Zahira College Cricket Extravaganza on August 20
Come Sunday, August 20, will be a day that almost all of the former First XI cricketers of Zahira College Colombo will gather at their most favoured hunting ground in Maradana. It will be when the Past First XI Cricketers’ Association ( PCA) of Zahira College hosts its annual Cricket Extravaganza for the third consecutive year.
The one-day event, which grew larger by participation over the past two years, expects to attract nearly 200 players this time around. In the past couple of years, the competition was open only for 12 team where 120 elite talented players from different and wide age groups were featured.
“Considering the overwhelming success the PCA had during the last couple of years, the Organising Committee decided to increase the number of teams to 16. This will enable more than 160 players to participate in a go,” stated the PCA President, Mazhar Zuhair.
Zuhair, is confident that the PCA could support Zahira College to reignite its cricketing standards as in the 1980s and 1990s, where the school was regularly featured amongst the top ranks in the island. In the recent past, though Zahira often produced an outstanding player every now and then, has somehow not been able to click back to their winning ways according to him.
“Our objective in organising this event for the third consecutive year is to bring together all the past cricketers and ally their support to strengthen and elevate the standard of college cricket to be amongst the best in Sri Lanka. Our target to complete this vision would be five years,” stated Zuhair.
Each team that is featured in the tournament will field eight players per-side during a match where there will be a round robin stage when the competition begins on August 20 at 8.30am. A match will consist of five overs per side. Teams will be grouped and according to their outcomes qualified teams will be listed to the next stage which will be played as knockouts under Cup and Plate segments.
Project Chairman Ershard Rashmishbah, who captained the Zahira First Xi team in 2003 was thrilled with the support and encouragement he has been receiving from the Organising Committee, members of PCA and the sponsors -Mobil Lubricants of McLaren’s Group, Home Depot and EFL.
The PCA has also received tremendous support and guidance from the Principal Trzviiy Marikkar and its Sports Council headed by M. S. Mazeer. The PCA, founded in 2015, is the representative body of past cricketers of Zahira College. At present it has more than 300 members based in Sri Lanka and overseas.
With a rich history of 125 years, Zahira Colombo is one of the oldest cricket playing schools in Sri Lanka, having produced talented cricketers who have constantly represented local and overseas clubs and mercantile organisations, the PCA have now set a challenge for themselves to produce a national cricketer in five years.
“We are beginning to see good results but as former cricketers we feel Zahira could achieve more on the field of school cricket. We really believe that Zahira cricket really belongs somewhere above where we are at the moment. It takes time and it will take a lot of effort and sacrifice to help the school attain that. We started off from the scratch and now are on the verge of picking up gradually, where we have managed to generate the interest and support of more former First Xi cricketers who represented the school, as well as sponsors. Our ultimate goal is very clear, and as a group, the PCA has the temperament to see we achieve it,” stated Zuhair .