The 134th ‘Battle of the Blues’ between traditional rivals, Royal College and S. Thomas College will take stage in all its splendour on the 7th, 8th and 9th of March at the Singhalese Sport Club (SSC).
133 Years of History
Considered to be the most spectacular event in the school’s cricketing arena, the Royal-Thomian has continued to live up to its reputation of being probably the most eagerly followed cricketing encounter in the schools segment, not only from dwellers within the country’s boundaries but also from various other interested individuals from all around the world.
The first encounter in this series was played in 1880 at the Galle Face Ground (Present Taj Samudra) where the Royalists managed to secure victory, since then this series has been uninterrupted and has gone one to overcome the challenges of two world wars, a civil war and has gone on to become the 2nd oldest uninterrupted cricket series in the world, after an inter collegiate match in Australia.
Due to the historic 9 run match, both schools have a unique tally as to the number of wins, with the Royalists claiming 33 victories, while the Thomians who take into consideration the above mentioned historic game as win claiming 35 victories.
These two schools have gone on to produce a number of distinguished cricketers that have proceeded to represent the country, a few of them being Ranjan Madugalle (RC), Duleep Mendis (STC), Jeevan Mendis (STC) Guy de Alwis (STC), Jehan Mubarak (RC), Asantha De Mel (RC), while also including a few notable personalities such as the first Prime Minster D.S. Senanayake (STC) and the first Executive President J.R. Jaywardene (RC) who were all part of this wonderful legacy.
The Royal – Thomian Cricket encounter is played for the coveted D.S. Senanyake Shield which is currently under the custody of the Thomians who won this encounter last in 2007.
The Royalists To Win It Back
The boys from Reid Avenue will be lead by the extremely experienced left arm spinner Devind Pathmanathan, who will be deputised by their wicket keeper Milan Abeysekara. The Royalists definitely have the edge when considering their performance this season having maintained an unbeaten run and recorded 4 outright victories. Fresher and opening batsman Hashen Ramanayake has been in top form with the bat, having scored over 700 runs for his alma mater. While Milan peaked in the last game, scoring an unbeaten 101 to take his tally to over 800 runs this season. Isuru Gunathilake can play his part with the bat, while Heshan Kumarasiri who scored a cracking century last year will look to put his experience into full use.
The bowling department will be spearheaded by Devin who his nearing his 50th scalp. However, off spinner Poorna Aluthge has been the pick of the bowlers this season with 69 wickets to his name. The experience of the Royal team is such that it consists of 9 coloursmen along with freshers Hashen and Harith Samarasinghe. Harith who is also a left armer had a match bag of 12 wickets in the mini-battle last week, having taken 8 scalps in one innings.
Chamika Karunaratne and Anupa Thilakaratne will be the only two fast bowlers in the Royal outfit, as they will try hard to take 20 wickets in usually a batsman friendly SSC pitch. Six years without the shield at Reid Avenue is quite a long time, and the team will be extremely motivated to snatch a result in their favour and bring the shield back to Royal.
Thomian Grit To Prevail
The Thomians have managed to retain the shield for an impressive six years, and will look to justify their dominance in the last five years with a victory under the captaincy of Javed Bongso. Having recorded two outright victories in the season and only one loss early last year against Richmond College, ‘the school by the sea’ has had a fairly impressive season. However, there most recent performance against St. Sebastians will be a bit worrying, as the Thomians slumped to a first innings total of 75 runs.
Bongso will be a key batsman for the Thomians having scored over 650 runs this season, leading his team mates from the front. He will be ably assisted by the all-rounder and 3rd year coloursman Madushan Ravichandrakumar, who also has bagged over 50 wickets and scored over 350 runs this season.
Having six coloursmen within their ranks, the Thomians have a strong spin quartet consisting of Ravindu Thilakarathne, Thilaksha Sumanasiri, Devin Jayasinghe and Madushan who share the bulk of the scalps this season.
Thilaksha Sumansiri has also performed impressively with the bat with 600 runs under his belt, while opener Devin Jayasinghe has also been among the runs.
The Thomians will definitely look to holding on to the D.S. Senanayake Shield for another year running, keeping the Royalists in misery with a display of ‘Thomian Grit’ which has been a significant feature especially in the games that have run down to the wire.
Party Atmosphere
The atmosphere at a Royal Thomian ‘Big Match’ is unparallel to many great sporting events. Camaraderie between the two schools is a brilliant sight. However, most people barely come only to be mere spectators of the game, as these three days are considered to be the three days of ‘pure fun’, maybe too much fun sometimes, but that is what makes the whole event all the more spectacular.
The atmosphere is so great, that there are many of the past alumni of the two schools who reside in shores afar visit the country, just to experience the game and catch up with a few old buddies.
‘Anything can happen at a Royal-Thomian’ a saying which is quite popular, illustrates the fact that however great track record a team might have before the game, the stakes are too high in this encounter for it to be taken into consideration. This is an encounter that gives the underdog that extra tooth and the warrior a sharper blade! Prepare for three days of good cricket and great memories.
ThePapare would like to wish both teams the best of luck, and hope the legacy of this wonderful sporting encounter continues.
The 134th ‘Battle of the Blues’ will be streamed live on www.thepapare.com
Interview with Royal College Captain Devin Pathmanatha
Interview with S. Thomas’ College Captain Javed Bongso
Interview with S. Thomas’ College Vice-Captain Madushan Ravichandrakumar
Interview with Royal College Coach Neil Rajapakse
Interview with Royal College Director of Cricket Dulip Somaratne
