Trinity-St. Antony’s centenary big match could be anyone’s game 

By Shamseer Jaleel 

The centenary big match between Trinity College and St. Antony’s College will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium today and tomorrow. 

The encounter is played for the John Halangoda Trophy with Trinity holding the edge over their rivals but it could be anyone’s game as the importance of this centenary encounter is too big. The St. Anthony’s Katugastota lads though will be underdogs, something which might help them as it ensures that they won’t face any unwanted pressure. But the hills have seen heavy rain in the evening over the last few days and this could be a major threat to this encounter’s final outcome. Former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will grace the occasion. 

Both schools have produced some outstanding cricketers who went on to represent the country. Notable representatives of the Katugastota lads are Mahesh Gunathilake, Bernard Perera, Ruwan Kalpage, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sajith Fernando, Marlon Von Heart and Piyal Wijetunge. Nilantha Ratnayake, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Ravi Ratnayake, Lahiru Kumara, Niroshan Dickwella, Sachith Pathirana and Kumar Sangakkara have brought fame to the Lions by representing the national outfit. 

The bowling figures of Sudanga Fernando (Trinity) of 10 for 38 in 1997 still stands as a record, with him taking all the wickets in an innings. The batting record of 176 held by A.C.M. Lafir (St Anthony’s) is untouched to date with his classy drives all over the park a few decades ago still a vivid memory. He remains the greatest legend to represent either school closely followed by Sangakkara in the recent past. 

Trinity are led by Sanogeeth Shanmuganathan, who created history by becoming the first cricketer from his school to score back-to-back tallies of 1,000 runs. Three of the players from the Lions are representing the Sri Lanka youth outfit. They are skipper Shanogeeth, Hasitha Boyagoda and pacie Thisara Dilshan. 

The Antonians are led by fifth-year player Mohamed Alfer. The elegant batsman scored one century and three half-centuries this season. He is well supported by opener Sunera Jayasinghe, Theeksha Gunasingha and Mohamed Absar, who prop up the Antonians’ batting line-up. The bowling attack is led by left-arm spinner Sandaruwan Dharmaratne supported by Virajitha Jayasinghe, Janidu Himsara and Gihan Achintha. 

Known as the Battle of the Blues, it is the second-oldest big match in the Central Hills which started in 1914. Trinity leads the series with 23 wins to the 12 of St. Anthony’s College. Sixty-four games have ended in draws. The last Antonian victory came in 1992 while Trinity earned their last win in 2013.

Trinity team: Sanogeeth Shanmuganathan (Captain), Hasitha Boyagoda, Thisaru Dilshan, Hashintha Jayasuriya, Trevon Percival, Thiagaraja Bhanugoban, Poorna Wanasekera, Chanuka Bandara, Vimukthi Nethumal, Shoaib Salahudeen, Avishka Senadheera, Bhatiya Dissanaike, Himanga Suriyampola, Ruvin Peiris, Narendranath Ashok Kumar, Abishek Anandakumar and Kalana de Zoysa 

Officials: Kavinda Jayasuriya (Coach) and Dhammika Kulatunga (Master-in-Charge) 

St. Anthony’s College: Mohamed Alfer (Captain) Sunera Jayasinghe, Virajitha Jayasinghe, Theeksha Gunasinghe, Dion Stouter, Sandaruwan Dharmaratne, Janidu Himsara, Sateesh Wickremaarachchi, Nipun Ashok, Mohamed Absar, Mohamed Kameel, Gihan Achintha, Tamashana Abeykoon, Mohmed Alawi, Prabath Sachin, Kevin Dhananjan and Tharindu Hewage 

Officials: Sampath Perera (Coach), Lenin Jayasinghe (Master-in-Charge)