The Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) has decided to resume the prestigious Under-19 championship and call off the Under-17 tournament after reaching an agreement at a crucial meeting, an official told the Sunday Observer.
He said the remaining matches could be worked off either before or after the GCE Advanced Level examination which is usually held in August.
“The season is not over and there will definitely be an Under-19 champion.
“We only have to finalise the new dates which could be before or after August,” he said.
A large number of Under-19 players are sitting for their AL examination this year. The two-day Under-19 tournament was put on hold as it reached the quarter final stage with the onset of the coronavirus in March.
The teams that qualified for the quarter finals are S. Thomas’ College Matara, Prince of Wales College, St. Joseph’s College, Mahanama College, Gurukula College, Trinity College, Nalanda College and St. Anthony’s College Katugastota.
With seven matches to be worked off including the final, the SLSCA says it would be a matter of just two weeks or more to decide the champions.
In the limited overs tournament only one team, Mahinda College, has qualified to the quarter finals.
The Division Two and Three Under-19 tournaments have also reached the knock-out stages.
The suspended season meant that some of the traditional big matches including the Mahinda-Richmond game and the Trinity-Antonian match had been put on hold with no hint of the contests taking place this year.
The annual inter-school cricket season is conducted in four age groups, Under-13, 15, 17 and 19 making it the most widely contested sporting event in the country.
Usually the U-13 and U-19 age groups start their tournaments from September which is called the third term matches and spill over to the following year to end in April while the U-15 and U-17 matches get underway from May.
While the Under-17 tournament is unlikely to recommence, the SLSCA is yet to make a final ruling on matches involving the Under-15 championship.