Trinity-Antonian fixed for May 15 and 16-BY HAFIZ MARIKAR

The date has been finalized for Kandy’s Battle of Blues cricket match between Trinity College and St. Anthony’s College to be played on May 15 and 16 at Katugastota without spectators for the first time.

The match was not played last year due to the coronavirus.

This will be the 103rd encounter between these two cricket rivals and is the sixth oldest big match in the country played for the John Halangoda Memorial trophy.

The trophy is awarded to the team that manages to win the match by means of an outright win or failing that, a first innings win.

It was introduced in 2005 in memory of the former Trinity College cricketer and coach who later became the coach of St. Anthony’s College and guided them to a win in 1948.

In the series Trinity College leads the overall tally with 23 wins while St. Anthony’s College has won 11.

Trinity’s last win came under the captaincy of Niroshan Dickwella in 2012 where they broke a 25-year hoodoo to win by an innings and one run.

The Antonians are yet to win an encounter this century with their last win recorded in 1991 under the captaincy of Umesh de Alwis.

It is the Trinitians who have dominated the series in the early years to such an extent that they won the big match a record eleven times in a row from 1918 to 1928.