St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter

St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter (also known as Battle of the Blues or Battle of Ruhuna) is the annual school cricket Big Match played between St. Thomas' College, Matara and St. Servatius' College, Matara. Played since 1900,[2] it is also known as the Battle of the Blues or as the Battle of Ruhuna. It is the second oldest school cricket series in Sri Lanka, after the Royal-Thomian annual cricket encounter. The match has been played as a three day game since 2000, which was the centenary year of the series.

St. Thomas-St. Servatius Cricket Encounter (Battle of the Blues)
Sport	Cricket
Timeline	1900 – present
Tournament format	Annual 3 day cricket match
Participants	St. Thomas' College, Matara St. Servatius' College
Current champion	St. Thomas' (2007)[1]
Most successful	St. Thomas' (32-27) [1]

St. Thomas' College have won 32 encounters, with their most recent victory registered in 2007 encounter under the captaincy of Tharaka Dushantha. St. Servatius is somewhat behind with 27 victories, while their last win being recorded in 1971 under the captaincy of Nimal Munaweera. There has been 50 games that have ended in draws. The most illustrious cricketer to have played in the series is Master-Blaster Sanath Jayasuriya, who captained the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1999 to 2003. He captained the St. Servatius team in 1988.

Notable persons who have played

St. Servatius College Sanath Jayasuriya Ruchira Palliyaguru Kasun Rajitha

St. Thomas' College Indika de Saram Prabath Nissanka

Venue

• Uyanwatta Stadium, Matara

References

1. "St. Thomas' have margin of 5 wins over St. Servatius in Matara's 'Big Battle'". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
2. "Rain may disrupt Matara's big match". Daily News. Retrieved 14 October 2014.

External links

• 111th St. Servatius vs St. Thomas' Matara encounter on March 18, 19 and 20