Josephians thrash Peters to regain Peter A. Pillai trophy

May 1, 2023.

A dominant performance from the Josephians saw them beating arch rivals St. Peter’s College by 5 wickets in the 49th Battle of the Saints limited overs encounter at the SSC grounds yesterday. 

Peterite skipper Nimuthu Gunawaradane won the toss and elected to bat first in a placid surface at SSC. Josephians were always on top with the ball taking wickets in regular intervals. 

The Peterites failed to make use of batting-friendly conditions as they gave wickets away cheaply. 

Wicket keeper/batter Nathen David was the only player to hang around at the crease to score a much deserved half century for the Peterites. Apart from David, Rusanda Gamage starred with the bat scoring a flawless 32 before he gifted his wicket away cheaply. 

Leg spinner Avintha de Alwis was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 27 while Yenula Dewthusa, Shevon Daniel and Lahiru Amarasekara picked up 2 wickets each.  

In response, the Josephians got off to a decent start with the two openers. Sadeesh Jayawardane looked good for another long innings but he perished for 30. However, the strong Josephian batting line up made sure to get over the line with ease. 

Hirun Kapurubandara was the main stay for the boys from Darley Road scoring a half century. 

Vishen Halambage starred with the ball taking 2 wickets. 

Brief Scores

St. Peter’s College, Colombo 156 (41.5) Nathen David 53, Rusanda Gamage 32, Avintha De Alwis 3/27, Yenula Dewthusa 2/18, Shevon Daniel 2/33 Lahiru Amarasekara 2/37

St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 158/5 (40.2) Hirun Kapurubandara 50, Hiran Jayasundara 30, Sadeesh Jayawardena 27, Vishen Halabage 2/25

89th Battle of the Saints Encounter at SSC Grounds

The 89th Battle of the Saints encounter between St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College ended in a tame draw yesterday (29) as rain interrupted both days at the SSC Ground. 

The Josephian skipper won the toss and elected to field first. The Peterites started badly and lost two wickets in the first over bowled by Gagan Chamod. The right-arm seamer was able to take another wicket in the 5th over, removing Vishen Halambage for just 18 runs. This put St. Peter’s in a difficult position, with a score of 29/3.

However, Rusanda Gamage and Chamindu Perera were able to rescue the team by putting on a 77-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Both Gamage and Perera went on to score important half-centuries, but St. Peter’s were still restricted to a total of 214 runs in their first innings. Chamod was the standout bowler for St. Joseph, taking 5 wickets for 69 runs, while Vice-Captain Lahiru Amarasekara gave him good support by taking 3 crucial wickets for 36 runs.

When St. Joseph’s had their turn to bat, they were only able to play for 6.2 overs before rain suspended play. It was unfortunate for both teams, but it gave St. Peter’s some time to recover and plan their strategy for the next innings. 

On day 2, Josephians resumed play under perfect batting conditions. Skipper Sadeesh Jayawardena and Naren Muralitharan walked out with intent. Unfortunately, Muralitharan was dismissed early. In came Shevon Daniel who joined with his skipper and started to accumulate runs. 

Daniel had a life when Sanshay Gunathilaka dropped a sitter but he failed to pounce on it as he too perished thanks to a stunning catch by Shennon Rodrigo. 

Hiran Jayasundara walked in to join his skipper and U19 national teammate. The pair looked flawless as they kept on accumulating runs at a brisk pace. 

Skipper Jayawardena brought up his century in the Big Match. It was a knock of pure class as he dominated the Peterite bowling attack. At the other end, Jayasundara was manoeuvring the ball into vacant spaces. 

After the lunch break, the clouds started to gather and it finally started pouring down when Jayasundara was stranded on 92. 

The rain continued and finally the officials called off the game, which meant the Peterites retained the Maurice J. Le Goc Trophy for another year.

Brief scores 

St. Peter’s College, Colombo 214 (57.3) 

Chamindu Perera 66, Rusanda Gamage 55, Gagan Chamod 5/69, Lahiru Amarasekara 3/36 

St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 240/2 (54.5) 

Sadeesh Jayawardena 110*, Hiran Jayasundara 91*, Naren Muralitharan 20

Saints ready to battle for Rev. Fr. Maurice J. Le Goc Trophy

27 April 2023

The finale of March Madness, the 89th Battle of the Saints between two premier Catholic schools, St. Peter’s College and St. Joseph’s College, is all set to take centre stage on today (28) and tomorrow (29) at the SSC Ground.

One of the most competitive Big Matches played in Sri Lanka, the 89th edition of the Battle of the Saints played for the Rev. Father Maurice J. Le Goc Trophy, will be battled in its full glory as the gates open for the public after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Battle of the Saints, which is renowned for its exciting and competitive brand of cricket, is the only annual two-day cricket encounter that strategically limits the first innings to 60 overs each to create greater interest and result orientation. 

St. Joseph’s College leads the tally with 12 wins, their last win coming under the captaincy of Ruwantha Fernandopulle in 2008, but St. Peter’s College have been the holders of the trophy since winning it back in 2010 under the captaincy of Chathura Peiris. Since then, Peterites have won it twice under Shehan Fernando (2012) and Vinu Mohotty (2016). 

In the 2023 encounter, the lads from Darley Road will be led by wicketkeeper-batsman and Sri Lanka U19 player Sadeesh Jayawardena. He has led the team with the bat, scoring the highest amount of runs – 876 – in the 2022/’23 season. His key weapons in the batting department are Muditha Dissanayake and the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan’s son, Naren Muralitharan. Both players have crossed the 500-run mark this season, with Naren showing great resilience with the bat, playing longer innings at the top.

In the bowling department, Vice Captain Lahiru Amarasekara and Yenula Dewthusa have led the spin bowling attack. Off spinner Amarasekara has 51 wickets under his belt while Dewthusa is the highest wicket taker with 60 wickets. However, the X factor for the Josephians will be none other than Shevon Daniel. Having missed the entire season due to U19 national duty and other T20 franchise leagues, Daniel will have a point to prove as he represents his alma mater for the last time next week.

The boys from Bambalapitiva will be under the captaincy of batting all-rounder Nimuthu Gunawardena. The hard-hitting top order bat is the best performer for the Peterites, with 706 runs and 22 wickets under his belt. Peterites have four batters who have gone past the 500-run mark, but a lot will depend on left-handed batter Rusanda Gamage. The most technically correct batter in the side, he already has a couple of centuries under his belt this season. Other key batters are U19 National Cap Vishen Halambage, Oween Salgado, and Kavika Jayasundara.

In the bowling department, left-arm spinner Shenon Rodrigo will hold the key for Peterites during the middle overs. He is the highest wicket taker this season with 36 scalps. The seam bowling pair of Lakindu Samarajeewa and Sean Roberts has also been impressive this season. Halambage’s fast leg breaks have also come in handy for the Peterites this season. 

The highly anticipated Josephian-Peterite limited overs match played for the Fr. Peter A. Pillai Memorial Trophy, which was the first one-day encounter among schools commencing in 1975, has always attracted the highest number of spectators for a school’s 50-over cricket match. This is scheduled to be played on Sunday (30) at the SSC Grounds in Colombo. 

The Josephians lead the one-day encounter 24-21, with 2 matches ending with no result and one game with a tie. In last year’s encounter, the boys from Bambalapitiya edged out strong favourites Josephians.

The two schools have produced many national caps. Current Sri Lanka Test Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Chaminda Vaas, Dunith Wellalage, Thisara Perera, Ashley De Silva, Michael Vandort, Roshen Silva, Priyamal Perera, and Sadeera Samarawickrama are Josephians who represented Sri Lanka, while the Peterites are Roy Dias, Rumesh Ratnayake, Vinothen John, Amal Silva, Russel Arnold, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Malinda Warnapura, Angelo Perera, and Janith Liyanage.

JOSEPHIANS WIN LIMITED-OVERS ENCOUNTER BY 85 RUNS

By: Upali Obeyesekere – Josephian-Peterite NEWS NETWORK

47^th Encounter – Battle of the Saints Series at SSC Grounds on December 16, 2021.

Rev. Fr. Claver Perera’s tenure as Rector, St. Peter’s College that the limited overs cricket match between the Big Match rivals – St. Peter’s College and St. Joseph’s College was launched. Played on the 16th of March in 1975 it was the first such limited overs ‘Big Match’ among schools in Sri Lanka. St. Peter’s led by Bernard Wijetunga Jr. beat the Josephians led by Dushan Soza, in this short format of cricket between the two schools.

The Josephian-Peterite limited overs encounter earns the right to be called the ‘longest running Limited Over encounter in Sri Lanka among schools’ and played for the Rev. Fr. Peter A. Pillai trophy.

The 47^th edition of this memorable encounter was played at the SSC grounds in Colombo on Wednesday, December 16, 2021. The match ended in a decisive victory for St. Joseph’s over St. Peter’s by 85 runs. St. Joseph’s won the last two encounters in 2018 and 2019. With this year’s win the Josephians extended their wins in the Joe-Pete limited-overs series to 24, while the Peterites have won on 20 occasions. Two matches ended without a result, while one game ended in a tie.

Given this background, St. Joseph’s won the toss and elected to bat at the picturesque SSC grounds – a decision that proved right judging by the result. However, the start of the innings was wobbly when opener Yesith Rupasinghe flicked the ball to the safe hands of Peterite skipper Nipunaka Fonseka for a duck. Two balls later No.3 batsman Hirun Kapurubandara was out lbw. Peterite pacer Danal Hemananda accounting for both wickets. Then came a 36-run partnership between Skipper Sheran Fonseka, 18, and Hiran Jayasundara, 58, that consolidated the Josephian innings. With Fonseka’s departure Jayasundara was associated in a match winning partnership with Mithira Thenura, 52, for 101 runs in 163 balls. A cameo by Dinal Anuradha, 30, contributed to a commanding Josephian total of 200 runs in 49.1 overs. Bowling honours for the Peterites went to Chamelkar De Silva 2/27 and Danal Hemananda 4/30.

St. Peter’s also had a disastrous start losing three top order batsmen in quick succession. Chasing a target of 201 runs to win, opener Vishen Halambage, No.3 bat Lahiru Dawatage and Nimuthu Gunawardene were back in the pavilion with three wickets down for 28 runs. The other Opener Shenal Boteju continued his form with the bat in the recently concluded ‘big match’ with another solid innings of 48 runs off 59 balls. Boteju and Skipper Nipunaka Fonseka, 31, held on for 69 balls but had little support from the other batsmen and St. Peter’s folded for 115 runs in 35.2 Overs. Lahiru Amarasekara spun a web round the Peterite batsmen with a splendid spell of five for 36 in 10 overs. Apart from off-spinner Amarasekara’s five-fer, Yesith Rupasinghe and Deshan Senevirathne picked up two wickets apiece.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

• Best Fielder – Sheran Fonseka (SJC)
• Best Bowler – Danal Hemananda (SPC)
• Best Batsman – Hiran Jayasundara (SJC)
• Man of the Match – Lahiru Amarasekara (SJC)

BRIEF SCORES

St. Joseph’s College 200/10 in 49/1 Overs – Hiran Jayasundara 58, Mithira Thenura 52, Dinal Anuradha 30, Bowling: Danal Hemananda 4/30, Chamelkar De Silva 2/27.

St. Peter’s College 115/10 in 35.2 Overs – Shenal Boteju 48, Nipunaka Fonseka 31, Bowling: Lahiru Amarasekara 5/36, Deshan Seneviratne 2/14, Yesith Rupasinghe 2/17.

RESULT: St. Joseph’s College won by 85 runs.

TEAMS:

St. Joseph’s College – Sheran Fonseka (Capt), Yesith Rupasinghe, Hirun Kapurubandara, Hiran Jayasundara, Mithira Thenura, Dinal Anuradha, Shenuka De Silva, Kenneth Liyanage, Deshan Seneviratne, Lahiru Amarasekara, Yenula Dewthusa.

St. Peter’s College – Nipunaka Fonseka (Capt), Shenal Boteju, Vishen Halambage, Lahiru Dewatage, Nimuthu Gunawardena, Vinuda Liyanage, Niman Umesh, Danal Hemananda, Shelon Rodrigo, Monil Silva, Chamelka De Silva

BATTLE OF THE SAINTS AT SSC GROUNDS DECEMBER 13TH & 14TH, 2021

Josephians take honours in drawn 87th Encounter of the “Battle of the Saints”

By: Upali Obeyesekere – Josephian-Peterite News Network

Due to national commitments, St. Joseph’s missed the services of their star skipper Dunith Wellalage, batsman Shevon Daniel and wicket-keeper batsman Sadeesh Jayawardene, while the Peterites did not receive permission from Sri Lanka Cricket to field all-rounder Wanuja Sahan. Rain also marred play on both days.

The 87th Battle of the Saints ended in a tame draw, in favour of St. Joseph’s College. The rain delayed big match was played at SSC grounds on Monday, December 13th & Tuesday, December 14th sans spectators due to Covid-19 protocols. The first innings is restricted to 60 overs which is standard procedure.

BRIEF SCORES

SJC 261.7 in 60 Overs (Sheran Fonseka 52, Yesith Rupasinghe 57, Hiran Jayasundera 53 not out, Mithira Thenura 22, Shenuka de Silva 21), Niman Umesh 3/56, Lashane Rodrigo 2/48.

SPC 138/10 in 56.3 Overs (Shenal Boteju 62, Nipunaka Fonseka 19), Lahiru Amerasekara 3/40, Shenuka De Silva 3/25, and 82/2 in 22 Overs (Shenal Boteju 23, Lahiru Dewatage 50 not out).

Individual Awards

• Best Fielder – Shenal Boteju (SPC)
• Best Bowler – Shenuka De Silva (SJC)
• Best Batsman – Shenal Boteju (SPC)
• Best All-Rounder – Yesith Rupasinghe (SJC)
• Man of the Match – Sheran Fonseka (SJC)

Match Report

Day-1: St. Peter’s skipper Nipunaka Fonseka won the toss and elected to field first. St. Joseph’s College got off to a super start when the two left-handed openers, stand-in Captain Sheran Fonseka and Yesith Rupasinghe, added 120 runs for the first wicket. Both Fonseka and Rupasinghe had no problem in negating the Peterite bowling as they scored 52 and 57 respectively. Fonseka was the first to be dismissed when he was caught plumb in front for a 93-ball 52 by off-spinner Chamelkar De Silva. Fonseka’s elegant knock had 4 fours. In the very next over, Rupasinghe played a reverse-sweep but missed it completely as off-spinner Niman Umesh picked up his first scalp. Rupasinghe top-scored with a 85-ball 57 with 6 fours. Batting at number three, young Hiran Jayasundara played with utmost confidence to hold the inexperienced Josephian middle order. He remained unbeaten on 49. Mithira Thenura made a 18-ball 20, while Keneth Sasmina Liyanage and Shenuka De Silva made 12 and 21 respectively to steer St. Joseph’s to the driving seat. Umesh was the pick of the bowlers for the Peterites, picking up 3 for 55, bowling 16 overs.

Day-2: Action on day two began at 10.30 am, with the scheduled start being delayed by an hour due to the wet outfield. First day’s play was brought to an end around 2.00 pm due to heavy showers, with the Josephians sitting pretty on 233 for 6. The boys from Darley Road managed to add 28 more runs to their overnight score with overnight batter Hiran Jayasundara reaching a well-deserved half-century.

The Peterites started their reply cautiously, having lost fresher Vishen Halambage early in the innings. Opening Shenal Boteju continued to lose partners as the Josephian spinners bowled brilliantly in conditions which favoured spin bowling. St. Peter’s were 119 for 4 at one stage, but they lost their last 6 wickets for just 19 runs and folded for a paltry 138 runs with a deficit of 123 runs. Boteju was the most impressive batsman for St. Peter’s, scoring 62 off 149 balls with 4 fours. Apart from Boteju, no other player reached 20 runs for St. Peter’s College. The off-spin duo of Shenuka De Silva and Lahiru Amarasekara took 3 wickets apiece.

With a session left, the Josephians enforced the follow-on. In the first ball of the Peterite second innings, Halambage was dismissed. However, Boteju and No.3 Lahiru Dawatage consolidated the innings till stumps were drawn. The two were associated in a partnership of 43 runs for the second wicket. After Boteju fell for 23, Dawatage was joined by Skipper Nipunaka Fonseka as they scored 39 unbroken runs for the 3rd wicket before bad-light ended the game in the last hour.

The Peterites retained the Maurice Le Goc Challenge Trophy having last won it in 2016.

The two teams will battle it out once again on Thursday, December 16 at SSC grounds in the 47th limited-overs encounter.

Thursday, January 6, 2022 – Daily News.

St. Joseph’s College First Eleven Cricket Team 2021   
Seated from left – Lahiru Wickramasinghe (1 st XI Assistanct Coach),  Dilan Ramanayake (Head Coach),  Asiri Caldera (1 st XI Master in Charge), Sadeesh jayawardene, Dunith Wellalage (Captain) , Rev. Fr. Ranjith Andradi, Rev. Fr. Priyan Thisera (Prefect of Games), Shevon Daniel, Sanjeewa Fernando (Junior 2 nd XI Master in Charge), Sheran Fonseka, Kavindu Perera (2 nd XI Coach) Back Row Standing fromleft – Sasanka Ranaweera, Mithira Thenuwara, Shenuka de Silva, Deshan Senevirathne, Yenula Devthusa, Gagan Chamod, Shenuk Serasinghe, Lahiru Amarasekera, Jaydon Makalanda, Hiruna Kapurubandara, Kenath Sismina, Sahan Dabare, Hiran Jayasundara (Picture by Dilwin Mendis Moratuwa Sports Special Correspondent)

Hiran Sachin Jayasundara

Seventeen-year-old up and coming cricketer, right hand top order bat, wicket keeper, Best Batsman of the Joe-Pete Annual Limited over game 2021 and athlete Hiran Sachin Jayasundara has brought honour and immense fame and glory to his alma mater St. Josephs College Colombo with his deeds in the field of cricket.

Hiran was born on 7th October 2004 and initially he was admitted to the Primary School Ginigathhena in 2010 when Mr.Cyril was the Principal. During this period this school did not have any sports activities and from there in 2013 he was drafted to Mahamathiya Vidyalaya Athurugiriya and in 2016 he participated at the school inter house sports meet in under-12, 100 meters and came first and participating at the Divisional Meet he could not live up to expectations and in the following year too he did the same event at the under 13 age category and he came second. Though he did Athletics his forte is cricket and noticing his keenness and interest in cricket his Parents Jagath Jayasundara and Niranjani Liyanage handed over him to the school cricket coach Mohan Perera and his MIC was Mr.Nalin and at the same time he was admitted to Nelson Mendis Cricket Academy.

With the hard and strenuous practices he was selected to the school under 13 division three tournament cricket team and his first year itself he passed the 200 mark with two fifties and kept wickets and in his second year in the under 13 he scored more than 300 runs with two half centuries and in the meantime he played for Nelson Mendis Academy in the Mercantile Cricket Association under 13 tournament and fared well. It was a fine exposure for him and this performances enabled him to joine St.Josephs College Colombo in 2017 and in the same year he walked into the Joes under 13 team easily and in his final year in the under 13 Division one he crossed over the 300 mark with three fifties and his Coach was Pasindu Liyanarachchi and MIC was Sanjeewa Fernando.

Hiran was selected to the under 15 team and the coach was Malith Silva, but unfortunately due to an injury Hiran had to skip the first year and in the following year in the under 15 division one he passed the 300 mark with a century against St.Thomas College Kotte and got two fifties. He was selected to the Prima Cup District Team and got selected for the Provincial team and they emerged champions

He was a unanimous choice for the under 17 team and the tournament was put off due to Covid and as an under 15 player he was selected to the first eleven cricket squad and he was a reserve and his coaches were Rogar Wijesuriya, Dilan Ramanayake, Lahiru Kanishka, Suranga Perera and the MIC was Asiri Udara and the PoG is Rev. Fr.Priyan Sudarshana. During the 2020 cricket season he played in the schools Limited Over Tournament in five matches and in the 2021 playing in the debut Big Match he scored 53 runs and in the limited over game when he walked into the crease Joes were reeling at 2 for 0 and with Mithira Thenura he put on a century partnership and he scored 58 runs and Mithira contributed 52 runs and it was his debut match and perhaps scoring a half century in the Big Match and the Limited over match may be a his school record and he earned the Best Batsman’s Award at the one dayer. His Rector Rev.Fr.Ranjith Andradi is always very supportive to him.

In the meantime to enhance his Cricket skills he joined King Fisher Cricket Academy Homagama in 2019 and his coach is Duminda Gunasekera.

CEYLON TODAY | Published: 2:00 AM Mar 8 2020

The 86th Battle of the Saints, Big Match encounter between traditional rivals St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College ended in a high scoring draw at the P. Sara Oval, yesterday.

The hero’s on the second day were Petes’ Ruwin Senevirathne and Danal Hemananda who joined the list of half-centurions in the Big Match series. 

Ruvin and Danal came together at a vital stage of the innings when their team were in a spot of bother. The duo did what exactly Peterite coach wanted as they put up an unbroken 88 run partnership for the 9th wicket. 

A definite asset for future of Sri Lanka’s cricket Ruwin Senevirathne scored an unbeaten 53 while Danal Hemananda also scored a fighting half century to put their Alma Mater on top.

Earlier, Peterite Rishika Santhush also scored a brilliant 68 off 144 deliveries before Ruwin and Danal stood firm and held their nerve to rescue the side from danger with the fighting unfinished partnership.

As a result, St. Peter’s went on to amass a formidable 288 for eight wickets in their second innings while making some amends for their first innings’ batting debacle.  

Earlier, St. Joseph’s put themselves in a strong position after Dineth Jayakody and Sadeesh Jayawardene anchored a record breaking 148 run partnership for the fifth wicket to end on top on Day one, but the duo failed to continue their momentum on day two and were eventually bowled out for 259 runs.

The Joes of course were well placed to reach a much bigger total in their first innings but they completely lost their way on the second day due to some accurate bowling from Vinuda Liyanage (4/56) and Trishen Herath (3/57).  

St. Joseph’s College: 259 all out (51.3) (Dineth Jayakody 122, Sadeesh Jayawardana 70, V Liyanage 4/56)

St. Peter’s College: 224 all out (60) & 288/8 (87.4) (Rishika Santhush 68, Ruwin Senevirathne 53*, Danal Hemananda 50 *, Dunith Wellalage 4/84) (IR)(Pix by Kelum Chamara)

COURTESY: SUJITH SILVA – QUADRANGLE

Quadrangle is at St Peter’s College, Colombo.

St. Peter’s College will commence their 1st XI Cricket season this weekend with their traditional Fixtures against St. Sebastian’s College.

Wishing all the best to Nipunaka Fonseka and his team! Here’s your guide to follow Peterite Cricket in 2021.

CRICKET CAPTAINS APPOINTED FOR 2021

St. Peter’s College

We have learned that Nipunaka Fonseka, has been appointed captain of the Peterite cricket team for the 2021 season. He was vice captain for the two previous seasons (2018/19 and 2019/20).We offer Nipunaka our heartiest Congratulations and our best wishes to him and the team.Given the COVID-19 pandemic, unlike in the past the cricket season will not straddle two years but will be for the year 2021 and even the format of the game is rumoured to be changed for reasons of health. Whether matches will be played sans spectators is also a question. Let’s hope for the best and may the boys enjoy the cricket.

St. Joseph’s College

Dunith Wellalage of St. Joseph’s College Colombo came up with an excellent all-round performance in the Under-19 Division One inter School Cricket (Two day) tournament 2019/20 season conducted by Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association. He has been appointed Captain of the SJC Cricket XI for 2021 season.

Left hand middle order batsman Dunith Wellalage scored 726 runs with a century and five half centuries. His best batting performance was 196 runs against Isipathana College Colombo. He maintained a 45.38 average in the season. He made half centuries against St. Aloysius Galle (70), Wesley Colombo (72*), Trinity Kandy (51), Ananda Colombo (70) and St. Anne’s Kurunegala (52).

Left arm leg-spinner Dunith captured 51 wickets with 3 five wicket hauls and one ten wicket haul in the season of 2019/20. His best bowling performance in an innings was 7 for 53 runs against St. Anthony’s College Katugastota. His best bowling performance in a match was 11 for 72 against the same team.He claimed 5 wicket hauls against Zahira Colombo (5/54), Wesley Colombo (5/45) and St. Anthony’s Katugastota (7/53). His best all-round performance was against Isipathana College Colombo. He scored 196 runs and took 5 wickets for 64 in the match.

Dunith Nethmika Wellalage was born on January 9 2003. He attended St. Sebastian’s College Moartuwa the well known Catholic school in Moratuwa. He commenced his school cricket career at Cricket academy of St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa in 2012 under first coach Sanjeewa Silva at the age of nine years at the request of his father. Dunith represented the school under 13 ‘C’ team in 2013 under coach Mohan Liyanage. He was promoted to the under 13 ‘A’ team in the next year. He represented the under 13 ‘A’ team under the guidance of Junior head coach Rashan Pieris. Dunith was a member of the Champion team in 2014. He claimed 57 wickets and helped them to win the championship. He was adjudged the best bowler of the tournament, best all-rounder of the tournament and man of the final.

CRICKET HISTORY AT ST. JOSEPH'S COLLEGE

By: Upali Obeyesekere – Editor, JPNN

Cricket was introduced to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) in the first quarter of the 19th century, following colonization of the island by the British in 1796. The legend of Cricket in the island nation of Ceylon is fascinating. The British planted wickets and introduced the game in every nook and corner they went in the island.

The first cricket club formed was the Colombo Cricket Club, which was founded in 1832. Nonetheless, unlike its progress in England, cricket remained more an exception than the rule and it was not until about three decades later that the game formally took root in Ceylon.

Interestingly, in 1900, six ball overs were introduced in place of the previous five ball version. The earliest known match was recorded in 1832 and the earliest first-class one in 1926. The national team has played Test cricket from 1982. The evolution of the game has been phenomenal in that Sri Lanka won the coveted World Cup in the shorter format of 50-over game in 1996. Sri Lanka beat England, Australia and neighbouring India to become undisputed champions of the cricket world in One-day Internationals (ODI) format. A tremendous achievement.

Against this backdrop, history was made when a visionary group of French Missionaries led by Rev. Christophe-Etienne Bonjean established St. Joseph's College Colombo – a proudly Roman Catholic educational institution in 1896. It is equally fascinating that two years later St. Joseph's College had structured and coached a cricket team of 11 players who made their foray into school cricket by playing its inaugural match against Royal College in June 1898. Royal College were seasoned veterans at the time having had a cricket team since 1838.

Henry A. de Silva earned the right to be the first Captain of St. Joseph's College Cricket team. What a monumental honour for this gentleman who captained the Joes for the first two years in 1898 and 1899.

The same season in 1898, the Josephians played against St. Benedict's College, Kotahena (Founded in 1865). The Bens' started cricket in the 1890s and and played their first ever Cricket match against Wesley College. The school by the seas – S. Thomas' College Mt Lavinia started cricket in 1879. Trinity College Kandy was the other school that had a cricket team in 1893.

With the advent of the 19th Century, St. Joseph's College had started cricket seriously and played against St. Anthony's College Kandy, Kingswood College Kandy, Ananda College, Wesley College, Zahira College and Richmond College Galle.

Period of 1900-1932

After Henry A. de Silva, the Josephians were captained by William Fernando, Andrew de Silva, Peter Fernando, Victor Mendis, Tiny de Silva, Pius Fernando, Bertie Kelaart, J. Abeywickreme, L.R. Jayamanne, W.P. Ranasinghe, O.A. Wright, John Perera, JP de Fonseka, V. de Alwis, Bernard Jayasuriya, Albert Peiris, Leonard Jayawardena, Edwin Silva, Sam T. Abeysekara, Henry Halahackone, Peter Halahackone, William Abeysekara, Bill Devanayagam, John Pulle, Robert Fernando during the period 1900-1932.

"Battle of the Saints" in 1933

1933 was a banner year for cricket at St. Joseph's College Colombo. The "Battle of the Saints" a.k.a. Josephian-Peterite Cricket Series made its entry into school cricket annals. The inaugural "Big Match" was played at the picturesque St. Peter's College grounds at Bambalapitiya on February 23rd & 24th. Robert Fernando had the honour of leading the Josephians while George Jayaweera led the Peterite team. The Josephians blazed their way to an innings win to register 1-0 in the new series.

SJC – 225 All Out (Robert Fernando, 31, D. Moreira, 26, KC Pathmanathan, 31, T. Le Mercier, 32, Claude Wijesinghe, 10, Peter Peries, 36, H. Swaris, 19, SJC Cruze, 18) – Bowling: Cyril Dias 9 wickets for 64 runs off 19 overs.

SPC – 50 All Out (K. de Silva 17): Bowling: Claude Wijesinghe 4/8; P. Peiris 2/16 and 70 All Out (K. de Silva, 15, D. Pereira, 11, P.S. Anthoniz, 11) – Bowling: D. Moreira 3/20; P. Peiris 3/17; Calude Wijesinghe 2/11; KC Pathmanathan 2/4

Result: St. Joseph's College won by an innings and 105 runs

Man of the Match: Cyril Dias (SPC) for his awesome spin and googly bowling capturing 9 Josephian wickets for 64 runs.

TEAMS

• St. Joseph's College – Robert Fernando (Capt), Douglas Moreira, KC Pathmanathan, T. Le Mercier, Claude Wijesinghe, V. Albert, JP Maloney, Peter Peiris, H. Swaris, WLA Karunaratne, SJC Cruze.
• St. Peter's College – Kenneth de Silva, D. Pereira, E. Bartholomeusz, P.S. Anthoniz, G. Walles, George Jayaweera (Capt), J. Abeysekara, Shirley Illesinghe, T. Herat, Cyril Dias, W. Pietersz.

TRIVIA – 1933 Inaugural "Battle of the Saints"

• Tommy Le Mercier who played for St. Joseph's College is the father of Tyrone Le Mercier who captained St. Peter's College in 1963 and Desmond Le Mercier who played for SPC in 1963/64;

• Douglas Moreira who played for SJC is the father of Christopher Moreira who captained SJC in1965;

• George Jayaweera, captain of St. Peter's College had two sons play for St. Peter's College – Tissa Jayaweera & Shanthi Jayaweera and one son Ruwan Jayaweera who captained SPC in 1974;

• Claude Wijesinghe who played for SJC is the granduncle of Brian Obeyesekere who captained SJC in 1969;

P.S. Claude Wijesinghe is the writer's granduncle too. My paternal grandmother's brother.