Trinity hope to go through a successful cricket season

By Hafiz Marikar

Trinity are hoping to go through a successful inter-school cricket season next year and their most looked forward to match against St. Anthony's Katugastota will be on March 13 and 14 and the one-day encounter will be on March 21st and both matches will be at Trinity College International Stadium at Asgiriya.

Trinity will play against President's College, Kotte on September 12 and 13 at Kotte.

The Trinity - Antonian Big Match is scheduled for March 13 and 14 and the one-day encounter on March 21st - both matches will be at Trinity College at Trinity College International Cricket Stadium.

After the match between Trinity and President's College at Kotte, the other matches are: against D.S. Senanayake College in Colombo on September 19 and 20. Then on September 30 and October 1 against Aloysius in Galle, October 3 and 4 against Mahinda College at Galle, October 24 and 25 against St. Peter's in Kandy. December 26 and 27 against St. Servatius College at Matara December 29 and 30 against Nalanda in Colombo.

2015 January: 5/6 Bandaranayake College Gampaha in Kandy, 12/23 Dharmapala College in Kandy, 16/17 St. Josephs in Colombo, 23/24 Anuradapura Central in Kandy, 30/31 Wesley College in Colombo, February 6/7 Isipathana College in Kandy, 17/18 Ananda College in Kandy, 20/21 St. Thomas' College at Mt. Lavania, 27/28 Royal College in Colombo, March 13/14 St. Anthony's College in Kandy, 21 (one day) St. Anthony's College in Kandy.

Trinity, before the Second World War, not only produced several top class cricketers but also produced several good teams. The first real effort of building up a school side came in 1892. Their first ever inter school match was against Royal College in 1893 , which match they lost and Royal won three games in a row, in four years they were able to beat Royal by nine wickets. Their second fixture was against S. Thomas College lost, in 1898 same year played Ananda College won, 1899 played against Dharmaraja College won the next fixture was in 1955, Wesley College in `1903 lost, St. Josephs College 1908 lost, St. Anthony's College 1914 lost, St. Benedicts College 1915 won, Zahira College 1927 won and Kingswood College 1939 won the next was in 1955.

A study of Trinity College cricket shows that from its early beginnings in the 1980's, cricket made, under great handicaps, considerable progress but it was not till 1913 that it became unquestionably the equal of all schools, for in hat year for the first time they tied for the inter school championship. Thereafter, the record is undeniably without peer. It got better and better every year. Starting with the last two matches of the 1920 season, they not merely did not lose a match but won every one of them until halfway through the 1925 season, when this incredible sequence of victories was unexpectedly broken by St. Josephs College. This series of twenty nine wins in a row, most of them with an innings to spare and spread over six seasons.

The unfortunate part about screening themselves over this achievement is that they have nothing to show since then to compare with I except, perhaps, in rugby. As far as cricket is concerned, while they continued top hold their own for some years till the early 1930's. They were gradually being overhauled. It was not until the late 1930's that the decline was arrested by unfortunately only for a decade.

There after, from the late 1940's, they have been most often at the mercy of practically all over long-standing opponents. They hit the new high low. Since 1945 they did not beat Royal, if I am correct till the 1980's. Since 1944 till the 1980' it was a draws a lost against St. Thomas', then since 1946, it took seventeen years to beat St. Josephs College.

Trinitians slumped again

Again Trinity were in the doldrums in the 1970's and early `1980's the regained their past glory in 1986 and 1987, that was under J.W. Shaw Wilson a former Royalist coaching and Rev. Fr. Dr. W.G. Wickremainghe's principalship. In these two years, they not only remained unbeaten but also broke a thirty five year old hoodoo by winning the big match against St Anthony's under T.P."Tusha" Weerasuriya. The another year they did well was in 1966 under the captaincy of Harindra Dunuwille and were coached by that great coach T.B. Marambe.

From 2008 to date under the guidance of Sampath Perera and due to the backing of principal Brig. Udaya Ariyartne's, who can be seen at every game it can be in Kandy or Colombo, and he reads the game and gives them the necessary flip up, due to thee good work they have been dominating the game.

They won the All Island Triple , All Island Runners-up (League) 2012/13, All Island League Champions 2010/11 (include the record of nine consecutive wins), All Island Limited over's Runner-up 2010/11, All Island T20 Champions 2010/11, All Island League Runner-up 2009/2010, Central Province Best team - 2008/9, 2009/10, 2010/11, Invitation School 20-20 Champions 2008/9, Runner-up up 2013/14 Under 17 All Island Runner-up 2009 All Island Runner-up 2010 and 2014.

Raven Sayer leads Trinity

Leading the Trinitians this season is that master spinner, Raven Sayer a prolific wicket taker, a third year coloursmen and won the coveted Lion, the highest award at this school for cricket. Raven last season pocketed one hundred and eight wickets; he had a haul of thirteen and eleven wickets against Isipathanna and St. Aloysius.

He has been playing from under 13, 15, 17 and it was after coming to the senior side he was guided in the way it should be by this coach Sampath Perera.

Raven who has represented the country at under 17 against England in Sri Lanka and England, he helped the Sri Lanka side to win the game played at Lough Borouh where he took 9 wickets, even in the first innings and two in the second innings Last season he gave his best to his team, and this year much more is expected from this talented cricketer.

His deputy is that talented left hand opening batsmen Arjuna Jayasinghe who opens with that technically correct batsmen Nushan Weerasinghe, these two are famous to put on a good start and are expected to a sound start, Nushan is also a good off spinner, Kaveen Hinduma a top order left hand bat, stumper Naveen Ekanayake a right hand good stroke maker who bats in middle order, Pramodaya.

Coach Perera should be commended

Abeyakoon a pace bowler, Madawa Munaweera a left arm medium pace bowler and bats top order, Duvindu Tilakartne a left arm leg spinner, Shavindu Amarasinghe a right arm off spinner and a good middle order bat, Sachira Gaminda a right arm pacemen, Shanmuganathan Shanogeeth a top order bat and bowls left arm spin, Silan Madusnka is the stand bye stumper, rest of the players are Hasith Boyagoda, Lahiru Sudesh, Tashila Dodanwella, Yasaran Pitawala, Indresh Ariyasinghe, Dilan Samaraisnghe, Dulanjana Siriwardene, Vishanga Vithanage, Jeshan Liyanage, Sachhin Yatigammana, Chanuka Bandara, Laksitha Dassanyake, T. Banugoban, Tanka Chandrarathne, Milinda Ranaisnghe.

A big hand should go to Sampath Thivanka Perera, the head coach, who learnt his cricket at D.S. Senanayake College. Where he played for the senior team from 1989 and Captain in 1994. He was member of the Sri Lanka under 19 team which in the final thirty squad of the Sri Lanka "A" team in 1998 during the England "A" tour of Sri Lanka.

His first club was Bloomfield Cricket & Athletic Club as a two down batsmen, from 1994-1999, was out in Australia from 1999 to 2000 where he played for Burwood Cricket Club in Melbourne, scored three centuries in that stint.

He is a coach who got through the Level I examination conducted by the Sri Lanka Cricket in 2001, and level two examination of Sri Lanka cricket conducted by the Australian Cricket Board in 2003, then in 2007 got through the level Two coaching examination conduced by Australian Cricket Board held in MCG in 2007.

In 2010 got through the level Three high performance coaching examination conducted by Australian Cricket Board held in Brisbane in 2010. He coached the SSC and NCC in the under 23 tournaments, and also his old school D.S. Senanayake College.

In 2008 joined Trinity and still with them.