Saturday Feb 21, 2026
Saturday Feb 21, 2026
Friday, 16 January 2026 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
With five weekends of cricket left, SSC at the moment seem on course to lift the Tier B 3-Day
League title being the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far and looking quite a formidable outfit with several national cricketers in their ranks.
With all 12 competing teams having completed six matches each, SSC hold onto a 23-point lead over their nearest rivals Negombo CC who elevated themselves to second place with a 118-run win against Leo CC last weekend.
With their home venue undergoing construction in preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next month, SSC find themselves having to play their matches away. They travel to last weekend’s venue the SLLDC (Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation) grounds in Kirimandala Mawatha where they will meet Army SC of the six matches commencing today. Colombo Malays CC denied SSC full points at this venue by holding onto a draw after being forced to follow-on. Having lost to Galle CC outright last weekend, Army SC will have a tough time trying to deny SSC from taking full points from them.
Sri Lanka’s primary Test spinner Prabath Jayasuriya has been the architect off SSC’s successful campaign in the tournament with a bag of 51 wickets (avg. 12.78) from 6 matches that includes 5 five-wicket inning hauls. No other SSC bowler comes near his figures, the next best being seamer Pramod Madushan’s 12 wickets from 6 matches. In the batting it has been Nipun Dananjaya with 2 centuries and 2 fifties and an aggregate of 457 (avg. 65.29) who has made the most runs for the club.
Negombo CC have a key game when they take on third placed Moratuwa SC at De Soysa Stadium, Moratuwa. Umesh Lakshan (453 runs) and off-spinner Amith Perera (34 wickets) have been instrumental in their progress, while for Moratuwa SC their spin duo of Chanaka Ruwansiri (29 wickets) and Gayan Sirisoma (25) have excelled with the ball, and Rashmika Mevan (354 runs) and Gavin Boteju (335) have been amongst the runs.
The Sebastianites v United Southern SC match at Army grounds, Saliyapura could turn out to be a keenly contested affair with each team having four wins out of six games. Sebastianites’ success will depend largely on the start that their prolific opener Rusiru Vilochana can give. The former Nalanda College cricketer is the leading run-getter in the tournament with 653 runs (avg. 59.36) inclusive of 3 centuries one of which is a double hundred. It will be a battle of personalities between Vilochana and Adeesha Nanayakkara who is United Southern SC’s main run-getter with 522 runs and 2 centuries. Sebastianites should also be wary of the United Southern SC spin cum seam combination of Dhanosh de Silva and Tharush Damindu who combined have taken 50 wickets.
Following back-to-back wins Leo CC suffered a setback when they went down to Negombo CC. They get a chance to redeem themselves taking on Galle CC at Welisara. Colombo Malay CC should gain a lot of confidence for their game against Kandy Customs SC at the BRC grounds, after the stubborn resistance they put up against SSC.
In the battle of the wooden spoonists Ragama CC meet Navy SC at the Army grounds in Salawa. Both teams will be fighting hard to avoid finishing at the bottom of the standings as this will mean relegation to playing in the Governors’ Cup next season.
