The game which was played in the back garden of the then Colombo Academy under the watchful eyes of Sir Ashley Walker who not only introduced the sport to the academy but also played a major role in the introduction of the fixture against S. Thomas’ College which was then situated in Mutwal.
Bit of History
Sir Walker who was a Cricketer himself was considered the father of Cricket of the Colombo academy now Royal College.
Speaking of the products of Royal College to Sri Lanka Cricket names such as the Lieverz brothers, the De Seram brother, Ranjan Madugalle are a few cricketers who have not only donned the test cap but have made invalid contributions to the nations sport. In more recent times Jehan Mubarak, Kusal Perera and Kithruwan Vithanage have made a name for themselves in the domestic as well as the international arena.
Season thus far
Royal College have recorded 7 outright wins out of the 16 matches played, one more than their counter parts from the school by the sea. Having lost to St. Peters College after many years being the only setback for the Royalists, they have enjoyed a very successful run overall. The highlights however is that the team was able to record 3 outright wins in the last 4 games played, evidently peaking at the correct time ahead of the big game this weekend.
Coaching
Under the watchful eyes of Sri Lankan Cricketer and Club coach Avishka Gunawardane the team seems to be in very good form and seem to be playing a good breed of cricket clearly showing that the Sri Lankan Lion’s experience and knowledge has brushed off on these youngsters.
Key Players
In the batting arsenal the hero for Royal on many occasions has been fresher, Navin Nimesh who has bagged-up 911 runs during the season being supported by top order batsmen Geeshath Panditharatne and Hasitha Samarasinghe while the skipper has been able to put in the long handle in the middle order with support from Randev Pathirana who have all scored over 500 runs during the season.
Lasith Ambuldeniya constantly worked his left arm magic capturing over 55 wickets having being supported by Harith Samarasinghe who had tied down the runs from one end after the damage had been made by the new ball by past Sri Lankan fast bowler and coach Champaka Ramanayake’s son Himesh Ramanayake who has constantly been a threat to the opposing batsmen.
With a balanced line up the Royal outfit seems very strong and spectators can only expect the highest quality of cricket if you’re planning on heading down to the SSC to “watch the match”.
Full squad
Harith Samarasinghe (Captain)
Geeshath Panditharatne
Hasitha Samarasinghe
Thiran Dhanapala
Randev Pathirana
Umesh Sooriyabandara
Lasith Ambuldeniya
Navin Nimesh
Helitha Vithanage
Shan Tennakoon
Malith Kariyawasam
Chandula Weliwita
Duvindu Hettiarahchi
Ronuka Jayawardane
