The Mercantile Cricket Association (MCA) will conduct their ‘E’ division 25-over League Tournament for the glittering DPGC Challenge Trophy with 17 teams in the fray.
The sponsor is David Pieris Group of Companies who have come forward for the 20th year uninterrupted.
The tournament started on December 10 last year and the group stage consisting 40 matches will go on till January 15 before the knock-out stage begins.
The 17 teams are divided into three groups as follows:
Group A: Amana Takaful, Abans Group, Stafford Motors, Allianz Insurance, Akbar Brothers and HSBC ‘A’.
Group B: Emar Pharma, Ceylinco Insurance, Teejay Lanka, SSK Holdings, Janashakthi Insurance and John Keells Group ‘B’.
Group C: Brandix Essentials ‘A’, Virtusa (Pvt) Ltd., Pizza Hut, LOLC and Hayleys Group ‘B’.
The knock-out stage consisting of 15 matches will begin with the Pre-quarter-finals on January 21 and 22, the quarter-finals on January 28 and 29 and the semi-final on February 5 and the final on February 11 at the MCA ground.
Special awards will be presented to the best batsman, best bowler, man of the series and man of the final.
Nalin Wickremasinghe president of the MCA said that they are thankful to DPMC for supporting this tournament uninterrupted for 20 long years.
“We are always transparent and closely monitoring these players to guide them on the correct path. These players will become good citizens. I know that a majority of sportsmen become good citizens,” said Wickremasinghe.
“Though we are going through very difficult times we still continue to have a sponsor for this tournament. For us sports, cricket in particular have a very strong affinity. Many of you know that the Pieris family is well known for promoting cricket at grass root level,” said Romany Parakrama Director and Chief Operating officer at DPMC.