The inaugural Desert Cubs Schools Invitational 40-over Cricket Tournament commenced on August 20 at four venues in Colombo and ended last Monday, after five days with success.

In a low scoring thriller it was St. Peter’s College who emerged victorious in the final of the Under-15 age category making St. Anne's College the runner-up. St Anne’s College and St. Peter’s College battled it out for the ultimate spot but it was the Peterites who emerged victorious by an exciting 11 runs. The boys from Kurunegala bowled out their opponents for just 64 runs in 35.1 overs with Piyumal Singawansa taking three wickets, conceding 15 runs. Randeepa Ranasinghe and Pubudu Gnanegama grabbed two wickets each.

Chasing a simple target the St. Anne’s boys got carried away in their run chase. They could not live up to their expectations and were restricted for just 53 runs, falling short of the victory target by 11 runs.

Impressive Sachin Silva led the bowling attack with an economical spell to finish off with three wickets after giving out just six runs. Senal de Silva and Bauddhima Senaratne took two wickets each helping St. Peter’s to complete a successful campaign. Proving their bowling and fielding capabilities, St. Peter’s took the honour of becoming the first team to get hold of the Under-15 championship of the inaugural Schools Invitational Desert Cubs Cricket Championship.

Other teams took part in this inaugural tournament were Desert Cubs Cricket Academy UAE, Ananda College , and Trinity College Kandy in the Under-15 age category.

The tournament was organised by Desert Cubs Cricket Academy in UAE. Dubai Duty Free of UAE was the main sponsor of the event while Entrust Group, Hatton National Bank, LB Finance and Hameedias joined as co-sponsors from Sri Lanka.