87th Joe-Pete Big Match on December 13 and 14
Sri Lanka’s premier catholic boys’ schools, St. Joseph’s College, Colombo and St. Peter’s College, Colombo,will battle it out for the Rev. Father Maurice J. Le Goc Trophy on 13 and 14 December, at the SSC Grounds in Colombo.
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.
In the 2021 encounter the lads from Darley Road will be led by Sri Lanka Under-19 Captain, the brilliant all rounder Dunith Wellalage, while the boys from Bambalapitiya will be under the captaincy of stylish batsmen and fifth year Coloursman Nipunaka Fonseka.
Rev. Fr. Rohitha Rodrigo, the Rector of the hosting school, St. Peter’s College, Colombo, said. “The Joe-Pete fosters a unique sense of brotherhood, unity, peace and harmony and this year, even without spectators at the grounds the spirit will prevail. Let me express my gratitude to all who fought back with courage, discipline and responsibility during the pandemic to overcome the challenges. My sincere thanks to our Principal sponsor Dialog Axiata for their support for our inspirational brand.”
St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, Rector Rev. Fr. Ranjith Andradi, said: “We have, through divine intervention and the hard work of so many, succeeded in preparing the stage for another Joe-Pete cricket encounter which brings together a spirit of brotherhood and camaraderie that exists in an unbroken chain for generations. I would like to thank the sponsor, Dialog Axiata, and wish both teams the best of luck.”
St. Joseph’s College leads the series tally with 12 wins, their last win coming under the captaincy of Ruwantha Fernandopulle in 2008, while St. Peter’s College were the winners of the 2016 encounter under Vinu Mohotty, bringing their tally to 10 wins, which ensured the Rev. Father Maurice J.Legoc Trophy was kept securely in the trophy cabinet in Bambalapitiya.
The 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 and is scheduled to be played on the following Thursday, 16 December at the same venue. The Josephians lead the one-day encounter 23-20 with two matches ending with no result.
This year, six players –Dunith Wellalage, Shevon Daniel and Sadeesh Jayawardena from St. Joseph’s, and Wanuja Sahan, Danal Hemananda and Lahiru Dewatage from St. Peters, played against the touring Bangladesh U19 team, with five of them presently playing against the touring England Young Lions. Wellalage, Captain of St. Joseph’s, was appointed the Sri Lanka U19 Captain for both tours while Wanuja Sahan of St. Peter’s and Shevon Daniel of St. Joseph’s were regular match winners during the two series.
The two schools have produced many national caps. Current Sri Lanka Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Chaminda Vaas, Thisara Perera, Ashley De Silva, Michael Van Dort, Roshen Silva, Priyamal Perera and Sadeera Samarawickrama are the Josephians who represented Sri Lanka, while the Peterite National players are Roy Dias, Rumesh Ratnayake, Vinodhan John, Amal Silva, Russel Arnold, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Malinda Warnapura and Angelo Perera.
As the principal sponsor, Dialog Axiata has made arrangements to live stream the match via thepapare.com in the interest of all present boys, old boys, parents, supporters, well-wishers and cricket-loving public.
One of Sri Lanka’s largest banks, Hatton National Bank, has also come forth as a co-sponsor for this year’s prestigious ‘Battle of the Saints’ encounter.
