S.Thomas’ College failed in their efforts to bring back the Shield at the 135th Battle of the Blues which they lost the year after being in a commanding position at the end of day one. However at the 136th encounter the much more experienced ‘School by the Sea’ outfit will be hell bent on making those wrongs right on the 12th,13th & 14th of March at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Bit of History
To write a bit of history and do justice about a college which started cricket in the 1870’s is almost an impossible task. S.Thomas’ has been a breeding ground for many of Sri Lanka’s great cricketers from the Ceylonese days before gaining Independence. A.C.Amath, D.A. De Saram, V.G.Prins, Michael Tissera, B.G.Reid among others to captain Ceylon while Anura Tenakoon one of the most technically gifted, Duleep Mendis one of the most destructive batsman Sri Lanka has ever seen & Tissera also captained the Sri Lanka in cricket. Upeka Fernando another aggressive batsman captained the Sri Lanka U19 team in 98/99 while in recent times Jeewan Mendis, a hugely gifted player in school days made his way to the ODI team and Kaushal Silva who opens the batting for Sri Lanka in Tests is also a proud product of the School by the Sea.
Season thus far
S.Thomas’ have played 16 matches this season winning six out right matches- including St.Anthony’s, St.John’s, Dharmasoka, President, Wesley and Mahinda and six on first innings- Prince of Wales, St.Benedict’s, St.Joseph’s, St.Peter’s, Nalanda, and Trinity with bad weather denying outright wins against Nalanda and Prince of Wales. S.Thomas’ got off to a bad start in the season losing to Richmond and Thurstan on first innings but since had a string of success.
“We have worked hard. Played 16 matches won 6 outright. Would have won 10 had it not been for bad weather. Compared to last season we have performed well this season so far.” Thomian Coach Dinesh Kumarasinghe mentioned at the beginning.
Dinesh Kumarasinghe who took over the side after the loss in the 134th Battle of the Blues, is in his second stint at the S Thomas. In his first stint he coached from 1988 to 2003 where he guided the team to three Battle of the Blues victories in ’88, ’97 and ’99 and a Lemonade Trophy Limited Overs win as well. He started from where he left off guiding the Thomian outfit to the All Island T20 Championship and becoming Runners-Up in the Limited Overs tournament last year.
Key Players
Batting would revolve around all-rounder Chenutha Wickramasinghe who has been a revelation this season for the boys in blue & black scoring 800 runs in 14 matches at an average of 44.61 including 2 centuries and 6 half centuries while picking up 14 at an average of 10. He scored only 76 runs in 8 matches last season. Hard hitting opening batsman Ravindu Kodituwakku and Captain Helakamal Nanayakkara has also scored 600 plus runs with Yohan Mendis(436), Nipuna Gamage(540), Sachitha Jayathilaka(405). The Thomians will solely miss Ravindu’s opening partner in crime Rashmika Opatha who has given them blistering starts in the early half of the season. Opatha injured his knee while on Sri Lanka U19 duty against the visiting Bangladesh U19.
In the bowling department all eyes again would be on Tharindu Rathnayaka who bowls from both hands. Tharindu who made a blistering match winning 70 in the one day encounter, has taken 82 wickets this season. He is ably supported by his spin partners Sajana De Silva(21), Jayathilaka( 28) and opening bowlers Shenal De Silva, Helakamal who has taken 29 & 25 wickets respectively.
As a wicket keeper Navodh Fernando bettered a fresher’s record with 38 dismissals including 29 catches, 8 stumpings and 1 runout, a record previously held by Sachin Peiris.
“We have a good batting lineup, a very good fielding unit and has some variation in the bowling department.” Kumarasinghe talked about his team’s abilities.
Full Squad
Helakamal Nanayakkara – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Medium Fast
Nipuna Gamage – Left Hand Batsman-Right Arm Off Spin
Chenutha Wickramasinghe – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Medium Fast
Sachitha Jayathilekke – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Leg Spin
Lahiru Opatha – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Yohan Mendis – Left Hand Batsman
Tharindu Rathnayake – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin/Left Arm Leg Spin
Ravindu Kodituwakku – Right Hand Batsman
Navodh Fernando – Left Hand Batsman – WicketKeeper
Sajana De Silva – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Danush Peiris – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Medium Fast
Dulanja Silva – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Medium Fast
Head Coach – Mr. Dinesh Kumarasinghe
Helakamal Nanayakkara – Captain
Dinesh Kumarasinghe – STC Coach (136th Battle of the Blues)
