‘A century of friendly rivalry’
(L-R) Old Trinitians Sports Club President Kumar Dias, Trinity College Cricket Foundation President Nilantha Ratnayake, Trinity College Principal Andrew Fowler-Watt, St. Anthony's College Rector Rev Fr. Henry Bernard Wijeratne, Old Antonians Cricket Wing President Asela Herath, Old Antonians Cricket Wing Member Ranjith Peiris and Centenary Match Committee President Chandika Jayawardena.
The much awaited Centenary Cricket encounter between Trinity College Kandy and St. Anthony’s College Katugastota will be played under the title of ‘A century of friendly rivalry’ on March 10 & 11, at the Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium.
St. Anthony’s and Trinity are two of the oldest Colleges in Kandy and the Trinity-Antonian Cricket encounter is the 6th oldest Inter-school Cricket encounter in the island. The two schools with a rich Cricket history, are also two of the oldest schools that took up the game in Sri Lanka. According to past records, Trinity College played their first Cricket match in 1893, while St. Anthony’s was in 1899.
Speaking on the centenary Big Match, Trinity College Principal Andrew Fowler-Watt said, “The annual Trinity-Antonian Big Match is one of the most prestigious Cricketing encounters in Sri Lanka’s schools Cricket calendar. I am extremely pleased to be a part of this historic event, as it is going from strength-to-strength in terms of traditions and Cricketing excellence.”
Commending the great discipline shown by the past and present boys/Cricketers, both on and off the field, St. Anthony’s College Rector Rev Henry Wijeratne OSB, said, “This is indeed a remarkable achievement by two of the biggest and oldest schools in Kandy. The ‘Hill-Country’s Battle of the Blues’ is an exemplary match to all the other schools, as it is a great platform that showcases class, talent and the spirit of friendly rivalry.”
Trinity College Principal Andrew Fowler-Watt, St. Anthony's College Rector Rev Fr. Henry Bernard Wijeratne holding the ‘John Halangoda Trophy’ of the Trinity-Antonian Big Match, with Old Antonians Cricket Wing President Asela Herath and Trinity College Cricket Foundation President Nilantha Ratnayake
The tally, as it stands today, after 99 encounters, has Trinity College with 23 wins, St. Anthony’s College with 12 wins and 64 ending without a decision. While a majority of wins registered by Trinity were in the pre-independence era, the Antonians have had the better of the exchanges since independence. In the latter part of the last century, a trophy was introduced in memory of John Halangoda, who was a product of Trinity College and subsequently Cricket coach at St. Anthony’s College.
Both schools have a proud history of producing some excellent Cricketers who have gone on to shine in both local and international arenas. Amongst them are Jack Anderson, A.C.M. Lafir, Mahes Goonetilleke, Bernard Perera, Marlon Von Hagt, Ruwan Kalpage, Piyal Wijetunge, Muttiah Muralitharan and Sajith Fernando from St. Anthony’s and Ravi Ratnayeke, Nilantha Ratnayake, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachith Pathirana, Niroshan Dickwella and Lahiru Kumara from Trinity. These two schools have produced the most number of international cricketers and also the most number of Schoolboy Cricketers of the Year from the Central Province.The world’s highest wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan and the highest run-scorer Kumar Sangakkara are products from these two schools, which is indeed a unique feature.