A brief over-view of the Trinity-St Anthony's Big Match

Sharm de Alwis

The very first match between the two schools was in 1907 wherein even the members of the Staff participated and therefore is not taken into reckoning. The series, proper, commenced in 1914 with the inaugural game being won by SACK due to a drought in Trinity's batting and bowling. The second game was won handsomely by Trinity who were captained by cricket Lion R. Ondaatje even though Clive Inman's father, H. C. Inman could not share his usual bag of 5 wickets to add to the season's haul of 62 scalps in as few as six games.

The Distant Drums of War, even though they were in the European Theatre reverberated in our country, secluded as a war from rampant evil and many were the boys from schools who enlisted for active service. In such a scenario it would have been vulgar to indulge in a frivolous game of cricket. The other three years in which the match was abandoned were in 1956, 57 and in 2001. Jack Anderson was the first Antonian to score in 1918 a century against Trinity and was followed by Ronnie Stevens ACM Lafir in 1954 Ronnie and ACM amassed an epic stand of 276 for the 1st wicket which record yet stands as the best in inter-school cricket. Anderson lent another jewel to the crown of schoolboy batsmanship when he notched 291 against STC, but that record has since been bettered.

In 1918 and 19 when Anderson was on the rampage Trinity won under the astute captaincy of AHR Joseph and JR Bandaranayake with heroics provided by cricket Lion L. A. de Silva in 1918 who added a prolific 90 to his 107, 84 n.o., 66 n.o. and 55 in only six games. In 1919 it was the turn of Percy Maralanda to upstage the others with a match-winning 93.

What ever SACK statistics that are presented here have been culled by word of mouth because even the Sesquicentennial Publication in my possession does not devote time and space to the 'frivolities' of cricket and I am, therefore, constrained to make no mention of the Trinitians in the fray in order that a certain balance and decorum is maintained.

St. Anthony's has the distinction of having produced in ACM Lafir the most prolific centurion at all three levels of Schools, Club and country and Muttiah Muralidaran whose exploits are world shattering and the best wicket keeper in Mahesh Gunathilake, if C. B. Aluvihare, the Prince of Keepers, nods assent.