St. Sebastian’s College and Prince of Wales go into the 68th Battle of the Golds with great expectations as both teams are well-balanced. The Sebs will look to defend their 2011 title win while Prince of Wales will be seeking an upset as they look to regain the trophy in an encounter that has not seen a result since 2011.
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A bit of History
These two distinguished educational institutions, situated in Moratuwa commenced their Big Match series in 1933. The Cambrians have won six of the Battle of the Golds ecounters while St Sebastian’s have won just three. Prince of Wales registered their last win in 1977 under Premalal Fernando while the Sebs’ last win came in 2011 under Sanitha de Mel.
The highest team total of the series is 415 for 9, recorded by the Cambrians in 1958 while the Sebastian’s highest total is 355 for the loss of 7 which they recorded in 1937. The lowest total for POW is 67 in 1984 but the record for the lowest total for the series was recorded by St Sebastian’s when they were dismissed for 36 in 1937.
The highest individual score by a Cambrian came in 1991 off the bat of Nilantha Bopage as the batsman notched up 179 while Jerald Mendis has the record for the Sebastianites making 148.
St. Sebastian’s College
After scoring 1000 runs in the season, Tharusha Fernando’s team have entered the top 8 teams in the Island in the Singer Schools’ Under 19 tournament and will look to make a statement in the league as they face a dominant St. Joseph’s College in the quarter finals. However, the arrival of the two U19 youth players Praveen Jayawickrama and Nuwanidu Fernando will have a major impact on the team as they go into the big game against the Sebs.
Photo Album – St. Sebastian’s College Cricket Team 2018
All-rounder Thashik Perera, Nishitha Abilash and Vinuja Ranasinghe held the team together along with their skipper Tharusha Fernando to get them to the final 8 teams in the league as they missed the services of their main left-arm spinner and their run-machine Nuwanidu Fernando due to national duties.
The team management and the skipper have heaps of confidence as they face-off against the Cambrians in the big match.
St. Sebastian’s College – Squad
Tharusha Fernando (C), Gihan Senanayake, Shanel Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama (Vc), Nishitha Abilash, Vinuja Ranasinghe, Tashik Perera, Janishka Perera, Praveen Cooray, Nuwanidu Fernando, Malintha Peiris, Nikhil Fernando, Lahiru Fernando, Dulaj Shalinka, Nadeera Fernando, Sukitha Manoj
Prince of Wales’ College
All-rounder Savindu Peiris is an experienced campaigner in the Cambrian line-up and will lead the strong Prince of Wales outfit this year. They too have entered the quarter finals in the Singer Schools’ Under 19 tournament (as the group toppers) and the innings win against St. Peter’s during the season will surely be a morale booster for them when they face-off against their arch-rivals.
Photo Album – Prince of Wales’ College Cricket Team 2018 Preview
U19 World Cup discard Vishva Chathuranga is the man to watch out for with the experience he brings from playing in the Tier ‘B’ for Panadura SC and his presence will surely make a massive impact on the Cambrians’ chances. Vice-captain Avindu Fernando is a 4th year player who will have major-role to play to play in the remainder of the season as the Cambrians look to create an upset in the Battle of the Golds. Left-arm spinner Kaumal Nanayakkara is in red-hot form with over 50 wickets to his name and will lead the Cambrian bowling unit.
Prince of Wales College – Squad
Savindu Peiris (C), Avindu Fernando, Vishva Chathuranga, Sanoj Dhashika, Suwath Mendis, Devaka Peiris, Kaumal Nanayakkara, Prince Fernando, Naduka Fernando, Sandun Fernando, Vinuja Ranpul
Final say
Both teams having qualified for the final 16 in the Singer Schools’ Under 19 Tournament making it hard to pick a clear favourite but, with two Sri Lanka U19 players in their lineup the Sebs will hold the edge over the Cambrians as they look to make it another day to remember at the 68th Battle of the Golds.
The 68th battle of the Golds will be played on the 9th and 10th of March, with the 50 over encounter to be telecast Live on ThePapare.com on the 11th of March Sunday.
