Battle of the Maroons on March 3 and 4

Yasaratne Gamage

The 83rd Battle of the Maroons, the annual cricketing encounter between Ananda and Nalanda is scheduled to be played at the SSC grounds on March 3 and 4, 2012.

This time too, the match is being organized by a joint Committee comprising past students from Ananda & Nalanda appointed with the blessings of the two Principals of the schools.

The well co-coordinated efforts of the joint organising committee over the past three years has ensured that the Maroons Battle is now worked out with much fan fare amidst a carnival atmosphere and many attractions for entertainment for all family members of past students, while the game has continued to be played with the rich traditions and at the highest standards that this encounter is well-known for.

The event itself has now become one of national importance, considering the immense contribution that these two schools have made to Sri Lanka Cricket over the years.

It is opportune to recall that the first Test Cricket Captain of the country - Bandula Warnapura is a proud product of Nalanda, while Arjuna Ranathunga, who led the Sri Lankans in the famous World Cup winning team in 1996 hails from Ananda.

These two premier Buddhist schools have so far produced the highest number (more than 55) of national cricketers to have represented Sri Lanka in international cricket including five of them - Bandula Warnapura, Arjuna Ranathunga, Roshan Mahanama, Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardena having had the honour of leading the country’s team.

The first half century, the first century and also the first double century for Sri Lanka in Test Cricket were scored by three Anandians - Arjuna Ranathunga (1982), Sidath Wettimuni (1982) and Brandon Kuruppu (1986).

Mahela Jayawardena - the former Sri Lanka skipper hailing from Nalanda holds the unique honour of becoming the first Sri Lankan (and the only one so far) to complete 10,000 runs in Tests and One Day International Cricket.

Apart from such brilliant players - Ananda and Nalanda have also gifted the country with excellent Cricket Administrators, elite Cricket umpires, respected match referees, leading sports media personnel and very importantly talented commentators with brilliant oratorical skills especially the Sinhala commentators of the likes of late Karunaratne Abeysekara, Premasara Epasinghe and Palitha Perera who were instrumental in popularising the game to this extent through the lengths and breadths of the country.

The joint organising committee together with the Sports Clubs of the two schools, have decided to arrange a Dinner Dance - Maroons Nite 2012 as a prelude to the Big Match at the Waters Edge on February 3, 2012 which will provide the opportunity for all past cricketers as well as the past students of the two schools to meet one another and refresh their memories of yesteryear ahead of the 83rd Battle of the Maroons.