The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

competition in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. 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. 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. This was contested by five provincial teams: Colombo District, Dambulla District, Galle District, Jaffna District and Kandy District. 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. 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.

Major League Tournament, 2022–23

The Major League Tournament in 2022–23 was split into Group A and Group B leagues. The following teams were involved:

Group A

Burgher Recreation Club Burgher Recreation Club is a first-class cricket and hockey club based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. History The club was founded on 26 December 1896 known as the Bambalapitya Recreation Club, with membership restricted to the Burgher community. The fi ...

* Colombo Cricket Club * Colts Cricket Club *

Galle Cricket Club Galle Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team based in Galle, Sri Lanka. They play their home games at Galle International Stadium, which was reconstructed after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In the 2016–17 season, they took part in the ...

* Kalutara Town Club *

Kandy Customs Cricket Club Kandy Customs Sports Club is a first-class cricket team based in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Founded in 2019, they were one of the 24 teams to take part in the 2018–19 SLC Twenty20 Tournament, starting on 15 February 2019. In their opening match of the ...

Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team in Sri Lanka. They made their first-class debut in 1991 against Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club at Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo. In the 1993/94 season, they were b ...

Lankan Cricket Club Lankan Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team in Sri Lanka. History Lankan Cricket Club played in the Premier Trophy from 2005–06 to 2012–13. It was one of six clubs that lost their places when the competition was reduced from 20 teams t ...

* Moors Sports Club * Police Sports Club * Ragama Cricket Club * Sebastianites Cricket and Athletic Club *

Sinhalese Sports Club The Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. Singhalese is the most successful club in Sri Lankan domestic cricket, having won the Premier Trophy a record 32 times to 2017. Although the name is correctly spelt wi ...

Group B

Ace Capital Cricket Club Ace Capital Cricket Club is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. It was originally founded in 1989 as the Seeduwa/Raddoluwa Cricket Club. In 2011, it became the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club. The SLPA withdrew sponsorship in October ...

Badureliya Sports Club Badureliya Sports Club is a first-class cricket team in Sri Lanka. It plays its home matches at Surrey Village Cricket Ground, Maggona. In late 2008, the club threatened to boycott the Sri Lankan domestic tournaments due to their objections to b ...

Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO () ...

* Chilaw Marians Cricket Club * Negombo Cricket Club * Nondescripts Cricket Club * Nugegoda Sports and Welfare Club *

Panadura Sports Club Panadura Sports Club is a first-class cricket team based in Panadura, Sri Lanka. Their home ground is the Panadura Public Ground History Panadura Sports Club has been in existence since 1924. The team has played first-class cricket since 1988– ...

* Saracens Sports Club * Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club * Sri Lanka Army Sports Club * Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club * Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club

Final

The 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. 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 Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Sadeera Samarawickrama Wedagedara Sadeera Rashen Samarawickrama (born 30 August 1995) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who represents the national team in Tests but has represented in all formats of the game. He was part of Sri Lanka's squad for the 2014 ICC U ...

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 Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis (born 30 September 1998), popularly as Kamindu Mendis, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who plays for the national team, and for Colombo Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He is an ambidextrous bowler and ...

(105), captain Ashan Priyanjan (100) and

Chamindu Wijesinghe Chamindu Wijesinghe (born 3 September 2000) is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He made his Twenty20 debut on 4 March 2021, for Colombo Cricket Club in the 2020–21 SLC Twenty20 Tournament. Prior to his Twenty20 debut, he was named in Sri Lanka's squad ...

(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 In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

". The "Player of the Series" award went to Ragama batsman Nishan Madushka, who scored 1,229 runs.

List of winners

The champion team in each season since 1938 has been:

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

: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 Nomads Sports Club is a former first-class cricket team in Sri Lanka. Nomads are one of the oldest Sri Lankan cricket teams. They won the P Sara Trophy in 1964-65 and 1967-68 in the days before the competition had first-class status. They co ...

:1965–66 No competition :1966–67 Singhalese Sports Club :1967–68

: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 Ace Capital Cricket Club is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. It was originally founded in 1989 as the Seeduwa/Raddoluwa Cricket Club. In 2011, it became the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club. The SLPA withdrew sponsorship in October ...

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

Wins by Clubs

* † Extinct Clubs * Shared title

References

{{First-class Cricket Domestic Competitions Cricket leagues in Sri Lanka First-class cricket competitions Sports leagues in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan domestic cricket competitions