Kandy's 99th 'Battle of the Blues':

Trinity - firm favourites to beat St. Anthony's

by S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen, Kandy Sports Cor.

Trinity College, Kandy who have just won the Schools Division One League title for 2015 will go out favourites when they take on their traditional rivals St. Anthony's College in their 99th Kandys 'Battle of the Blues" to be played at Katugastota next Friday and Saturday 13th and 14th March.

All 'bets' will be with the lions who have registered 10 outright wins this season against one by their opponents. Trinity College last won the league title in 2012 under Niroshan Dickwella.

A peep into the past indicates of the 98 matches which had been played, the Trinitians have a clear lead of 23 wins against 12 by the Anthonians. But, this lead is mainly due to the fact that the 'lions' registered 77 wins between 1918 and 1929 when they were a dominant force in the schools cricket arena.

Trinity's last win came in 2012 under Niroshan Dickwella when they won by an innings and one run with just two overs to go for the 'Stumps'.

The highest individual score stands to the credit of opener A.C.M. Lafir who made 176 in the Antonian Centenary year of 1954 and shared an opening stand of 266 with Ronnie Stevens who scored 103. The Antonians won this match by an innings.

The last Antonian victory came in 1992 under Umesh de Alwis.

Perhaps the best bowling feat of the series was by Trinity's off-spinner Sudharga Fernando who took all 10 wickets for 38 in the Antonian second innings at the Asgiriya Stadium in 1999.

This perhaps eclipsed the feats of Trinity's mystery spinner C. Dharmalingam who performed hat-tricks in both innings in the big match of 1939.

This is the only occasion in school cricket in the country where a bowler had performance the hat-trick in both innings and could well be a world record too!

Trinity College will be led by spinner R. Sayers who captured 100 wickets in 2014 and looks like repeating it this year too. Apart from him, the other key players in the side are Nishan Weerasinghe, Arjuna Jayasinghe, Lahiru Kumara, Pramod Abeykoon, Hasitha Boyagoda, Duvindu Tillekeratne, Madhushan Jayalath, Naveen Ekanayake, Sanogeeth Shanmuganathan who have played major roles in Trinity's success this season.

The team is coached by Sampath Perera.

Buwaneka Wijetunga - Captain St. Anthony's

The Antonians will be led by leg spinner Buwaneka Wijetunga, the nucleus of the side will be Dilan Bandara, Damithra Panditharatne, Kanishka Uggalepaya, Mohammed Afler, Nimesh Wanasinghe, K. Yapa Bandara.

The team is coached by Tharaka Gunaratna.

The hill capital is receiving afternoon showers and if this kind of weather persists, the weather gods could stall the 'Lions' from devouring the 'Eagles' in their own nest.