Geeth Alwis

A batting allrounder, Geeth Alwis began his career at Lalith Athulathmudali Vidyalaya, Dehiwala, playing Under-15 cricket before joining Lumbini Vidyalaya to continue his A/Ls. He was batting at No. 8 for Lumbini when he was adviced by former school mate Ranil Dammika to open the batting, where he met with instant success. He joined Colts in 2006 and represented them in the U-23 tournament before switching to Saracens SC where he came under the watchful eyes of coach Dinesh Kumarasinghe. The coach identified a few flaws and corrected it by asking him to play forward by getting the bat in front of the pad. The change in technique worked as he responded with a double-century, scored in a day against Colombo CC in a Premier Tier 'A' match. The added responsibility of being his club's vice-captain and a stint with the English league (Gateshead Fell CC in the North East Premier League) has also improved Alwis' outlook. He made over 600 runs and captured 40 wickets last season and has been signed up for 2010. With 663 runs at 44.20 and 19 wickets for Saracens in the ongoing season, Alwis hopes to catch the attention of the national selectors.
Sa'adi Thawfeeq December 2009