Major League Tournament is the premier first-class cricket competition of Sri Lanka. It was first played in 1938. Up until 1988, none of its matches were given the first-class status. It was in 1988-89 season, when the first Major League Tournament with a first class status began.
The tournament has been known as Daily News Trophy, Lakspray Trophy, P. Saravananuttu Trophy, Robert Senanayake Trophy, and Premier Championships in the past. The Major League Tournament has seen many formats over the years. However, it’s rebranding in 2022-23 instilled a stable format.
According to the current format, the 26 participating teams, which represent different clubs of Sri Lanka are divided into two groups. Each team plays the other in a single round-robin format. Teams earn points for a win, draw, or when a result cannot be produced. There are no point deductions for losing a match.
A total of 156 matches are played in the league stage across different cricket stadiums of Sri Lanka. At the end of the league stage, the two table toppers contest the final.
It is notable that the number of points that a team gets for winning a match is highly variable. Even though the final table standings after the league stage are publicly available for previous seasons, none of them have clearly stated the number of points that a team gets for winning or drawing or tying a match.
Singhalese Sports Club is the most successful club, having won 32 titles till date. The next best side is the Nondescripts Cricket Club with 16 titles.
