83rd Battle of the Saints powered by Dialog for 2nd consecutive year

Rev. Father Anton Ranjith of St. Joseph’s College and Rev. Father Trevor Martin of St. Peter’s College accepting the main sponsorship from Dialog Enterprise Group Chief Officer Jeremy Huxtable  at the press conference held in Jetwing Colombo 7. Also present from left: Terence Fernando - JOC Member, SJC; Harin Cooray - Cricket Captain SJC; Rev. Father Milan Bernad - Prefect of Games, St. Joseph’s College; and Lakshina Rodrigo - Cricket Captain SPC, Rev. Father Thilina Pathum - Sports Coordinator St. Peter’s College; and Dr. Nirmal De Silva - JOC Member SPC - Pix by Indraratne Balasuriya

Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, Dialog Axiata Plc, will sponsor the 83rd Battle of the Saints, as two of Sri Lanka’s foremost catholic education institutions, St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s College, battle for the Father Maurice J. Legoc Trophy. 

The 83rd annual Battle of the Saints will be played on 3 and 4 March at the P. Sara Stadium, Colombo and will no doubt exemplify the great traditions, pageantry and exciting brand of cricket usually displayed by the two schools. At this year’s encounter, the boys from Darley Road will be led by their main strike bowler Harin Cooray, while the Peterites will be under the captaincy of prolific batsman and former national youth player Lakshina Rodrigo. 

Speaking at the media conference, St. Peter’s College Rector Rev. Trevor Martin said: “The Battle of the Saints between St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s, two of the leading catholic schools in Sri Lanka, has a long and rich history of tradition and camaraderie spanning over eight decades. The Joint Organising Committee has worked very hard over the last few months to raise the bar and enhance the fun and excitement for Josephians and Peterites both young and old. I am sure both teams will play positive cricket and I wish both schools the best.” 

“I would like to also thank the management and staff of Dialog Axiata for their generous gesture to once again sponsor the 83rd edition of the annual Battle of the Saints,” St. Joseph’s College Rector Rev. Travis Gabriel said. 

“The Big Match between our two schools is one of the most looked forward to events in the Sri Lanka schools cricket calendar and this year will be no exception. I wish both schools the very best to deliver two days of exhilarating cricket.”

St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10, leads the series tally with 12 wins, and their last win came under the captaincy of Ruwantha Fernandopulle in 2008, while St. Peter’s College were the worthy winners of the 2016 encounter under the captaincy of Vinu Mohotty bringing their tally to 10 wins and thereby ensuring the Rev. Father Maurice J. Legoc Trophy is kept secure in the trophy cabinet in Bambalapitiya for four years. 

The Josephian-Peterite two-day encounter as well as the one-day match will be telecast LIVE on Dialog Television Channel Number One, live-streamed on ThePapare.com and on the Mobile TV streaming platform MyTV.

Elephant House, KeellsKrest, Nestle and Jetwing Hotels have also come forward to support the 83rd edition of the Annual Battle of the Saints encounter.

The Chief Guest at the 83rd Battle of the Saints will be Kito Fernandopulle, who skippered the Peterites in 1979. The Josephian-Peterite encounter has produced many cricketers who have the distinction of representing the national team, with Angelo Mathews, Chaminda Vaas, Thisara Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Ashley De Silva and Michael Van Dort emerging from St. Joseph’s College, while Roy Dias, Rumesh Ratnayake, Russell Arnold, Vinodhan John, Amal Silva, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Malinda Warnapura and Angelo Perera donning the national cap from St. Peter’s College. 

The Josephian-Peterite limited overs match, which is the longest running encounter in the country and played for the Fr. Peter A. Pillai Trophy, will be worked off on 25 March at the picturesque Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Grounds.

The Josephian-Peterite limited over encounter commenced in 1975 under the rectorship of Rev. Fr. Quintus Fernando of St. Joseph’s College and Rev. Fr. Claver Perera of St Peter’s College, with the first game of the series played at St Joseph’s College grounds on 16 March 1975. 

Interestingly, the match returns to the SSC after 1994 and a large crowd is expected to come witness an enthralling game of cricket.