The Royal–Thomian (The Battle of the Blues) is an annual cricket match in Sri Lanka played between Royal College, Colombo and S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia since 1879. It is known as The Battle of the Blues due to the colours of the two school's flags i.e. blue, gold and blue of Royal College and blue, black and blue of S. Thomas' College.
The original match was played between the Colombo Academy and S. Thomas' College, Mutwal in 1879, with schoolmasters and schoolboys participating. Mr. Ashley Walker captained the Colombo Academy while Rev. S. J. Meyrick, a member of the staff played for S. Thomas' College, Mutwal. This encounter is not considered the first match as Masters played for both sides.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
In 1880, only the students took part and this first official encounter between the Colombo Academy and S. Thomas' College, Mutwal in Modara was played at Galle Face Grounds, which is today the site of the Taj Samudra Hotel. The match commenced at 4.00 p.m. each day. The Beira Lake stretched up to the present railway line close to San Sebastian Hill and the two teams rowed across in boats to the Galle Face Grounds. The Academy made 110 in the first inning; and St. Thomas' 59. In the second innings the Academy made 35 and St. Thomas' 24.[7] J. W. de Silva was the Academy captain and F. W. McDonnell the Thomian captain.[8] In this first encounter Colombo Academy won by 62 runs.[9][10][11][12][13]
At present, the match is played between Royal College, Colombo which is a public non-denominational school accommodating approximately 8,000 students and S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia which is a private Anglican school that has about 2500 boys on roll and a branch network of three constituent colleges with a total of over 5,500 students. It was the first schoolboy cricket match in Sri Lanka to be played over three days.
This match is played for the prestigious D. S. Senanayake Memorial Shield. Incidentally, Rt. Hon.D. S. Senanayake, who became the first Prime Minister of Independent Ceylon, donned the Thomian cap in 1901 and 1902. This shield was first presented in 1928. If a match is drawn then the school already holding the shield retains it. S. Thomas' College is the current holder of the shield after winning the 140th Battle of the Blues in 2019.[15]
Atmosphere
The "Battle of the Blues" is filled with pageantry, with decorated tents, flags and baila singing and dancing groups present all around the city and the ground itself during the match days and in the days leading up to it. The match is held on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday. By tradition, the schools are closed on match days to allow students to attend the Big Match. Souvenirs published by both the schools are sold on all three days, the duty of distribution entrusted to the souvenir committees. On the day before the match, the students of each school take a walk around the city in a "cycle parade" with bands and decorations and other colourful items showing support for their team. Overloaded cars with supporters singing and careering along the Colombo streets is a familiar sight during match days.
The match is looked forward to by both the young and old, male and female, and even those who have no connection with either school turn up and enjoy the celebrations. It is more of an occasion for the old boys and present students of both schools coming together for three days of revelry. It is quite normal to see elderly alumni from either school coming to the "Big Match" to relive old times and meet old friends. Some expatriates choose this time of year to return to Sri Lanka in order to relive their old school days.
^Thornton, Katharine (2010). The messages of its walls and fields : a history of St Peter's College, 1847 to 2009. Wakefield Press. p. 63. ISBN9781862549227.
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The Battle of the Blues redirects here For other uses see The Battle of the Blues disambiguation The Royal Thomian The Battle of the Blues is an annual cricket match in Sri Lanka played between Royal College Colombo and S Thomas College Mount Lavinia since 1879 It is known as The Battle of the Blues due to the colours of the two school s flags i e blue gold and blue of Royal College and blue black and blue of S Thomas College The Battle of the BluesOther namesRoyal ThomianSportCricketTeamsRoyal College ColomboS Thomas College Mount LaviniaFirst meeting1879Latest meeting2022Next meeting2023TrophyD S Senanayake Memorial Shield Contents 1 History 2 Shield 3 Atmosphere 4 Venues 5 Notable people who have played in the Royal Thomian Cricket Match 16 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory EditThe original match was played between the Colombo Academy and S Thomas College Mutwal in 1879 with schoolmasters and schoolboys participating Mr Ashley Walker captained the Colombo Academy while Rev S J Meyrick a member of the staff played for S Thomas College Mutwal This encounter is not considered the first match as Masters played for both sides 1 2 3 4 5 6 In 1880 only the students took part and this first official encounter between the Colombo Academy and S Thomas College Mutwal in Modara was played at Galle Face Grounds which is today the site of the Taj Samudra Hotel The match commenced at 4 00 p m each day The Beira Lake stretched up to the present railway line close to San Sebastian Hill and the two teams rowed across in boats to the Galle Face Grounds The Academy made 110 in the first inning and St Thomas 59 In the second innings the Academy made 35 and St Thomas 24 7 J W de Silva was the Academy captain and F W McDonnell the Thomian captain 8 In this first encounter Colombo Academy won by 62 runs 9 10 11 12 13 At present the match is played between Royal College Colombo which is a public non denominational school accommodating approximately 8 000 students and S Thomas College Mt Lavinia which is a private Anglican school that has about 2500 boys on roll and a branch network of three constituent colleges with a total of over 5 500 students It was the first schoolboy cricket match in Sri Lanka to be played over three days The Royal Thomian is the second longest uninterrupted Cricket series in the entire world preceded only by the Cricket Intercol played between Prince Alfred College Adelaide and St Peter s College Adelaide whose first match was played in 1878 14 Shield EditThis match is played for the prestigious D S Senanayake Memorial Shield Incidentally Rt Hon D S Senanayake who became the first Prime Minister of Independent Ceylon donned the Thomian cap in 1901 and 1902 This shield was first presented in 1928 If a match is drawn then the school already holding the shield retains it S Thomas College is the current holder of the shield after winning the 140th Battle of the Blues in 2019 15 Atmosphere EditThe Battle of the Blues is filled with pageantry with decorated tents flags and baila singing and dancing groups present all around the city and the ground itself during the match days and in the days leading up to it The match is held on a Thursday Friday and Saturday By tradition the schools are closed on match days to allow students to attend the Big Match Souvenirs published by both the schools are sold on all three days the duty of distribution entrusted to the souvenir committees On the day before the match the students of each school take a walk around the city in a cycle parade with bands and decorations and other colourful items showing support for their team Overloaded cars with supporters singing and careering along the Colombo streets is a familiar sight during match days The match is looked forward to by both the young and old male and female and even those who have no connection with either school turn up and enjoy the celebrations It is more of an occasion for the old boys and present students of both schools coming together for three days of revelry It is quite normal to see elderly alumni from either school coming to the Big Match to relive old times and meet old friends Some expatriates choose this time of year to return to Sri Lanka in order to relive their old school days A Royal flag at the 128th Royal Thomian A Thomian flag at the 129th Royal ThomianVenues EditGalle Face Grounds Home of Colombo Cricket Club 1880 1882 to 1891 1893 1894 1897 1899 1912 Gordon Gardens 1881 Nomads Cricket Club NCC Grounds Victoria Park 1892 CCC Grounds Maitland Crescent 1895 to 1896 1898 1900 to 1911 Campbell Park 1913 to 1915 1917 NCC Grounds Maitland Crescent 1916 1935 1936 1937 1939 1941 Sinhalese Sports Club SSC Grounds Victoria Park current NCC grounds 1918 to 1934 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 Colombo Oval 1943 1945 1947 1949 to 1974 1977 1978 1980 1983 1984 1986 to 1988 1991 1992 1993 SSC Grounds Maitland Place 1975 1976 1979 1981 1982 1985 1989 1990 1994 to PresentNotable people who have played in the Royal Thomian Cricket Match 16 EditRoyalistsJ R Jayawardene Sir John Lionel Kotalawela Sir Forester Obeysekera N S Joseph R L de Krester B R Heyn B W Bawa P B Bulankulama Eran Wickramaratne Ranjan Madugalle Gamini Goonesena Churchill Gunasekara Fredrick C de Saram Satyendra Coomaraswamy Donald Rutnam Basil Gunasekara Muhammad Ajward Macan Markar Asantha De Mel Sudath Pasqual Jayantha Amerasinghe Rohan Jayasekera Roshan Jurangpathy Jehan Mubarak Pradeep Jayaprakashdaran Kithruwan Vithanage Kushal Janith Perera Bhanuka Rajapaksa Lasith Embuldeniya ThomiansD S Senanayake Dudley Senanayake Vernon Prins Michael Tissera Anura Tennekoon Buddy Reid Mano Ponniah Bradman Weerakoon Duleep Mendis Guy de Alwis Aruna Gunawardene Saliya Ahangama Kaushik Amalean Kapila Wijegunawardene Johanne Samarasekera Nisal Fernando Jeewan Mendis Kaushal Silva Stanley Tambiah S Saravanamuttu P Saravanamuttu M Saravanamuttu Mevan Pieris Ranil Abeynaike Shantha Kottegoda Michael Jayasekera A F MolamureSee also EditRoyal Thomian rivalry Royal Thomian RegattaReferences Edit We will learn of books and men and learn to play the game Unique stamp for a unique event Battle of the Blues S Thomas College Oldest Thomian Cricketer late Punchi Banda Artie Lankatilleke JP A Tribute to C E L Kalla De Silva on his 100th Birth Anniversary The Royal Thomian spectacle Potted history of the series Daily FT www ft lk Retrieved 2020 01 17 Colombo Royal College 25 December 2012 Cricket Royal College Retrieved 2020 01 17 Ranjan Madugalle A fine Cricketing Ambassador So Royal really lost 1885 match to S Thomas Archived 2011 06 05 at the Wayback Machine The College History OBA History The Royal Thmian 130 Years on Thornton Katharine 2010 The messages of its walls and fields a history of St Peter s College 1847 to 2009 Wakefield Press p 63 ISBN 9781862549227 Thomians in Royal toast 9 March 2019 The Royal Thomian Derby Archived June 16 2008 at the Wayback MachineExternal links EditOfficial Royal Thomian Website Multimedia coverage Open Forum The Royal Thomian 130 years on The Battle of the Blues Steeped in tradition Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Royal Thomian amp oldid 1137590030, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
