Wayamba cricket team
was a
Sri Lankan
first class
cricket team based in
Kurunegala
, that represented
North Western Province
. It drew cricketers from Sri Lanka
Premier Trophy
. The team competed in two provincial tournaments: the first class cricket competition known as the
Inter-Provincial Tournament
, and the
Twenty20
competition known as the
Inter-Provincial Twenty20
. Also Wayamba province cricket team became joint champions with
Kandurata
in the 2007/08 Inter-Provincial Limited overs tournament after the finals match drawn due to rain.
[2]
Sri Lanka
captain
Mahela Jayawardene
,
Ajantha Mendis
and
Thilan Samaraweera
are some of the experienced cricketers play for Wayamba province cricket team.
Wayamba Province cricket team
participated
every tournament from the inaugural season to 1994/95 season. After the tournament revived after nearly ten years in 2003/04 season the team excluded from the tournament. Eventually in 2007/08 when the team included again in the Inter-Provincial Limited overs tournament they went on to win the title under the captaincy of
Mahela Jayawardene
.
[3]
Name
[
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When the
Inter-provincial tournament
started in 1990 teams used English names. The team representing
North Western Province
is known as North Western province team. But from the 2007/08 season, the teams named in
Sinhalese
, North Western province team then onwards known as "Wayamba team" (Sinhalese for "North West").
History
[
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Early years (1990?2000)
[
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]
Sri Lanka Cricket
fearing that
Club cricket
alone would not be enough to keep Sri Lankan cricket competitive, the
Inter-Provincial Cricket Tournament
was created as a domestic
first-class
cricket
tournament in
Sri Lanka
in 1990.
[4]
From the inauguration of the tournament, in 1990, participating teams varied from year to year. The tournament started with four provincial teams. They were
Western Province
,
Central Province
,
Southern Province
and Wayamba.
In the first
first-class
Inter-provincial tournament, which was called the
1990 Singer Inter-Provincial Trophy
, Wayamba, then called
North Central Province
, captained by
Ranjith Madurasinghe
, had come last out of the four provinces, losing all their matches and finishing the tournament with only five points.
Western Province
went on to win the tournament, not losing a game.
[5]
Establishment of Twenty20 (2000?2010)
[
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With the establishment of
Twenty20
cricket in 2003, it came to Sri Lanka in 2004 as the
Twenty20 Tournament
, however this was replaced with the
Inter-Provincial Twenty20
in 2008. Wayamba won the
2007?08 Inter-Provincial Twenty20
, which was the first edition of the tournament. They had won four out of five matches in the group stage and eventually won their way into the finals with Ruhuna. Wayamba won by 31 runs.
[6]
The end of 2007 and the start of 2008 was host to the first
Inter-Provincial Limited Over Tournament
. Wayamba came second on the points table winning two matches and losing two matches and eventually gaining a place in the finals with
Kandurata
. In the final, captained by
Sanjeewa de Silva
, Wayamba won the toss and decided to field. Playing a rain reduced game kandurata posted a score of 131 for 5 wickets in 29.3 overs. Wayamba had a revised target of 143 runs in 25 overs, however the match ended up as a no result after 6 overs into the Wayamba innings with a score of 37. The trophy was shared between the two teams.
[7]
[8]
The
2008?09 Inter-Provincial Twenty20
was the second edition of the Inter-Provincial Twenty20, where the Wayamba elevens won. Losing only their first match to
Basnahira South
and making it into the knockout stage. Facing Ruhuna, they drew with 88 runs each. Wayamba won bowl-out 3?2. In the final they met Basnahira South, winning with an over to spare getting the 145 runs needed, and qualifying for the
2009 Champions League Twenty20
.
In the 2009 Inter-provincial tournament, Wayamba became runners-up after their defeat by 10 wickets in the finals in the hands of Basnahira North team.
[9]
Though the Wayamba team won the title of
Inter-Provincial Twenty20
tournament of 2009 season defeating
Basnahira South team.
[10]
Wayamba took
Basnahira South
's last nine wickets for just eleven runs,
[10]
and went on to win the match by 5 wickets. 21 years old Isuru Udana was adjudged
man of the match
and series.
[10]
2009 Champions League Twenty20
[
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]
The Wayamba cricket team featured in the
2009 Champions League Twenty20
as the Wayamba elevens.
2010?present
[
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]
In the second edition of the
Inter-Provincial Limited Over Tournament
, which had skipped 2009. Wayamba won three and only lost to the two Basnahiras coming third in the points table, behind
Ruhuna
and
Kandurata
.
In 2010 the Wayamba cricket team won their third
Inter-Provincial Twenty20
tournament, winning in style not losing a game, and the discovery of
Mahela Jayawardene
as
Twenty20
opener. This was the third time in a row Wayamba had won the tournament and the second time they have qualified for the
Champions League Twenty20
.
[11]
The Wayamba elevens won every game including the knockout stage. In the final they met Ruhuna, were Wayamba was put into bat, they scored 208 for 8 wickets in the full twenty overs and the opposition replied only being able to score 113 runs in 13.2 overs.
[12]
2010 Champions League Twenty20
[
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]
There were high hopes for Wayamba for the
2010 Champions League Twenty20
, sending a team with 11 players with international caps.
[13]
Grounds and Sponsorship
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Welagedara Stadium
is a multi-use stadium in
Kurunegala
, in the
North Western Province
of
Sri Lanka
, which is situated about 100 km north east of
Kandy
. The stadium is currently used mostly for
cricket
matches and is the home ground of Wayamba cricket team. The stadium can hold at least 10,000 spectators. Since its wicket had been replaced from a matting wicket to a turf one it has become one of the best batting wickets in the country.
[14]
It was officially declared open by the then Minister of Home Affairs, Justice
Felix Dias Bandaranaike
in 1972. Welagedara stadium hosted its first international match when Pakistan played there in 1985. In recent times it has regularly hosted international tour matches, unofficial test matches and U19 one-day games. The ground is an extremely picturesque one, with the giant 'Elephant Rock' forming a dramatic back-drop to the ground. It also has historic value being situated in an important location for when Kurunegala was an important Kingdom, King
Bhuvanaikabahu VI
, would address his subjects from the press box beneath the Elephant Rock.
[14]
Lanka Bell
, a Sri Lankan telecommunication company is the team's sponsor.
Players
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There have been many prominent and experienced cricketers players that have played for Wayamba province cricket team including former
Sri Lanka
cricket captain
Mahela Jayawardene
,
Ajantha Mendis
and
Jehan Mubarak
. The top seventy-five players from the Sri Lankan
Premier Limited Overs Tournament
are selected for the
Inter-Provincial Twenty20
tournament. Then players allotted for the five provincial teams. Therefore, many players from other provinces represent Wayamba team. Though former Sri Lankan Test cricketer
Lanka de Silva
is from
Kurunegala
.
[16]
Current squad
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Players with international caps are listed in
bold
.
Source:
Wayamba Elevens
,
CLT20 15-man Squad
Notable players
[
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]
The following is a list of notable players who have represented both Wayamba and
Sri Lanka
.
[17]
Honours
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Domestic
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First Class
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]
List A
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]
- 2007?08
Twenty20
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- 2007?08
,
2008?09
,
2009?10
Worldwide
[
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]
Twenty20
[
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]
References
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]