Trinity firm favourites to chalk up win against St. Anthony's

by S.M. Jiffrey ABDEEN - Kandy Sports Corr.

CRICKET: With ten outright wins under their belt, Trinity College are certainly firm favourites to win the 95th Kandy's "Battle of the Blues" against St. Anthony's College which will be played at Katugastota next Friday and Saturday (March 11th and 12th) with play commencing at 9.45 a.m. on the first day and at 9.30 a.m. on the second day.

But, the Anthonians will be no easy meat for Trinity and they are determined not only to stop the marauding 'lions' but also hell bent on creating an upset if they can get their act together. The Anthonians have the potential to do this, if they can get their act together as a team. Though fielding an experienced side, the Anthonians have not performed with consistency.

This season, the Anthonians have secured just three wins against ten by their opponents. The Eagles could have achieved much more than this.

Of the 94 matches played in this series, Trinity is still ahead with 22 wins, against 12 by the Anthonians and 60 matches have been left drawn, including the last 18 battles. The last time a decision was reached in this encounter was in 1992 when Umesh de Alwis led the Anthonians to victory. The last Trinity win was way back in 1986 when Thushara Weerasuriya led them to victory breaking a 35-year-old 'hoodoo' when their previous win was in 1951 under Eustace Rulach who later became the Sports Editor and Features Editor of the Observer.

Thus between 1952 and 2010 the 'lions' have won just once. This year the Trinitians have a fine chance of adding another to their tally of victories.

Akila Jayasundera - top allrounder

Trinity College will be led this year by allrounder Akila Jayasundera who won the coveted Cricket 'Lion' in 2009 when he captured over 100 wickets.

He is only the third Trinitian to do so. He is one of the top allrounders in the side, having scored over 600 runs and also capturing 35 wickets with his leg spinners. It must also be mentioned that he has not bowled much this season.

When the history of Trinity cricket is written, he will go down as the most successful captain, having led his side to ten outright wins which is a record. Others who have performed well with the bat are Niroshan Dickwella 700 runs, Kavinda Jayasuriya 600 runs, Heshan Wanniarachchi 500 runs, Ron Chandragupta who is the 'baby' of the side and played in a few matches 300 runs, Kheliya Athugoda 300 runs.

Two spinners Janishka Premasinghe 80 wickets and Aamil Anas 74 wickets have formed into a deadly combination and could rip through any batting line-up. Medium pacer Tissa Sanjeewa Bandara has taken 40 wickets. These players will form the nucleus of the side.

The team is coached by former D.S. Senanayake College captain and NCC coach Sampath Perera who has done an excellent job in moulding the side into a fighting outfit.

Wickremasekera leads Anthonians

The Anthonians will be led by fifth year coloursman Hiran Wickremasekera, a consistent performer with the bat. He has scored over 800 runs including four centuries this season.

He would have reached 1,000 runs for the third year in succession if not for the fact that the Antonians missed playing four of their traditional fixtures which they postponed due to inclement weather in January this year.

Apart from Wickremasekera, other top batsmen in the side are Arvinda Premaratne 350 runs, Manoj Sarathchandra 600 runs, Kanishka Ranaraja 400 runs, Yohan Woods 400 runs, Aruna Bandara 400 runs, Pulasthi de Silva 350 runs (2 centuries).

The brunt of the bowling has been borne by off-spinner Arvinda Premaratne who has captured 80 wickets and he will have the support of Sri Lanka Youth cricketer and leg-spinner Saranga Rajaguru who has taken 20 wickets despite missing a number of matches due to pool practices. Medium pacer Kanishka Ranaraja has captured 40 wickets and off spinner Thushan Hettige 30 wickets. The Anthonians have played 14 matches winning 3 and lost 1 and the rest of the matches have been left drawn.

They are coached by former St.Anthony's College and Kandy CC cricketer Champika Ranawaka and assisted by Samitha Dhanushka.

Teams

TRINITY COLLEGE (from) Akila Jayasundera (Captain), Niroshan Dickwella (Vice Captain), Kavinda Jayasuriya, Janishka Premasinghe, Aamil Anas, Heshan Wanniarachchi, Tissa Sanjeewa Bandara, Ron Chandragupta, Kheliya Athugoda, Rajitha Jayatunga, Dinuk Wickremanayake, Alwin Fernando, Lakshitha Dissanayake, Bhagya Pallihawadana, Amrith Sirisena, Tharindu Makuldeniya, Madhushan Subendra.

ST.ANTHONY'S COLLEGE (from) Hiran Wickremasekera (Captain) Arvinda Premaratne (Vice Captain), Manoj Sarathchandra, Yohan Woods, Kanishka Ranaraja, Aruna Bandara, Madushan Pusswella, Pulasthi de Silva, Saranga Rajaguru, Thushan Hettige, Tharaka Jayasinghe, Dinuk Herath, Nimesha Gunasinghe, Romesh Macwin, Himesha Kodituwakku, Bhathiya Liyanage.