Desert Cubs ready claws for Lankan battles
The Desert Cubs Cricket Academy will make a tour of Sri Lanka bringing with them five teams in the Under-11, Under-12, Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 teams from August 3 to 16 th this year.
The tour kicks off on August 4, with an U-11 fixture against Nalanda College while on the same day they will meet St. Joseph’s College in an U-12 encounter. They will then meet Nalanda College in an U-13 match in the afternoon at 2 p.m. before they pit their U-15 team against St. Peter’s College and their U-17 team against St. Joseph’s, with play commencing at 2 p.m.
On Aug 5 they will meet the Mercantile Cricket Association’s U-11 and U-12 teams, with play commencing at 9.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively. On the same day they will meet Isipathana College in an U-13 fixture, followed by encounters against Nalanda College’s U-15 and U-17 teams, with play commencing at 9.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively. On Aug 6 they will meet the St. Peter’s College U-11 and U-13 teams at 9.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively. On the same day they will meet Isipathana College for an U- 17 game, starting at 9a.m, and an U-12 fixture at 2 p.m.
On August 8, they will play Dharmarajah College, in the U-11 and U-12 categories, at 9.30a.m. and 2.00p.m respectively. They will also, on the same day, meet St. Anthony’s College’s U-13 players. They will also take on the Trinity College U-15 and U-17 sides, with play beginning at 9.30 a.m. and 2.00p.m. respectively. On August 9 they start off against Trinity College’s U-11 and U-13 teams with play commencing at 9.30 a.m. for the former and 2 p.m. for the latter. They also meet St. Anthony’s College at 9.30 and 2 p.m. in the U-12 and U-17 categories respectively. They will also meet Dharmarajah College in the U-15 age category.
On August 12, they will meet Sri Sumangala Suwasarana Foundation in an U-11 fixture. While on the same day they will meet the Foundation of Goodness Sports Academy in U-12 and U-13 matches commencing at 9.30a.m. and 2.00p.m respectively. They will also play Mahinda College in the U-15 and U-17 age groups, at 9.30a.m. and 2.00p.m. respectively. They conclude their tour on Aug 13 with an U-11 and U-13 fixture against Mahinda College, that commence at 9.30 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. respectively. They also take on the Sri Sumangala Suwasarana Foundation in the U-12 age category. Finally, they meet the Foundation of Goodness Sports Academy in the U-15 and U-17 age groups, at 9.30 a.m. and 2.00p.m. respectively.
Their vision is to be one of the best cricket academies in the world, most admired for its effectiveness, methods, quality and performance. Their mission is to produce quality players who can respond well to the current and future challenges of domestic and international cricket. Dilshan Rupasinghe, who is the coach in charge of the U-11 squad, is a Level I coach and was a member of the NCC team that became champions in the Premier League tournament in 2000/2001. He was also awarded the best bowler prize in the mercantile D. division cricket tournament in 2004. He captained St. Joseph’s in the Battle of the Saints. According to him he picks Damiru Dharmadasa, Dinuka Samarasinghe and Vidun Vinsara as the outstanding players of the U-11 squad.
Indika Chandana, who is in charge of the U-12 squad, is also a Level I coach and has represented Richmond College from the U-13 to the U-19 teams. He has also represented the Galle Cricket Club from 1995-1996 and was the Vice Captain of Lanka Lions in 2003. He is also credited with taking six catches against the Fly Emirates team. He rates Rohit Bokil, Neil Lobo and Shakeel Anver as the players to watch out for in the U-12 squad. Dinesh de Silva, who coaches the U-13 squad, is also a Level 1 coach who represented Old Anandians and the Moors Sports Club in Division 1 Cricket in Sri Lanka. He says Dillan Bastianz, Ramal Perera and Sharmal Jayawardene are the best players in the U-13 squad.
Indika Batuwitaarachchi, a Level 1 coach who is in charge of the U-15 squad, first played for Bloomfield from 1990-1998 and then for BRC from 1998-2000. According to him there are a host of outstanding players like Varuna Perera, Ranaldi Dias, Nelukshan De Silva, Kulith Rabel, Safri Safardeen, and Ashley Logo to prop up the team. Indika is also in charge of the U-17 team. Here too there are many who can be named as outstanding, among them Kirk Vedhasinghe, Yesith Jayasinghe, Damian Wickremasinghe, Shamith Jayawardena and Ritik Bagchi.Now about the man who runs the show, Presley Polonnowita (Head Coach). In 1987/88 he was chosen as runner - up in the competition for the Outstation Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year, and once again in the following year he was named runner-up Outstation Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year, in addition to him being named runner-up in the category for the Most Popular Outstation Cricketer of the Year. He was also named the best all-rounder during the first occasion and the best all rounder, best batsman and best bowler among those in the outstations on the second. He scored a career best of 183 not out against Thurstan College. In addition he went on to take 7 wickets against De Mazenod College in the 1989/90 season making it a match bag of 10 wickets. In 1988 Presley was chosen to tour England under Marvan Atapattu so here’s hoping there will be “Cricket Lovely Cricket” when the Desert Cub Cricket Academy arrives in Sri Lanka.