Joes have a slight edge

The 74th Battle of the Saints between St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s will get underway on Friday at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium with both looking to play positive and thus end a run of 29 successive drawn games.

If one were to go by performance both schools are even, though St. Joseph’s have played two games more. The Josephians have registered three victories and drawn ten, while the Peterites have the same number of wins and have drawn eight.

On paper and team wise, the lads from Maradana may have a slight edge. Josephians skipper Ruwantha Fernandopulle has led from the front right through the season. This Right hand opening batsman scored 538 runs with 1 century and 5 half centuries. His knock of 102 runs against Trinity College as his best. And he was also involved in a 263 run partnership with his deputy Dimuth Karunaratne for the 1st wicket in the same game which incidentally is the College record for the highest partnerships for any wicket. He was also involved in a 140 run partnership for the 1st wicket in last year’s Big Match.

Left hand opening batsman Karunaratne has scored 844 runs at an average of 56.27 in 12 matches this season with 3 centuries and 4 half centuries. He has won the Best Batsman’s award in the last two Big Matches. He is looking to make it an unprecedented 3 in a row.

Roshane Silva, Anton De Livera, Thisara Perera Shameera Weerasinghe and Sahan Wijesiri are all experienced players and are more than capable of helping to swell the Josephian total.

The Josephians are yet to decide on their final playing eleven which will also determine who opens the bowling. They do have plenty of options in both the seam and spin departments with the likes of Thisara Perera, Shameera Weerasinghe, Treshan Rajasooriya, Prabudha Sankalpa, and Nishika De Silva,

St. Peter’s are led by talented all rounder Anuk Silva. Silva had scored 491 runs this season with a best of 102. Silva is the only Peterite player to score a century this season. But he has been helped by the talented and experienced opening pair of Srimantha Wijeratne and Andry Berenger.

Wijeratne has scored 556 runs this season with a best of 91 while Berenger has scored 268. His best is 52. In addition to the openers and Silva, the boys from Bambalapitiya can also count on the batting skills of players like Ruwan Wickremanayake, Suranga Rodrigo, Akshu Fernando and Nilochana Perera.

Spearheading the bowling attack for the Peterites will be Chathura Peiris, Vinod Perera and Nilochana Perera. In the spin department Chanaka Fernando who bowls right arm off breaks, has claimed 32 scalps. But the highest wicket taker for St. Peter’s is right arm leg spinner Thivanka Silva who has 34 scalps. If the seamers fail it will be up to these two spinners to restrict the formidable Josephian battling line up.

Some years in effort to break the monotony of drawn games a new rule was introduced whereby both teams could only bat for 60 overs in the first innings. Many will hope that at least this year because of the 60 over rule, there will be a victor.