142nd Battle of The Blues from October 28th

Despite the postponement of Sri Lanka’s blue ribbon cricket encounter due to the COVID-19 pandemic, premier boys schools Royal College, Colombo and S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia will battle it out once again for the 142nd uninterrupted occasion in history for the ‘Battle of the Blues’ played for the prestigious Rt. Hon. DS Senanayake Memorial Shield, from 28-30 October at the SSC Grounds, Colombo.

Sri Lanka’s premier schools cricket encounter, the Battle of the Blues is traditionally played in the second week of March at the SSC Grounds, but was postponed and the venue shifted to the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium at Suriyaweva, Hambantota to be played sans spectators. However, due to a wave of Delta variant of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka’s blue ribbon schools cricket encounter was postponed again. 
Having taken into consideration the improving Covid-19 health situation as well as the recent government circular permitting the resumption of some sports, including cricket, the Heads of Schools (HOS) have made the decision to proceed with the plans for playing the match in consultation with their respective cricket Advisory Committees and the Joint Match Organizing Committee (JMOC). The relevant government authorities have granted permission for the match to be played with strict guidelines to be adhered by the organisers. Consequently, the match will be played behind closed doors / without any invitees or spectators. Further, the two teams and match officials will be following all Covid-19 protocol and health and safety guidelines of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) that will regulate playing conditions, as well as be within a Bio Secure Environment (BSE) as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health. As always, the safety of the school boys will be of paramount importance.

In the 2021 edition of ‘Battle of the Blues’, powered by Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, Dialog Axiata PLC, the boys from Mt. Lavinia will be led by Shalin De Mel, whilst the lads from Reid Avenue will be playing under the captaincy of Ahan Wickramasinghe.

‘The Royal – Thomian’, has a rich and colourful history spanning across a century and four decades, and is also the second longest uninterrupted cricket series played in the world, second only to the annual encounter played between St. Peters College, Adelaide and Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, Australia, that began just a year earlier and the Australia vs England Ashes Series just two years before.

In 1880, the first match in which only the boys took part was played on Galle Face Green, the present location of the Taj Samudra Hotel. This was the start to the centenary series. Both teams are said to have rowed their boats across Beira Lake to play the match.
The tally between the two schools at present stands at 35 all, with the highly-debated match in 1885, where Royal was all out for nine runs with no play on the second day is considered a win by S. Thomas’ and considered a draw by Royal as shown by the respective souvenir books of the two schools. The Shield at present sits as the crown jewel amongst the silverware in the Warden’s trophy cabinet at S. Thomas’, which will be challenged by a determined Royal XI this year. The boys from Reid Avenue last won the coveted shield under the stewardship of Geeshanth Panditharatne in 2016.
This will be the twelfth year that the encounter is sponsored by Dialog, who has also made a pledge to contribute LKR 1,000 for every run scored and LKR 10,000 for every wicket that falls. Last year’s exciting encounter contributed LKR 1,008,000 to the ‘Play for a Cause’ pledge. The proceedings were directed in consultation with the Principal of Royal College and the Warden of S. Thomas’ College to support and empower selected deserving schools. Since the inception of the ‘Play for a Cause’ pledge, LKR 6,151,000 worth of Cricket gear has been donated to twenty-two deserving schools.

As the principal sponsor, Dialog Axiata has made arrangements to LIVE stream the match via thepapare.com, Dialog VIU mobile app and will also be shown LIVE on Dialog TV Channel One in the interest of all present boys, old boys, parents, supporters, well-wishers and the cricket-loving public who are encouraged to watch the match from the comfort of their homes.