DUBAI, April 2019: The alumni of two of Sri Lanka’s oldest and renowned schools, Royal College, Colombo and S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, are set to enjoy a second successive weekend of ‘Big Match’ fun as their teams clash today, Friday, 5 April in the second T20 ‘Battle of the Blues’ in the Middle East.
Old Thomians will seek to turn the tables and get back on the winning trail when they lock horns with their rivals at the Seven Cricket Ground in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The match starts at 6.30pm.
Adrian Griffith, former West Indies cricketer and currently Senior Manager of the International Cricket Council (ICC), will be the Chief Guest.
Last weekend at the 17th Gulf “Battle of the Blues”, the Old Royalists routed the Old Thomians in a series of cricket matches held at the Sharjah Wanderers Club grounds. Now, the Old Royalists led by veteran Yasitha Abeykoon will attempt to make it two T20 wins in a row, after trouncing Old Thomians by eight wickets in the historic first T20 match played last year at the ICC Academy Grounds in Dubai Sports City.
Yasitha, who also captained Royal in the ‘Big Match’ in Colombo 10 years ago, will be ably assisted by several experienced cricketers including Sugeesha Dinushan, the skipper of the first T20 match in the Middle East, who also played in the ‘Big Match’ in Colombo in 2000. Other big names in the Old Royalists squad include Amila Kariyakarawana, Amal Karunaratne and Danushka Edussuriya, who has a century to his credit in the ‘Battle of the Blues’ series. Shehan Jayawardena and Mohammed Najmi also played for the 1st XI team of Royal.
The Old Thomians have many all-rounders and are bound to give their traditional rivals a run for their money. All-rounder Anura Bandaranayke, who played for S.Thomas in the first XI and also played in the Sri Lankan Under-19 team, will captain the Old Thomians in today’s game.
Incidentally, he will also have the support of last year’s T20 skipper and left arm spinner Randesh Vas, a qualified cricket coach, who played for S.Thomas for three consecutive years – 1994, 1995 and 1996. Randesh will pair off with right arm off spinner Jonathan Devadason, to try to put the rivals in a spin today. The side also features fast bowler Rajivan Radhakrishnan, who captained the Old Thomians in the 1st XI match in the 17th Gulf “Battle of the Blues”, and Meshadh Peiris, a ‘Battle of the Blues’ centurion in Colombo, as well as Rukshan Mendis, who played for the 1st XI side.
THE TEAM FOR THE T20 MATCH WILL BE CHOSEN FROM THE FOLLOWING SQUADS:
Old Royalists
Yasitha Abeykoon (Capt.), Sugesha Dinushan, Amila Kariyakarawana, Amal Karunaratne, Mohamed Najmi Ugail, Daminda Herath, Nurendra Perera, Dhanushka Edussuriya, Shehan Jayawardan, Kethiswaram Singaravel, Tariq Fawzi, Sadesh Balan and Sadesh Ranatunga.
Old Thomians
Anura Bandaranayke (Captain), Randesh Vas, Meshadh Peiris, Sadesh De Silva, Jonathan Devadason, Nimesh Chamara, Sailas Mohamed Kaleel, Nanthankumar Diluxshan, Aaron William Benjamin, fast bowler Rajivan Radhakrishnan, Ian Antonio Rodrigo, George Kulasekere, Rukshan Mendis, Nithanthan Elilventhan and Sethran Fernando.
HIGHLGHTS OF 17TH GULF ‘BATTLE OF THE BLUES’
RESULTS IN BRIEF:
1st XI match
Old Royalists – 179/8 (Yasitha Abeykoon 61, Sugeesha Dinushan – 51)
Old Thomians – 163/8 (Sadesh De Silva 78)
Old Royalists won by 16 runs.
2nd XI match
Royal captained by Sadesh Balan
Old Thomians – 124/5
Old Royalists – 125/5 (Shehan de Silva 19)
Old Royalists won by 5 wickets
Veterans match
Old Thomians – 113/3 (Devinda 32)
Old Royalists – 114/1(Hari Gangeshan 30 rtd, Uthpala 29 )
Old Royalists won by 9 wickets.
Ladies match
Old Royalists – 59/1
Old Thomians – 47/2
Old Royalist Ladies won by 12 runs
Tag Rugby
Old Thomians scored 2 goals
Old Royalists scored 1 goal and 1 try
Old Thomians won by 2 points
