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Harin Cooray shines as Joes cruise to fifth win

Posted on 13 January 2016 by admin

 

Under-19 Division I Cricket

 


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By Reemus Fernando – The Island

 

Left-arm spinner Harin Cooray bagged 12 wickets to lead St. Joseph’s to a ten wicket victory over Wesley in their Under-19 traditional cricket encounter at Darley Road on Tuesday. After Joes declared on their overnight score, Cooray came up with a seven wicket haul to restrict Wesley to 198 runs. The openers kept their wickets in tack to reach a target of 11 runs in 1.4 overs. It was the fifth outright victory for Joes this season. Incidentally, Wesley are playing in Division II this season.

Scores: Wesley 106 all out in 29.5 overs (Helitha Bambarenda 45, Harin Cooray 5/29, Ruchira Ekanayake 3/18, Malshan Rodrigo 2/30) and 198 all out in 71.5 overs (Andrew Parais 88, Zenith Wickramanayeka 41, Yomesh Ranasinghe 26; Harin Cooray 7/45, Malshan Rodrigo 2/58)

St. Joseph’s 294 for 8 o/n decl. (Kevin Corteling 33, Revan Kelly 35, Thashan Perera 77, Shevon Fonseka 41, Malshan Rodrigo 21, Charuka Ulladupitiya 27; Andrew Parais 4/85, Yomesh Ranasinghe 2/113) and 11 for no loss in 1.4 overs

 

Petes home for Lunch

Taneesha Weerakoon and Dinal Jayakody took four wickets each in the second innings as St. Peter’s registered an innings and 46 runs victory over President’s in their match ended with two sessions to spare at Bambalapitiya on Tuesday.

 

Scores:

St. Peter’s 300 for 3 decl. in 58 overs (Lakshina Rodrigo 118n.o., Ranmith Jayasena 118n.o;)

President’s 110 all out in 23 overs (Malsha Jayawardena 20, Navod Kalansuriya 49; Ravindu Silva 3/32, Taneesha Weerakoon 3/20) and 19 for 2 o/n 144 all out in 49.4 overs (Hiruna Sigera 45, Malsha Jayawardena 45, Nethmina Kodippili 25, Navod Kalansuriya 20; Taneesha Weerakoon 4/61, Dinal Jayakody 4/47).

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Isipatana beat Peterities in 20-18 thriller

Posted on 24 April 2015 by admin

Inter-school Rugby.

Roshen Steelman in

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Isipatana College, Colombo continued their unbeaten run as they beat St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya 20 (4 unconverted tries) points to 18 (1 goal, 1 unconverted tries and 2 penalties) in an Under-20 Singer inter-school Rugby encounter played at Bamabalapitiya yesterday.

St. Peter’s playing under lot of pressure, after having lost two games did not have enough fire power to overcame Patana defense line. Skipper Kevin Dixon was an exception.

Patana are faring badly with the boot in this year’s league and the trend continued yesterday.

Patana drew first blood when skipper Omalka Gunaratne, by far the best schools rugby player this season sneaked through few defenders to touch down near the right side of the post. Isuru Udayakumara failed to add the extra points as the score red five points to nil three minutes into the game.

Then Petes made some attacking moves to obtain a 25 meter penalty which was successfully booted by Sandesh Jayawickrama.

Patana’s winger Dilan Gallge got his act together, fended off more than two Peterities to touch down near the left flag corner. Isuru failed to add the extra points again.

Sandesh Jayawickrama did no mistake with his second penalty in the 28th minute with score line reading ten points to six.

Patana skipper Gunaratne who is the highest try scorer of the league scored his ninth try in the 36th minute off the driving maul as the half time score red 15 points to six.

In the second half, St. Peter’s broke the try deadlock when they scored the first try of the evening. Harshana Peiris crossed the try line left side of the post. Jayawickrama failed to add the extra points.

Then Rehan Silva came good for green shirts when he sneaked through few defenders to cross the try line. He took the score to 20 points to 11 in their favour.

The last try of the day came when centre player Nishan Perera ran collected a smart kick by Kevin Dixson to finish just right side of the post. Jayawickrama added the extra points as the game ended 20 points to 18.

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Josephians retain Rev. Fr. Basil Weeratunga memorial trophy

Posted on 22 March 2015 by admin

Joes Rugby
Courtesy: Sunday Island by Roshen Steelman.

 


St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road displayed a remarkable performance to beat rivals St. Peter’s and retained Rev. Fr. Basil Weeratunga (OMI) Memorial Shield after a lapse of 15 years.

When it comes to a Joe-Pete encounter, excitement and crowd support had been remarkable and nothing was different when the two teams clashed in their Under-20 Singer Inter-school Rugby Championship match at Longdon Place, Colombo yesterday with St. Joseph’s displaying a remarkable performance to beat School Rugby Sevens champions St. Peter’s 17-10.

The game also marked the 45th Annual Encounter played between the two schools for Rev. Fr. Basil Weeratunga (OMI) memorial shield and the Josephians retained the title after a lapse of 15 years. Josephians last won this title in 1999. St. Peter’s was the better team of the day having had the possession of the ball on most occasions but the Darley Road School came all guns blazing in the second half to turn the table on favourites St. Peter’s.

St. Peter’s scored one goal and one penalty while the winners obtained their points through one goal and two unconverted tries.

The game started with a rush of blood with the players of both teams getting involved in an ugly quarrel but things settled down and St. Peter’s made some attacking moves in the first half to win a 25m penalty in the 27th minute which was successfully booted by their captain Kevin Dixson after Josephians missed the first penalty of the evening.

St. Peter’s broke try deadlock in the evening when speedy Kevin Dixson ran about 30m with the angle receiving a pass from centre player Nishon Perera and sneaked past few defenders to touch down near right flag corner. Impressive Dixson’s boot went in the right direction to add the extra points with scores reading 10-0, 30 minutes into the game.

St. Joseph’s first points of the match came in the second half when one of Peterite back row players made a terrible mistake by knocking-on while collecting a high ball near the touch line and Josephians capitalised the error perfectly to make their rivals pay through a Shehan Bopearachchi try in the 45th minute of the game. Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya, who had a poor outing kicking the ball, failed to add the extra points as the scores read 10-5 at this stage.

The game was evenly poised for an enthralling end with both teams making number of line breaks. Peterites were dealt with a major blow when their play maker Dixson went out of the game due to an injury.

St. Joseph’s came up with another score when big-made Stephan Gregory, with the support of the forwards, crossed try line under the post. Kurumbalapitiya was spot-on with the kick as the Josephians led for the first time of the match with scores reading 12-10.

With the crowd shouting Joseph…, Joseph…, the Darley Road team scored another try with only one minute to go for the final whistle rubbing salt on Peterites’ wounds. Nimesh Priyankara was the ball carrier to cross the try line.

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St. Peter’s complete rare double in inter-school tennis

Posted on 25 September 2014 by admin

 

article_imageThe victorious St. Peter’s College tennis team which won the Gold Medal at the National Schools Tennis Championship yesterday at the SLTA, Colombo. Also in the picture are their Tennis Master-in-charge Bernard Jesuthasan and coach Dinith Pathiraja. St. Peter’s completed a grand double this year by winning main titles at both the All Island Inter Schools and the National Schools Tennis Championships.

 
St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya tennis team completed a rare ‘double’ when they won the National Schools Tennis Championship’s Gold Medal at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA), Colombo on Wednesday, Sept. 25. They had won the overall title of the All Island Inter-school Tennis, for the 8th time in 10 years, only last July thus completed a rare double in the national school circuit on Wednesday. The school has made the same achievement in year 2007 too.

 Before the National Schools Championships, the Peterites were considered only the third favourites, behind Royal College and defending champions S. Thomas’, Mount Lavinia.

In the first round of the tournament, they beat S. Thomas’ Prep School, Colpetty and then beat St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa. In the semi-finals, they beat fancied Royal 2-0 to meet S. Thomas’, who had beaten Ananda in the other semis.

In the finals, Nishangan Nadaraja got off to a fine start beating Anarga Peiris. Then the Peterite pair of Davishka Ranasinghe and Sanjeev Mohanakumar won a pulsating Doubles against Venuka Hulangamuwa and Avindra Perera 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to win the final 2-0 to clinch the title. St. Peter’s also completed a remarkable record by winning the Gold Medal without losing a single match.

 Last month Peterite rep, Nadaraja, became the Under-18 (junior) National champion and then partnered team-mate Chehan Fernando to win the Under-18 National Doubles as well.

Their team comprised Senel Rohana (Capt.), Nishangan Nadaraja, Chehan Fernando, Davishka Ranasinghe, Sanjeev Mohanakumar and Nabeel Sabri.

Encouraged by the Rector Fr. Trevor Martin, Sports Coordinator Fr. Shyam Dasanayaka and the Sports Secretary Troy Bartlett, the Peterite tennis continues to dominate under their Master-in-charge, Bernard Jesuthasan, and their renowned coach Dinith Pathiraja, who has been there with St. Peter’s for 17 years.

 
 

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St. Peter’s retain All Island overall tennis title

Posted on 12 July 2014 by admin


SPC LOGOSt. Peter’s College, Colombo-4, underlined their supremacy in inter-school boys’ tennis when they retained the Overall All Island Tennis Championship for 2014 at the SLTA hard courts in Colombo yesterday, July 11. St. Peter’s which faced unprecedented odds this year overcame all hurdles in an uncompromising manner to win the coveted trophy. They thus retained the title for the eighth time in ten years.

The Peterites’ continued success in tennis can be attributed to their discipline, hard work and commitment, said Rector of St. Peter’s, Rev. Fr. Trevor Martin. They are ably supported by their Sports Coordinator, Fr. Sharm Dasanayake and their Sports Secretary, Troy Bartlot. The Master-in-charge of tennis at St. Peter’s is Bernard Jesuthasan. Their coach has been long standing renowned coach Dinith Pathiraja who has been there for 17 years. (RSS).

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Tribute to a legendary Peterite sportsman – Anton Perera

Posted on 08 March 2014 by admin

Courtesy: The Island of Saturday, March 8, 2014.

The 80th Josephian-Peterite encounter started at the Colombo Oval on Friday. A time for the Joes and Peterites to revel and enjoy the sport and the camaraderie that is associated with this great sporting event. The ‘Battle of the Saints’ was inaugurated in 1933, and has produced many a legend that went on to play nationally.

Names that come to mind are Clive Inman, H.I.K. Fernando, David Heyn, Roy Dias, Vinodhan John, Tony Opatha, Russell Arnold, Rumesh Ratnayaka, Amal Silva, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, and Angelo Perera for the Peterites and Brian Obeyesekere, Chaminda Vaas, Ashley de Silva, Ajith Weerakkody, Michael Van Dort, Dimuth Karunaratne, Thisara Perera and our current Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews for the Josephians. These stars have gone that extra bit and crowned themselves with glory to represent our great nation in cricket. Congratulations to all.

There are hordes of other talented cricketers who represented their Alma Mater over the years, but never made it to the national team due to numerous reasons. Talent was never in question for these players, but it was a question of timing – after all, only eleven can play in a team. Space does not permit me to name these players as this article is dedicated to a superstar who sadly passed away last month. Anton Perera played for St. Peter’s College from 1957-1960, both years included.

Anton Perera was a household name in the late fifties and early sixties. An intensely talented all-round sportsman, Anton broke into the limelight in 1957, as an athlete and cricketer. He was only 15 years old at the time. Anton was a legend at St. Peter’s College. He was one of the most celebrated sports icons who left an indelible mark on the Peterite landscape as a talented athlete, exceptional cricketer who also played rugby until his coach Jackie van Twest advised him not to play as it would hurt his athletics. Anton was also a good Tennis player and I am not quite sure if he represented college, at the Public Schools Championships. His father was a Tennis player of national repute.

Blessed with a strong physique – Anton captained the Under-16 athletics team of his Alma Mater to win the Junior Tarbat Trophy at the All-Island Schools Athletic Championships. He was a Public School champion in the Discus, Javelin and Putt Shot. He also performed well in the 100 metres and did the sprint relays. This was a time the Peterites had a crack athletic team. He captained the Junior Athletics Team in 1957 which went on to win the Junior Tarbat at the Public Schools Championships. Desmond Moraes, Rontjen Perera and Linus Jayawardane (since departed) were the other members of the team.

Some names of Peterite athletes during his time that come to mind are Ranjit Wijeyesekere, Ranjit Weerasena, David Van Dort, Errol de Silva, brothers Andrew & Godfrey Goonetilleke, Rontjen Perera, Neville Salvador, E.L. Fernando, N.B. Wilson, Didacus de Almeida, Roger Wright, Kevin Ruberu, Vinitha Rakajaruna, Elmo Perera, Carlyle Rudolph, Ranjith Alwis, brothers Winston & Stafford Tambimuttu, and a host of others of repute who later joined Ace Athletic Club or CT & FC.

But it was Cricket that Anton was best known. His baptism into the First XI was in 1957, at the age of 15 – under the captaincy of Jayantha Fernando. In the big match, Anton clean bowled opener Claude Perera and then took out two prolific Josephian batsmen Priya Perera and Tissa de Soysa. He had match figures of 3 for 69 in his first big match that was drawn. St. Peter`s were captained by Russel Duckworth in 1958, Brian Seneviratne in 1959, and Premasiri Athukorale in 1960. I cannot remember which year, but Anton caused a sensation at the SPC Vs. Ananda game. He took 8 wickets for 21 and at least six Ananda players were injured. Following year, the Peterites had a rough time at Campbell Place when they met Ananda. I believe Police were at hand to ensure no brawls took place. During this time, he was rated the fastest Schoolboy bowler in Ceylon with Ananda`s Sonny Yatawara coming a close second.

Anton’s opening partners were Maurice Deckker (1960), Desmond Dharmaraja (1958 & 1959) and Anton Paulpillai (1957). Anton best partnered with Maurice Deckker when the Peterites had the most fiery opening bowling attack at the time in school cricket. Cricket at St. Peter`s enjoyed a great period in the 50s and 60s – there was a galaxy of stars who represented the school by the canal. Anton`s team mates who played alongside him are David Muthumani, Nihal Wijesena, Darrel De Silva, Jayantha Fernando, Brian Seneviratne, Russel Duckworth, Lakshman Serasinghe, Premasiri Athukorale, Christy Marthalingam, Anton Paulpillai, Randy Layman, Adiel Anghie, Desmond Dharmaraja, Elmo Gunasekara, Richard Alles, Mark de Silva, Richard Heyn, Tyrone Le Mercier, Maurice Deckker, and Didacus de Almeida.

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This 2004 photo shows four celebrated Peterite cricketers of yesteryear – Richard Alles, David Heyn, Travice Fernando and Anton Perera.

Anton played Club Cricket briefly for SSC whilst in school and would have certainly played for All-Ceylon had he not left for California in 1962 at the age of 20. He lived in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California with his wife Marlene and their three children. He was involved in developing and promoting cricket in Southern California in the sixties and played locally with Dr. Tony Don Michael (another Peterite), Thomian Dr. M.L. Idroos (STC), Dr. C. Balakrishnan (Jaffna Hindu), and a host of other players who made California their home in the post-sixties.

Anton passed away in a Los Angeles Hospital on February 20th, from medical complications. He is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years – Marlene, son Yohan (Joey) and two daughters Sharlene and Sheryl and eight grandchildren. A memorial service for the repose of his soul was held on Saturday, March 1, 2014, at St. Bernadine’s Church in Woodland Hills, California. The service, from all accounts was a celebration of the life and times of a great sportsman – Anton Perera!

A quote from Abraham Lincoln: "And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, It’s the life in your years." In this context, Anton enjoyed a lot of life in his years. He was a good family man, an exceptional human being, loyal to his multitude of friends and a very good Catholic to his dying days.

May his Soul Rest in Peace!

By Upali Obeyesekere – Old Peterite living in Toronto, Canada

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The Island report on Day-1: 80th Battle of the Saints

Posted on 07 March 2014 by admin

A batting failure during the Under-19 tournament proper, Chandula Jayamanne justified his late inclusion in the team with a valuable century as St. Peter’s posted 282 runs before Sri Lanka Under-19 bat Sadeera Samarawickrama exhibited his prowess to guide St. Joseph’s to 92 for two wickets at close on day one of the 80th Battle of the Saints encounter at P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Friday.

Jayamanne was dropped from the Petes First XI team after a series of failures and the team management took a huge gamble when he was selected ahead of Sanjula Madushan (with 565 runs during the season) for the annual Big Match. Yesterday, he took the opportunity with both hands as he joined deputy skipper Janith Liyanage to put on a 151 run stand for the third wicket. Put to bat formidable openers Dineth Thimodya and Hashan Wanasekara lost their wickets cheaply, but Jayamanne managed to guide Petes to safety. He scored 116 runs inclusive of nine fours and five sixes in 131 balls before being out caught and bowled by spinner Aravinda Akurugoda who rattled the late order with a six wicket haul.


Courtesy: Reemus Fernando – The Island


Jayamanne’s century was only the fifth century by a Peterite in the series since 2000 and was the first after Shehan Fernando scored an unbeaten 159 runs in 2011. Liyanage scored 80 runs (in 91 balls) laced with six fours and three sixes.

Scoreboard II

In their essay Joes too lost their openers cheaply when speedsters Janith Liyanage and Chemila Obeysekera accounted for Yashan Samarasinghe and skipper Dylan Fernandopulle to leave Joes in trouble. But Samarawickrama, returning to the side after doing well in the Youth World Cup, managed to guide the team. Samarawickrama scored an unbeaten 62 runs in 56 balls (10x4s) and was involved in a 53-run stand with Pathum Madusanka when bad light forced umpires to stop play with more than an hours play remaining. While Samarawickrama was solid in his unbeaten knock reaching his half century in 46 balls, Madusanka lived dangerously against spinner Sahan Nanayakkara. Madusanka received life when he was dropped by Jayamanne at slips off the bowling of Nanayakkara.

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