School cricket review

Thomians in innings win over Royal

by Chris Dhambarage

S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia brought an end to a six year long wait when they toppled their traditional rivals Royal College by an innings in the 126th Battle of the Blues three day Big Match worked off at the SSC grounds, Maitland Place during the weekend.

The manner in which the Thomians went about their task was really outstanding considering the fact that they completed the task with nearly a day to spare. Their dominance in this annual fixture was so much that they could have even wrapped up the game on the second day.

Nevertheless it did not matter because they polished off the Royal College tail in the second innings within 45 minutes of play on the third day. And quite fittingly skipper Vidhyesh Balasubramaniam was there to add the finishing touches where he picked up three wickets in one sensational over to signal a Thomian victory.

Balasubramaniam would have been really worried when the Royal tailenders staged a remarkable fightback in their second innings. Royal were rescued to a certain extent by Sukitha Senaratne and Dulanjaya Wijeratne who were associated in a seventh wicket stand of 102 runs.

The pair rose to the occasion with some sensible batting after their top order had collapsed for the second time in the match. In fact the match was decided probably after the first days play when Royal were bundled out for just 94 runs which is their lowest Big Match total in 44 years.

The Thomians may have started the game as firm favourites to pull off the game but the manner in which Royal batted was really disappointing. The Thomians were quick to take the advantage as they built up a good lead on the first day itself before declaring at an impressive 340 for 6. From thereonwards Royal were under great pressure because even if they had batted the entire third day they could have achieved only a draw.

The Thomian batsmen in contrast were in tremendous form as they went past the three hundred run mark quite easily. Ashan Peiris is one of their top all rounders this season and his magnificent knock of 125 will be remembered for a long time. He made batting look much easier with a positive approach to the game as the Thomians built up a massive lead to make certain that they would not need to bat the second time.

In addition the efforts of young Nisham Mazahir and the experienced Kaushal Silva were also quite outstanding.

St. Joseph's v St. Peter's

St. Peter's College and St. Joseph's College figured in a tame draw in their 71st annual Battle of the Saints Big Match played at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium during the weekend.

Even then the Peterites had a chance of turning the game in their favour at one stage after they had bowled out the opposition for just 126 runs. Their chances of forcing a victory further increased when they hit up 220 on the first day itself which gave them a crucial lead of 94 runs.

But the rest of the game is history now because the Josephians made amends for their first innings failure by rattling up over three hundred runs in the second innings. Their vice captain Angelo Mathew led from the front with a splendid century and to guide his team towards absolute safety.

The all rounder has not had many opportunities to prove his batting in the current season with the top order always striking form. But this time Mathew had a real chance to prove himself and he grabbed it with both hands to score a wonderful century under tremendous pressure.

The Josephians were still in kind of danger when Mathew walked into bat at number six after Roshan Silva had completed twin fifties. Mathew launched a savage assault on the Peterite bowling immediately and powered his way to score a splendid 102 which earned him the best all rounders award.

The Josephian declaration at 303 for 7 was only of academic interest because the Peterites were never going to reach the target of 219 runs from 31 overs. But the Peterites again proved their capabilities while making 129 for 1 in reply with skipper Prajiv Jansz scoring his second half century of the match. Shanaka Wickremasekera then made amends for his first innings failure stroking an unbeaten 56 adding 102 runs for the unfinished second wicket along with his captain.

St. Anthony's v Trinity

St. Anthony's College put up a stunning performance to take major honours in their 89th Battle of the Blues Big Match against Trinity College played at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy during the weekend.

The Antonians also became the first holders of the Halangoda memorial trophy when they snatched a close first innings victory over their traditional rivals. The Antonians despite going in as the underdogs played a superb game to surprise their opponents with both bat and ball.

They first restricted the Trinitians to a modest first innings total of 179 for 9 on the opening day which was interrupted by bad light and rain. The Antonians then batted cautiously with a target in their mind and successfully overtook their opponents total after going through some anxious moments.

First it was when they lost four early wickets for only 38 runs against some penetrative bowling from Clifford Fernando and Sachith Pathirana. There were some doubts once again whether the Antonians could overtake their opponents total when they collapsed to 145 for 8 at one stage.

But Sameera Weerabahu came into their rescue and took them towards absolute safety as they eventually reached 193 for 9. Weerabahu's contribution of 30 not out was certainly worth more than that considering the circumstances and the amount of pressure which was associated with the batsmen at that stage.

St. Sebastian's v Prince of Wales

St. Sebastian's College and Prince of Wales College also figured in a tame draw in their 55th annual Big Match worked off at the De Soysa Stadium during the weekend.

In a low scoring game which was dominated by the bowlers both teams struggled for runs but still they failed to produce a result for the 28th successive year. The Cambrians did feel at one stage that they had the game well under control when they dismissed the Sebastianites for 158 runs.

But their joy was short lived as they themselves found run making really difficult against some hostile bowling from Jehan Fernando and Charith Fernando. This pair formed a fearsome combination as they ran through the Cambrian top order and helped St. Sebastian's College obtain a surprise first innings lead of 67 runs.

Both Jehan and Charith also had the honour of completing fifty wickets for the current inter school cricket season. Prince of Wales College however came back into the game and forced their opponents to make a second innings declaration at 94 for 7.

St. Anne's v Maliyadeva

St. Anne's College drew their inter school Big Match against their traditional rivals Maliyadeva College at the Welagedera Stadium in Kurunegala during the weekend.

The main highlight in this annual fixture was the excellent bowling performance of Sri Lanka youth cap Shalika Karunanayake who took a seven wicket haul to help Maliyadeva College restrict St. Anne's College for 151 in their first innings.

Maliyadeva College then went on to take a first innings lead thanks to a splendid knock of 95 from their vice captain Sameera de Soysa. Soysa also was named best batsman while Shalika Karunanayake was picked as the best bowler, man of the match and the most outstanding player of the match.