Asian Alliance Open Cricket Tournament 2011

Saturday, 6 August 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The “Asian Alliance Open Cricket Tournament 2011” organised by the Sports Club of AAI was held on the 24 July 2011 at the Race Course Grounds.

The event was a six-a-side soft ball cricket tournament among the teams from companies in the fields of Banking, Insurance, Investment, Stock Brokering, Shipping, Manufacturing, etc.

Over 25 teams from the invited companies and over 500 spectators were present at this fun filled event. DJs, Papare bands, food & beverages added excitement and colour to the day.

The day’s proceedings started with the corporate cricket teams being welcomed by the Chief Guest, Ramal Jasinghe - Director/CEO of AAI together with the Asian Alliance Insurance Sports Club officials. As the matches commenced and progressed a lively crowd of supporters including the staff members from the companies who participated in the Cricket Tournament supported their teams. They created an atmosphere filled with music and cheering which was indeed an encouragement to the teams. It was an inspiring sight to observe the cricketers of each team displaying their talents.

45 matches were played among 26 teams in three pitches at the Race Course Grounds during the day. An exciting piece of cricket was played in the semi final matches among Mas Active Ltd. Vs Leinia Clothing Kandy Ltd. and MAS Unichela Casual Line Division Vs Unichela (Pvt) Ltd. – Slimtex Division, Kuliyapitiya. The final battle of the Asian Alliance Open Cricket Tournament 2011 was between MAS Unichela Casual Line and MAS Active Ltd. and MAS Unichela Casual Line emerged as the Champion by defeating MAS Active Ltd. by two wickets.

MAS Active team scored 69 runs for the loss of four wickets within five overs. Rohan Fernando scored 25 runs and Nilantha scored 19 runs for the MAS Active team. In response MAS Unichela Casual Line team scored 74 runs for three wickets in 4.4 overs; 30 & 17 runs were scored by Suresh and Sajan, respectively.

Ashan Buddhika from MAS Unichela Casual Line team claimed the Best Bowler award and Roshan Fernando from MAS Active team claimed the Best Batsman award of the Asian Alliance Open Cricket Tournament 2011. The winners were awarded with trophies and cash prizes by the organisers of the event.

Suranga Waduge, President of Asian Alliance Sports Club stated, “We sincerely thank all the teams who participated at this inaugural inter-company cricket tournament organised by the AAI Sports Club. Also, we are grateful to our sponsors of this tournament who partnered us in concluding this event on a successful note.” Real Radio (Official Radio Partner), Coca-Cola and Nations Trust Bank were among the sponsors who joined hands with AAI for this event.

Ramal Jasinghe, Director/CEO of Asian Alliance Insurance, who is also the Patron of the AAI Sports Club, is of the view that the Asian Alliance Open Cricket Tournament 2011 strengthened the relationships between the corporate entities and promoted the spirit of the game whilst providing an opportunity for the professionals employed in various fields to showcase their hidden talents. Jasinghe further stated that this will be the first step towards an annual event in the corporate cricket calendar.