As I sat inside the car stuck in a huge frenzy of traffic on Maitland Place, on the way to see my first ever big match as a mere 8 year old, I started day-dreaming about the weeks that led up to this day, the first day of the Battle of the Blues in 1994.
Whenever we met people, some went down memory lane and spoke of how my father Duleep Mendis had massacred the bowlers of Royal College during his time, while others spoke of my cousin Manoj Mendis’ brilliant centuries in the two previous years. My uncles Lakmaal and Anuk De Zoysa would speak about all the girls that went crazy as they walked in to bat when they played for college, while my other uncle Manjula Karunaratne would say that neither of them deserved to play in the big match as he was streets ahead of them in batting! During this time, the roads were constantly swamped by vehicles with boys and girls singing and cheering while they had the Thomian or Royal flags out of the shutters dancing in the wind. Everyone in college was speaking about this match. Even when the interval bell rang, everyone would rush towards the stalls which were selling hats and flags for the big match. It seemed everyone was obsessed by this so called “Big Match”. Suddenly I get startled back to reality with a loud cheer of “Thora!” from one side of the car and then another loud cheer of “Royal!” from the other. As we moved forward we were greeted by a mob of Royalists and Thomians who were dancing outside the gates of SSC to the ever beautiful tunes of a papare band. It did not take me long to realise that regardless of what age you were or what role you played in college, this was when two prestigious schools came together to watch 22 players go into battle to make history. My road to the big match had just begun.
Playing in the big match is every Thomian’s dream. It is subconsciously engraved into the hearts and souls of every Thomian kid with all the action, excitement and events that accompany the big match. Each year only 11 individuals obtain the privilege of getting into the history books as those elite soldiers who represented their alma mater in the grandest stage of them all, the Battle of the Blues. I was ecstatic when I was finally chosen to be a part of the first XI squad in 2002. I then stood a tangible chance of finally making my dream a reality!
We then move all the way to 13th of March 2003, the first day of my very first big match. I still remember the bus ride to the match. The seniors laughed looking at me and the other freshers who were in shock and awe wondering whether our lifelong dream was actually moments away from becoming real or whether someone was going to wake us up any moment to reveal that it was all a cruel dream.
We fielded first and as we came down the huge flight of stairs from the dressing room, the pressure kept mounting with each step that I took. On entering the arena, we were greeted by the loud roar of the spectators and the pressure simply disappeared. It was time to battle! We bundled Royal out for 219 thanks to an excellent bowling spell by Tharindu Fernando who managed to get 7/56. Towards the end of day 1, we were 3 wickets down and I was to bat next. I still remember how uncontrollably nervous I was before the end of day’s play, so much so that I just couldn’t even sit down. I remained standing doing stretches whilst wishing I could turn back time and go to one of my early under 11 matches when life was so much simpler. Early on day 2, we lost the wicket of our captain Arjuna Rajawasan whose explosive knock of 67 had brought us to a strong position. I went out to bat with the score on 116/4. We lost two further wickets and were under tremendous pressure at 128-6. This was when the all mighty Thomian Grit kicked in. It was Tharindu and I at the crease and we were not about to let the game slip away from our grasps. We put on a partnership of 113 and ended up not only pulling our team away from the jaws of defeat, but brought our team to a strong position where we could go on to even win the game. When I reached my fifty, we were sent a message from our captain to start accelerating in order to quickly reach 250 and declare. Tharindu scored 46 and myself 69 before declaring at 251/8. The plan was to bowl the Royalists out for a low score, but they fought back valiantly to reach 300. On the last day, we were set a target of 268 but simply ran out of overs. It was a match where two well balanced teams gave the crowd their money’s worth with a fabulous display of batting, bowling and fielding.
Next year’s big match, the 125th Battle of the Blues, is a match I would very much like to erase from my memory! We had a dreadful season with a few outright losses as well. It was a year where the entire college had lost faith in us. In hindsight, we lacked the excellent team spirit we possessed the previous year. In the big match, even though there were some good performances from our side, at the end of day 3, we were just minutes away from being devoured by the jaws of defeat when the mercy of the weather gods saved us! As play was suspended, Royal supporters ran into the ground and rejoiced in the rain while the Royal players guarded the pitch from them praying for the rain to stop. They completely dominated the entire game and were by far the better team that year. Thankfully it ended in a draw. Enough said.
As the season of 2004/2005 began, I was appointed vice captain and Vidyesh Balasubramaniam as captain. From the beginning we instilled in our team the passion to win and the importance of strong team spirit. We ensured the freshers always felt a part of the team and the gap between seniors and juniors was almost nonexistent. It was a fantastic season with multiple outright wins. When it was time for the Battle of the Blues, we were ready and were tipped to win. On our way to SSC on day 1 in the bus, the team was somewhat silent with staunch resolute. As the bus turned into Maitland Place, we were again reminded of the dreadful memories of the previous year. Suddenly something on the radio caught everyone’s attention. It was an interview with the coach of Royal College. As we listened, he was finally asked to give a message to the Thomian team. In utmost confidence and a hint of arrogance he replied “Look out Thomians, we have a surprise for you this year”! The freshers were mortified. The seniors, Vidyesh, Kaushal, Navin, Sajith, Nigel, Ashan and myself, looked at each other and smiled. The fire famously known as “Thomian Grit” had just ignited in our hearts, souls and muscles!
The grounds slowly filled up with the excited hopeful cheers of Royal and Thomian supporters. We won the toss and put Royal in to bat. After our coach, the late Mr. Ranil Abeynayake gave us an excellent pep talk, we were ready to battle. The Royal top order had been the backbone of many of the Royal victories during their season and its foundation was Dimitiri Siriwardena who had been Royal’s prolific scorer with over 1000 runs. In my second over, I managed to prize him out before he got into double figures. Off the next delivery I got rid of the next batsman and suddenly I was on a hat-trick. But the next man in managed to avoid the hat-trick ball. I eventually took 3/20 wickets and was dying to make it a fifer. I tried my level best, but at the end of my 12th over, Vidyesh, Kaushal and myself had a chat in the middle and decided that it was time for a change. Our sole purpose was to win. The pacemen Sajith, Nigel, Ashan and myself had fractured the backbone of the Royal batting line up by taking 7 wickets amongst ourselves. Royal was eventually bundled out for 94. Next we batted and made a mighty score of 340 thanks to brilliant knocks by Ashan Pieris, Nisham Mazahir and Kaushal Silva. Then it was time to go for the kill! Again the pacemen crushed the top order of the Royalists which included a fiery spell by Nigel Adams who took 3/37. However we were then met by a heroic knock by the royal opener Sukitha Senaratne. At the end of day 2, he was not out on 92 and Royal was in a strong position at only 5 wickets down. As the last ball of day 2 was bowled, the Royal spectators ran into the ground in a stampede and carried the two Royal batsmen on their shoulders all the way to the dressing room while singing and dancing to their papare band. The music of that band was deafening and unbearable to us. We watched the Royalists disappear into the horizon as we made our way slowly back to the dressing room behind them. Was this the end? This being the last year for Nigel, Sajith and myself, we wondered whether our time representing college was going to end merely in us being so close but yet so far. The bus ride back to college was a long and silent journey. Until end of day 2, we had our sights on victory but now we were contemplating a worthless draw or may be even saving ourselves from the horrors of defeat.
The next morning, our coach gave us yet another pep talk prior to the commencement of play. We knew that after an entire season of tirelessly working hard, in the years to come, people would only talk about this day and what we did in the middle. We were ready to go into battle yet again. Victory was all we had in our minds. Our hearts were pounding. Sajith Kularatne was given the ball to start things off. I watched him as he ran in to bowl the 2nd ball of day 3. He ran in like a fearsome panther gliding towards its prey and made his usual Michael Jordan like leap before finally releasing the ball. In a split second we were mesmerized to see Sukitha’s leg stump broken and sent cart-wheeling! The arena burst out with the loud roars of jubilant Thomians! The bands suddenly started to play and rock the very foundation of SSC! Our hearts were racing faster. As Royal was struggling, the road was paved with a red carpet for the arrival of Kingpin of Leg-spin, Captain Bala to strike in the final nails of the coffin for the Royalists! Bala eventually bowled the final ball of the 126th Battle of the Blues, which hit the edge of number eleven’s bat and was caught at silly mid-off only to be thrown up in the air and disappear into the Thomian boys’ tent like a sky-rocket! It was all over! We had won by an innings and 28 runs! In a matter of seconds we were engulfed by a sea of blue and black and escorted back honourably to the ever so beautiful tunes of the papare band. Thus ended the best 3 years of my life!
In conclusion, a final message to the present team… You are the elite 11 out of 3500-4000 esteemed Thomians who go into battle with our arch rivals and have a chance of making history. With this title comes great responsibility as the dreams, hopes and expectations of the past, present and even future Thomians all lay in your hands. Forget your losses and hold onto your wins. Shine your boots and don your whites. Finally wear the cap shining in all its glory in blue and black. Go in to battle with all the courage and bravery fathomable, for before u know it, it will all be over and when the dust settles and the smoke clears, you will be remembered for what you did and left behind in the golden area of SSC encircled by the boundary line. Make us proud!
Oh, how I wish I could turn back time, don my whites and colours cap and once again enter the arena of the Battle of the Blues…
Long live S. Thomas College!
Esto Perpetua!
