The annual schools One-Day cricket encounter the Kandyan community waits in anticipation, the battle between Trinity College and St. Anthony’s College will take place on the 29th of April, 2023 at the Asgiriya grounds.
The 41st game of the series for the Sir Richard Aluvihare trophy, will be played under the distinguished patronage of Trinity’s 1st XI captain of 1990/91, Sujeewa Goonetilleke. Trinitians will be led by Rahal Amarasinghe and Antonians by Lahiru Abeysinghe.
These two teams have faced each other in 40 one day matches, out of which, Trinity has won 19 (13 at Asgiriya and 6 at Katugastota) whereas St. Anthony’s have come out victorious on 17 occasions (11 at Katugasota and 6 at Asgiriya). One game ended in a tie with both teams making the same total and three games ended without a result due to wet weather (1993, 2003 and 2008).
The series that commenced in 1980 at Asgiriya, under the captaincy of Angelo Liyanage (SACK) and former national star Ravi Ratnayake (TCK), has been a regular fixture over the last four decades except for 2001, 2020 and 2021.
The Antonians kicked off the series in great style by winning the first nine of the eleven games, but Trinity has fought back since to take the lead, starting with consecutive wins in 1991 and 1992 by the narrowest of margins against formidable Antonian sides, and registering the latest win just last year.
Trinity tipped to be the favourites to win this encounter, with their first innings win at the big match last weekend, has been dominating the series over the past seven games without being beaten since 2013 (with seven wins and a tie) with the last Antonian win coming only in 2012 under Kanishka Ranaraja. On that occasion, the Saints turned the tables on the much-colourful Trinity outfit led by Niroshan Dickwella to win by 10 runs.
The only tie in the 40 games played to-date came in 2014 at Katugastota, when Trinity’s last batsman was run-out off the second ball of the last over. Apart from the tied game, there were many other close encounters, but none closer than the one-wicket wins registered by SACK in 1989 at Katugastota, and by TCK, just two years later, in 1991. In terms of victories by runs, TCK’s 2-run win in 2011 and their 3-run win in 1992, both at Asgiriya, are the narrowest of them all.
The fixtures are played for the coveted Sri Richard Aluvihare Trophy, which was initiated to commemorate Sri Lanka’s first local Inspector General of Police, and a Trinity Cricket lion, who was also the Senior Prefect in his time. Incidentally Sir Richard fought at the Battle of the Somme under service no. 9289 in the 1st World War with 04 other Trinitians.
After the war, Richard Aluwihare returned to Ceylon and joined the Ceylon Civil Service, reaching the rank of Officer Class One. He was Government Agent for the North Central Province and the first Ceylonese Inspector General of Police. Knighted in 1948 to become Sir Richard KCMG, CEB, he also served as Ceylon’s High Commissioner to India from 1957 to 1963. Sir Richard passed away on December 22, 1976, just 4 years before the annual cricketing encounter was initiated.
Review by Lalanthi Rajapakse
