On a day of fluctuating fortunes, St Thomas College OBA edged out Royal College OBA in the “Sydney Battle of the Blues” as the annual cricket encounter was contested in a friendly spirit, in the northern suburbs of Sydney.
 On a perfect sunny morning, Thomian skipper Richie De Silva had no hesitation in electing to bat after winning the toss on a good wicket, with a fast outfield that promised plenty of runs. The openers Denham Williams and Antony Abeynaike made a steady start against the accurate Royal pace bowling of Vinitha Rajakaruna and Ruwan Weerakone. After hitting a solid boundary, Abeynaike perished as Weerakone got one past his defence (STC 4-1, 2nd over).
Gimantha Jayasinghe and Williams then repaired the early damage with a good mixture of solid defence and all-out attack when any loose ball presented itself. The stand took on menacing proportions as Jayasinghe was severe on anything loose to speed to 44 at almost a run a ball. Royal finally broke the 67 run stand with a fine piece of out fielding by Weerakone as he sent a fast, accurate throw from the boundary to just beat a diving Jayasinghe (STC 71-2, 13th Over). In the very next over, Williams (20) was bowled by first change bowler Harshana Ariyaratne (STC 72-3, 14th over).
Left-hander Dilan Jayasuriya, a hero of the miracle win in 2003, joined skipper Richie de Silva. Alas, Jayasuriya (6) perished when he was stumped off a cleverly flighted ball by Rajitha Wijesekera. Richie De Silva took the fight to the Royal bowling to notch a run-a-ball 24 which included 5 boundaries before he holed out to mid-wicket off Gogi Ruban. There was a real possibility of being bowled out, as STC had half their side out with only 104 runs on the scoreboard, when drinks were taken in the 19th over.
Lasantha Peris (21) and Shehan Wijetilaka (6) consolidated with a cautious stand until Wijetilaka was deceived by Duleep de Livera to be caught and bowled (STC 123-6, 28th Over)
The Thomian tail wagged very strongly in the final overs as the Royal attack surprisingly failed to ram home the advantage, after the in-roads made earlier. All rounder Anuk de Silva (36 not out) led the onslaught, with good support from Shehan Grey (14), Darnley Van Cuylenberg (7) and Duke Ramachandran ( 12 not out) to plunder 73 runs in the last 10 overs. STC did well to recover to 201-9 at the end of the 40 overs, leaving Royal with a challenging target to chase after the lunch break. Pacemen Weerakone (2-52) and spin-twins Wijesekera (1-29) and de Livera (2-29) bowled well for Royal.
The baila music was turned on by evergreen Sonny Navaratnam, and the food and drink flowed freely in the lunch break as old yarns were spun and new ones recounted by the sizeable crowd that had gathered during the morning.
When play resumed, Royal got off to a poor start. Shehan Grey produced a lethal in-swinger to bowl Royalist opener Lalin de Silva (1) with his first ball of the match (Royal 2-1, 2nd over). Yathees Ruban and Harshana Ariyaratne compiled a solid partnership of 39 runs to restore parity. At this point, Richie De Silva changed the course of the match with 2 wickets in his second over. He first got Ariyaratne (19) caught behind by keeper Darnley off a flyer, and then bowled new batsman Ruwan Weerakone for a duck (Royal 41-3, 12th over)
 Skipper Prasad Chelliah joined Rumban in the middle to fight their way out of trouble and affect a good recovery. The Thomian attack of Anuk De Silva, Richie De Silva and Anthony Abeynaike strove for a breakthrough but was denied. Chelliah was dropped off De Silva in the slips , A couple of nicks either fell short of the slips, or did not stick, as the Royal pair batted for a long period to take Royal to relative safety at the drinks break (74-3, 20th over).
After the break, Chelliah and Ruban took the attack to the Thomians as runs flowed freely to bring up the Royal hundred in the 25th over. The match was finely balanced at this point, The game swung towards STC as the 59 run partnership was finally broken. A fine knock by Chelliah (28) was ended as he cut to gully (Royal 101-4, 25th over).
Chelliah’s wicket led to a collapse as Royal lost a cluster of wickets in the next few overs. The writing was on the wall for Royal when top-scorer Ruban hit out to deep mid-wicket to be well caught by Williams off Wijetilka for a well compiled 44 . Wijetilka chipped in with 2 wickets and 2 brilliant catches in the gully , including Royal skipper Chelliah . Wijesekera (4) was caught at slip, de Livera (7) was leg before, to Ramachandran and Costa (12) was stumped by Darnley Vanculenberg off Wijetilaka as the Thomians tightened the noose.
The end came quickly when Vineetha Rajakaruna (11) was run out and Gavin Mallalasekara (14) was struck on the pads by Ramachandran - Royal was all out for 149 in the 32nd over. This gave the Thomians a 52 run victory, a margin that does not accurately reflect a closely contested match where both teams dominated each other for long periods during the day.
For the Thomians, the attack was led by Shehan Grey (3-39) and Richie De Silva (2-16), and supported by Duke Ramachandran (2-18) and Shehan Wijetilaka (2-20).
At the post match awards ceremony, STC OBA President Kumar Rasiah eloquently summed up by echoing the famous words of “it does not matter who won, its how you played the game that’s important” as he thanked the Royalists for their part in a fine spectacle of a match.
A most enjoyable day was brought to an end with the key awards being presented to Yathes Ruban (Best Bastman (RC) ), Richie de Silva (Best Bowler (STC) ), Ruwan Weerakone (Best Fielder(RC) ) and Anuk de Silva (Best All-rounder(STC) ), as the Thomians celebrated the win with the singing of the college anthem and lifting the E.C. Gunasekara challenge trophy.
Chief Scores
STC OBA NSW – 201 for 9 off 40 Overs
Gimantha Jayasinghe 44, Richie De Silva 24, Anuk De Silva 36 Not Out
Ruwan Weerakone 2-52, Duleep de Livera 2-29
Royal OBA NSW – 149 All out in 32 Overs
Yathes Ruban 44, Harshana Ariyaratne 19, Prasad Chelliah 28
Shehan Grey 3-39, Richie De Silva 2 for 16, Duke Ramachandran 2 for 18 and Shehan Wijetilaka (2 for20
Teams
Royal: Prasad Chelliah (Captain) Yathes Ruban, Lalin De Silva, Duleep De Liviera, Ruwan Weerakoon, Harshana Ariyaratna, Rajitha Wijesekera, De Costa, Vineeetha Rajakaruna, Gavin Mallawarachi, Gogi Ruban
S. Thomas’: Richie De Silva (Capt), Gimantha Jayasinghe, Anthony Abeynaike, Lasantha Peiris, Duke (Suren) Ramachandran, Shehan Wijetilaka, Anuk De Silva, Denham Williams, Dilan Jayasuriya, Shehan Grey, Darnley Van Cuylenberg.
Umpires
Allan Green & Palitha Ranatunga |
