Only 12 more days remain for the grandest of all shows dedicated for the schoolboy cricketers of Sri Lanka. As mentioned in the previous weeks, the 33rd Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2012 show will be staged on July 27 at the Musaeaus College Auditorium in Colombo. The Sunday Times readers who followed the competition from the very beginning are well aware of the final outcomes of all three categories.
The Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy All-Island Cricketer of the Year to be crowned, Niroshan Dikwella and all-rounder Tharindu Kaushal, the Emerging Schoolboy Cricketer for 2012 just completed a successful run at the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sri Lanka lost to India in the semi-final but the good news was both Dikwella and Kaushal were at their best in the competition, which is undoubtedly a justification for their awards in the Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year competition.
Kaushal who captured 12 wickets in four games won the best bowler’s award at the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup. Dikwella who played all four games in the Asia Cup has managed to accumulate 78 runs in three innings with a best of 66 against India in the semi-finals where Sri Lanka lost. Kaushal had an economy rate of 3.89 and his best of 4 for 19 came against Bangladesh. Other award winners from the competition who represented Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup apart from the top duo were Pabasara Waduge and Amila Aponso.
Caption - Niroshan Dikwella
