Promising young cricketers from academies of cricket-playing nations will be able to display their skills when the International Council for Cricket Academies (ICCA) in Sri Lanka will conduct the ‘ICCA Champions Trophy’ junior cricket tournament from December 18 to 27 in Colombo.
The Academy teams that are scheduled to participate are the Desert Cubs Cricket Academy UAE, Karnataka Institute of Cricket, (KIOC) Bangalore, India, Ramah Sports Academy Harare, Zimbabwe, Mercantile Cricket Association Academy, Sri Lanka and possibly an Academy team from Oman as well.
About 350 players in the age categories of under-13 and 15 will be in action. The under-15 will be decided in 50 overs while the under-13 will be played for 40 overs per side.
The ICCA branch in Sri Lanka will conduct this tournament bi-annually with the intention of inviting more teams and age groups in the future.
“In all, there are 70 academies in the ICCA that exist in all cricket playing countries”, said Presley Polonnowita the president of the ICCA in Sri Lanka.
This tournament will be played at the MCA, Colts, Thurstan and ACE Capital grounds in Colombo.
The opening ceremony will be held on December 18 at the MCA ground. There will be 25 matches played over seven days and the final to be played on December 24.
The players will don white clothing and pink balls will be used to add a thrilling dimension to the tournament.
Teams will compete in a round-robin format, playing six matches each in their respective age groups.
All matches will adhere to ICC playing conditions and will be held at first class venues in Colombo. This tournament will offer an opportunity to nurturing cricketing camaraderie and see the beauty of Sri Lanka.
Each year ICCA sanctioned tournaments will be undertaken in different regions annually. Sri Lanka first sent their MCA academy team to participate in a tournament held in England this year.
According to an official the ICCA is dedicated to the development and growth of young international cricketers through tournaments, tours, coaching and player exchange programs.
