Dates have been changed for the Trinity College vs St.Anthony’s College Cricket Encounter. This year’s game is going to be the 104th. The big match was to be played on the 24th and 25th of March it has now been fixed for 21st and 22nd of April at Katugastota. The limited-over fixture between these two teams which will be played for the 41st occasion this year will be played on 29th April at Asgiriya earlier this game was fixed for 1st of April.
Both sides are blessed with talented players and have given their best this sason. Every player is expected to make an important contribution by playing the gamein good spirit and fairness.
This big match which is known as the Hill Country Battle of the Blues the leading annual cricket Big Match of the hill country. Since 1914. It is considered to be sixth oldest big match. This time performance wise both sides are equal, but anything can happen. This is the sixth oldest big match in the country.
This game is contested for the John Halangoda memorial trophy, which was introduced in 2005 in memory of the former Trinity College cricketer and coach who later became the coach of St. Anthony’s College and guided them to a win in 1948. In the series Trinity College leads the overall tally with 23 wins while St. Anthony’s College has won 11 and 69 drawn. The one day will be for Sir Richard Aluwihare trophy.
Trinity’s last win came under the captaincy of Niroshan Dickwella in 2012 where they broke a 25-year hoodoo to win by an innings and one run. The Antonians are still to win an encounter this century their last one coming in 1992 under the captaincy of Umesh de Alwis.
It is the Trinitians who have dominated the series in the early years to such an extent that they won the ‘Big’ match a record eleven times in a row from 1918 to 1928.
The trophy is awarded to the team that manages to win the match by means of an outright win or failing that, a first innings win. St. Anthony’s College are the current holders of the trophy after their first innings win in 2019 as they managed to restrict Trinity College to 173 after posting 298 for the loss of eight wickets.
The first encounter was played at the Bogambara ground in March 1914 where the Antonians won. Trinity won the next match. From 1918 to 1929, during World War I, the premises of St. Anthony’s College (presently St. Sylvester’s College) were occupied by the British Army. As a result, Antonian cricket was hampered and they lost to Trinity 11 times consecutively. Recalling memories of the Trinity-Antonian game of 1986, which the Trinitians won by seven wickets to break a 35-year hoodoo makes interesting reading.
That year the Trinitians were led by TP Weerasuriya and the Antonians by Rienzie Perera. This great win for the Trinitians would not have been possible if not for the sporty and challenging declaration made by the Antonian skipper Rienzie Perera and the winning side was coached by the famous Royalist Shaw Willson.
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