The traditional cricket encounter between Trinity College and St. Anthony’s College for the 103rd year will be worked off at the Asgiriya Stadium on June 3 and 4 after a lapse of two years.
This game will be played for the John Halangoda Trophy under the patronage of former Trinity College sportsman Maj. Gen. Nihal Marambe.
Trinity College leads the overall tally with 23 wins while St. Anthony’s College has won 11 times while 68 games have ended in a draw. This will be followed by the one-day match for the 40th occasion and will be played for the Sir Richard Aluwihare Trophy on June 11 at the Asgiriya Stadium.
This match is known as the Hill Country Battle of the Blues being played since 1914. With both sides being considered equally balanced anything can happen in the contest.
Trinity’s last win came under the captaincy of Niroshan Dickwella in 2012 where they broke a 25-year hoodoo to win by an innings and one run.
St. Anthony’s recorded their last win in 1991 under the captaincy of Umesh de Alwis.
The Trinitians dominated the series in the early years to such an extent that they won the match a record eleven times in a row from 1918 to 1928.
The trophy is awarded to the team that wins outright or on the first innings. St. Anthony’s College are the current holders of the trophy after their win on the first innings in 2019 when they managed to restrict Trinity College to 173 after posting 298 for eight wickets.
The first encounter was played at the Bogambara ground on March 1914 when the Antonians won. During World War I from 1918 to 1929 the premises of St. Anthony’s (presently St. Sylvester’s College) were occupied by the British army. As a result, cricket at St. Anthony’s was hampered and thereby they lost to Trinity 11 times consecutively.
Recalling memories of the Trinity-Antonian game in 1986, which the Trinitians won by seven wickets to break a 35-year hoodoo makes interesting reading.
That year the Trinitians were led by TP Weerasuriya and the Antonians by Rienzie Perera. The win for the Trinitians would not have been possible if not for the sporty declaration made by the Antonian skipper Rienzie Perera.