Major League Tournament (Sri Lanka)
Countries | Sri Lanka |
---|---|
Administrator | 2023 Major League Tournament |
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]
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
The Major League Tournament in 2023–24 was split into Group A and Group B leagues. The following teams were involved:[4][5]
Group A
- 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
- 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
Final
The group winners were
List of winners
The champion team in each season since 1938 has been:[8]
Daily News Trophy
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 2022–23 Colombo Cricket Club
- 2023Sinhalese Sports Club and Police Sports Club
Wins by Clubs
- † 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
- ^ 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.