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by Dinesh Weerawansa

Sri Lanka's oldest inter-school cricket match - between Royal College, Colombo and S.Thomas' College, Mt.Lavinia will continue its high traditions of over 12 decades as the 124th Battle of the Blues three-day encounter starts at the picturesque Sinhalese Sports Club grounds, Maitland Place at 10 a.m. today.

Both teams look even on paper, though S.Thomas' have the more experienced side of the two with not less than eight coloursmen. Having dropped one of their five coloursmen to be the 12th man due to lack of form, Royal has only half of the number of experienced players that the Thomians have.

The two coaches - Roger Wijesuriya (Royal) and Dinesh Kumarasinghe (S.Thomas'), said they will be going with a positive mind, looking forward to press for a win, but how good their plans work is let to be seen after three days of classy cricket, naturally associated with the Royal-Thomian series, which has the distinction of producing the World first ICC Chief match referee - Ranjan Madugalle, who led the Reid Avenue boys in 1979 - the centenary encounter.

Former Sri Lanka Test spinner, Wijesuriya said they are going in with an open mind, looking forward to press for a win. "The boys are confident. They have shown a marked improvement in their lead-up to the big match. I am confident that they will be able to continue the good work," he said. Royal has a strong batting line-up, which goes right down the bottom, with their first ten batsmen scoring at least a half century. Of the Royal line-up, only 11th man Tharaka Kottahewa has not scored a half century.

"Early in the season, there was extra pressure on Ganganath Ratnayake to score runs. But it has gradually eased with everyone contributing towards the healthy totals we have had in recent matches. Even if one batsman fails, there is another who could rebuild our innings. Hence, we are confident of putting on a good total on the board," a confident Wijesuriya said as his team completed their final workout on the eve of the match yesterday.

Thomian coach Kumarasinghe too expressed confidence in his team, which has remained unbeaten this season. "We have a well-balanced side. But our batting has been even better. We hope to put a good total on the board and put Royal under pressure. We want to have another good look at the wicket on Thursday morning, and preferably to take the first lease," said Kumarasinghe, who has been coaching S. Thomas' for the last 13 years since last playing for his alma mater in 1986/87,

The toss will play a decisive role. The greenish SSC track looks an ideal one for the side batting first and the captain who calls right this morning will not hesitate to give his batsmen a go. But the pacemen could look dangerous in the first hour but thereafter, the bowlers will really have to earn their wickets.

Sri Lanka Youth World Cup cricketer Jeevan Mendis, will be the star attraction and getting him early will be a bonus for the Royal bowlers.

Royalist Ganganath Ratnayake has blossomed to be a fine all-rounder and the contribution he makes here will be very vital for the Reid Avenue boys.

S.Thomas' captain Dilshan Gunawardena has come a long way to become a true leader. Having taken to cricket at the age of eight, under Charlie Warnakulasuriya through Ravi Ratnayeke, Gunawardena has played a perfect role for Thomian cricket - a tribute to his late father - Kamal Gunawardena.

Irrespective of the end result, the Royal-Thomian is ready to serve its traditionally high quality display with the gentlemen's game played in its true spirits. A regular VIP visitor for decades, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe too is expected to take time off his busy schedule to enjoy the atmosphere even for a couple of hours.

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