With ten outright wins under their belt for the 2014/2015 run, the Lions from the Kandyan hills, Trinity College are in a conquest of capturing their final fortress of Royal to conclude their outstanding season run.
With a cemented position on top of the list of the league table, Trinity are in line for their third league title with one single game to go which will be played over the weekend against arch rivals Royal College.
The anecdotes of the gentlemen’s game at the school on the hills dates back the year 1906 where the game was first introduced. Ever since its inception, the sport has been around the Trinity progeny moulding students to end up being professionals in the sport. The birth of Asgiriya cricket grounds in 1920 saw another opening for the sport as all the cricketing action took place there ever since. The Trinity Anthonian cricket encounter saw its inception during the year of 1915 and it has been in existence till today with this year being the 99th episode.
Cricket in Trinity has been a pathway for many notable talents who have gone on to represent the country. Few notable mentions out of the lot are Ravi Ratnayake, Niroshan Dickwella and undoubtedly its most famous son; Kumar Sangakkara.
The past four years can be called the golden era for the sport. Trinity were crowned league title holders in 2011 under the captaincy of Akila Jayasundera and since then they have been invincible. Jayasundera’s successor, Niroshan Dickwella rallied his men to a very inimitable feat where Trinity were crowned triple champions winning the league, the limited overs tournament and the t20. In the same year, the 25 year old hoo-doo was broken as Trinity took home a big match victory.
Trinity’s 2014/15 run has been quite impressive and they deserve the due right of being the legitimate leader in the league table. Trinity’s 10 outright wins consists of wins against President’s College, Moratuwa Vidyalaya, Anuradhapura Central, Dharmapala College, Nalanda College, St. Aloysius College, St. Joseph’s College, Bandaranayaka College, Wesley College and St. Servatious College. Trinity recorded fist innings wins against Ananda College, Isipathana College and Mahinda College. Their only disappointments this season would be their outright loss to cricketing rivals St. Peters College and the first innings loss to S. Thomas’.
Exlemporary leadership by Skipper Raveen Sayer
The School season’s leading wicket taker Raveen Sayer has been an outstanding as a leader. Having picked 82 wickets already this season, he has been Trinity’s power player over the years. A fourth year Lionsman, Sayer has been the driving force behind the team contributing not only through his bowling but also chipping in with runs when the team needed him.
Speaking to ThePapare Sayer mentioned these thoughts : “We have come so far only because our team worked together as one. I have always been supported by our coaching personnel and my team mates at all times. We have one game remaining and then we come to our main focus; the Big Match. Last year we fell in unfortunate hands and had to give up the trophy but our intentions this year will be to win the encounter outright and bring home victory…”
Arjuna Jayasinghe; Trinity’s Anchor
With two centuries under his name and over 750 runs this season, Arjuna Jayasinghe is Trinity’s main man in the batting department. With a high score of 147, Arjuna Jayasinghe is at the peak of his career. Coming in as the third batsman, there had been instances where he had stood strong and batted wisely till the end of the innings.
To his support is middle order batsman Dilan Jayalath who is playing his first season in the red, gold and blue jersey and has performed beyond expectations. With a ton scored against Bandaranayaka College, Jayalath will be a key player to look forward for. The other heavyweights in the Trinity batting lineup are openers Kaveen Hiniduma and Nushan Weerasinghe.
The Duvindu Sayer Combo
Skipper Raveen Sayer’s workload this year has been reduced with Duvindu Tilekeratna’s entrance into the bowling department. Duvindu who is playing his first full complete season for Trinity has already secured 60+ wickets. Spin bowling in Trinity has always been the highlight and the two of them live up to continue that. Duvindu who has undertaken bowling duties as a spin bowler has been Trinity’s life saver at most instances aiding his skipper when the necessity arises.
The Lion’s bowling department has the services of seam bowlers Lahiru Kumara and Pramodya Abeykoon who has sparked up the stats quite a number of times. Also the up and coming young Shanogeeth Shanmuganathan has been a viable contributor with both bat and ball.
Veteran coach Sampath Perera continues office as head coach for the team. His knowledge and expertise has been the key to Trinity’s success over the past few years. This will be his 6th term since his arrival in 2010.
Trinity College Cricket is officially empowered by RateMAX LLC which is a multinational TC/IP connecting company who have come forward in sponsoring the 1st XI outfit.
Final Words
Trinity College Cricket has had yet another glorious year on paper. With their top spot cemented, they would be opting to try their luck at the other formats which are the limited tourney and the t20 respectively. Above all the fame and the feats, their penultimate motive would be to win the 99th Big Match encounter which will be played during mid-March.
