Etisalat powers 134th Battle of the blues
Thushan Jayasuriya
Etisalat Lanka (Pvt) Ltd will power the 134th edition of the “Battle
of the Blues” between Royal College Colombo and S.Thomas’ College Mount
Lavinia for the fourth consecutive year.
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Royal's acting skipper Milan Abeysekara shakes hands with
Thomian skipper Javed Bongso beside the D.S.Senanayake
Memorial Sheild and Mustangs Trophy during the Press
Conference held at Cinnamon Grand Hotel on Wednesday.
Pictures by Nissanka Wijeratne |
The annual encounter, populary known as the “Royal - Thomian” has
been played by the two schools from 1879. The three day match is
acknowledged to be the second oldest uninterrupted cricket match in the
world.
The battle of this rivalry will take place on March 7, 8 and 9 at the
Sinhalese Sports Club Grounds Colombo for the prestigious D.S.Senanayake
Memorial Shield and the 38th one dayer for the “Mustangs Trophy” will be
on March 16 at the same venue.
The Director / CEO of Etisalat Lanka (Pvt) Ltd Dumindra Ratnayake
said at a press briefing at Cinnamon Grand Hotel on Wednesday that after
three highly successful years, Etisalat is proud to be associated with
the “Battle of the Blues” for the fourth consecutive year. “The
association with this leading ‘Big Match’ encounter is in keeping with
our goal to uplift and encourage school cricket across Sri Lanka”. He
said Etisalat not only associates with the Royal-Thomian but several
other projects of the two schools. Etisalat not only sponsors cricket,
but rugby, golf and chess as sports builds character , instills
discipline and inspire them to reach their life goals.He said its great
to see the passion and healthy sportsmanship displayed by players at the
Royal-Thomian and he is looking forward to a fascinating match between
these two giants of School Cricket.
Royal College Principal Upali Gunasekara said they are greatful to
Etisalat for Sponsoring the 134th Battle of the Blues and the 38th
“Mustangs Trophy”. The Royal-Thomian promotes healthy rivalry and
cameraderie between the players of the two schools and produces cricket
of high standard and its also a social event where the old boys meet
their former school friends.
S.Thomas’ College Warden Indra de Soysa stated that the Royal-Thomian
is the biggest cricket match in the island where the match is played in
the true spirit and promotes healthy rivalry.
He said this year the encounter should be another close affair played
in the best traditions of the Royal-Thomian and wished both teams
success. |
