ICBT prepped and primed for Campus Cricket campaign

After booking a place at the third Red Bull Campus Cricket World finals in England with a supreme performance in the local qualifiers, the International College of Business and Technology (ICBT) will see their preparation for the global competition fortified by the wisdom of the current Sri Lanka national team vice captain Lahiru Thirimanne. Fresh off a historic series win in England, Thirimanne, also a Red Bull athlete, explained the reason behind inspiring a young set of graduates-to-be.

“When playing in England, being prepared is all the more vital. The faster you adapt to the conditions, the more you can contribute to your team,” he stated.

To ensure this, ICBT will endure a training schedule which Thirimanne describes as ‘rigorous and hectic’. The schedule began last Wednesday and will conclude ahead of the team’s departure for the World Finals on July 18.

“I think the team needs to make the most of these practice days so that once they arrive in England they can really familiarise themselves with conditions and play like our national team just did.”

ICBT have more than proven their skills in the middle, beating some of Sri Lanka’s top educational institutes, including Royal Institute, whom they ousted by 43 runs to secure a berth at the local qualifiers of the world tournament. However, they will need to sustain their high level of play if they hope to advance past some of cricket’s top university teams from Australia, England, India, Pakistan and South Africa.

In addition to the regular training sessions, ICBT is also slated to play two warm-up matches against a Combined XI comprising the best cricketers from the domestic qualifiers, and a team from the Bloomfield C and AC, a top domestic club.

Former national cricketer and present Red Bull Campus Cricket International Tournament Director, Brendon Kuruppu emphasised the need for such intensive preparations by highlighting the heightened competition which is sure to exist at this season’s Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals.

“RBCC World Finals 2014 promises more as South Africa joins the fray and the tournament moves to the KIA Oval in London. It will be an interesting experience for the ICBT team and beyond that an opportunity for their players to perform on an international stage and meet and learn from some of cricket’s great names,” he said.