![]() John Halangoda Memorial Trophy | |
Sport | Cricket |
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First meeting | 1914 St. Anthony's won by 42 runs |
Latest meeting | 2024 Match drawn |
Next meeting | 2025 |
Stadiums | Asgiriya Stadium St. Anthony's College Cricket Stadium |
Trophy | John Halangoda Memorial Trophy |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 105 |
All-time series | Trinity leads, 23–11–71 |
Longest win streak | Trinity, 11 (1918–1928) |
The Battle of the Blues (Kandy), also referred to as the Trinity–Antonian Cricket Encounter or Hill Country Battle of the Blues, stands as the sixth oldest traditional school cricket match, commonly known as a Big Match, held annually in Sri Lanka. Dating back to 1914, this encounter sees Trinity College, Kandy, and St. Anthony's College, Kandy, engage in a two-day cricket contest. The John Halangoda Memorial Trophy is bestowed upon the victor of the match, determined by either an outright win or, failing that, a first innings triumph. It is noteworthy that a first innings victory does not formally register as a win for the respective team in the records.[1]
Furthermore, following the conclusion of the two-day match, a limited overs encounter is typically held a week later. This series was inaugurated in 1980, and the winning team is awarded the Sir Richard Aluwihare Trophy.[2]
History
[edit]Both Trinity and St. Anthony’s College embraced cricket as a sporting pursuit during the late 19th century, inaugurating their respective 1st XI programmes soon after. The initial cricket fixtures between the two institutions featured teams consisting of both staff and students. However, these early encounters are not recognised as official 1st XI inter-school matches and are consequently excluded from the schools' overall records.
The first official 1st XI cricket match between the schools was played in March 1914 at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy with St. Anthony’s emerging victorious by 42 runs. C. E. de Silva captained Trinity with C. C. Senaratne captaining St. Anthony’s. Trinity won the encounter in 1915 but due to exigencies created from the ongoing World War I, the series was suspended in 1916.
It recommenced in 1917, which was won by St. Anthony’s. Trinity went on to record 11 consecutive victories from 1918 to 1928. During the period following the culmination of World War I, St. Anthony’s were deprived of their cricket ground and practice pitches due to the British Army occupying the land.[3]
A disagreement between the two schools, regarding the age rule resulted in the cancellation of the encounter in 1956 and 1957.[4]
In 2001, the encounter was not contested as Trinity terminated their season early due to disciplinary reasons.
The centenary encounter of the series was held in 2017 with the two schools taking on each other on 10-11 March 2017 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele.[5]
The matches were postponed and eventually called off in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
The trophy
[edit]In 2005, a tribute was established in memory of John Halangoda, an alumnus of Trinity College who later served as a cricket coach at St. Anthony’s. This commemorative trophy, known as the John Halangoda Memorial Trophy, was introduced to honour his legacy. It is awarded to the victorious team at the conclusion of the two-day match.
The victors of the limited overs cricket contest are honoured with the Sir Richard Aluwihare Memorial Trophy. This award pays homage to the distinguished legacy of Sir Richard Aluwihare, the first Ceylonese Inspector General of Police and a veteran of World War I. Sir Richard Aluwihare, an alumnus of Trinity College, excelled not only as a cricket stalwart but also as the head prefect during his time at the institution.[7]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Sir_Richard_Aluwihare_Memorial_Trophy.png/100px-Sir_Richard_Aluwihare_Memorial_Trophy.png)
The venue
[edit]The two-day encounter is alternatively held at Asgiriya Stadium, which is the home ground of Trinity and St. Anthony’s College Cricket Stadium, which is the home ground of St. Anthony’s. Bogambara Stadium and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium also had been match venues in the past.
The same principle applies to the limited overs series as well, with the visiting team at a particular year's two-day encounter assuming the role of the host for the subsequent limited overs engagement.
Summary of results and statistics
[edit]In the 105 matches contested thus far in the two-day series, Trinity has emerged victorious 23 times, while St. Anthony’s has secured victory in 11 encounters. St. Anthony’s last secured an outright win in 1992 under the leadership of Umesh de Alwis, whereas Trinity's most recent outright victory occurred in 2012 under the captaincy of Niroshan Dickwella.[8][9]
Trinity holds the lead in the limited overs series as well with 20 victories compared to St. Anthony's record of 17 wins. Out of the 42 encounters played up to 2024, one match concluded in a tie (in 2014), while four matches were abandoned due to inclement weather conditions (in 1993, 2003, 2008, and 2023).[10][11]
- As of 23 March 2024
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List of fixtures and results
[edit]Note
- Match venues have been abbreviated as follows:
- Bogambara Stadium, Kandy as Bogambara
- Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy as Asgiriya
- St. Anthony’s College Cricket Stadium, Kandy as Katugastota
- Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele as Pallekele.
- Result denotes which side won the encounter outright, or if it was drawn.
Two-day series: 1914–1979
[edit]- As of 23 March 2024
Year | Series | Venue | Captains | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trinity | St. Anthony's | ||||
1914 | 1 | Bogambara | C. E. de Silva | C. C. Senaratne | St. Anthony’s |
1915 | 2 | Asgiriya | R. Ondatje | Trinity | |
1916 | Not played | ||||
1917 | 3 | Bogambara | A. Aluwihare | J. M. Ferguson | St. Anthony’s (2) |
1918 | 4 | Asgiriya | A. H. R. Joseph | Trinity (2) | |
1919 | 5 | Bogambara | J. Bandaranayake | Trinity (3) | |
1920 | 6 | Asgiriya | P. Maralande | Trinity (4) | |
1921 | 7 | Bogambara | P. Maralande | Trinity (5) | |
1922 | 8 | Asgiriya | P. Maralande | Trinity (6) | |
1923 | 9 | Bogambara | V. C. Shockman | Trinity (7) | |
1924 | 10 | Asgiriya | V. C. Shockman | Trinity (8) | |
1925 | 11 | Bogambara | H. Delwita | Trinity (9) | |
1926 | 12 | Asgiriya | H. Delwita | Trinity (10) | |
1927 | 13 | Bogambara | H. Shockman | Trinity (11) | |
1928 | 14 | Asgiriya | J. W. Aiyadurai | Trinity (12) | |
1929 | 15 | Bogambara | J. W. Aiyadurai | St. Anthony’s (3) | |
1930 | 16 | Asgiriya | S. Odayar | Trinity (13) | |
1931 | 17 | Bogambara | S. B. de Saram | Trinity (14) | |
1932 | 18 | Asgiriya | E. W. A. Buultjens | Draw | |
1933 | 19 | Bogambara | E. W. A. Buultjens | Trinity (15) | |
1934 | 20 | Asgiriya | B. A. Wijewardena | Draw (2) | |
1935 | 21 | Bogambara | W. Winter | Draw (3) | |
1936 | 22 | Asgiriya | R. Breckenridge | Draw (4) | |
1937 | 23 | Asgiriya | O. L. Izadeen | Draw (5) | |
1938 | 24 | Katugastota | T. B. Marambe | Trinity (16) | |
1939 | 25 | Asgiriya | G. P. Schoorman | Trinity (17) | |
1940 | 26 | Katugastota | R. P. de Alwis | Draw (6) | |
1941 | 27 | Asgiriya | H. E. W. Solomons | Draw (7) | |
1942 | 28 | Katugastota | S. B. Dissanayke | Draw (8) | |
1943 | 29 | Asgiriya | T. B. Werapitiya | Draw (9) | |
1944 | 30 | Katugastota | T. B. Werapitiya | Trinity (18) | |
1945 | 31 | Asgiriya | A. P. Fernando | Trinity (19) | |
1946 | 32 | Katugastota | C. N. Shockman | Draw (10) | |
1947 | 33 | Asgiriya | C. N. Shockman | Trinity (20) | |
1948 | 34 | Katugastota | L. V. Wadsworth | St. Anthony’s (4) | |
1949 | 35 | Asgiriya | L. V. Wadsworth | Draw (11) | |
1950 | 36 | Katugastota | L. Kadirgamar | S. Jayasinghe | Draw (12) |
1951 | 37 | Asgiriya | E. Rulach | B. Weerakoon | Trinity (21) |
1952 | 38 | Katugastota | G. Tennekoon | B. Weerakoon | Draw (13) |
1953 | 39 | Asgiriya | A. H. Bandaranayake | E. Cooray | Draw (14) |
1954 | 40 | Katugastota | A. Hulangamuwa | A. C. M. Lafir | St. Anthony’s (5) |
1955 | 41 | Asgiriya | H. F. Ratwatte | A. C. M. Lafir | Draw (15) |
1956 | Not played | ||||
1957 | Not played | ||||
1958 | 42 | Katugastota | A. N. Maralande | S. W. Seneviratne | Draw (16) |
1959 | 43 | Asgiriya | A. N. Maralande | C. Joseph | Draw (17) |
1960 | 44 | Katugastota | J. S. Ratwatte | C. Joseph | Draw (18) |
1961 | 45 | Asgiriya | S. A. Silva | H. M. Muthalib | Draw (19) |
1962 | 46 | Katugastota | V. I. Kodituwakku | N. Dunuwille | St. Anthony’s (6) |
1963 | 47 | Asgiriya | S. M. Perera | M. Joseph | Draw (20) |
1964 | 48 | Katugastota | M. T. M. Zaruk | Draw (21) | |
1965 | 49 | Asgiriya | M. T. M. Zaruk | Draw (22) | |
1966 | 50 | Katugastota | H. Dunuwille | N. Nagendra | Draw (23) |
1967 | 51 | Asgiriya | H. S. Ranaweera | Draw (24) | |
1968 | 52 | Katugastota | C. M. Amunugama | R. Sims | St. Anthony’s (7) |
1969 | 53 | Asgiriya | C. N. Dissanayake | C. Sims | Draw (25) |
1970 | 54 | Katugastota | N. R. Marambe | M. Gunaratne | Draw (26) |
1971 | 55 | Asgiriya | J. L. Weerasinghe | R. Sims | Draw (27) |
1972 | 56 | Katugastota | A. E. Unantenne | J. Monnekulame | St. Anthony’s (8) |
1973 | 57 | Asgiriya | R. S. Dissanayke | P. de Silva | Draw (28) |
1974 | 58 | Katugastota | A. R. Perera | Draw (29) | |
1975 | 59 | Asgiriya | A. R. Perera | Draw (30) | |
1976 | 60 | Katugastota | J. D. D. Weerasinghe | Draw (31) | |
1977 | 61 | Asgiriya | F. R. R. Arthur | Draw (32) | |
1978 | 62 | Katugastota | A. R. Tissera | R. De La Motte | Draw (33) |
1979 | 63 | Asgiriya | P. S. Dinesh | M. Ratnakumar | Draw (34) |
Two-day and limited overs series: 1980–2024
[edit]- As of 23 March 2024
Two-day series | Limited overs series | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Series | Venue | Captains | Result | Series | Venue | Result | |
Trinity | St. Anthony's | |||||||
1980 | 64 | Katugastota | J. R. Ratnayake | A. Leanage | Draw (35) | 1 | Asgiriya | St. Anthony’s |
1981 | 65 | Asgiriya | S. T. B. Ellepola | F. Majeed | St. Anthony’s (9) | 2 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (2) |
1982 | 66 | Katugastota | A. D. P. Yainne | A. Dunuwille | Draw (36) | 3 | Asgiriya | Trinity |
1983 | 67 | Asgiriya | J. S. Mutthumani | M. Von Hagt | Draw (37) | 4 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (3) |
1984 | 68 | Katugastota | H. C. D. D’ Silva | M. Von Hagt | Draw (38) | 5 | Asgiriya | St. Anthony’s (4) |
1985 | 69 | Asgiriya | A. U. Aturaliye | A. Wickramasuriya | Draw (39) | 6 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (5) |
1986 | 70 | Katugastota | T. P. Weerasooriya | R. Perera | Trinity (22) | 7 | Asgiriya | Trinity (2) |
1987 | 71 | Asgiriya | D. R. Madena | D. Nadarajah | Draw (40) | 8 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (6) |
1988 | 72 | Katugastota | C. I. Fernando | R. Kalpage | Draw (44) | 9 | Asgiriya | St. Anthony’s (7) |
1989 | 73 | Asgiriya | D. K. Ratwatte | S. de Alwis | Draw (42) | 10 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (8) |
1990 | 74 | Katugastota | S. Jayasinghe | S. de Alwis | St. Anthony’s (10) | 11 | Asgiriya | St. Anthony’s (9) |
1991 | 75 | Asgiriya | Y. S. Goonatilleke | N. Kalpage | Draw (43) | 12 | Katugastota | Trinity (3) |
1992 | 76 | Katugastota | K. C. Edirisinghe | U. de Alwis | St. Anthony’s (11) | 13 | Asgiriya | Trinity (4) |
1993 | 77 | Asgiriya | H. M. Goonetileke | Draw (44) | 14 | Katugastota | No result | |
1994 | 78 | Katugastota | T. H. de Silva | Draw (45) | 15 | Asgiriya | St. Anthony’s (10) | |
1995 | 79 | Asgiriya | S. N. Fernando | Draw (46) | 16 | Katugastota | Trinity (5) | |
1996 | 80 | Katugastota | J. L. B. Seneviratne | Draw (47) | 17 | Asgiriya | St. Anthony’s (11) | |
1997 | 81 | Asgiriya | C. K. Sangakkara | T. Gunaratne | Draw (48) | 18 | Katugastota | Trinity (6) |
1998 | 82 | Katugastota | S. P. Fernando | M. Palihakkara | Draw (49) | 19 | Asgiriya | Trinity (7) |
1999 | 83 | Asgiriya | U. K. Weeraratne | S. Pinnaduwa | Draw (50) | 20 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (12) |
2000 | 84 | Katugastota | U. K. Weeraratne | N. M. Nizam | Draw (51) | 21 | Asgiriya | Trinity (8) |
2001 | Not played | |||||||
2002 | 85 | Asgiriya | K. L. R. Gamage | P. Ranawaka | Draw (52) | 22 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (13) |
2003 | 86 | Katugastota | C. M. Fernando | N. Ratnayake | Draw (53) | 23 | Asgiriya | No result (2) |
2004 | 87 | Asgiriya | C. M. Fernando | M. Rizlan | Draw (54) | 24 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (14) |
2005 | 88 | Katugastota | R. M. Munaweera | P. Fernando | Draw (55) | 25 | Asgiriya | St. Anthony’s (15) |
2006 | 89 | Asgiriya | C. S. Dumbarage | S. Munas | Draw (56) | 26 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (16) |
2007 | 90 | Katugastota | S. S. Pathirana | S. Jamian | Draw (57) | 27 | Asgiriya | Trinity (9) |
2008 | 91 | Asgiriya | D. C. Gangoda | K. Dissanayake | Draw (58) | 28 | Katugastota | No result (3) |
2009 | 92 | Katugastota | M. R. Jaleel | S. Palihakkara | Draw (59) | 29 | Asgiriya | Trinity (10) |
2010 | 93 | Asgiriya | M. H. M. Sajid | D. Kumarasinghe | Draw (60) | 30 | Katugastota | Trinity (11) |
2011 | 94 | Katugastota | A. Jayasundara | H. Wickramasekara | Draw (61) | 31 | Asgiriya | Trinity (12) |
2012 | 95 | Asgiriya | D. P. N. Dickwella | K. Ranaraja | Trinity (23) | 32 | Katugastota | St. Anthony’s (17) |
2013 | 96 | Katugastota | D. M. Wickramanayake | S. Bulathsinghala | Draw (62) | 33 | Asgiriya | Trinity (13) |
2014 | 97 | Asgiriya | K. R. Chandraguptha | N. Gunasinghe | Draw (63) | 34 | Katugastota | Tied |
2015 | 98 | Katugastota | R. S. Sayer | B. Wijethunga | Draw (64) | 35 | Asgiriya | Trinity (14) |
2016 | 99 | Pallekele | R. S. Sayer | K. Ukgalpaya | Draw (65) | 36 | Katugastota | Trinity (15) |
2017 | 100 | Pallekele | S. Shanmuganathan | M. Alfar | Draw (66) | 37 | Asgiriya | Trinity (16) |
2018 | 101 | Asgiriya | E. M. H. R. B. Boyagoda | J. Himsara | Draw (67) | 38 | Katugastota | Trinity (17) |
2019 | 102 | Katugastota | G. G. P. Bandara | T. Gunasinghe | Draw (68) | 39 | Asgiriya | Trinity (18) |
2020 | Not played due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
2021 | Not played due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
2022 | 103 | Asgiriya | A. Muthalib | C. Wickremasinghe | Draw (69) | 40 | Asgiriya | Trinity (19) |
2023 | 104 | Katugastota | R. Amarasinghe | L. Abeysinghe | Draw (70) | 41 | Asgiriya | No result (4) |
2024 | 105 | Asgiriya | M. Kularathne | T. Ekanayake | Draw (71) | 42 | Katugastota | Trinity (20) |
Match and series records for the two-day series
[edit]Best performances
[edit]- As of 23 March 2024
Largest margin of victory by runs | Trinity | Won by an innings and 120 runs (1939) |
St. Anthony’s | Won by an innings and 90 runs (1962) | |
Largest margin of victory by wickets | Trinity | Won by 9 wickets (1927 and 1951) |
St. Anthony’s | Won by 9 wickets (1992) | |
Smallest margin of victory by runs | Trinity | Won by 41 runs (1925) |
St. Anthony’s | Won by 42 runs (1914) | |
Smallest margin of victory by wickets | Trinity | Won by 4 wickets (1931) |
St. Anthony’s | Won by 6 wickets (1917 and 1981) | |
Highest innings total | Trinity | 406/8d (1942) |
St. Anthony’s | 399/8d (1954) | |
Lowest innings total | Trinity | 54 (1990) |
St. Anthony’s | 27 (1928) | |
Most runs in an innings | Trinity | 148 by K. Weeraratne (1999) |
St. Anthony’s | 176 by A. C. M. Lafir (1954) | |
Best bowling figures in an innings | Trinity | 10/38 by S. Fernando (1997) [a] |
St. Anthony’s | 7/26 by P. Wijetunge (1990) | |
Best bowling figures in a match | Trinity | 12/48 by C. Dharmalingam (1939) – 6/17 and 6/13 [b] |
St. Anthony’s | 12/81 by S. Fernando (1992) – 6/39 and 6/52 |
Batting and bowling records
[edit]- As of 23 March 2024
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Records for the limited overs series
[edit]Best performances
[edit]- As of 23 March 2024
Largest margin of victory by runs | Trinity | Won by 149 runs (2018) |
St. Anthony’s | Won by 160 runs (1983) | |
Largest margin of victory by wickets | Trinity | Won by 9 wickets (2016) |
St. Anthony’s | Won by 9 wickets (1990) | |
Smallest margin of victory by runs | Trinity | Won by 2 runs (2011) |
St. Anthony’s | Won by 10 runs (2012) | |
Smallest margin of victory by wickets | Trinity | Won by 1 wicket (1991) |
St. Anthony’s | Won by 1 wicket (1989) | |
Highest innings total | Trinity | 305/7 in 50 overs (2000) |
St. Anthony’s | 276/5 in 45 overs (1993) and 276/8 in 50 overs (1980) | |
Lowest innings total | Trinity | 71 in 25.5 overs (1983) |
St. Anthony’s | 89 in 31 overs (2016) | |
Most runs in an innings | Trinity | 109 by H. Boyagoda (2018) |
St. Anthony’s | 139 by M. Von Hagt (1983) | |
Best bowling figures in an innings | Trinity | 6/23 by A. Anandakumar (2019) |
St. Anthony’s | 5/24 by K. Ekanayake (2007) |
Batting and bowling records
[edit]- As of 23 March 2024
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Notable people who have played
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Achieved a Ten-wicket haul in St. Anthony's second innings
- ^ Achieved a hat-trick in each innings
References
[edit]- ^ Laphir, Afzal (20 April 2023). "Trinity–Antonian Encounters – A Statistical Analysis". Quadrangle. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Laphir, Afzal (28 April 2023). "The Trinity–Antonian Limited Overs Series In Numbers". Quadrangle. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Alahakoon, Victor (13 March 1997). "A peep into the past of the Trinity - Antonian series". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Wijesena, Wickrema (3 March 2009). "Trinity-Antonian 'Big Match' 50 years ago". The Island. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Jaleel, Shamseer (10 March 2017). "Trinity-St. Antony's centenary big match could be anyone's game". Daily FT. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Jaleel, Shamseer (4 May 2021). "Up Country Battle of the Blues 103rd Trinity, Antonian battle postponed". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Rajapakse, Lalanthi (29 April 2023). "The coveted Sir Richard Aluvihare Trophy – A walk down memory lane". Trinity College. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Pathiraja, Nimuthu; Senhas, Chaniru; Ananda Kumar, Rehan (27 April 2023). "In Retrospect of the Hill Country Battle of the Blues Trophy". Trinity College. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Marikar, Hafiz (17 March 2024). "Drab draw at Trinity-Anthonian". Sunday Observer. Archived from the original on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Trinity secure comfortable 100-run victory". The Sunday Times. 24 March 2024. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ Dhananjan, Kevin (24 March 2024). "Trinity's Triumph: Grasping the Richard Aluvihare Trophy for the 20th time". ThePapare. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
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