It doesn’t get any bigger than the Royal-Thomian Cricket Encounter as ‘March Madness’ reaches its peak on 7th, 8th and 9th March with the 140th Battle of the Blues set to take place at SSC Grounds, Colombo.
Royal-Thomian History
The ‘Battle of the Blues’ is one of the most celebrated school-level sports encounters in Sri Lanka and has a rich and colourful history, spanning in excess of a century.
It is also distinguished for holding the honour of being the second longest uninterrupted cricket series played in the world, second only to the annual encounter played between St. Peter’s College, Adelaide and Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, Australia, which began just a year earlier.
Live – Royal College vs S. Thomas’ College – 140th Battle of the Blues
The overall win-loss tally between the two schools at present stands at 35 wins for Royal and 34 wins for S. Thomas’; the highly debated match in 1885 where Royal College was all out for 9 runs, with no play on the second day, is considered a win by S. Thomas’ and a draw by Royal.
S. Thomas’ last tasted victory back in 2007 under the leadership of Ashan Peiris, while Royal’s most recent win came when they won a thriller in 2016 under Geeshath Panditharathne, hence they hold the Rt. Hon. D.S. Senanayake Memorial Shield.
Royal College
Despite playing in the division two, Royal boast of several junior national cricketers and a balanced outfit, who can compete against any opposition.
Throughout the season, they have remained unbeaten, winning five games outright, however all those wins have come against division two sides. Skipper Kavindu Madarasinghe will be looking to play the anchor role in the middle order as he averages over 50 after having featured in only 9 matches this season (he missed out on several matches due to a knee injury).
Visit: MARCH MADNESS
Last year’s captain Pasindu Sooriyabandara has been the mainstay with the bat this season. Playing his fourth Big Match, Sooriyabandara is the most experienced player from both teams. Elegant ‘Soori’ is a treat to watch and has notched up close to 800 runs at an impressive average of 86.66.
Kamil Mishara, a Sri Lanka U19 representative, is a talented left-handed batsman, who has opened the batting for Royal College this year. He slammed a record-breaking 250, Royal’s highest in inter-school’s cricket, against Ananda College earlier in the season.
On the bowling front, the Royalists will rely heavily on their freshers, left-arm orthodox spinner Gishan Balasooriya and off-spinner Kawshan Kulasooriya. They have combined to take over 75 wickets this season. Seam bowlers such as Kavindu Pathirathna and Lahiru Madushanka may be quite handy on the SSC surface too.
The Reid Avenue team will be without two of their key coloursmen for the all-important Big Match in Thevindu Seneratne (dengue) and Manula Perera (lack of form).
Royal College Batting Stats
| Name | M | I | 100s | 50s | HS | Total | Avg. |
| Pasindu Sooriyabandara | 11 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 202* | 780 | 86.66 |
| Ahan Wickramasinghe | 12 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 135* | 651 | 54.25 |
| Isiwara Dissanayake | 13 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 113 | 574 | 35.88 |
| Kamil Mishara | 9 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 250 | 513 | 51.3 |
| Bhagya Dissanayake | 11 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 142 | 343 | 34.3 |
| Thevindu Senarathne | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 100* | 330 | 41.25 |
| Kavindu Madarasinghe | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 104* | 265 | 51.2 |
Royal College Bowling Stats
| Name | Overs | Runs | Wickets | 5W | Best | Avg |
| Gishan Balasooriya | 234.1 | 583 | 42 | 3 | 6/29 | 13.88 |
| Kawshan Kulasooriya | 239.5 | 675 | 36 | 2 | 7/71 | 18.75 |
| Manula Perera | 131.4 | 307 | 26 | 2 | 5/28 | 11.8 |
| Lahiru Madushanka | 141.4 | 435 | 21 | 1 | 5/37 | 20.71 |
| Kamil Mishara | 104.5 | 305 | 19 | 1 | 6/31 | 16.05 |
| Kavindu Pathirathne | 102.2 | 346 | 11 | – | 3/14 | 31.45 |
| Dimal Wijesekara | 50 | 154 | 5 | 1 | 5/40 | 30.8 |
Royal College Squad – Isiwara Dissanayake, Kamil Mishara, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Kavindu Madarasinghe (Captain/WK), Bhagya Dissanayake, Tithira Weerasinghe, Dimal Wijesekara, Kavindu Pathirathne, Lahiru Madushanka, Kawshan Kulasooriya, Gishan Balasooriya.
S. Thomas’ College
One of the best all-round schoolboy teams in the country, S. Thomas’ College has had a very successful 2018/19 season, recording 6 outright wins in 17 matches to remain unbeaten in the division 1 tournament.
Read more: 140th Battle of the Blues – Batting Records
The Thomians are led by the aggressive left-handed opening batsman and wicket-keeper Sithara Hapuhinna. He tops the batting charts with 824 runs at an impressive 43.4 average and a destructive 90.8 strike rate. Hapuhinna has made two centuries at the top of the order this season, while the stylish Shalin De Mel remains the second-highest run-scorer with 664 runs.
Sri Lanka U19 representative, Ravindu De Silva is one of the key middle order batsmen for the School by the Sea, averaging 50+ in 10 matches and amassing close to 500 runs.
All-rounder and the ‘X factor’ in the Thomian lineup, Kalana Perera will be the player to watch out for, as he has taken over 75 wickets with his left-arm pace over the season. He has even contributed with the bat, smashing over 400 runs in the middle order.
Last year’s captain and the team’s lead spinner, Dellon Peiris has also taken over 70 wickets with a best of 7 for 26 against Wesley, while leg-spinner Dilmin Ratnayake with 39 scalps and left-arm spinner Shannon Fernando with 38 wickets are the other two bowlers from whom the Thomians will be expecting much.
Read more: 140th Battle of the Blues – Bowling, Fielding and Wicketkeeping Records
Due to the injury to one of their key players in Manisha Rupasinghe, the team management have decided to hand a maiden call-up to the 15-year old Ryan Fernando.
S. Thomas’ College Batting Stats
| Name | M | I | 100s | 50s | HS | Total | Avg. |
| Sithara Hapuhinna | 16 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 142 | 824 | 43.44 |
| Shalin De Mel | 16 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 151 | 664 | 34.90 |
| Ravindu De Silva | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 122 | 486 | 54.00 |
| Kalana Perera | 15 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 108 | 439 | 23.10 |
| Umayanga Suwaris | 14 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 107 | 412 | 27.50 |
| Kishan Munasinghe | 17 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 361 | 21.20 |
| Dellon Peiris | 16 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 54 | 331 | 22.1 |
S. Thomas’ College Bowling Stats
| Name | Overs | Runs | Wickets | 5W | Best | Avg |
| Kalana Perera | 307.5 | 917 | 76 | 4 | 8/01 | 12.07 |
| Dellon Peiris | 384.0 | 999 | 74 | 3 | 7/26 | 13.50 |
| Dilmin Rathnayake | 171.5 | 575 | 39 | 2 | 5/36 | 14.74 |
| Shannon Fernando | 223.2 | 474 | 36 | 0 | 4/40 | 13.17 |
| Kishan Munasinghe | 128.0 | 328 | 15 | 0 | 2/03 | 21.87 |
| Thevin Eriyagama | 77.0 | 208 | 13 | 1 | 5/09 | 16.00 |
| Shalin De Mel | 50.0 | 177 | 8 | 0 | 2/22 | 22.13 |
S. Thomas’ College Squad – Sithara Hapuhinna (Captain/WK), Shalin De Mel, Ryan Fernando, Kishan Munasinghe, Ravindu De Silva, Yohan Perera, Umayanga Suwaris, Kalana Perera, Dellon Peiris, Thevin Eriyagama, Dilmin Rathnayake, Shannon Fernando
Final Say
Royal will definitely rely heavily on their batting firepower to retain the shield, while S. Thomas’ will fancy their chances in regaining the shield after 12 years, especially after the season they’ve had. Overall, if the match goes on for the full course of nine sessions, you can be sure that there will most likely be a result.
All the action from the 140th Battle of the Blues will be brought to you Live on ThePapare.com, Dialog Television Channel 1 & 77 and MyTV on the 7th, 8th and 9th of March from the SSC Grounds from 9.15am onwards. Live score updates, match reports and photos will be available on each of the 3 days of play on ThePapare.com.
