The Royal-Thomian Cricket Match: Its History–by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Uthpala Wijesuriya, in The Island, 17 March 2023,where the title presented is  “The Earth’s Greatest Rivalry” … while the highlighting in this presentation has been imposed by a Thuppahiyaaaaaaaaa. The Royal-Thomian or the Battle of the Blues, the world’s second oldest uninterrupted cricket battle, will unveil for the 144th consecutive year this week. The encounter pits the boys bearing the crests of the Elephant and Palm Tree against those bearing the Cross and Dove. The Royal-Thomian is in many ways greater and more epic than the three matches that can be most favorably compared to it: St Peters–Prince Alfred in Australia, Eton–Harrow in Britain, and the Ashes. This is particularly so in the annals of schoolboy cricket in Sri Lanka. Indeed, the history of Sri Lankan cricket cannot be written without the Battle of the Blues. Chandana Panditharathna once observed, “The magic of the match ...

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When Royal Toured Australia in 1936 Pat McCarthy impresses Woodful by Richard Dwight – Daily News, Saturday 14 Feb 2004 The Royal College cricket team of 1936 which toured Australia. Standing (L-R): Lucien de Zoysa, Pat McCarthy, S. Pathmanathan, W.B.V. Thiedeman, David Vollenhoven, E.F.E. de Krester, J.W. Subasinghe, D.R.R. Porritt. Seated (L-R): F.H. de Saram, Mr. L.H.W. Sampson (Principal), Ryle de Soysa (Capt.), Mr. L.V. Gooneratne (Master-in-charge), M. Sivanathan. Seated on Ground (L-R): A.I. Macan Markar, Robert de Krester. In the sphere of annual cricket encounters Royal College and S. Thomas’ College have since the series began in 1880 done exceedingly well to arrive at this point of time to notch its 125th encounter next month at the SSC grounds – a veritable landmark indeed in the annals of cricket of these two leading colleges. A sustained unbroken partnership of 125 years maintained without interruption even during the period of ...

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Authorship of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS)A Plea for Reparative Justice: – By Senaka Weeraratna Source : dailynews Concerning the injury suffered by Senaka Weeraratna consequent to the denial of a rightful hearing of his claim of invention, copyright and authorship regarding a critical issue in the regulation of the game of Cricket. http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/10/15/z_p26-theContovacy.jpg Senaka Weeraratna – an enthusiast since his school days at Royal College, Colombo on matters pertaining to cricket – felt strongly that field decisions by Umpires that are questionable – in some cases outrageously wrong – because they share the heat of the action and are not at their best in quick judgments, and which umpiring errors were vividly displayed to the public on television through video replays should be corrected using the same technology. At the same time Weeraratna realized that patently wrong umpiring decisions were allowed to stand because of the absence of a ...

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RCOBA NSW and ACT Secretary Update Summer 2022 Dear RCOBA NSW and ACT Member, Firstly, for those celebrating Christmas, Wish you a very Merry Christmas!   I would also like to wish everyone a great Australian summer ahead.   Please find below the final update from the RCOBA NSW and ACT Committee for 2022 and the exciting events you can look forward to in the new year.   Sports Corner – Year of Tennis and summer of Cricket The year of sports continued with a second successful tennis tournament between Royal College and Jaffna Hindu College held on 18 September at the Parramatta City Tennis Centre.  Alas, our rivals were the better team on the day, but it has motivated us to reach out to other OBAs to promote getting out on the court and enjoying a volley with friends, and we are hoping to organise a tournament with S. ...

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VALE – MICHAEL JOHN WILLE It is with great sadness that we announce the passing away of Michael John Wille (Royal College 1950 to 1957). Mike to his friends was an outstanding Cricketer, superb Bat and most importantly a noble Sportsman par excellence. Mike Captained Royal in 1957. Prior to the Big Match, he told his team-mates that he would score a 100 in the match and wanted the rest of his team to aggregate another hundred jointly. He did score a hundred and twenty one runs. Mike first played for Royal in 1954 at the age of 15 years. Mike left for Australia soon after the Royal Thomian and became a Civil Engineer specializing in tunnelling. He had the rare distinction of being the Project Engineer for the first road tunnel built in Melbourne, the Burnley and Domain tunnels.  The Funeral will take place on Tuesday 6 December at 11 AM at the Boyd Chapel in Springvale.  May his Soul Rest In Peace. ...

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History of Royal College Crest – By Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam        (Excerpts from the book History of Royal College published in 1981) Royal College crest serves to identify the school from other schools and gives a seal and significance to documentation. However it had not been mentioned in any writing prior to 1892. As Ceylon was crown colony of the British Empire, the imperial emblem – The Lion and the Unicorn was the badge of the country. As Royal College, then known as Colombo Academy, was a government educational institute, it had to use the British Royal Arms. The first display of Royal crest was in the first College magazine of 1893. Subsequently there had been alterations made to Royal crest in 1910 and 1912. In 1922, the government sanctioned the issue of the new crest in place of the one used in the past. Description of the ...

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Brief History of Royal College Boarding House (Hostel) – By Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam (Excerpts from the book “Royal College School of our fathers” compiled by D.L. Seneviratne) The first boarding house of the Colombo Academy was established in San Sebastian in 1868. It had about 20 to 30 boys and the principals who lived in the premises, joined the boarders often for breakfast and dinner. Mr. Ashley Walker became the first boarding master in 1876, and cricket teams at the beginning were composed mostly of boarders. The boarding was on top floor of the main building, which was previously the Government House overlooking the Beira Lake, with a splendid view of the sea. The boarding was closed on around 1905. There was stern resistance to establishing the boarding again, as it was deemed to be a day school. However in 1939, due to much effort by RCU, a spacious bungalow ...

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Off the beaten track for leopard or dragonfly-By Yomal Senerath-Yapa Source:Sundaytimes Growing up, Riaz Cader loved nothing better than an escape into the remote rural wilderness; whether it be the dry zone wildlife bungalows of Mahasilawa or Thalgasmankade in Yala with leopard and bear at a waterhole; the fecund darkness of a rain forest with endemic frog and loris and lizard; or to dream of the dry Indian scrub where the tiger hunts and dhole calls out. Today at 37, Riaz is content having carved out of his passion for wildlife a career as a nature tourism professional, with his own company, Natural World Explorer, curating special safaris with many itineraries focusing diversely on butterflies, birds, wild cats and even dragonflies; while also being a local ‘ground handler’ for big documentaries by the big names including National Geographic, BBC and Animal Planet. ...

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Obituary notice – Dr Channa Wijesinghe Dear Royalist We have received the sad news of the passing away of Dr Channa Wijesinghe last Sunday the 18th of September 2022. Channa was a highly respected Old Royalist who was on the Committee of the RCOBAA and served a term as President. Later he was awarded a Life Membership for unbroken membership years and his strong support to the RCOBAA. Dr Channa Wijesinghe won the Rupasinghe scholarship at Royal College. He was the foundation professor in psychiatry in Colombo University. He later migrated to Australia and was the Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University and a board member of the Medical Board of Victoria. His funeral will be on Saturday 24th September at 11.30 am at the Boyd Chapel, Springvale Cemetery. ...

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Obituary Notice: SRIPAL RANJAN RODRIGO (Royal College, class of 1955) Beloved husband of Shirani; Loving father of Maryse;  Loving father in law of Jude; Loving Grandpa of Cruz; Loving son of late Beryl Rodrigo and JBC Rodrigo, passed away peacefully in Sydney.  The funeral will take place on Saturday the 10th of  September at 11am at the Mary Mother of Mercy Chapel, Lot 4, Barnet Avenue,  Rookwood Cemetery. A livestream of the funeral will be available at https://www.oneroomstreaming.com/login Email sam@sgfunerals.com.au Password 7SX8WY   ...

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