51st Saints Quandrangular set for 27, 28 July

Head table (from left): Quadrangular Association Secretary Kushana Michael, Quadrangular Association Vice President Preethiraj De Silva, Quadrangular Association Immediate Past President Ranjith Peiris, Quadrangular Association President Ravika De Silva, SPC OBU President Asela Lihinikaduwa, Quadrangular Association Treasurer Sri Lal De Silva, and Quadrangular Tournament Project Chairman Kumantha Ranasinghe  - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

The 51st Saints Quadrangular Old Boys’ tournament will take place on 27 and 28 July, with sports personality Michael Elias serving as the Chief Guest at the event. 

The prestigious Old Boys event will be hosted this year by the Old Peterites Sports Club. “It’s something that’s really looked forward to. When you talk about the Quandrangular it’s not only something that happens here in Sri Lanka but Old Boys Unions around the world also look forward to this event,” said former Sri Lanka Test batsman and St. Peter’s alum Russel Arnold at a media briefing on Tuesday (17 July).

“We share so much camaraderie and rivalry but really the main thing is coming back to the days that we grew up in, which is extremely special.” The tournament, which is the oldest tournament among Old Boys’ associations, first took place in 1963 after an open invitation put forth by the Old Benedictines to all schools was answered by St. Joseph’s College Colombo (SJC), St. Peter’s College Bambalapitiya (SPC) and St. Anthony’s College Kandy (SACK).

Initially consisting of just a two-day cricket match, it has since been expanded to include basketball and rugby, while the cricket portion of the tournament has been amended into two segments: The main Quandrangular 50-over match and a Veterans Over-40 25-over game.

The first two main quandragular semi-final cricket matches will be played on 27 July at St. Peter’s College Grounds, with the Old Antonians taking on the Old Peterites and the Old Bens taking on the Old Joes. The winners will face each other in the final the next day also at St. Peter’s College grounds. The first day’s proceedings will get underway at 9.45 a.m., while day two will start at 9.30 a.m.

Meanwhile, the first two Over-40 matches will be played at St. Benedict’s College grounds, with the Old Antonians facing the Old Peterites at 9.30 a.m. and the Old Bens facing the Old Joes at 2.00 p.m. The final will take place at the same grounds the next day at 10.00 a.m.

The basketball tournament will see all four teams face each other once over the course of the two days, with four of the group matches being played on 27 July and the remaining three, including the final, on 28 July. The first game on 27 July will start at 6.30 a.m. and at 7.00 a.m. on 28 July. The final will take place at 3.00 p.m. All matches will take place at the St. Peter’s College Courts.

Meanwhile, the rugby tournament will be a seven-a-side skirmish with all matches taking place on 28 July. Similar to the basketball portion, all four teams will face off against each other once, with the first match set to start at 7.50 a.m. The Plate Final will take place at 11.30 a.m, while the Main Cup Final is scheduled for 11.50 a.m. The venue will be confirmed closer to the date.

The winners of the two cricket matches will be awarded the Quandragular Trophies, while the winners of the basketball tournament will receive the ‘Very Rev. Fr. Joe. E. Wickremasinghe’ Trophy. Meanwhile, the winners of the rugby tournament will take home a challenge trophy.

The Overall Winners of the tournament, a category introduced last year, will receive the ‘Ranjith Samarasekera Memorial Trophy’ in recognition of his commitment and excellent service rendered towards the Saints Quadrangular. It was Samarasekera who convinced the OBUs of the four schools to make this an annual event.