It may not garner the same anticipation and excitement as the Battle of the Blues three-day encounter but the Mustangs Trophy, the annual 50 overs encounter between Royal College and S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, has slowly gained its own significance since it is a different brand of cricket and the result inevitable.
It will reach a milestone, in completing a half-century of matches, within the next decade and has created a following of its own, especially among those who prefer to see a more exciting brand of cricket.
The 43rd encounter for the 50-over Mustangs Trophy between Royal and S. Thomas’ will be played on Saturday 17 March at the SSC grounds.
The tally at present is 20 wins each by the two sides with one tie in the year 2002 and shared in 2012.
It is interesting to note that in the event S. Thomas’ win this year’s encounter they would be equalling the five consecutive wins achieved by Royal in the years 1977-81.
While there have been many books dedicated to documenting the history of the three-day game, there have been little or no publications regarding the 50-over encounter.
It is a void that Shantilal Wijesundere, himself an Old Thomian, has attempted to fill with his book titled “Royal-Thomian Limited Over Encounters for the Mustangs Trophy 1975-2017” in which he has charted the history of the lesser known Royal-Thomian encounter with exceptional detail.
The book goes beyond just gathering and presenting the scores of all 42 previous encounters that have been played for the Mustangs Trophy, but also carries a description of each encounter, along with the first names of the cricketers and even why a decision was taken to share the trophy in 2012.
It also serves to recall some great names and performances of those who have played in the encounter, some of whom have penned their own memories down in this book.
With the Mustangs Tent - whose members had generously donated a trophy for the encounter - celebrating its centenary year at the three-day encounter in 2018, this book is a timely addition to the collection of Royal-Thomian literature and is a ‘must have’ for anyone interested in staying in touch with the history of this match.
The book will be on sale at the Big Match and at the Mustangs Trophy match and is priced at Rs. 500/- a copy.
The book was also reviewed favourably by Neil Wijeratne in the newspapers and is available at the STC OBA Secretariat and the Royal College Union office. It could also be purchased from the souvenir shop at the grounds. The proceeds from the sales would go direct to the respective schools to be used for any of their projects.
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