The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988–89 season are not considered first-class. Relaunched as the Lakspray Trophy in 1988–89, it was renamed as the P. Saravanamuttu Trophy in 1990–91 and as the Premier Championship in 1998–99. There was a change of format in 2015–16 when it became the Premier League Tournament which was split into Tiers A and B the following year.[1]
| Countries | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Sri Lanka Cricket |
| Format | First-class cricket |
| First edition | 1988–89 |
| Tournament format | Two group leagues and a final between group winners |
| Number of teams | 26 |
| Current champion | Colombo Cricket Club (8th title) |
| Most successful | Singhalese Sports Club (32 titles) |
 2023 Major League Tournament | |
The league was cancelled in 2020–21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then a new temporary tournament was introduced in 2021–22 called the National Super Provincial 4-Day Tournament.[1] This was contested by five provincial teams: Colombo District, Dambulla District, Galle District, Jaffna District and Kandy District.[2] They played each other once each and then the top four went into a knockout semi-final round followed by a championship final in which Kandy District defeated Jaffna District, 7–10 April 2022.[3]
Ahead of the 2022–23 season, the competition was relaunched with a rebranding as the Major League Tournament. The 26 first-class clubs are split into Groups A and B, each team playing the others in its group once each, and the two group winners meeting in a championship final.[4]
Teams
editThe Major League Tournament in 2023–24 was split into Group A and Group B leagues. The following teams were involved:[4][5]
Group A
edit- Burgher Recreation Club
- Colombo Cricket Club
- Colts Cricket Club
- Galle Cricket Club
- Kandy Customs Cricket Club
- Negombo Cricket Club
- Nugegoda Sports and Welfare Club
- Panadura Sports Club
- Ragama Cricket Club
- Sinhalese Sports Club
- Sri Lanka Army Sports Club
Group B
edit- Ace Capital Cricket Club
- Badureliya Sports Club
- Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club
- Chilaw Marians Cricket Club
- Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club
- Moors Sports Club
- Nondescripts Cricket Club
- Police Sports Club
- Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club
- Sebastianites Cricket and Athletic Club
- Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club
- Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club
Former Team
editFinal
editThe group winners were Colombo Cricket Club and Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club who contested the MLT Final at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, starting on 17 November 2022.[4] The match was drawn after four days play (extended from the scheduled three) and Colombo were declared the winners as they had the larger first innings total. Tamil Union won the toss and batted first. At the end of the first day, they had reached 356/5 after their captain Sadeera Samarawickrama had scored 188. They were all out on day two for 558. Colombo had scored 149/2 at close of play that day and went on to 411/5 at close of play on the third day. At this point, the match should have ended but it was extended by another day so that the question of first innings lead could be settled. Colombo were eventually all out for 669 on day four, their innings including three centuries by Kamindu Mendis (105), captain Ashan Priyanjan (100) and Chamindu Wijesinghe (139). There was only time for another sixteen overs before the close but the match was played out and Tamil Union scored 145/4 in their second innings. Wijesinghe was voted "Player of the Match".[6] The "Player of the Series" award went to Ragama batsman Nishan Madushka, who scored 1,229 runs.[7]
List of winners
editThe champion team in each season since 1938 has been:[8]
Daily News Trophy
edit- 1938 Kalutara Town Club
- 1938–39 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1939–40 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1940–41 Saracens Sports Club
- 1941–42 No competition
- 1942–43 No competition
- 1943–44 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1944–45 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1945–46 Tamil Union C & A Club
- 1946–47 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1947–48 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1948–49 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1949–50 Singhalese Sports Club
P. Saravanamuttu Trophy
edit- 1950–51 Tamil Union C & A Club
- 1951–52 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1952–53 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1953–54 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1954–55 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1955–56 Burgher Recreation Club
- 1956–57 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1957–58 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1958–59 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1959–60 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1960–61 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1961–62 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1962–63 University
- 1963–64 Bloomfield C & AC
- 1964–65 Nomads Sports Club
- 1965–66 No competition
- 1966–67 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1967–68 Nomads Sports Club
- 1968–69 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1969–70 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1970–71 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1971–72 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1972–73 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1973–74 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1974–75 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1975–76 Nondescripts Cricket Club
Robert Senanayake Trophy
edit- 1976–77 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1977–78 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1978–79 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1979–80 Colombo Cricket Club
- 1980–81 Bloomfield C & AC
- 1981–82 Bloomfield C & AC
Lakspray Trophy
edit- 1982–83 Bloomfield C & AC
- 1983–84 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1984–85 Colombo Cricket Club
- 1985–86 Singhalese Sports Club & Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1986–87 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1987–88 Colombo Cricket Club
- 1988–89 Nondescripts Cricket Club & Singhalese Sports Club (inaugural first-class season)
- 1989–90 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1990–91 Singhalese Sports Club
P. Saravanamuttu Trophy
edit- 1991–92 Colts Cricket Club
- 1992–93 Singhalese Sports Club
- 1993–94 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 1994–95 Singhalese Sports Club and Bloomfield C & AC
- 1995–96 Colombo Cricket Club
- 1996–97 Bloomfield C & AC
- 1997–98 Singhalese Sports Club
Premier Championship
edit- 1998–99 Bloomfield C & AC
- 1999–00 Colts Cricket Club
- 2000–01 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 2001–02 Colts Cricket Club
- 2002–03 Moors Sports Club
- 2003–04 Bloomfield C & AC
- 2004–05 Colts Cricket Club
- 2005–06 Singhalese Sports Club
- 2006–07 Colombo Cricket Club
- 2007–08 Singhalese Sports Club
- 2008–09 Colts Cricket Club
- 2009–10 Chilaw Marians Cricket Club
- 2010–11 Bloomfield C & AC
- 2011–12 Colts Cricket Club
- 2012–13 Singhalese Sports Club
- 2013–14 Nondescripts Cricket Club
- 2014–15 Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club
Premier League Tournament
edit- 2015–16 Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club
- 2016–17 Singhalese Sports Club
- 2017–18 Chilaw Marians Cricket Club
- 2018–19 Colombo Cricket Club
- 2019–20 Colombo Cricket Club
- 2020–21 cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021–22 replaced by temporary regional competition
Major League Tournament
edit- 2022–23 Colombo Cricket Club
- 2023 Sinhalese Sports Club and Police Sports Club
Wins by Clubs
edit- † Extinct Clubs * Shared title
| Club | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Singhalese Sports Club | 32 | 1938–39, 1939–40, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1985–86*, 1986–87, 1988–89*, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95*, 1997–98, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2012–13, 2016–17 |
| Nondescripts Cricket Club | 16 | 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1985–86, 1988–89*, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2013–14 |
| Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club | 9 | 1963–64, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1994–95*, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2010–11 |
| Colombo Cricket Club | 8 | 1979–80, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1995–96, 2006–07, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2022–23 |
| Colts Cricket Club | 6 | 1991–92, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2011–12 |
| Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club | 3 | 1945–46, 1950–51, 2015–16 |
| †Nomads Sports Club | 2 | 1964–65, 1967–68 |
| Chilaw Marians Cricket Club | 2 | 2009–10, 2017–18 |
| Kalutara Town Club | 1 | 1938 |
| Saracens Sports Club | 1 | 1940–41 |
| Burgher Recreation Club | 1 | 1955–56 |
| †University | 1 | 1962–63 |
| Moors Sports Club | 1 | 2002–03 |
| Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club | 1 | 2014–15 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Tournaments in Sri Lanka". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ "National Super Provincial 4-Day Tournament, 2021–22". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ "Jaffna District v Kandy District, 2021–22". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ a b c "Major League Tournament, 2022–23". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket Major League Tournament 2022/23 schedule: Full fixtures list for SLC MLT". Wisden Online. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ "Match Scorecard: Colombo Cricket Club v Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club, MLT Final 2022–23". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ "Major League Tournament 2022–23". ESPN cricinfo. 20 November 2022.
- ^ "A brief history of domestic cricket in Sri Lanka". ESPN cricinfo. Retrieved 15 September 2022.