Only behind the prestigious Royal-Thomian, the Royal-Wesley Cricket encounter is the second oldest inter-school rivalry in the island.
This year, the narrative turns its 125th chapter, as Royal College and Wesley College will battle it out for the Frank Gunasekara Shield on the 16th and the 17th of February at Campbell Park.
The first encounter between the two schools was played back in 1893 at San Sebastian Hill, Hultsdorf, home of the Royalists. The hosts were led by F.S. De Silva while Percy de Bruin captained the visitors. One of the umpires was John Harward, then principal of Royal College. The Royalists won the inaugural encounter by 53 runs.
Tally
Since then, this age old rivalry has seen the two institutions playing each other on 124 occasions. The only break in the series came in 1943 when the grounds of both schools were taken over by the British during the Second World War. According to the History of Royal College (1985-2010) book, Royal leads the tally with 50 wins to Wesley’s 22 while 52 have ended without a result.
The Frank Gunasekara Shield
The shield presented during this encounter is named after a famous Ceylonese Senator and old Royalist Sir Frank Gunasekara, who was the Deputy President of the Senate of Ceylon in 1948. The shield was first awarded in 1969 with Wesley emerging victorious under the leadership of Amaresh Rajaratnam. The result was made possible due to sporting declarations by both sides. Batting first, Wesley scored 260 for 9 while Royal replied with 207 for 7. With a lead of 53 runs in the first innings, Wesley declared at 105 for 8, setting the Royalists a target of 158. The game subsequently ended in a thrilling finish as the Royalists were bowled out for 148 in the last over of the day, giving Wesley a 9 run win.
However their reign was short lived, as Royal won it back in the following year. Wesley were forced to wait another 43 years to taste victory, which they did in 2012 under the captaincy of Ashen Fonseka. The Royalists are the current holders of the shield, having won it under the captaincy of Harith Samarasinghe in 2015.
Watch Live: Royal College vs Wesley College – 125th Annual Cricket Encounter
Centenary Encounter – 1993
The Royal-Wesley centenary encounter was played as a three-day affair at the P. Sara Oval in 1993. The Royalists were led by Gamini Perera while the Wesleyites were captained by Tehran Rasool. Batting first, Wesley were bowled out for 103 runs with N. Rajan claiming 5 for 20 and Gamini Perera taking 3 for 37. In reply, the boys from Reid Avenue posted a mammoth total of 411 for 6 with the skipper himself scoring an unbeaten 152. C. Liyanage, who played second fiddle, agonizingly fell short of his century for 99. The match ended within two days when Wesley were bowled out for 112 in their second innings, giving the Royalists an emphatic innings and 196 run victory. N. Rajan’s brilliant bowling earned him a match bag of 10 for 43.
Recap of the last decade
The drawn encounter in 2008 was best remembered for Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s blistering 186. His powerful strokeplay saw the ball reaching all corners of Campbell Park.
Followed by the draw in 2009, the Royalists triumphed in 2010 under the captaincy of Bhanuka Rajapaksa at Campbell Park. In reply to Royal’s 222, Wesley were shot out for a paltry 48 with Manisha Tantrigoda taking 6 for 18. Fourteen year old fresher, Devind Pathmanathan, took 4 for 11. Forced to follow on, the Wesleyites were bowled out for 50 in the second essay. This time, left-armer Tantrigoda claimed 4 for 23 and a match bag of 10 for 41. The innings and 124 run win by Royal was their first win over Wesley after 1995.
In 2011, the game ended in a thrilling draw at Reid Avenue. Responding to Royal’s 115, the visitors made 209. With a deficit of 94 runs, Milan Abeysekera revived the home team with 81 runs as Royal scored 256. A target of 163 saw Ashen Fonseka (43) and Ashail Kariyawasam spearheading (25) the charge. However, Pathmanathan 4 for 26 forced wickets to fall at regular intervals as Wesley were subdued on 125/9 at close.
A long, winless streak of 43 years finally ended in 2012 when Wesley won under the captaincy of Ashen Foneseka. S. Thawfeeq (5 for 17) and Sachin Jayawardene (3 for 20) made inroads to bowl out Royal for 89. In reply, Wesley’s 239 was led by the skipper himself, who made 88. Ashail Kariyawasam scored 70. Pathmanathan, Royal’s stand-in captain took 7 for 77. Playing for survival, Royal’s second essay failed to reach expectations as they were bowled out for 168. Abeysekera grappled with 44 while Sachin Jayawardene stepped up to take 6 for 51. Wesley reached the 19-run target without losing a wicket to seal a historic win against their rivals from Reid Avenue.
Following a survival effort by Wesley in 2013 to save the match and another stalemate in 2014, the Royalists regained the prestigious shield in 2015. Their victory at Reid Avenue was remembered for the left arm spin duo, skipper Harith Samarasinghe and Lasith Embuldeniya claiming 14 wickets between them. Batting first, Royal made 235/8 before bowling out Wesley for a paltry 93. Following on, Wesley made 172 giving Royal a 3- run target which was comfortably chased down by the home side. The convincing 9-wicket win saw the shield returning to Reid Avenue after 3 years.
In 2016, the affair at Campbell Park saw domination by Royal which was countered by a thrilling response by Wesley. Skipper Geeshath Panditharatne’s 112 propelled the visitors 279/8 before Wesley were struggling at stumps on 83/6. On day two, came Helitha Bambarenda (67) and Movin Subasinghe (42) took the hosts to 240. Royal’s sporty declaration at 173/6 gave the Wesleylites a target of 213 in 29 overs. Led by their deputy and opener Zenith Wickramanayake’s 47, Wesley were cruising towards victory, reaching 139/3 in 19 overs. Needing 74 more in the last 10, the Royalists were nettled, until Himesh Ramanayake’s magic sent skipper Andrew Parais back for 21. But youngster Thilina Perera propelled his way, to a possible win for the home side. Ramanayake turned back the favour for the Royalists, claiming danger man Bambarenda’s wicket as Thiran Dhanapala took a magnificent diving catch, providing much needed inspiration for a seemingly dejected side. Finally Embuldeniya struck at a vital juncture to dismiss Perera for a terrific 85 when Wesley required 39 off 3 overs. Turning the tides in favour of Royal, Ramanyake forced Subasinghe to leave, possibly the last straw for them. At one point, Wesley was on top when they needed 90 off 12 overs with 7 wickets in hand but it was Ramanayake’s tight bowling with ideal variations in pace and bounce that commanded Royal towards their goal in this thrilling finale. Wesley ended on 193/7 at close.
Last year’s encounter at SSC, saw a tame draw. In the limelight, Pasindu Sooriyabandara made 138 for Royal.
Few highlights from the past
- In 1905, C. A. Perera of Wesley made 108 in the encounter, becoming the first ever opponent to score a century against Royal.
- Wesleyite Danesh Dissanayake scored centuries against Royal in 1988 and 1989. His father Edmund Dissanayake too scored a ton in 1946. They remain the only father-son duo to score centuries against Royal.
- The record for the highest individual score is held by the former Royal skipper Chulaka Amarasinghe who scored an unbeaten 207 in 1983. His innings remains the highest score by a Royalist against any opponent.
- Roshan David’s 199 in 1990 stands as the best for the Wesleyites. David’s innings also happens to equal the highest score by any opponent against Royal in a 1st XI school cricket fixture.
- The best bowling performance is held by Wesleyite M.L Warish who got 9 for 17 in 1897. For Royal, the record goes to P.B. Herath, who took 9 for 45 in 1907.
- Royal’s highest total of 463 for 9 which came in 1930 remains the highest score at their home Reid Avenue and the highest score by them against any opponent. The highest total for Wesley against Royal is 368 which came in 1990.
At the historic juncture, Royalist Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Wesleyite Thisuraka Akmeemana be leading their respective sides. The Royalists will be looking to hold on to the celebrated shield which they earned after a long wait while the Wesleyites will be hoping to do their utmost to bring it back to Campbell Park.
The 125th Royal-Wesley encounter will be shown LIVE AND EXCLUSIVELY on www.thepapare.com
