The Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year contest reached new horizons with the dawn of the new millennium. After 21 consecutive shows, Trinity’s Kaushalya Weeraratne won the top honours at the first Observer Cricketer of the Year in 2000.
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The Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year, which will be held for the 41st year this time, reached the new millennium when Kaushalya Weeraratne emerged the star at the Mega Show.
What excitement and enthusiasm is generated when the ‘Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year’ show draws near. The 41st MEGA SHOW, the mother of all shows conducted by the ‘Sunday Observer’ and sponsored by Mobitel will be held soon. With a few more weeks to go for this long awaited show, we continue to take a close look at past winners. Last week we discussed how Thilan Samaraweera was deprived of what would have been a record third win, something which no other school cricketer has achieved so far.
The excitement of school cricket will reach its climax when the country’s top schoolboy cricketers will be rewarded for their efforts after a strenuous 2018-19 season. That’s when the 41st Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year gala awards night will be held at a posh venue in Colombo shortly. School cricket’s premier and the first inter-school awards show will be sponsored by the country’s national mobile communication provider SLT Mobitel, under its dynamic CEO Nalin Perera.
It is interesting to go down memory lane and find out what some of the Sri Lanka cricketers of yesteryear feel about the Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year contest. ICC Chief Match Referee and former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle said the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited and Sunday Observer should be complimented for keeping the show going for all these years. “Sponsors are essential. May the show continue for many years” he said.
Former Sri Lanka cricketer Naweed Nawaz, who won the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year mega title in 1993, was the first and only cricketer from D.S. Senanayake College to achieve that honour.
The 41st Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year contest’s most popular segment is in its final stages with heavy voting for the leading contestants. When the resounding success story of the Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year is talked about, one cannot forget the humble beginnings it had.
Former Sri Lanka batsman and present Ananda College coach Sanjeeva Ranatunga said that everyone must keep in mind that it’s not winning or losing that matters but how one played the game.
Vote now for the most popular Schoolboy or Schoolgirl cricketer in the 41st Observer-Mobitel School Cricketer of the Year contest. Coupons in the S-Observer, daily News, Dinamina, Thinakaran and Tharuni papers. Win exciting gifts every week.
Former Sri Lanka, Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and Ananda College all-rounder, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara had been one of the most prominent schoolboy cricketers to have emerged through the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer contest. Ever since the launch of the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year contest in 1978, the Mega Show has turned out to be the most looked forward to event by school cricketers. The event is sponsored by SLT Mobitel which has been providing its financial support for the past 12 years.