Following an injury to original pro, Adeesha Thilanchana, Old Wulfrunians have moved swiftly to sign fellow Sri Lankan all-rounder Nimanda Madushanka.
Madushanka is an exciting cricketer ideally suited to white-ball cricket. His fearless approach and all-round skillset make him a player first on many a side’s team sheet.
Madushanka is a sharp medium-pacer and hard-hitting batter who made his first-class debut for Nondescripts in 2014/15. He played a couple of matches in his maiden season but failed to gain selection the following year.
The all-rounder moved to Badureliya Sports Club in 2016/17 and announced his arrival with a blistering century (126) against an international-laden Tamil Union bowling attack that featured Chamika Karunaratne, Ramith Rambukwell, and Jeewan Mendis. He spent two seasons with Badureliya before joining current club Moors for their 2018/19 campaign.
Whilst Madushanka hasn’t set the world alight in first-class, he was an integral cog in the Moors machine in white-ball cricket.
In 2018/19, Madushanka’s heroics helped Moors to the T20 Championship. He averaged 38.66 and 24.42 with bat and ball respectively, throughout the campaign. However, he saved his best performance for the final, guiding his side to victory off the final ball with Madushanka top-scoring with a 23-ball 47 with 4 sixes.
Over the past two T20 campaigns, he has continued to star, particularly with the ball taking 11 wickets at 9 (2019/20), and 14 wickets at 11.28 (2020/21), to finish fourth on the wicket charts.
The Sri Lankan all-rounder then set sail for the UK to play for St. Peter’s in the Sussex League. It’s fair to say, the heavy-hitter excelled, finishing as the third leading run-scorer in the Sussex League (across all divisions) with 870 runs at 72.50, all with a strike rate of 135.51, not to mention a few wickets along the way.
Following his outstanding maiden UK stint, St. Peter’s was swift to re-sign their Sri Lankan star for their 2022 campaign. Unfortunately, Madushanka failed to replicate his success, hitting 659 runs at 29.95 and struggling with the ball only taking 12 wickets.
Now with Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, Madushanka is keen to make amends for last summer having signed with Old Wulfrunians Tettenhall for their 2023 South Staffordshire League campaign.
