boys' matches. "It's another concept that we will look into next year to invite cheer squads from the participating schools," he said.
The tournament has become a permanent fixture in the calendar and marks the beginning of the schools' cricket season. It is immensely popular with several schools lining up to participate. Sadly, only 36 can be accommodated in the three-day span, which results in an average of 12 matches per day.
"We are unable to meet the demand from schools to take part," Brohier said. "We follow a certain criteria in inviting the schools. We have the assistance of the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association and also Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) who picked the six district teams for us."
Among them was Jaffna Combined Schools, the wonder story of this year's tournament, who reached the quarter-finals of the competition before losing by two runs to Richmond College from Galle. They defeated some of the top Colombo schools on their way to the last eight, notably St Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, one of the favourites, in the second round. However, they did not return empty-handed, picking up the award for the Best Disciplined Team.
St Joseph's College, Colombo emerged champions defeating St Sebastian's College, Moratuwa by three wickets in the final to repeat their success a decade ago. They also bagged five of the six individual awards.
The organisers used the opportunity to use the new turf pitches laid by SLC at Campbell Park on the final day of the competition. The nine centre strips were opened by the oldest living cricket captain of Wesley College residing in Sri Lanka, the 86-year-old Edmund Dissanayake, who led the school in 1946.