DATUK BANDAR TROPHY

Damith, Faris star as RSC stroll to victory by 436 runs!

ROYAL Selangor Club set a new milestone in the domestic league as they strolled to a 436 runs victory over Silver State Cricket Club in the Datuk Bandar Trophy at the RSC ground on Sunday.

RSC’s Sri Lankan connection Damith Warusavitana smashed a double century and 2008 National Under-19 vice-captain Faris Almas Lee Rosmanizam added 103 runs as the duo put on  a partnership off 271 runs for the first wicket as the hosts reached a mammoth 537-8 in 50 overs.  Damith stroked 24 boundaries and 13 sixes en route to scoring a personal best of 233 runs.

The hosts then ran through SSCC batting machinery rapidly and reduced Silver State to 12 for the loss of five wickets in the first 10 overs before rain disrupted play. Silver State were then set a revised target of 457 in 35 overs, a task which was obviously beyond their reach as they could only add another eight runs to their miserable total of 20 in 13.5 overs as eight of their players failed to score while none reached double figures.

The tournament is organized by FTCA in conjunction with Federal Territories Day celebration, features five teams which will play each other in a round-robin league with the top two teams to meet in the final on March 15. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kelawar and Frontiers complete the cast.

Each team is allowed to field a maximum of three foreign players for each innings although Kelawar, a side laden with expatriates, are exempted from the rule.

This weekend matches will see UKM open their campaign against Silver State at the UKM ground in Bangi while Kelawar meet Frontiers at the Tuanku Ja’afar College ground in Mantin.

“We are definitely making several changes to the side for the Datuk Bandar Trophy. Some of the players have not been performing in last two weeks which saw us losing two matches in the Navaratnam Shield,” said Frontiers vice-captain and Sri Lankan Usama Yunoos. IfixturesI