The 79th Battle of the Saints between St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College will take place this weekend at the P. Saravanamuththu Stadium in customary fashion.
The Peterites have been tagged as the favorites going in to the 79th encounter, however the Josephians with some sterling performances towards the end of the season have the fire power to provide a good battle.
St. Peters College after a convincing win last year managed to lay claim to the prestigious Rev. Fr. Maurice. J.Le Goc Memorial Trophy.
The Chief Guest will be Mr. Ranmore Martinesz who played for St. Peter’s College from 1983 – 1986 & captained college in 1986. He is currently an ICC Panel umpire.
History behind the Joe- Pete
St. Josephs College lead the tally of wins during the 78 encounters with 12 wins while the Peterites with last years win under Shehan Fernando have 9 under their belt. Josephians last won in 2008 under Ruwantha Fernandopulle
The Peterites
The Peterites this season have played 15 games and have managed to win 6 outright wins while losing a solitary game to St. Sebastian’s.
Leading from the front for the Petes is their skipper and all round Dushan Hemantha who has done yeoman service for his side right throughout the season. Dushan has been in the forefront with both bat and ball claiming 40 wickets and gathering more than 700 runs this season.
In the batting department the Petes will have the services of senior batsmen Lahiru Milantha, Sasheen Fernando and Janith Liyanage all of whom have scored more than 500 runs this season with Milantha and Fernando scoring in access of 600 runs.
The bowling department has been spearheaded by their trusted left arm spin bowler, Julian de Zylva who has been in tremendous form for the Peterites grabbing 58 wickets this season. He will be their go to man during the two day encounter while they will also rely heavily on their skipper and paceman Dushan Hemantha.
The Josephians
St. Josephs College after a winless 3rd term managed to notch up two outright wins on a trot during the first term in the 14 matches played this season and have managed to remain unbeaten.
Skipper Sachin Hewawasam has been their savior with both bat and ball running through 42 wickets while accumulating 446 runs during the season. Similar to his counterpart, (Dushan) Sachin has been in the forefront of the Josephian progress playing a hand in both departments.
Their key player however is senior man and opener Sadeera Samarawickrama. The experienced opening batsman playing in his 4th year has so far amassed 641 runs during the season. He has another able batsman in Dylan Fernandopullai who is currently the highest run getter this season with 660 runs.
In the bowling department apart from their skipper’s expertise, right arm off spinner Moditha Weerasinghe and Priyamal Perera have done justice taking over 40 wickets this season.
The Limited Overs Cricket Encounter will be held on the 9th of Match, 2013 at the R. Premadasa Stadium
The Squads:
St. Peter’s College: Dushan Hemantha (Captain) Juliyan De Silva (V.Captain) Lahiru Malintha, Shasheen Fernando, Janith Liyanage, Jeson Buultjens, Kavinda De Thissera, Chemila Obesekere, Ranitha Liyanarachchi, Chrishan Fernando, Oshan Karunarathna, Chandula Jayamanne, Haritha Dias, Sudil Dissanayaka, Kalana Ranjana, Shahan Nanayakkara, Dinith Thimdya, Nimatha Peris & Naveen Darshana
St. Joseph’s College: Sachien Hewawasam (Captain), Arvindh Fernando (Vice Captain), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dylan Fernandopulle, Priyamal Perera, Pathum Madusanka, Yashan Samarasinghe, Fabian Fernando, Rajindu Rodrigo, Moditha Weerasinghe, Aravinda Akurugoda, Damith Weerasinghe, Kushan Weerakkody, Shehan Perera, Nirvana Abeysekara, Kalpa Ravihara & Trishan Tanuja
