Etisalat Lanka powers 135th Battle of the Blues for 5th consecutive year
Wednesday, 5 March 2014 00:00
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The 135th ‘Battle of the Blues’ between Royal College Colombo and S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia will be powered once again by Etisalat Sri Lanka. This would be the fifth consecutive year that Etisalat Sri Lanka has come in to boost this cricket encounter between these two traditional rivals. Etisalat was awarded the bid in 2013 to sponsor this prestigious cricket encounter, until 2015.
The match, which is played for the prestigious D. S. Senanayake Memorial Shield will be held at the Sinhalese Sports Club Grounds (SSC) on 13, 14 and 15 March. The three-day encounter will be followed by the 39th ‘Mustangs Trophy’ One Day encounter on 22 March, also played at SSC.
Etisalat Lanka Acting Chief Executive Officer Wail Salman stated: “After five highly successful years, Etisalat is proud to be associated with the ‘Battle of the Blues’ for the fifth consecutive year. The association with this leading ‘Big Match’ encounter is in keeping with our goal of uplifting and encouraging school cricket across Sri Lanka. Etisalat has continued to support sports across Sri Lanka as it builds character, instills discipline and inspire them to reach their life goals. We will continue our commitment towards supporting cricketing encounters in the Sri Lankan schools cricket calendar. I am looking forward to a fascinating duel between these two giants of the local school cricketing scene. I wish both the schools the best of luck for the upcoming matches.”
Last year’s 134th Battle of the Blues saw Royal College emerge as Champions, while the Mustang’s Trophy was also won by Royal College. The match is preceded by the legendary Cycle Parade which usually takes place on the day before the Big Match, with the official objective of visiting the Captain’s house to encourage him.
This annual encounter, popularly known as the ‘Royal-Thomian’ or the ‘Roy-Tho,’ has been played by the schools from 1879 onwards. The three-day match is acknowledged to be second-longest uninterrupted cricket match series in the world and is affectionately known as the ‘Battle of the Blues’ due to the blue colour shared by the two colleges.
This annual encounter has been played by the schools from 1879 onwards. The three-day match is acknowledged to be second-longest uninterrupted cricket match series in the world and is affectionately known as the ‘Battle of the Blues’ due to the blue colour shared by the two colleges.
