All roads will lead to the historic Test venue, P.Sara Oval grounds on 4th and 5th of March where the 82nd Battle of the Saints between St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College will unfold with usual pageantry. Two fun-filled and exciting days of cricket can be expected out of these two evenly balanced Catholic schools in Colombo even though St. Peter’s College have a slight edge due to their recent purple-patch leading up to the ‘Big Match’. But the St. Joseph’s outfit is perfectly capable of turning tables and producing a result after 4 years.
History of the Encounter
The two prestigious institutions will battle hard for the Rev.Fr Maurice Legoc trophy which started way back in 1933 with St. Joseph’s College winning the inaugural clash. Rev.Fr Maurice Legoc was the rector of both the institutions and the trophy for the ‘Big’ match is named in his honor. He first served at St. Joseph’s College and then went on to become the first rector at St. Peter’s College.
Robert Fernando led St. Joseph’s College in the 1st encounter while George Jayaweera led St. Peter’s College. Eight onematches have been played between these two great cricketing schools and St. Joseph’s College lead the tally with 12 wins while St. Peter’s College have won on 9 occasions.
Sixty one matches have concluded as drawn encounters. St. Joseph’s College last won the 74th Battle of the Saints under the leadership of Ruwantha Fernandopulle in 2008 while St. Peter’s College won the 78th Battle of the Saints under Shehan Fernando’s captaincy in 2012.
The highest score in the ‘Battle of the Saints’ series is by St Joseph’s when they made 382 in 1982 under the leadership of Ken Serpanchy while the highest Peterite score was in 1938 under Percy Perera where they accumulated 345 runs.
St Peter’s were bowled out for a paltry score of 36 in 1972 and incidentally that remains as the lowest score in the series and St. Joseph’s lowest score was 56 in 1938. The highest individual score of the series is 204 by Clive Inman in 1954 and the best bowling figures for an inning is 9 for 41 by Shenal Warnakula of St Joseph’s in 1997.
St. Peter’s College
Led by the experienced off-spinner and 4th year coloursman, Vinu Mohotty, St. Peter’s College has had a superb season recording 6 outright wins and they are one of the few schools to remain unbeaten as well. Mohotty and his partner-in-crime, Taneesha Weerakoon have brought many strong batting lineups down on to their knees as they have shared over 155 wickets this season. If these two start raising the number on the wickets’ column, St. Joseph’s will have lot to ponder.
Photo Album – St. Peter’s College Cricket Team 2015/16
The inexperienced yet the flashing opening pair of Anishka Perera and Inesh Fernando have got their team off to blazing starts many times this season and they will be itching to continue the trend this weekend. The two pillars of the Peteritebatting are vice-captain Hashan Wanasekara and Sri Lanka U19 representative, Lakshina Rodrigo. The latter reached the magical 1000-run mark in the final game before the ‘Big Match’ while Wanasekara is on the verge of 1000 runs and he would love to achieve it in front of a passionate Peterite mob.
The fast-bowling trio, Ravindu Silva, Randel Senevirathne and Manelkar De Silva will be a handful on the P.Sara deck and they are expected to provide early breakthroughs for their alma mater. They have not had a successful season as the team from Bambalapitiya opted to go with only 2 genuine seamers in most games. According to reliable sources, last year’s Captain, Chandula Jayamanne has been dropped from the ‘Big Match’ team this year due to poor performances throughout the season.
Probable XI – Vinu Mohotty (Captain), Inesh Fernando, Anishka Perera, Hashan Wanasekara, Manelkar De Silva,Ranmith Jayasena, Taneesha Weerakoon, Ravindu Silva, Randel Senevirathne, Sadish Pathiranage.
St. Joseph’s College
The stylish top-order batsman and last year’s ‘Big Match’ centurion, Sandaruwan Rodrigo will lead the Blue & White boys from Maradana. Rodrigo had an average season with the bat scoring close to 550 runs but he is expected to bat with more responsibility in the all-important clash this weekend.
The Josephians registered 6 outright wins this season but the two setbacks against Royal and St. Benedict’s dampened their campaign. The batting failure leading up to the ‘Big Match’ prompted the Josephian think-tank to drop their vice-captain Kevin Corteling for this all-important clash and include in-form fresh faces.
Photo Album – St. Joseph’s College Cricket Team 2015/16
Left-handed openers, Revan Kelly’s success with the bat will be very vital for the Josephian chances of regaining the trophy after 8 years. He is the top run-scorer for the Darley Road boys with over 730 runs this season. Fast-bowling all-rounder and future Sri Lanka star, Jehan Daniel will need to shine in both his disciplines equally. He did not play many games due to O/L exams and national duty but he has a niche for performing on the ‘big’ stage.
The left-arm spin twins, Malshan Rodrigo and Harin Cooray have been lethal throughout the season as they ran through many sides to accumulate over 140 wickets this season. Malshan excelled with the bat as well, scoring over 500 runs including the only century for the Josephians this season.
Probable XI – Sandaruwan Rodrigo (Captain), Revan Kelly, Nipun Sumanasinghe, Jehan Daniel, Pahan Perera, NeranGoonathilake, Shewon Fonseka, Malshan Rodrigo, Charuka Raveen, Harin Cooray, Ruchira Ekanayake.
Last words and prediction
With the first-innings restricted to 60 overs per side, (since 2000) both these teams will have an equal opportunity to produce a noteworthy team act and win the game. The recent club games at P.Sara Oval produced mammoth scores even though the bowlers enjoyed the lively surface. After taking all into consideration, the odds are in favour of an entertaining draw.
